Hindi Devotional Literature and Modern Hindu Religious Broadcasting

Hindi carries an enormous body of modern Hindu devotional literature and practice, including widely used Hindi translations and popular retellings of Sanskrit epics and the Bhagavad Gita, Hindi-language bhajans and kirtan devotional singing performed at temples and gatherings across North India and the Hindi-speaking diaspora, and a large contemporary religious broadcasting and publishing industry, including televised discourses by popular modern gurus and religious teachers that reach audiences across India and internationally through satellite and streaming media.

Hindi is closely related to, though distinct from, Awadhi, the medieval language of Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, one of the most influential works of Hindu devotional literature, and modern Hindi versions and adaptations of that text, alongside the Sanskrit Ramayana it retells, remain central to popular Hindu religious education and performance, including the annual Ramlila theatrical reenactments performed in Hindi and regional languages across North India. Hindi also serves as a significant language of modern Sikh devotional publishing and commentary outside the Punjabi-language Guru Granth Sahib itself, given the substantial Hindi-speaking Sikh diaspora and readership across northern India.