Encyclopedia of Ragas

"Raga Nidhi" by B. Subba Rao was first published by The Music Academy, Madras (now "Chennai") in 1956 in four volumes. It contains descriptions of all ragas, both Hindustani & Karnatic, in alphabetical order. Each raga is given its aroha (ascending notes), avaroha (descending notes), chalan, pakad & one of two vocal compositions, all in a page or two. Additional information, if available, is also appended. Though published by The Music Academy, Madras, the home of Karnatic Music, the Hindustani ragas are dealt with first & then the Karnatic ones!

In addition to the information about the ragas themselves, five technical articles are appended at the beginning.

1.⁠ ⁠Ragas in Bharatiya Sangit.

2.⁠ ⁠Srutis in Bharatiya Sangit.

3.⁠ ⁠Nomenclature of Svaras or Notes.

4.⁠ ⁠Classification of Ragas.

5.⁠ ⁠Chart indicating how twelve Svaras of Hindustani became sixteen in Karnatic.

A revised second edition was published in 2015, in two volumes, the first two volumes of the original edition being contained in the new first volume and the third & fourth volumes of the original being contained in the new second volume. The complete work, running to over a thousand pages, contains nearly a thousand ragas. It is the only work of its kind & is a "go to" resource book for all students of music, either Hindustani or Karnatic.