---
url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/faq/instruments-artforms/is-the-mridang-the-same-as-the-carnatic-mridangam'
title: 'Is the mridang the same as the Carnatic mridangam?'
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  name: rajeevk
  url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/user/0f961cccc99524ed'
date: '2026-10-19T15:00:32+00:00'
type: website
summary: 'No: in North India mridang is another name for the pakhawaj, a close relative of the Carnatic mridangam but a different drum.'
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  [  Help ](/en-int/help)     Is the mridang the same as the Carnatic mridangam?  

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# Is the mridang the same as the Carnatic mridangam?

 Updated 19 October 2026

 No: in North India, mridang is a current alternative name for the **[pakhawaj](/instrument/pakhawaj)**, and the scholar Aneesh Pradhan warns against confusing it with the Carnatic mridangam. The two drums are close relatives. The mridangam uses a jackwood shell and a semolina (rava) patch on its bass head; the pakhawaj takes wheat dough on its bass.



 

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 ###  Instruments (1) 

- [   Pakhawaj The pakhawaj is a double-headed North Indian barrel drum, the primary percussion of dhrupad and dhamar. It is played horizontally, in deep bols, with fresh…     ](/en-int/instrument/pakhawaj)
 
  

 

 

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