This volume contains the papers and discussions presented at the seminar on Matanga and the Brhaddesi organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi at Hampi, Karnataka, in 1995. the nineteen contributions by leading scholars cover various aspects of the study of the Brhaddesi: its historicity and mythological aspects; citations found in and from the work in earlier and later texts; the relationship between its prose and verse portions; elements of ayurveda, yoga, and tantra in the work; its treatment of marga and desi, sruti and swara, murchhana, tana, and alankara. Musical notations in Brhaddesi, raga-names found in the work, and the names of musical bhasas (in connection with ragas) mentioned here, are among the other topics dealt with in the papers. To researchers and scholars of India's musical traditions, this book would provide an update and review of the current discourse on Matanga's work not available elsewhere.