Kirtan

Kirtan (Sanskrit and Punjabi: कीर्तन) means praise or celebration, from a root meaning to declare, to recite, or to celebrate. In religious usage the term names devotional singing or chanting of sacred words and names. The practice is central in Sikh, Hindu, and broader South Asian devotional life.

kirtan is both an aesthetic and spiritual practice rather than background music for ritual.

In Sikh tradition, kirtan is the central act of worship in the gurdwara. The compositions in the Guru Granth Sahib are organized by raga (musical mode), and singing them in the prescribed musical settings is part of the religious meaning. The scripture itself directs that its content be sung. Trained musicians (ragis) perform kirtan in gurdwaras worldwide, with the congregation often joining specific refrains. Major occasions involve extended kirtan, sometimes lasting through the night.

In Hindu bhakti traditions, kirtan involves devotional singing of the names and attributes of God, often in call-and-response form with a leader and congregation. The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition associated with Chaitanya (16th century) and continued in modern movements including the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) developed kirtan extensively, with the maha-mantra (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare) as central practice. South Indian kirtan traditions are also significant, with figures including Tyagaraja shaping Carnatic devotional music.

Kirtan is both aesthetic and spiritual practice. The music is taken seriously as music; performers train extensively. But the music is not for performance alone. Kirtan creates the conditions for devotional experience, community participation, and absorbed attention to the sacred. In Sikh and Hindu accounts, kirtan transforms the singer and listener; it is contemplative practice in musical form, not entertainment with religious themes.

In modern global contexts, kirtan has spread beyond traditional religious settings. Yoga studios in many countries host kirtan evenings; figures including Krishna Das have brought Hindu kirtan to wider audiences. The relationship between traditional kirtan within its religious framework and modern kirtan in secular settings is itself a topic of conversation.

Studies of kirtan have produced literature across South Asian musicology, religious studies, and the anthropology of devotional practice[1]. Studies of Sikh kirtan by Bob van der Linden and others, and studies of Gaudiya Vaishnava kirtan by Guy L. Beck and others[2], have built the field.

• Music in the Hindu Traditionby Guy L. Beck
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• Music and Empire in Britain and Indiaby Bob van der Linden
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