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Kaṭapayādi Explorer
Venkaṭamakhin's 72 melakarta names aren't arbitrary — each one spells its own number using an ancient consonant-numeral cipher. This is machine-verified: 64 of 72 names decode under the strict rule below, 7 more under a documented alternate reading, and exactly 1 (Naṭabhairavī) is a known historical anomaly that doesn't decode at all — disclosed honestly, not silently patched over.
Modern practice: the 72-mēḷakarta scheme is 17th-century — Venkaṭamakhin formulated it, and Govindacharya's naming is the order used today. Both come four hundred years after the Saṅgīta Ratnakara, which describes no such system. The kaṭapayādi cipher itself is far older; it is this 72-name scheme that is modern.
How it works
Each melakarta name's first two syllables spell its number. Every consonant maps to a digit (the four groups — kādi, ṭādi, pādi, yādi — are named for their first letters: ka, ṭa, pa, ya all mean 1, which is where "kaṭapayādi" gets its name). The first syllable's consonant gives the ones digit, the second syllable's gives the tens digit — read in reverse of normal order. When a syllable starts with a consonant cluster (a "conjunct"), only the last consonant of the cluster usually counts.
Example: Kanakāṅgi → 1st syllable "ka" = 1, 2nd syllable "na" = 0 → read as 0-then-1 → mela 1.
* Flagged cards use a documented alternate reading convention, or (Naṭabhairavī alone) don't decode at all — see the note inside each card. 64 of 72 names decode under the strict rule; 7 more under documented alternates; 1 (Naṭabhairavī) is a known historical anomaly, not a data error.