Mystical systems
Kirtan
Direct answer
Kirtan is devotional singing in call and response: a leader sings a line of divine names or a hymn, and the gathering sings it back, to drum, cymbals and harmonium.
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At a glance
- Also called
- call and response chanting
- Found in
- Mystical Systems
- Related
- Bhajan, Mantra, Japa, Dhikr
Kirtan is devotional singing in call and response: a leader sings a line of divine names or a hymn, and the gathering sings it back, to drum, cymbals and harmonium.
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What is kirtan?
Kirtan comes from a Sanskrit word for telling or praising. In practice it is a gathering in which a leader sings a short line, most often names of God, and everyone answers with the same line. The tune is simple, the pace usually builds, and the instruments are a drum, hand cymbals and often a harmonium. It may last minutes or go on through a night.
In the Vaishnava traditions of India kirtan of the names of Krishna and Rama is held to be the simplest and fullest worship for the present age. In Sikhism, kirtan means the singing of the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib and is the centre of every service. Since the 1960s it has also been sung in Western yoga halls, often apart from any temple.
On the tree of the hidden arts: Sound and mantra.
What sets Kirtan apart
The form is the point. Because every line is sung twice, once by the leader and once by all, nobody needs to know the words beforehand, read music or sing well, and a newcomer is taking part within a minute. The pace is built to rise: a slow opening, a gradual quickening, a peak and a quiet close. Chaitanya's followers hold that in this age the singing of the names is itself the whole of religious practice, while in a gurdwara kirtan is the reverent singing of scripture by trained musicians, with the congregation listening and joining.
- Word: Sanskrit kirtana, telling, praising or celebrating
- Form: call and response between a leader and the gathering
- Instruments: mridanga or tabla, hand cymbals and harmonium
- Shaped by: Chaitanya of Bengal, 1486 to 1534
- In Sikh worship: hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, sung in their set ragas
- Reached the West: New York, 1965, with A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami; his society dates from 1966
Often mistaken for something else: A concert is given to an audience that listens; in kirtan there is no audience, since everyone present sings the reply.
The story behind Kirtan
Congregational singing in the spoken languages spread with the bhakti movements from about the sixth century. Chaitanya, born in Bengal in 1486 and settled at Puri in Odisha until his death in 1534, led singing processions through the streets and made the chanting of Krishna's names the heart of his teaching. Guru Nanak, his contemporary in the Punjab, composed hymns to be sung, and the Sikh scripture is arranged by musical mode. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami brought Chaitanya's tradition to New York in 1965 and founded his society there in 1966, and recordings by Western singers from the 1990s carried the form to a wider public.
Why Kirtan matters
Kirtan shows that chant is not only a private discipline: for millions it is a shared act of worship, and its effect on a room is plain to anyone present.
How to read Kirtan
The word helps a reader tell a sung gathering from silent repetition, and Hindu kirtan from the Sikh singing of scripture that shares the name.
Kirtan in practice: an example
In a temple hall a singer gives out a line of names, the room returns it, and the drum gathers speed until everyone is on their feet.
Where readings of Kirtan go wrong
Kirtan is worship for those who hold it, and a visitor is a guest. What group singing does for mood says nothing about whom the names reach.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Mystical Systems
- Aliases
- kirtana, sankirtan, call and response chanting, kirtan singing
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
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Common questions
What is kirtan?
Kirtan is devotional singing in call and response. A leader sings a line, usually names of God, and the gathering sings it back, with drum, cymbals and harmonium.
Is kirtan Hindu or Sikh?
Both, in different senses. In Hindu traditions it is the group singing of divine names; in Sikhism it is the singing of the hymns of the scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, and is central to worship.
Does a person have to believe to join a kirtan?
Most gatherings welcome anyone who comes respectfully. Visitors follow the customs of the place, such as removing shoes or covering the head, and may sing or simply listen.
