Singing of poems or hymns in Indian traditions
Bhajan
refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among
Dharmic religions
, in any language.
[1]
The term
bhajanam
(
Sanskrit
: ?????) means
reverence
and originates from the root word
bhaj
(Sanskrit: ???), which means
to revere
, as in 'Bhaja Govindam' (
Revere Govinda
)
.
The term
bhajana
also means
sharing
.
The term bhajan is also commonly used to refer a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing.
[2]
Normally, bhajans are accompanied by percussion instruments such as
tabla
,
dholak
or a
tambourine
. Handheld small
cymbals
(
kartals
) are also commonly used to maintain the beat. A bhajan may be sung in a
temple
, in a home, under a tree in the open, near a river bank or a place of historic significance.
[3]
Having no prescribed form, or set rules, bhajans are normally lyrical and based on melodic
ragas
.
[4]
It belongs to a genre of music and arts that developed during the
Bhakti movement
.
[1]
It is found in the various traditions of
Hinduism
as well as
Jainism
. Within Hinduism, bhajans are particularly prevalent in
Vaishnavism
.
[1]
Ideas from scriptures, legendary epics, the teachings of saints and loving devotion to a
deity
are typical subjects in bhajans.
[4]
Bhajans have been widely composed anonymously and shared as a musical and arts tradition. Genres such as Nirguni, Gorakhanathi, Vallabhapanthi, Ashtachhap, Madhura-bhakti and the traditional South Indian form Sampradya Bhajan each have their own repertoire and methods of singing.
[5]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The Sanskrit word
bhajan
or
bhajana
is derived from the root
bhaj
, which means "divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to".
[6]
[7]
[8]
The word also connotes "attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation".
[9]
Hinduism
[
edit
]
Historical roots
[
edit
]
In Hinduism,
Bhajan
and its Bhakti term
Kirtan
, have roots in the ancient metric and musical traditions of the Vedic era, particularly the
Samaveda
. The Samaveda
Samhita
is not meant to be
read
as a text, but sung as it is like a musical score sheet that must be
heard
.
[10]
Other late Vedic texts mention the two scholars
Shilalin
(
IAST
: ?il?lin) and
Krishashva
(IAST: K??a?va), credited to be pioneers in the studies of ancient drama, singing and dance.
[11]
The art schools of Shilalin and Krishashva may have been associated with the performance of Vedic rituals, which involved story telling with embedded ethical values.
[11]
The Vedic traditions integrated rituals with performance arts, such as a dramatic play, where not only praises to gods were recited or sung, but the dialogues were part of a dramatic representation and discussion of spiritual themes.
[13]
A lyric from a Hindu Bhajan
This body is but a guest of four days,
a house made of dirt.
On this earth your mark is made,
a symbol of your good work.
? Translated by David N. Lorenzen
[15]
The Vedas and Upanishads celebrate
Nada-Brahman
, where certain sounds are considered elemental, triggering emotional feelings without necessarily having a literal meaning, and this is deemed a sacred, liminal experience of the primeval ultimate reality and supreme truth.
[16]
[17]
[18]
This supreme truth is considered as full of bliss and
rasa
(emotional taste) in the Hindu thought, and melodic sound is considered a part of human spiritual experience.
[16]
Devotional music genres such as
Bhajan
are part of a tradition that emerged from these roots.
[16]
However, bhajans rose to prominence as a way of expressing fervent devotion to the divine, breaking down barriers of caste and society, during the Bhakti and Sant movements of medieval India (about the 6th to the 17th centuries).
By writing verses in a variety of regional languages, saints and poets like Kabir, Mirabai, Tulsidas, and Surdas played a crucial part in popularizing bhajans and making them understandable to a larger audience. Their
Bhajan lyrics
emphasized the universality of divine love while praising the intimate connection between the believer and the deity.
Hindu Bhajans
[
edit
]
A
Bhajan
in Hindu traditions is an informal, loosely structured devotional song with music in a regional language.
[19]
They are found all over India and Nepal, but are particularly popular among the
Vaishnav
traditions such as those driven by devotion to avatars of
Vishnu
such as
Krishna
,
Rama
,
Vitthal
and
Narayana
(often with their consorts).
[1]
[19]
In Southern India, Bhajanais follow a tradition (Sampradaya) called the
Dakshina Bharatha Sampradaya Bhajanai
. This involves a tradition that has been followed for the last several centuries and includes Songs/Krithis/Lyrics from great composers all over India encompassing many Indian languages.
[20]
A
Bhajan
may be sung individually, but more commonly together as a choral event wherein the lyrics include religious or spiritual themes in the local language.
[1]
[4]
Bhajans often describe loving devotion to a deity, legends from the Epics or the Puranas, compositions of
Bhakti movement
saints, or spiritual themes from Hindu scriptures.
[21]
The Bhajans in many Hindu traditions are a form of congregational singing and bonding, that gives the individual an opportunity to share in the music-driven spiritual and liturgical experience as well as the community a shared sense of identity, wherein people share food, meet and reconnect.
[22]
B
hajans
have played a significant role in community organization in 19th and 20th century colonial era, when Indian workers were brought to distant lands such as
Trinidad
,
Fiji
and
South Africa
as cheap labor on plantations.
[23]
[24]
[25]
Some
Bhajans
are centuries old, popular on a pan-regional basis, passed down as a community tradition, while others are newly composed. Everyone in the Hindu tradition are free to compose a
Bhajan
with whatever ideas or in praise of any deity of their wish. But since they are sung, they typically follow meters of classical Indian music, the raga and the tala to go with the musical instruments.
[26]
They are sung in open air, inside temples such as those of Swaminarayan movement, in Vaishnava monasteries, during festivals or special events, and at pilgrimage sites.
[22]
There are some terms related to bhajan. Bhajansimran and Bhajankirtan help a disciple to achieve the higher reverence towards God.
Bhajan versus Kirtan in the Hindu traditions
[
edit
]
A
Bhajan
is closely related to
Kirtan
, with both sharing common aims, subjects, musical themes and being devotional performance arts. A
Bhajan
is more free in form, and can be singular melody that is performed by a single singer with or without one and more musical instruments.
Kirtan
, in contrast, differs in being a more structured team performance, typically with a
call and response
musical structure, similar to an intimate conversation or gentle sharing of ideas, and it includes two or more musical instruments,
[27]
[28]
with roots in the
prosody
principles of the Vedic era.
[29]
Many
Kirtan
are structured for more audience participation, where the singer calls a spiritual chant, a hymn, a mantra or a theme, the audience then responds back by repeating the chant or by chanting back a reply of their shared beliefs.
[30]
[31]
A
Bhajan
, in contrast, is either experienced in silence or a "sing along".
[27]
[32]
Jainism
[
edit
]
Stavan
is a form of popular and historically pervasive genre of devotional music in
Jainism
.
[33]
The subject of a
Stavan
varies, ranging from praise of Jina, Jain religious ideas and its philosophy, in a manner similar to
Bhakti
Bhajans.
[33]
Jainism rejects any Creator god, but accepts protector deities and rebirth of souls as heavenly beings, and its devotional singing traditions integrate these beliefs.
Stavan
may include dancing and worship rituals. Known as
Bhajan
in north and west Indian regional languages, a
Stavan
is typically sung as folk melodies by groups of Jain women, and are a formal part of ceremonies and celebrations within Jainism.
[34]
Buddhism
[
edit
]
Numerous Buddhist traditions use vocal music with instrumental accompaniment as part of their rituals and devotional practices.
[35]
[36]
Buddhist vocal music and chanting is often part of Buddhist
rituals
and
festivals
in which they may be seen as offerings to the Buddha.
[37]
In
South Asia
, there are still several traditions of Buddhist bhajan singing. One is the
Newari Buddhist
Gunl? B?jan
tradition, which has a long history.
Bengali Barua Buddhists also have a tradition of singing songs in the vernacular, which they call
Buddha-samkirtan
or
Buddha kirtan.
[38]
[39]
There is also a more recent tradition of Indian Buddhist bhajans which has become popular among recent Indian converts to Buddhism.
Sri Lankan Buddhists
also have their own tradition of bhajans and Buddhist songs.
Sikhism
[
edit
]
The Sikh tradition places major emphasis on devotional worship to one formless God, and
Bhajans
are a part of this worship.
[40]
A more common form of community singing is called
Shabad Kirtan
in Sikhism.
[4]
[2]
A
Shabad Kirtan
is performed by professional religious musicians, wherein
bani
('word', or 'hymns') from the Sikh scripture are sung to a certain raga and tala.
[41]
Modern composers and singers of Bhajans
[
edit
]
A modern Bhajan has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a
mantra
or
kirtan
or as sophisticated as the
dhrupad
,
thumri
or
kriti
with music based on
classical
ragas
and
talas
.
[42]
V. D. Paluskar
and
V. N. Bhatkhande
have combined
Indian classical music
with bhajan.
Pandit Kumar Gandharva
made famous the Nirguni Bhajans of
Sant Kabir
and Malwa Region. The dancer
Mallika Sarabhai
has produced performances based on bhajans. Abhinaya Chakravathi Sri JS Eswara Prasad Rao of Hyderabad, who is the disciple of AL Krishnamurthy Bhagavathar, Pudukkottai system, has produced performances based on Sampradaya bhajans under the title "Nitrya Sankeerthnam".
[
citation needed
]
Bhajans of
Vaishnavism
,
Shaivism
,
Shaktism
traditions, Vedic mantras and Yoga chants have been composed, published in Western musical sheet format or recorded by western singers such as
Krishna Das
,
Deva Premal
,
Miten
, and by various West Indies singers influenced by East Indian heritage.
[43]
[44]
[45]
The
Stavan
compositions and literature of the Jainism tradition are extensive, with a historic overview provided by
Sri Sudhara Stavan Sangrah
, traditionally preserved in "puja box" by Jain families.
[46]
It is vectored text with Jain lyrics and is canonically inspired.
[46]
Kripalu Maharaj
is one of the modern era bhakti leaders and bhajan-kirtan composers.
[47]
He has composed eleven thousand one hundred and eleven
doha
(couplets) on the
leela
of
Radha and Krishna
, and the
devotional
philosophy called
Radha Govind Geet
; 1008
pad
(songs) called
Prem Ras Madira
; hundreds of
kirtan
in the form of
Yugal Shatak
and
Yugal Ras
and twelve
pad
which fully describe the beauty and the decorations of Krishna, and thirteen
pad
which describe the beauty and the decorations of Radha called
Shree Krishn Dwadashi
and
Shree Radha Trayodashi
.
[48]
Renditions of Shree Maharaji's
bhajans
and
kirtans
have been recorded by well-known singers in India such as
Manna Dey
,
[49]
Ajnish
,
Anuradha Paudwal
and
Anup Jalota
.
[50]
[51]
In the olden days,
Sants
such as
Mirabai
,
Surdas
, and
Narsinh Mehta
composed several bhajans that are universally sung even today.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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d
e
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- ^
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- ^
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Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Bhajan
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