Meanings
raga1
plural ragas · alternative ragam
- countableentertainmentAny of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.
‘The song is composed in a raga appropriate to the present hour, which is the evening.’
1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 72 - uncountablePassion, love, lust.
Raga and dvesha, attachment and hatred, are two sides of the same coin.
2012, Swami Rama, Sadhana: The Path to Enlightenment, →ISBN, page 803 more examples
The conditions of asmita, raga, dvesha, and abhinivesha have a physical basis: they function to inhibit the normal pulsatory rhythms of the physical body.
2009, Jennifer Schwamm Willis, The Joy of Yoga, →ISBNWe get tired of the slipping and sliding between raga and dvesha and we seek something more permanent - so instead of looking outward we begin to look inward. This is Yoga - the heart of Yoga.
2009, Swami Ambikananda Saraswati, Healing Yoga, →ISBN, page 18In order to increase security, desire (raga, trishna, lobha) appears in all its forms, and one accumulates more and more of that which establishes one's position in samsara.
2010, Chogyam Trungpa, The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa, →ISBN
Raga2
- A language spoken in Vanuatu.
Raga3
Raga4
- A town in South Sudan.
Raga5
- alternativeAlternative form of Ray (“a region and satrapy in ancient Iran located between the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges and the Dasht-e Kavir desert”)
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Sanskritराग
- Sanskritराग
- Englishraga
Borrowed from Sanskrit राग (rāga, “dye, colour”).
More words from Sanskrit
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali রাগ
- রাগ (rag)melodic mode used in Indian classical music
Czech rága
- rágamelodic mode used in Indian classical music
Hindi राग
- राग (rāg)melodic mode used in Indian classical music
Swedish raga
- ragamelodic mode used in Indian classical music
Tamil ராகம்
- ராகம் (rākam)melodic mode used in Indian classical music
Urdu راگ
- راگ (rāg)melodic mode used in Indian classical music
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with raga
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
raga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raga
“raga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raga. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raga.
Source: raga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.