The book deals with the basic principles, such as Aroha, Avaroha, Jati, Samvadi, Pakada, time etc. of 706 North Indian or Hindustani Ragas. Also has been discussed the different varieties of and opinions on the same Ragas and also about the different names in vogue of the Ragas. The Indian musical notes have also been explained with reference to western notations to make the book easily understandable by western readers. An indispensable book for musicians and music scholars, this was first published in Hindi by Bharatiya Jnanpith in 1981 and then by Vani Prakashan in 1998. The original English version is being published for the first time now.