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Bhakti (; Pali: bhatti) is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, Sanskrit Dictionary, 1899. In Indian religions, it may refer to loving devotion for a Ishvara (like Krishna or Devi), a formless ultimate reality (like Nirguna Brahman or the Waheguru) or an enlightened being (like a The Buddha, a bodhisattva, or a guru). Bhakti, Encyclopædia Britannica (2009)Karen Pechelis (2011), "Bhakti Traditions", in The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies (Editors: Jessica Frazier, Gavin Flood), Bloomsbury, , pp. 107–121 Bhakti is often a deeply emotional devotion based on a relationship between a devotee and the object of devotion., Quote: "The foundations of emotional devotionalism (bhakti) were laid in south India in the second half of the first millennium of our era (...)".
One of the earliest appearances of the term is found in the early Buddhist Theragatha ( Verses of the Elders). In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga.John Lochtefeld (2014), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing (New York), , pp. 98–100. Also see articles on bhaktimārga and jnanamārga.
Bhakti ideas have inspired many popular texts and saint-poets in India. The Bhagavata Purana, for example, is a Krishna-related text associated with the Bhakti movement in Hinduism. Bhakti is also found in other religions practiced in India, and it has influenced interactions between Christianity and Hinduism in the modern era.A. Frank Thompson (1993), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters (Editor: Harold Coward), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, , pp. 176–186Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , see Introduction chapter Nirguni bhakti (devotion to the divine without attributes) is found in Sikhism, as well as Hinduism. Outside India, emotional devotion is found in some and Buddhist traditions.
The term also refers to Bhakti movement, pioneered by the Tamils Alvars and Nayanars, that developed around the gods Vishnu (Vaishnavism), Shiva (Shaivism) and Devi (Shaktism) in the second half of the 1st millennium CE.Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 120.
Devotional elements similar to bhakti have been part of various world religions throughout human history.Michael Pasquier (2011), The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, Wiley-Blackwell, , See article on Devotionalism and Devotional Literature, Devotional practices are found in Christianity,L. D. Nelson and Russell R. Dynes (1976), The Impact of Devotionalism and Attendance on Ordinary and Emergency Helping Behavior, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 15, No. 1, pages 47-59 Islam,GJ Larson, India's Agony Over Religion: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education, SUNY Press, , page 116Roxanne Leslie Euben and Muhammad Qasim Zaman (2009), Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought, Princeton University Press, , pages 21-23 BuddhismMinoru Kiyota (1985), Tathāgatagarbha Thought: A Basis of Buddhist Devotionalism in East Asia, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2/3, pages 207-231Pori Park (2012), Devotionalism Reclaimed: Re-mapping Sacred Geography in Contemporary Korean Buddhism, Journal of Korean Religions, Vol. 3, No. 2, pages 153-171Allan Andrews (1993), Lay and Monastic Forms of Pure Land Devotionalism: Typology and History, Numen, Vol. 40, No. 1, pages 16-37 and Judaism.Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo (1998), The Evolution of Marian Devotionalism within Christianity and the Ibero-Mediterranean Polity, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 37, No. 1, pages 50-73
. The word also means "attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation". bhakti Sanskrit English Dictionary, University of Koeln, Germany
The meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous to but different from Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love. Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection.Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 19-21 Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, but as committed engagement. She adds that, in the concept of bhakti in Hinduism, the engagement involves a simultaneous tension between emotion and intellection, "emotion to reaffirm the social context and temporal freedom, intellection to ground the experience in a thoughtful, conscious approach". One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , page 3
The term bhakti, in Vedas Sanskrit literature, has a general meaning of "mutual attachment, devotion, fondness for, devotion to" such as in human relationships, most often between beloved-lover, friend-friend, king-subject, parent-child. It may refer to devotion towards a spiritual teacher (Guru) as guru-bhakti, or to a personal God, or for spirituality without form (nirguna).Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , page 21
According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist scholar Sanath Nanayakkara, there is no single term in English that adequately translates or represents the concept of bhakti in Indian religions. Terms such as "devotion, faith, devotional faith" represent certain aspects of bhakti, but it means much more. The concept includes a sense of deep affection, attachment, but not wish because "wish is selfish, affection is unselfish". Some scholars, states Nanayakkara, associate it with saddha (Sanskrit: Sraddha) which means "faith, trust or confidence". However, bhakti can connote an end in itself, or a path to spiritual wisdom.
The term Bhakti refers to one of several alternate spiritual paths to moksha (spiritual freedom, liberation, salvation) in Hinduism, and it is referred to as bhakti marga or bhakti yoga.Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 14-15, 37-38 The other paths are Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Karma marga (path of works), Rāja marga (path of contemplation and meditation).John Martin Sahajananda (2014), Fully Human Fully Divine, Partridge India, , page 60KN Tiwari (2009), Comparative Religion, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 31
The term bhakti has been usually translated as "devotion" in Orientalism literature.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 15-24 The colonial era authors variously described Bhakti as a form of mysticism or "primitive" religious devotion of lay people with monotheistic parallels.Paul Carus, , pages 514-515DG Mandelbaum (1966), Transcendental and Pragmatic Aspects of Religion, American Anthropologist, 68(5), pages 1174–1191DC Scott (1980), Hindu and Christian Bhakti: A Common Human Response to the Sacred, Indian Journal of Theology, 29(1), pages 12-32 However, modern scholars state "devotion" is a misleading and incomplete translation of bhakti. (2025). 9780028657356, Thomson Gale. ISBN 9780028657356
Many contemporary scholars have questioned this terminology, and most now trace the term bhakti as one of the several spiritual perspectives that emerged from reflections on the Vedic context and Hindu way of life. Bhakti in Indian religions is not a ritualistic devotion to a God or to religion, but participation in a path that includes behavior, ethics, mores and spirituality. It involves, among other things, refining one's state of mind, knowing God, participating in God, and internalizing God. Increasingly, instead of "devotion", the term "participation" is appearing in scholarly literature as a gloss for the term bhakti.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 23-24
Bhakti is an important term in Sikhism and Hinduism. They both share numerous concepts and core spiritual ideas, but bhakti of nirguni (devotion to divine without attributes) is particularly significant in Sikhism.Hardip Syan (2014), in The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (Editors: Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech), Oxford University Press, , page 178A Mandair (2011), Time and religion-making in modern Sikhism, in Time, History and the Religious Imaginary in South Asia (Editor: Anne Murphy), Routledge, , page 188-190 In Hinduism, diverse ideas continue, where both saguni and nirguni bhakti (devotion to divine with or without attributes) or alternate paths to spirituality are among the options left to the choice of a Hindu.
This verse is one of the earliest use of the word Bhakti in ancient Indian literature, and has been translated as "the love of God".WN Brown (1970), Man in the Universe: Some Continuities in Indian Thought, University of California Press, , pages 38-39 ScholarsPaul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 301-304Max Muller, The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages xxxii – xlii have debated whether this phrase is authentic or later insertion into the Upanishad, and whether the terms "Bhakti" and "Deva" meant the same in this ancient text as they do in the modern era. Max Muller states that the word Bhakti appears only once in this Upanishad, that too in one last verse of the epilogue, could have been a later addition and may not be theistic as the word was later used in much later Sandilya Sutras.Max Muller, The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages xxxiv and xxxvii Grierson as well as Carus note that the first epilogue verse 6.21 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad is also notable for its use of the word Deva Prasada (देवप्रसाद, grace or gift of God), but add that Deva in the epilogue of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad refers to "pantheistic Brahman" and the closing credit to sage Shvetashvatara in verse 6.21 can mean "gift or grace of his Soul".
The Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three possible religious approaches or (i.e. bhakti yoga).Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , page 5
The Bhagavata Purana (which focuses on Krishna bhakti) develops the idea more elaborately, while the Shvetashvatara Upanishad presents evidence of guru-bhakti (devotion to one's spiritual teacher).
Like the Alvars, the Shaivism Nayanar poets were influential. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns by sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets, Appar (7th century CE), Campantar (7th century) and Sundarar (9th century), were compiled into the Tevaram, the first volumes of the Tirumurai. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva. Early Tamil-Shiva bhakti poets quoted the Black Yajurveda.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 17-18 The Alvars and Nayanars were instrumental in propagating the Bhakti tradition. The Bhagavata Purana's references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis on bhakti, have led many scholars to give it South Indian origins, though some scholars question whether this evidence excludes the possibility that bhakti movement had parallel developments in other parts of India.
Scholars state that the bhakti movement focused on Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and other deities, that developed and spread in India, was in response to the arrival of Islam in India about 8th century CE,Note: The earliest arrival dates are contested by scholars. They range from 7th to 9th century, with Muslim traders settling in coastal regions of Indian peninsula, to Muslims seeking asylum in Tamil Nadu, to raids in northwest India by Muhammad bin Qasim. See: Annemarie Schimmel (1997), Islam in the Indian subcontinent, Brill Academic, , pages 3-7; Andre Wink (2004), Al-Hind: the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, and subsequent religious violence. This view is contested by other scholars.John Stratton Hawley (2015), A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement, Harvard University Press, , pages 39-61
The Bhakti movement swept over east and north India from the fifteenth-century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.Karine Schomer and WH McLeod (1987), The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 1-2 According to Patton Burchett, the four key features of this early modern bhakti movement in north India were:
First and foremost, these communities were united by a distinctive focus on personal devotion to the Divine, as opposed to other traditional pillars of Indic religiosity such as knowledge, ritual, or the practice of yoga or asceticism. This devotion took place in the context of an intimate, loving relationship with the Divine in which caste, class, or gender typically were said to have no place. This was a bhakti that found its most characteristic expression in (a) the context of spiritual fellowship (satsaṅg) with other devotees (bhaktas), (b) the medium of song, (c) the idiom of passionate love (śṛṅgāra/mādhurya) or painful separation (viraha), and (d) the remembrance—in meditation, recitation, chant, and song—of the name(s) of God. Second, these new devotional communities of Mughal India were alike in their production and performance of devotional works, composed in vernacular languages, remembering the deeds of God (especially Krishna and Rama) and exemplary bhaktas. Third, important in all these communities was the performance and collection of songs attributed to renowned bhakti poet-saints like Kabīr, Raidās, and Sūrdās. Finally, despite their many differences, the vast majority of bhakti authors and sectarian communities in early modern North India came together in articulating a devotional sensibility distinct from—and often explicitly positioned in opposition to—certain Tantra paradigms of religiosity.Burchett, Patton (2019)Bhakti poetry and ideas influenced many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society. It extended its influence to Sufism, Christianity, and Jainism. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century, during the bhakti movement period, and scholars have identified it as drawing from many Bhakti traditions and ideas.W. Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi (1997), A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy, Routledge, , page 22Genealogy of Devotion - Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India, pp. 2-3. Columbia University Press.
Saints such as Mirabai, Surdas, Narsinh Mehta composed several bhajans that were a path towards Bhakti for many, that are universally sung even today. A modern age saint, Shri Devendra Ghia (Kaka) has composed about 10,000 hymns. These hymns are related to bhakti, knowledge, devotion, faith, introspection and honesty.
The movement has traditionally been considered as an influential social reformation in Hinduism, and provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality regardless of one's birth caste or gender. Postmodernism scholars question this traditional view and whether the Bhakti movement were ever a social reform or rebellion of any kind.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 10-16 They suggest Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking and recontextualization of ancient Vedic traditions.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, , pages 15-16
The Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra define devotion, emphasize its importance and superiority, and classify its forms.
According to Ramana Maharshi, bhakti is a "surrender to the divine with one's heart". It can be practiced as an adjunct to self-inquiry, and in one of four ways:
The Bhagavata Purana describes many examples of bhakti, such as those exhibited by Prahlada and the . The behavior of the gopis in the Bhagavata Purana exemplifies the essence of bhakti. When separated from Krishna, the gopis practiced devotion by listening to his stories ( śravaṇa), praising his glorious deeds ( kīrtana), and other acts to keep him in their thoughts. Bhagavata Purana, 7.5.23-24
Several saints are known to have practiced these bhavas. The nineteenth century mystic, Ramakrishna is said to have practiced these five bhavas. The devotion of Hanuman towards Rama is considered to be of dasya bhava. The relationship of Arjuna and the cowherd boys of Vrindavan with Krishna is regarded as sakhya bhava. Radha's love towards Krishna is madhurya bhava. The affection of Krishna's foster-mother Yashoda towards him exemplifies vatsalya bhava. The Chaitanya Charitamrita mentions that Chaitanya came to distribute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and sringara. Sringara is the relationship of the intimate love.
One of the earliest form of Buddhist devotional practice was the early Buddhist tradition of worshiping the Buddha through the means of and bodily relics (sarira).Sukumar Dutt (1988). Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, p. 184. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. Later (after about the third century CE), devotion using Buddha images also became a very popular form of Buddha bhakti.Sukumar Dutt (1988). Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, p. 191. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher.
Sri Lankan scholar Indumathie Karunaratna notes that the meaning of bhatti changed throughout Buddhist history. In early Buddhist sources like the Theragatha, bhatti had the meaning of 'faithful adherence to the Buddhist religion', and was accompanied with knowledge. Later on, however, the term developed the meaning of an advanced form of emotional devotion. This sense of devotion was thus different than the early Buddhist view of faith.
According to Sanath Nanayakkara, early Buddhist refuge and devotion, meant taking the Buddha as an ideal to live by, rather than the later sense of self-surrender. But already in the atthakatha to the Abhidhamma text Puggalapaññatti, it is mentioned that the Buddhist devotee should develop his saddhā until it becomes bhaddi, a sense not mentioned in earlier texts and probably influenced by the Hindu idea of bhakti. There are instances where commentator Buddhaghosa mentions taking refuge in the Buddha in the sense of mere adoration, indicating a historical shift in meaning. Similar developments in Buddhist devotion took place with regards to worshipping the Buddha's relics and Buddhist art.Gokhale, Pradeep. "The Place of Bhakti in Buddhism", in Illuminating the Dharma: Buddhist Studies in Honour of Venerable Professor KL Dhammajoti, Edited by Toshiichi Endo, Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, 2021.
The Mahāsāṃghika school of early Buddhism seems to have promoted devotional practice and bhakti to a high status and to have anchored this practice in the purity and radiance of the Buddha.Pas, Julian F. (1995). Visions of Sukhavati: Shan-Tao's Commentary on the Kuan Wu-liang- Shou-Fo Ching, pp. 26-30. Albany, State University of New York Press, The Mahāvastu, one of the few surviving Mahāsāṃghika texts, states:
The purity of the Buddha is so great that the worship of the Exalted One is sufficient for the attainment of Nirvāna, and that one already acquires endless merit by merely walking round a stupa and worshipping it by means of floral offerings...from the Buddha’s smile, there radiate beams which illuminate the entire buddhafields.
In later faith-oriented literature, such as the Avadana, faith is given an important role in Buddhist doctrine. Nevertheless, faith ( śraddhā) is discussed in different contexts than devotion ( bhakti). Bhakti is often used disparagingly to describe acts of worship to deities, often seen as ineffective and improper for a Buddhist. Also, bhakti is clearly connected with a person as an object, whereas śraddhā is less connected with a person, and is more connected with truthfulness and truth. Śraddhā focuses on ideas such as the working of karma and merit transfer. (2025). 9780190451172, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190451172 One source for Indian Buddhist devotion is the Divyavadana, which focuses on the vast amount of merit ( ) that is generated by making offerings to Buddhas, and other Buddhist holy sites. (2025). 9781400848058, Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400848058
This text contrasts faith in the Buddha with bhakti for mundane deities (such as Hindu gods), and in this case, it sees bhakti as something for those who are less developed spiritually.Rotman, Andy (2008). Thus Have I Seen: Visualizing Faith in Early Indian Buddhism, p. 245. Oxford University Press, USA. However, in other passages, the term is used positively, and in one story, the sage Upagupta says to the demon Mara:
Even a very small bit of bhakti toward offers nirvana to the wise as a result. In short, the wicked things that you Māra did here to the Sage, when your mind was blind with delusion, all of these have been washed away by the copious waters of śraddhā that have entered your heart.In the 11th century, the Bengali Buddhist scholar Rāmancandra Kavibhārati composed a work on Buddhist bhakti called the Bhakti Śataka.Keune, Jon (2021). Shared Devotion, Shared Food: Equality and the Bhakti-caste Question in Western India, p. 49. Oxford University Press.- Divyāvadāna 360.1–4 Aśokāvadana Sanskrit: svalpāpi hy atra bhaktir bhavati matimatāṃ nirvāṇaphaladā saṃkṣepād yat kṛtam. te vṛjinam iha muner mohāndhamanasā sarvaṃ prakṣālitaṃ tat tava hṛdaye gataiḥ śraddhāmbuvisaraiḥ
Today, affective devotion remains an important part of Buddhist practice, even in Theravada Buddhism. According to Winston King, a scholar on Theravada in Myanmar, "warm, personalized, emotional" bhakti has been a part of the Burmese Buddhism tradition apart from the monastic and lay intellectuals. The Buddha is treasured by the everyday devout Buddhists, just like Catholics treasure Jesus. The orthodox teachers tend to restrain the devotion to the Buddha, but to the devout Buddhist populace, "a very deeply devotional quality" was and remains a part of the actual practice. This is observable, states King, in "multitudes of Burmese pagoda worshippers of the Buddha images" and the offerings they make before the image and nowhere else.
Mahayana bhakti also led to the rise of temples which were focused on housing a central Buddha image, something which became the norm during the Gupta Empire.Sukumar Dutt (1988). Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, pp. 193-94. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. Gupta era Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism stressed bhakti towards the Buddha as a central virtue and liberally made use of Buddha images, which are often accompanied by attendant bodhisattvas.
These new developments in Buddhist bhakti may have been influenced by the pan-Indian bhakti movement, and indeed, many Gupta monarchs, who were devoted to the Vaishnavism Bhagavata religion also supported Buddhist temples and founded monasteries (including great ones like Nalanda).Sukumar Dutt (1988). Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, p. 180, 197. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. Buddhists were in competition with the Hindu religions of the time, like the Bhagavatas and Shaivas, and they developed Buddhist bhakti focused on the Buddhas and bodhisattvas in this religious environment.Dayal, Dar (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, p. 38. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Mahāyāna interprets Buddhahood as a transcendent and eternal state (as found in the Lotus Sutra) and is also equated with the ultimate reality (Dharmakaya). Bodhisattvas were also considered to be extremely powerful divinities that could grant boons and rescue people from danger. This shift towards devotion to a transcendent being in later Buddhism has been seen as being similar to Theism forms of Hindu bhakti.Norio Sekido, Bhakti and Sraddha. Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies Vol. 41, No. 1, December 1992 Mahayana Buddhist bhakti was also sometimes aimed at a Mahayana sutras, such as the Prajnaparamita and the Lotus Sutra.Apple, James B. "Prajñaparamita", in Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, ed. by Arvind Sharma (2019). Springer.Williams, Paul (2009). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 2nd edition, p. 145. Routledge.
Some sources, like the Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra, even state that through devotion to the Buddha Amitabha one can attain rebirth in his Pure land and here one can be purified of all negative karma and eventually attain Buddhahood. As such, they make Buddha bhakti a central element of their soteriology. Bhakti in these sutras supersedes the making of good karma and cultivation of the path in favor of devotion to the Buddha Amitabha who can lead one to liberation in the Pure Land. This eventually came to be seen as its own path to liberation, its own mārga, often called the "easy path". A text attributed to Nagarjuna, the * Dasabhumikavibhāsā (Chinese: Shí zhù pípóshā lùn 十住毘婆沙論, T.1521) teaches the "easy practice" which is simply being constantly mindful of the Buddhas.Williams, Paul (2008). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd Edition, p. 244. Routledge.
All of these ideas became the foundation for the later development of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhist bhakti is grounded in the Mahayana ideals of the bodhisattva, bodhicitta (the mind aimed at awakening for the benefit of all beings) and skillful means (upaya).Lewis, Todd T. (2000). Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and Rituals of Newar Buddhism, p. 9. SUNY Press. Mahayana bhakti practices include various forms of ritual pujas and prayers. The Mahayana form of the practice of Buddhānusmṛti (remembering the Buddha) could include visualization practices and recitation of the names of a Buddha or bodhisattva (as in nianfo) was also a common method of devotional practice taught in numerous Indian sources.
One common puja and prayer format in Indian Mahayana was the "seven part worship" ( saptāṇgapūjā or saptavidhā anuttarapūjā).Dayal, Dar (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, p. 54. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. This often included various offerings of flowers, food, scents, and music.Sukumar Dutt (1988). Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, p. 196. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. This ritual form is visible in the works of Shantideva (8th century) and includes:Dayal, Dar (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, pp. 54-57. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Devotion to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas continued to be a major part of the later Vajrayana Buddhist traditions of tantra. Vajrayana Buddhism also added another form of bhakti to their teachings: guru bhakti (i.e. guru yoga), devotion towards the tantric guru. In India, various forms of devotion were practiced, including tantric songs of realization called Charyagitis. These first arose in the so called called of medieval Bengali Sahaja Buddhism .
As such, both in Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism, there remains a strong tradition of devotional veneration of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas (which includes making offerings and chanting their names or ), and this is one of the most popular forms of lay Buddhist practice.
Jainism participated in the Bhakti school of medieval India, and has a rich tradition of bhakti literature ( stavan) though these have been less studied than those of the Hindu tradition. The Avasyaka sutra of Jains includes, among ethical duties for the devotee, the recitation of "hymns of praise to the Tirthankaras" as the second Obligatory Action. It explains this bhakti as one of the means to destroy negative karma. According to Paul Dundas, such textual references to devotional activity suggests that bhakti was a necessary part of Jainism from an early period.
According to Jeffery D. Long, along with its strong focus on ethics and ascetic practices, the religiosity in Jainism has had a strong tradition of bhakti or devotion just like their Hindu counterparts. The Jain community built ornate temples and prided in public devotion for its fordmakers, saints and teachers. Abhisekha, festival prayers, community recitals and Murti puja (rituals before an image) are examples of integrated bhakti in Jain practice. Some Jain monks, however, reject Bhakti.
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