Wiktionary
n. (context music English) A type of Indian devotional song.
Wikipedia
A bhajan literally means "sharing". It also refers to any song with religious theme or spiritual ideas, in a regional Indian language.
A Bhajan has no prescribed form, or set rules, is in free form, normally lyrical and based on melodic ragas. It belongs to a genre of music and arts that developed with the Bhakti movement. It is found in the various traditions of Hinduism but particularly in Vaishnavism, in Jainism, and as Shabad Kirtan form in Sikhism.
Ideas from scriptures, legendary epics, the teachings of saints and loving devotion to a deity are the typical subjects of bhajans. It is usually a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing. A bhajan may be sung in a temple, in a home, under a tree in open, near a river bank or a place of historic significance.
The saints of the Bhakti movement are credited with pioneering many forms of bhajans, starting with the South Indian bhakti pioneers, but bhajans have been widely composed anonymously and shared as a musical and arts tradition. Its genre 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.
Usage examples of "bhajan".
The Bengali Kirtan in fact resembles very much the Bhajans and Kathas common in the Mara.
Saivite bhajans as they worked at the raft fell slowly behind until they were mere murmurs on the wind, ghostly hints of human presence, felt rather than actually heard.
The light from the ashram lanterns faded gradually, and the sound of the brahmacharyas chanting Saivite bhajans as they worked at the raft fell slowly behind until they were mere murmurs on the wind, ghostly hints of human presence, felt rather than actually heard.
The light from the ashram lanterns faded gradually, and the sound of the brahmacharyas chanting Saivite bhajans as they worked at the raft fell slowly behind until they were mere murmurs on the wind, ghostly hints of human presence, felt rather than actually heard.
The Bengali Kirtan in fact resembles very much the Bhajans and Kathas common in the Mara.