Raga: The connecting link between psyche and soma

The origin of Raga-the nucleus of Indian classical music (ICM)-dates back to the Vedic era with its identifiable roots in the Sama Veda [1,2].The prototype monotonic Rig Veda recitation was originally developed to include only three notes i.e. a principal note, a higher note (Udatta), and a lower note (Anudatta) which was modified in the Yajur Veda to include a tetra chord with two principal notes and two accents.This tetra chord was further refined in the Sama Veda with the addition of three more notes, making the first scale of seven notes used to recite the Vedic hymns [3,4].This scale of seven notes (Saptak) formulated to chant the Sama Veda, became the first Raga, closely resembling to Raga Kharaharapriya or Kafi of ICM [3,4].As defined by the World Music Maestro-Pt.Ravi Shankar, "The Raga is a scientific, precise, subtle, and aesthetic melodic structure with its own peculiar creation, consisting either of a full seven note octave, or a series of six or five note octave(s), or a combination of any of these, composed in an ascending (Aroha) and descending (Avaroha) order, along with a subtle difference in the expression/ omission/emphasis of particular note(s), or the use of microtones, that makes the Raga" [5].Thus, Raga is a defined melodic structure that constitutes the "nucleus" of ICM system-regardless of its bifurcation as North Indian Hindustani Music or South Indian Carnatic Classical Music [1,2].