Borgeet
Also called: Bargeet · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Borgeets, or Bargeets, are devotional songs from Assam. The name means "great songs". Shankaradeva and his disciple Madhavadeva composed them in the late 15th and 16th centuries. They are written in Brajavali, a literary language that mixes Assamese with Maithili. Each song is set to a classical raga, a fixed musical scale. They praise Krishna, who is worshipped as a form of Vishnu. They are an important part of Assam's Vaishnava (Vishnu-worshipping) tradition and of its musical heritage.
Example
Even today, borgeets are sung during prayers in the satras (monasteries) and naam ghars (village prayer halls) that Shankaradeva's movement set up across Assam.
Don't confuse with
- Kirtana-ghosha: This is Shankaradeva's major work of devotional verse. It is a book of verses, not the separate group of raga-based songs called borgeets.