ragamalika

{{Short description|Form of composition in Carnatic music}}

Ragamalika, literally a garland of ragas, is a popular form of composition in Carnatic music where different segments of the composition are set to different ragas.{{Cite book|last=Vijayakrishnan|first=K. G.|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/17427|title=The Grammar of Carnatic Music|date=2008-09-25|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|isbn=978-3-11-019888-1|language=en|doi=10.1515/9783110198881}} It is also known as Raga Kadambakam, and forms parallel to the composition form talamalika which features segments set to different talas. Ragatalamalika are a special kind of ragamalika compositions featuring a range of talas. Navaragamalika is a popular type of ragamalika composition where the music is set to 9 ragas.

Ramaswami Dikshitar is referred to as Ragamalika Chakravarti (King of Ragamalika) for his varied ragamalika compositions in Telugu. Over the years, composers composed elaborate pieces such as the 'ashtottarashata ragatalamalika’ of Ramaswami Dikshitar with 108 ragas and 108 talas,{{Cite book|last=Subbarāmadīkṣitula, 1839-1906.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/749955565|title=Saṅgīta sampradāya pradarśini|date=1973–1992|publisher=Āndhrapradēś Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akāḍamī Pracuraṇa|oclc=749955565}} and 'melakarta ragamalika' of Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer featuring all 72 sampoorna melakarta ragas.{{Cite web|title=Royal Carpet Carnatic Composers: MahA VaidhyanAtha Sivan Shivan VaidyanAta Iyer|url=https://karnatik.com/co1113.shtml|access-date=2020-06-12|website=karnatik.com}}