Chaitanya Vaishnava Perspectives of the Bengali Khol: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

This article studies the khol, a double-headed barrel drum, prominent in the music-culture of Bengal in Eastern India. Though present in the performance practice of several genres of Bengali music, the khol occupies a place of unique importance in Chaitanya Vaishnava praxis, as its sounds are an essential ingredient in the daily liturgical services in Vaishnava temples throughout South Asia and elsewhere. In this respect, the khol, alternatively referred to as the m®daõga, is viewed as the sine qua non form of rhythmic accompaniment in the context of Chaitanya Vaishnava kîrtana (kirtan), the primary form of musical expression for devotees. Indeed, for Chaitanya Vaishnava musicians, the history of the khol is inextricably woven into the histories of the tradition’s founder, Ûrî Krishna
Chai­tanya (1486–1533 C.E.), as khol drummers cite its role in the kirtans depicted in medieval biographies