rAga as musical scale

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

In earlier discussions in Indology, it had been pointed out that the usage of
the word rAga in the sense of musical scale does not occur in nATyazAstra. Is
the usage rAga in jAti-rAga in NS 28.37 interpreted as color? If the author
of bRhddezI was the first one to use rAga in the sense of musical scale, does
he or anybody else explain why that term was being used to refer to the scale
in preference to jAti? When is the first occurrence of the name "zrIrAga" and
what is the interpretation of "rAga" here -- scale or color/beauty/passion?
Thanks in advance.

By the way, P. Sambamoorthy's  statement, "When the word 'raga' with all its
fuller melodic connotion and significance came into use in the post-Bharata
period, the earlier word 'jAti' naturally lost all importance" (South Indian
Music, Book V, p. 57) does not help.

Regards
S. Palaniappan