The least performed of the twelve dastgāhs is Rāst-Panjgāh. This neglect is due to the fact that the greater portion of the radif of this dastgāh is taken from the repertoire of other dastgāhs. Some Persian musicians are of the opinion that this dastgāh has evolved for pedagogic purposes, in the study of which the skill of modulation to many diverse modes is cultivated.

In our present discussion, the word Panjgāh is omitted from the title of this dastgāh. This is not done for convenience alone. The curious fact is that one of the gušes of this dastgāh is named Panjgāh, and that this guše is not in the mode of Rāst, but is the mode of Šur. It would seem unreasonable, therefore, to be discussing the mode of Rāst-Panjgāh, when Panjgāh as a guše in the dastgāh, has a different mode. The name of this dastgāh is one more example of the irregularities one encounters in the dastgāh system.

It is of some significance that Rāst is the title of a mode (maqām) mentioned in all medieval treatises. Also, in the related musical traditions of Turkey and the Arabic-speaking countries, one invariably finds a mode by the name Rāst. But the medieval sources do not give us a Panjgāh mode and rarely does the name appear in musical systems outside today's Persia.

In its intervallic structure, the mode of Rāst is identical with that of Māhur. In this respect also, this dastgāh lacks independence of identity.