Kedar is amongst the most popular post-sunset ragas. The raga belongs to the Kalyan thaat, and within it, to the sub-group that permits twin-Ma usage - shuddh and tivra (sharp). Other popular ragas in this sub-group are Hameer, Chhayanat, Kamod, Nand and Behag. Although the contemporary raga is relatively non-controversial, it has an interesting history which impinges upon its contemporary performance.
Scholarly literature suggests that, not long ago, the raga was probably pentatonic (S R M P D) in the Bilawal that (parent scale). Subsequent melodic enhancements have made the raga hyper-heptatonic (S R G M M^ P D n N S’) in the Kalyan thaat.
By its very name, raga Kedar is associated with Lord Shiva, the Destroyer, a formidable deity of ascetic temperament. As such, the raga is considered to be amongst the more profound ragas of the Hindustani system. In order to preserve its profundity, the musician is required to present it with a certain reverence and deliberateness. This prescription is confirmed by the raga's complex vakra [zigzag] phraseology, which would suffer a degree of "flattening out" at higher levels of swara-density.
The contemporary Kedar would be unconvincing as a representation of the daunting Lord Shiva. Apparently, the melodic enhancements have progressively diluted the raga's austere aural image, and allowed it to drift towards prodnounced Lalitya --a romantic/sensual experience.