Kirtan
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Kirtana, also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara.
Sikh kirtan with Indian harmoniums and tabla drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s)
Painting of a Gaudiya Vaishnava kirtan in Bengal. Some traditions practice public kirtan.
The Vedic sage Narada is depicted as a great kirtan singer in the Hindu Puranas.
A modern painting of a mahasankirtan scene from the Bhagavata Purana
Bhakti movement
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The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th century CE, it gained prominence through the poems and teachings of the Vaishnava Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars before spreading northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
The Vaishnavite Saint Nammalvar. He is one of the most prominent of the 12 Alvars of the Vaishnavism Bhakti movement.
A copper alloy sculpture of a Shiva Bhakti practitioner from Tamil Nadu (11th Century or later).
Nammalvar (c. 798 CE), one of the Tamil Alvars and author of the Tiruvaymoli and the Tiruviruttam
Nayanars gallery at the Thiruthalinathar Shiva temple, Tiruppathur, a Shaiva Siddhanta temple. One important foundation of the Shaiva Siddhantha tradition is the Shaiva bhakti of the Nayanars.