Hinduism Kirtan

1 hinduism

1.1 vaishnavism
1.2 carnatic traditions
1.3 bhajan versus kirtan

hinduism

the vedic sage narada has been called kirtana singer in puranas.

musical recitation of hymns, mantras , praise of deities has ancient roots in hinduism, evidenced samaveda , other vedic literature.

kirtana popularized bhakti movement of medieval era hinduism, starting south indian alvars (vaishnavism) , nayanars (shaivism) around 6th century, spread in central, northern, western , eastern india particularly after 12th century, social , congregational response hindu-muslim conflicts. foundations of kirtana traditions found in other hindu scriptures such bhagavad-gita krishna describes multiple paths spiritual freedom, including karma marga (way of works), jnana marga (way of knowledge) , bhakti marga (way of loving devotion god). kirtana relates bhakti marga tradition of hinduism. references kirtana musical recitation found in bhagavata purana, important vaishnava text.

kirtana practiced kind of theatrical folk song call-and-response chanting or antiphon. ancient sage narada revered musical genius, called kirtankar (singer of kirtana) in padma purana. famous story of prahlada in avatara katha mentions kirtana 1 of 9 forms of worship, called nava vidha bhakti along shravanam (listening), smaranam (remembrance), pada sevanam (service), archanam (offering), vandanam (obeisance), dasyam (servitude), sakhyam (friendship) , atmanivedanam (surrender). so-called naradiya kirtana divides kirtana 5 parts: naman (prayers), purvaranga (spiritual lesson based on old epics), chanting, katha or akhyan (exegesis) , final prayer universal welfare.

vaishnavism

some vaishnavism sub-traditions believe in public kirtana performance, songs , dance. painting of 19th-century performance chaitanya group in bengal.

kirtan genre of religious music has been major part of vaishnavism tradition, particularly starting alvars of sri vaishnavism sub-tradition between 7th 10th century ce. after 13th-century, 2 subgenres of kirtana emerged in vaishnavism, namely nama-kirtana wherein different names or aspects of god (a vishnu avatar) extolled, , lila- kirtana wherein deity s life , legends narrated.

the varkari saint namdev (c. 1270–1350) used kirtana form of singing praise glory of god vithoba, avatar of vishnu. marathi kirtana typically performed 1 or 2 main performers, called kirtankar, accompanied harmonium , tabla. involves singing, acting, dancing, , story-telling. based on poetry of 7 famous saints of maharashtra; nivruttinath, dnyaneshwar, sopandev, muktabai, eknath, namdev , tukaram. jugalbandi kirtan performed 2 persons, allowing question-answer, dialogue , debate. performance requires skill in music, dance, comedy, oratory, debate, memory, general knowledge , sanskrit literature. training takes place @ kirtan kul in sangli, akhil bharatiya kirtan sanstha in dadar, mumbai, narad mandir @ sadashiv peth, pune , kalidas mahavidyalay in ramtek, nagpur @ smaller schools in goa, beed , ujjain.

many krishna-related kirtana center around childhood , amorous love stories youth.

in 16th century ce chaitanya mahaprabhu popularized adolescent krishna based san-kirtana in bengal, hare krishna mantra , other songs, wherein love between radha , krishna symbolized love between 1 s soul , god. same time, shankaradeva in assam inspired neo-vaishnavite bhakti movement emphasized advaita vedanta philosophy within framework of bhagavata purana , vaishnavism. shankaradeva helped establish sattras (hindu temples , monasteries) kirtan-ghar (also called namghar), singing , dramatic performance of krishna-related theosophy. elsewhere, in vrindavan of braj region (mathura), vallabha launched kirtana singing devotional movement around stories of baby krishna , childhood, in 16th century.

carnatic traditions

in andhra pradesh,the compositions of tallapaka annamacharya, 14th-century mystic, represent earliest known music called sankirtana. wrote in praise of lord venkateswara, deity of 7 hills in tirumala, unbroken worship has been offered on twelve centuries @ tirumala venkateswara temple.

annamcharya believed incarnation of lord venkateswara s sword. during long , prolific career, reputedly composed , sang 32,000 sankirtanas , 12 shatakas (sets of hundred verses). works in telugu , sanskrit.

bhajan versus kirtan

a kirtan , bhajan closely related, both sharing common aims, subjects, musical themes , being devotional performance arts. bhajan more free form, can singular melody performed single singer or without 1 , more musical instruments. kirtan, in contrast, differs in being more structured team performance, typically call , response musical structure, similar intimate conversation or gentle sharing of ideas, , includes 2 or more musical instruments, roots in prosody principles of vedic era.

many kirtan structured more audience participation, singer calls spiritual chant, hymn or devotional theme such vaishnavism, audience responds repeating chant or chanting reply of shared beliefs.