The tradition of Hindustani music dates back to Vedic times where the hymns in the Sama Veda, an ancient religious text, were sung as Samagana and not chanted. It diverged from Carnatic music around the 13th-14th centuries CE, primarily due to Islamic influences. Developing a strong and diverse tradition over several centuries, it has contemporary traditions established primarily in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In contrast to Carnatic music, the other main Indian classical music tradition originating from the South, Hindustani music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, historical Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also enriched by the Persianperformance practices of the Mughals. Classical genres are dhrupad, dhamar, khyal, tarana and sadra, and there are also several semi-classical forms. In the earlier days, when Indian music was just coming of age, the music was devotional in nature. It was restricted only to temples and used for ritualistic purposes. It is said that the sound that pervades the whole universe, i.e. Nadabrahma, itself represents the divinity. Organized Indian music owes its origin to the Samaveda. The Veda has all the seven notes of the raga karaharpriya in the descending order. The earliest Raga is speculated to be ‘Sama Raga’. Theories and treatises began to be written, how the primitive sound ‘Om’ gave rise to the various notes.

Arjuna Kumar Mishra (born on 29th August, 1973 in Bhagalpur, Bihar) is a teacher of sociology. He had earlier taught at Patna University, Patna. He achieved his degrees M.A. (Sociology) and PhD (Sociological analysis of Indian religion) from BHU, Varanasi. He has specialized in Indian mythology, dance and music. He has authored more than a six books and over twenty research papers and articles published in national and international journals. He has travelled widely teaching Indian philosophy.