kīrtana

kīrtana, form of musical worship or group devotion practiced by the Vaiṣṇava sects (followers of the god Vishnu) of Bengal. Kīrtana usually consists of a verse sung by a soloist and then repeated by a chorus, to the accompaniment of percussion instruments. Sometimes the singing gives way to the recitation of a religious poem, the repetition of God’s name (nāma-kīrtana), or dancing. Frequently the kīrtana songs describe the relationship between the human soul and God in terms of the love of the divine cowherder Krishna and his favourite, Rādhā. An evening of kīrtana may last for several hours, often bringing about in the participants a state of religious exaltation. Kīrtana as a form of worship was popularized by the 15th–16th-century Bengal mystic Caitanya, who continually strove for more direct emotional experience of God.