There are many important events in the history of Indian music. These milestones show clearly the development of musical thought from early history to the present day.

The early history of Indian music may be explained by the Indo-European theory. According to this theory, there was a culture, or group of cultures who were so successful that they spread throughout Europe and parts of Asia. Although no one knows where they came from, present thought tends to place their origins somewhere in Eurasia, either north of the Black sea or north of the Caspian (Mallory 1989). Within this family there are several major groups. Indo-Aryan is a group which has special significance for India because this is the language and culture which generated the Vedas and other classical texts of ancient India. The classical music of India is said to have its roots in this culture.

The connection between Indo-European expansion and Indian music may be seen in mythology. Mythology refers to music being brought to the people of India from a place of celestial beings. This mythical land (Gandharva Desh) is usually equated with heaven. However, some are of the opinion that this mythical land could actually be Kandahar in what is the modern Afghanistan. Therefore, the myths of music being given to the world by the celestial beings (gandharva) may actually represent a cultural connection with this ancient Indo-Aryan homeland.

Further evidence may be seen in musical structure. In the first few centuries B.C., Indian music was based upon seven modes (scales). It is probably no coincidence that Greek music was also based upon seven modes. Furthermore, the Indian scales follow the same process of modulation (murchana) that was found in ancient Greek music. Since Greece is also Indo-European, this is another piece of evidence for the Indo-European connection