Kauthuvam: Textual References And Interpretations

Dublin Core

Title

Creator

Publisher

The Department of Indian Music
School of Fine & Performing Arts
University of Madras, Chepauk
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India - 600 005

Date

June 2025

Format

Portable Document Format

Language

English

Type

Article

Abstract

Kauthuvam is an invocatory item in Bharatanāṭyam recitals. It is a hymn, a song of devotion in praise of a deity. It was said to be performed by the devādasi as part of the daily rituals, on special occasions during the festivals. It was initially used to invoke blessings and create a spiritual atmosphere for the performance. This article is a study of Kauthuvam and its evolution, from the history of Kauthuvam to devadāsi tradition, where the reference is taken from Nityasumaṅgalī and an effort is made to find the relevance of Kauthuvam in the older times with the help of reference text like Cilappatikāram and Tolkāppiyam.

Bibliographic Citation

Vanidas Chakingal. (2025). Kauthuvam: Textual References And Interpretations. Smṛti - A Bi-annual Peer Reviewed Journal on Fine & Performing Arts, 5(1), 20–36.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16811304

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Collection

Volume V | Issue 1 | June 2025

Citation

Vanidas Chakingal, “Kauthuvam: Textual References And Interpretations,” Smṛti - A Bi-Annual Peer Reviewed Journal on Fine & Performing Arts , accessed January 21, 2026, https://smrti.omeka.net/items/show/86.

Kauthuvam: Textual References And Interpretations

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