“The fair damsel has defeated the cuckoo by the flourish of her word surpassing nectar…her handsome body is robed in white silk; her lotus face subdues the pride of the moon…her grace and beauty are attractive alike to the eyes and the mind…Gaudika is sung at the end of the day in autumn.” ('Sangita Mala' (c. mid-eighteenth century); trans. O.C. Gangoly).

“White in complexion, clad in white, carrying the crescent, and the horn and wearing a garland, Bhairava is born from the mouth of Siva… this (melody) is sung by the gods in the morning in autumn”. ('Ragamala' (c.sixteenth century); trans. O.C. Gangoly.) Bhairav is performed during the early morning period. It consists of all seven notes of the scale however, Re and Dha (2nd and 6th notes) are komal (flattened) giving the raga a sombre and serious mood.