In This Article
Vedic Chanting — The First Music
The roots of Indian classical music reach back over 3,000 years to the Sama Veda, one of the four Vedas, which is essentially a collection of hymns set to musical notation. The Sama Vedic chanting used three primary notes (svaras) — udatta (raised), anudatta (lowered), and svarita (middle) — forming the seed from which the elaborate seven-note system would eventually grow.
These weren't merely recitations; they were precisely pitched musical offerings believed to have cosmic power. The correct intonation of each syllable was considered essential for the ritual's efficacy, establishing from the very beginning the Indian tradition's emphasis on pitch accuracy and melodic discipline.
The Natyashastra
Bharata Muni's Natyashastra (circa 2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE) is the foundational text for Indian performing arts. While primarily about theatre, it contains detailed chapters on music — describing the seven notes (svaras), melodic modes (jatis), micro-tones (shrutis), and the emotional effects of different musical combinations. The 22-shruti system described here remains a subject of scholarly debate and musical exploration today.
Medieval Musical Treatises
The Sangeetha Ratnakara by Sharngadeva (13th century) is the last major treatise that describes a unified Indian musical tradition before the Carnatic-Hindustani divergence. It systematically catalogues ragas, talas, instruments, and compositional forms. Other important texts include Matanga's Brihaddeshi (which first uses the word "raga") and Venkatamakhin's Chaturdandi Prakashika (which established the 72 Melakarta raga classification).
The Continuous Thread
What's remarkable about Indian classical music is its unbroken continuity. The notes we sing today — sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, ni — are direct descendants of the Vedic svaras. The emphasis on guru-shishya transmission, the primacy of melody, and the spiritual dimension of music-making connect today's concert stage to those ancient Vedic fire rituals across a span of three millennia.