The Ragamala names Bilaval as a Putra (son) of Bhairav but no relationship between these two ragas are made today.

Bilaval is a morning raga that is intended to be sung with a feeling of deep devotion and repose and is often performed during the hot months.

[citation needed] The Bilaval is equivalent to the Carnatic raga melakarta, Sankarabharanam, as well as the Western Ionian mode (major scale), and contains the notes S R G M P D N S'.

Flat (komal) or sharp (tivra) pitches always occur regarding the interval pattern in Bilaval thaat.

Bilaval is the thirty-fourth raga to appear in the series of sixty compositions in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.