Doha

Doha

दोहा, dohā (hindi)

1. The form of a couplet in poetry, including is a special or final part of chalisa. In this form, one of the popular translations of "Ramayana" epic in Hindi is composed – "Ramacharitamanas" (The Sea of Rama's Deeds) by the poet-bhakta Tulsidas.


2. A special genre of spiritual and mystical songs and poems composed by the great maha-siddhas to describe the realization of highest states of consciousness. A characteristic feature of this genre is the mysterious language (sandha-bhasha) and complex tantric-yogic symbolism. Often dohas were composed in different languages or their mixtures: Apabramsha, Urdu, Hindi and Oriya. The most famous dohas are attributed to Saraha, Kanapa, Luipada, Kukkuripa, Kabir, Rahim, etc.