Music fills the infinite between two souls. - Rabindranath Tagore

Vedic music is the earliest instance of the deep relationship between Dharma and music in India. Many features of this music later permeated into different styles of Indian classical music, including Hindustani and Carnātic schools. The Rgveda relied on recited hymns (richa). The musical chanting of the Sāmaveda employed more notes (finally settling on seven notes), and is said to be the source of the later secular and classical music. The word sāma itself is a compound expression and includes two entities: the first component 'sa' refers to hymns, i.e. richa, and the second component, 'ma' refers to the musical notes.