noun
- one of the melodic formulas of Hindu music having the melodic shape, rhythm, and ornamentation prescribed by tradition.
noun (in Indian music)
- any of several conventional patterns of melody and rhythm that form the basis for freely interpreted compositions. Each pattern is associated with different aspects of religious devotion
- a composition based on one of these patterns
1788, from Sanskrit raga-s “harmony, melody, mode in music,” literally “color, mood,” related to rajyati “it is dyed,” from PIE *reg- (3) “to dye” (cf. Greek rhegos “blanket, rug”).