Hindu music
Encyclopedia
Hindu music is music
created for or influenced by Hinduism
. It includes Indian classical music
Kirtan
Bhajan
and other musical genres.
Raagas are a common way of Hindu music in classical India.
The most common Hindu bhajan in North India is "Om Jai Jagdish Hare."
Gods are religiously chanted to often include Vishnu
and his incarnations, Shiva
and the Goddess (Parvati
, Shakti
, Vaishnodevi).
Very common scale in Hindu music is 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, which can be harmonized
into a chord progression
devotional song
, often of ancient origin. Bhajans are often simple songs in lyrical language expressing emotions of love for the Divine
, whether for a single God
/Goddess
, or any number of divinities. Many bhajans feature several names and aspects of the chosen deity, especially in the case of Hindu sahasranama
s, which list a divinity's 1008 names. Great importance is attributed to the singing of bhajans with Bhakti
, i.e. loving devotion. "Rasanam Lakshanam Bhajanam" means the act by which we feel more closer to our inner self or God, is a bhajan. Acts which are done for the God is called bhajan.
Traditionally, the music has been Indian classical music
, which is based on raga
s and tala
(rhythmic beat patterns) played on the Veena
(or Been
), Sarangi
Venu
(flute), Mridanga(or Tabla
) (traditional Indian instruments). The Sikh Scripture contains 31 raga
s and 17 tala
s which form the basis for kirtan music compositions.
Hindus are even said to have achieved Moksha
through devoting music to God. For example in the Rig Veda Gargi, the wife of Yajnavalkya
, through her excellence in veena playing, an incident that caused Sage Yagnavalkya to write the famous verse:
("Yagnavalkya Siksha")
There have also been several music-saints (e.g. Sant Tyagaraja
) and poet-saints (e.g. Sant Ravidas).
s, often with instruments and dance. Kirtans are deeply rooted in Vedic tradition.
tradition, the Vedas
. Samaveda
, one of the four Vedas, describes music
at length.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
created for or influenced by Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. It includes Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
Kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
Bhajan
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
and other musical genres.
Raagas are a common way of Hindu music in classical India.
The most common Hindu bhajan in North India is "Om Jai Jagdish Hare."
Gods are religiously chanted to often include Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and his incarnations, Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and the Goddess (Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
, Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
, Vaishnodevi).
Very common scale in Hindu music is 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, which can be harmonized
Harmonized scale
In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads"....
into a chord progression
Bhajan
A bhajan is a HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
devotional song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, often of ancient origin. Bhajans are often simple songs in lyrical language expressing emotions of love for the Divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
, whether for a single God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
/Goddess
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
, or any number of divinities. Many bhajans feature several names and aspects of the chosen deity, especially in the case of Hindu sahasranama
Sahasranama
A sahasranama is a type of Hindu scripture in which a deity is referred to by 1,000 or more different names. Sahasranamas are classified as stotras, or hymns of praise, a type of devotional scripture. Sahasra means a thousand, or more generally, a very large number. Nama means name...
s, which list a divinity's 1008 names. Great importance is attributed to the singing of bhajans with Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
, i.e. loving devotion. "Rasanam Lakshanam Bhajanam" means the act by which we feel more closer to our inner self or God, is a bhajan. Acts which are done for the God is called bhajan.
Traditionally, the music has been Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
, which is based on raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s and tala
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
(rhythmic beat patterns) played on the Veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
(or Been
Rudra veena
See also veenaThe rudra veena is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It is an ancient instrument rarely played today...
), Sarangi
Sarangi
The Sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India which is originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition...
Venu
Venu
The venu is a bamboo transverse flute used in the Carnatic music of South India. Although it is often called Carnatic flute or simply flute in English, venu is the instrument's ancient Sanskrit name...
(flute), Mridanga(or Tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
) (traditional Indian instruments). The Sikh Scripture contains 31 raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s and 17 tala
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
s which form the basis for kirtan music compositions.
Hindus are even said to have achieved Moksha
Moksha
Within Indian religions, moksha or mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.-Origins:It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in...
through devoting music to God. For example in the Rig Veda Gargi, the wife of Yajnavalkya
Yajnavalkya
Yajnavalkya of Mithila was a legendary sage of Vedic India, credited with the authorship of the Shatapatha Brahmana , besides Yogayajnavalkya Samhita and the Yājñavalkya Smṛti...
, through her excellence in veena playing, an incident that caused Sage Yagnavalkya to write the famous verse:
-
- "Veena Vadama Tatvagnaha
-
- Sruthi Jathi Visharada
-
- Talagnanacha Aprayasena
-
- Mokshamargam Gachachathi"
("Yagnavalkya Siksha")
There have also been several music-saints (e.g. Sant Tyagaraja
Tyagaraja
Kakarla Tyagabrahmam , colloquially known as Tyāgarājar and Tyagayya was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music or classical South Indian music. He, along with his contemporaries Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastry, forms the Trinity of Carnatic music...
) and poet-saints (e.g. Sant Ravidas).
Kirtan
This is the communal, call-and-response chanting of mantraMantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s, often with instruments and dance. Kirtans are deeply rooted in Vedic tradition.
Indian Classical Music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, part of the HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
tradition, the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
. Samaveda
Samaveda
The Sama veda , is second of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1700 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda...
, one of the four Vedas, describes music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
at length.