Terms, Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

1. Purpose and Nature of PushtiKirtan.com

PushtiKirtan.com is an independent informational, educational, cultural, archival, research, and devotional resource dedicated to preserving, organizing, presenting, and facilitating access to Pushtimargiya kirtans, padas, devotional poetry, and related literary material, including compositions traditionally attributed to the Ashtasakhas, Acharyas, Gurus, Vaishnavs, poets, devotees, and other historical figures associated with Pushtimarg and the Vallabh Sampradaya.

The Website may provide original-language texts, including material in Vraj/Braj Bhasha, Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, and other languages, together with transliterations, English translations, descriptions, classifications, metadata, raag information, images, illustrations, search tools, and other related material.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, PushtiKirtan.com is an independent project and is not an official website of, sponsored by, endorsed by, authorized by, or formally affiliated with any particular Pushtimarg Haveli, temple, Baithak, Vallabhkul family or member, religious institution, trust, organization, sectarian authority, publisher, archive, or other organization.

References to religious personalities, institutions, traditions, compositions, Swaroops, Havelis, lineages, or historical persons are provided for identification, scholarship, preservation, education, and devotional context and should not be interpreted as an assertion of institutional representation or authority.

2. Religious, Educational and Informational Disclaimer

The Website is intended primarily as a devotional, educational, cultural, literary, archival, and research resource.

Nothing published on PushtiKirtan.com should be construed as authoritative religious instruction, initiation, theological adjudication, or a substitute for guidance from an individual's Guru, Acharya, Vallabhkul Balak, religious teacher, Haveli, or other appropriate authority.

Pushtimarg has a substantial historical literary tradition, and variations may exist among manuscripts, printed editions, oral traditions, singing traditions, regional practices, lineages, and scholarly interpretations. The inclusion of a particular text, translation, spelling, attribution, classification, raag, explanation, image, or other material does not constitute a representation that it is the sole, definitive, universally accepted, or authoritative version.

Users should consult appropriate primary sources and qualified authorities when accuracy or religious practice is important.

3. Historical Kirtans and Source Texts

Many kirtans, padas, verses, and other works presented on the Website are historical devotional compositions whose underlying texts may be centuries old.

PushtiKirtan.com does not claim copyright ownership over an underlying historical or public-domain work merely because that work has been digitized, transcribed, indexed, categorized, transliterated, or displayed on the Website.

However, particular modern editions, editorial arrangements, translations, annotations, photographs, scans, illustrations, recordings, or other presentations of historical works may be protected by intellectual-property rights belonging to their respective rights holders.

Where practicable, PushtiKirtan.com seeks to respect those rights.

4. Transcriptions, Transliterations and Translations

The Website may contain transcriptions, transliterations, translations, and other language conversions prepared specifically for PushtiKirtan.com.

Although reasonable efforts may be made to preserve the meaning and devotional bhava of the source material, translations and transliterations necessarily involve linguistic judgment. They may contain errors, variant readings, ambiguities, typographical errors, or differences from other translations.

Translations should therefore be regarded as aids to understanding rather than definitive theological interpretations.

Unless otherwise stated, any copyright that may exist in an original translation, transliteration, annotation, database compilation, editorial arrangement, or other newly created material belongs to its respective creator or rights holder.

5. Images and Illustrations

Images appearing on PushtiKirtan.com may include original illustrations, commissioned or generated artwork, reproductions of historical/public-domain works, licensed material, or material believed to be permissible for the Website's purposes.

Illustrations accompanying a kirtan are generally intended to provide a devotional or artistic visualization of the composition. Unless specifically identified as a reproduction of a historical work, such an illustration should not be understood as an authentic historical depiction, documentary evidence, or authoritative representation of a particular event, person, Swaroop, location, seva, dress, ornamentation, or religious practice.

6. Copyright and Intellectual Property

The Website's original elements—including, where legally protectable, its original translations, transliterations, annotations, descriptions, editorial material, database structure and selection, compilations, graphics, logos, artwork, interface elements, and original written content—may be protected by copyright, trademark, database, unfair-competition, and other applicable laws.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to claim exclusive ownership of material that is lawfully in the public domain or belongs to another rights holder.

Except where expressly permitted, users may not systematically reproduce, republish, scrape, mirror, commercially exploit, redistribute, sell, license, or create substantially identical copies of protected Website content without authorization from the applicable rights holder.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to restrict rights that users may independently possess under applicable law, including rights relating to public-domain works, fair use, fair dealing, quotation, criticism, scholarship, research, or other statutory exceptions.

7. Copyright Concerns and Good-Faith Removal Requests

PushtiKirtan.com respects intellectual-property rights. Because the Website may preserve and organize historical materials originating from numerous books, manuscripts, archives, collections, publications, and other sources, ownership or copyright status may not always be readily ascertainable.

If you believe that material available on PushtiKirtan.com infringes copyright or another intellectual-property right, you may submit a good-faith request identifying:

• the copyrighted work or other right allegedly infringed;
• the specific material on PushtiKirtan.com at issue and sufficient information to locate it;
• your name and contact information;
• the basis on which you own or are authorized to act for the relevant rights holder;
• a statement explaining the alleged infringement; and
• any other information reasonably necessary to evaluate the request.

Upon receiving a sufficiently detailed and credible request, the Website may investigate and, where appropriate, remove, disable access to, attribute, replace, or otherwise address the material.

8. No Guarantee of Accuracy

PushtiKirtan.com endeavors to present useful and respectful material but makes no representation or warranty that any kirtan text, authorship attribution, raag, category, spelling, translation, transliteration, chronology, biography, image, metadata, source information, or other content is accurate, complete, authentic, current, or free from error.

Historical source materials may themselves contain printing errors, scribal variations, missing passages, variant spellings, conflicting attributions, or other inconsistencies.

Users rely upon Website content at their own discretion and risk.

9. Automated and AI-Assisted Content

Certain material on PushtiKirtan.com may be created, processed, translated, transliterated, categorized, corrected, enhanced, illustrated, or otherwise assisted by automated software or artificial-intelligence technologies.

Such technologies can produce errors. AI-assisted translations, transliterations, classifications, descriptions, and images should not be assumed to have been reviewed or certified by a Pushtimarg religious authority or scholar unless expressly stated.

Users undertaking academic publication, religious instruction, or other work requiring authoritative accuracy should independently verify relevant material against reliable primary sources.

10. Acceptable Use

Users agree not to use PushtiKirtan.com in a manner that violates applicable law or interferes with the Website's operation or other users' access.

Without limiting the foregoing, users may not attempt unauthorized access to the Website or its infrastructure; introduce malicious software; circumvent security or access controls; intentionally overload Website infrastructure; falsely represent themselves as associated with PushtiKirtan.com; or use Website content in a manner that infringes the lawful rights of others.

Automated access, scraping, bulk downloading, indexing, or data extraction may be restricted where it imposes unreasonable technical burdens, circumvents technical protections, or copies protected Website material beyond what applicable law permits.

11. Availability and Modification of the Website

PushtiKirtan.com may add, modify, correct, reorganize, restrict, suspend, or remove any content or functionality at any time.

The Website does not guarantee continuous availability. Access may be interrupted because of maintenance, technical problems, hosting-provider issues, security incidents, network failures, force majeure events, or circumstances beyond the Website operator's reasonable control.

The Website may also discontinue operation without prior notice.

12. Third-Party Websites and Services

PushtiKirtan.com may contain links to third-party websites, archives, books, libraries, video or audio services, social-media platforms, hosting services, or other external resources.

Such links are provided for convenience or reference. Unless expressly stated otherwise, PushtiKirtan.com does not control, operate, endorse, warrant, or assume responsibility for third-party content, availability, security, privacy practices, or terms.

Use of third-party resources is subject to the terms and policies of the applicable third party.

13. Privacy Policy

PushtiKirtan.com may receive or process limited information automatically when users access the Website. Depending upon the technologies and service providers used, this may include IP addresses, approximate geographic information derived from IP addresses, browser and device information, referring pages, requested pages, timestamps, diagnostic information, security information, and similar technical data.

If the Website provides contact forms, correspondence features, correction submissions, or other voluntary submission mechanisms, information supplied by users may also be received and processed.

Information may be used for legitimate purposes including operating and securing the Website, preventing abuse, diagnosing problems, understanding Website usage, responding to communications, maintaining records, complying with legal obligations, and improving the Website.

PushtiKirtan.com does not represent that Internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. Users should therefore avoid submitting confidential or sensitive information unless specifically necessary.

14. Cookies, Analytics and Hosting Providers

The Website and its infrastructure or third-party providers may use cookies, local storage, server logs, analytics technologies, security technologies, content-delivery networks, or similar mechanisms.

These technologies may be used for essential Website functionality, security, traffic analysis, performance measurement, fraud prevention, or user preferences.

Third-party infrastructure providers may process technical information according to their own privacy policies and legal obligations.

Where applicable law requires consent for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, appropriate consent mechanisms should be implemented.

15. Disclosure and Sale of Personal Information

PushtiKirtan.com does not sell or rent users' personal information in the ordinary course of operating the Website.

Information may nevertheless be processed or disclosed to hosting companies, infrastructure providers, analytics providers, security providers, contractors, or other service providers to the extent reasonably necessary to operate the Website.

Information may also be preserved or disclosed when reasonably believed necessary to comply with applicable law, legal process, court order, governmental request, protect legal rights, investigate abuse or security incidents, or protect users or the public.

16. Data Retention and International Processing

Information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, Website security, dispute resolution, recordkeeping, enforcement of these Terms, or compliance with applicable legal requirements.

Because Internet services and infrastructure providers may operate in multiple jurisdictions, information may be stored or processed outside a user's state, province, or country and may therefore be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.

17. Children's Privacy

PushtiKirtan.com is a general-audience devotional and educational resource and is not directed specifically to children under thirteen (13).

The Website does not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children under 13. If the operator becomes aware that personal information has been collected from a child in circumstances requiring parental consent under applicable law, reasonable measures may be taken to delete it.

Parents and guardians remain responsible for determining whether Website material is appropriate for children under their supervision.

18. User Submissions

If PushtiKirtan.com permits users to submit corrections, transcriptions, kirtans, photographs, comments, translations, source information, feedback, or other material, the submitting user represents that they possess the rights and permissions reasonably necessary to make that submission.

Unless separate terms are presented at the time of submission, by voluntarily submitting material for publication, the user grants the Website a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, format, adapt as technically necessary, display, distribute, archive, and make the submitted material available in connection with operation, preservation, and promotion of PushtiKirtan.com.

The Website may accept, reject, edit, remove, or decline to publish submissions in its discretion.

19. Contributor Program

Contributor participation is voluntary and unpaid. Any contribution, correction, transcription, translation, proofreading, review, note, or other submitted material is offered as seva and does not create an employment, contractor, agency, partnership, fiduciary, or joint-venture relationship with PushtiKirtan.com or its owner(s), operator(s), administrator(s), or affiliate(s).

Contributor accounts are created, managed, limited, disabled, or deleted by Website administrators. Contributors do not have a right to receive, retain, modify, transfer, or share login access. Contributors are responsible for keeping their login information confidential, using access only for authorized contribution work, and promptly reporting any suspected unauthorized use of their account.

Contributor access may allow a contributor to view source materials, propose spelling corrections, improve transcriptions, prepare or proofread translations, and submit edits for review. Unless expressly authorized, contributor access does not grant permission to modify final published records directly, access administrative functions, export private account information, or use source materials for unrelated purposes.

Contributor submissions may be reviewed, edited, combined with other edits, approved, rejected, reverted, corrected, reformatted, published, unpublished, archived, or removed at the Website operator's discretion. Submission of a correction or translation does not guarantee publication, attribution, continued display, acceptance of any proposed change, continued account access, or any particular review timeline.

Contributors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are made in good faith, are respectful of the tradition, are based on appropriate source review where applicable, do not knowingly introduce false or misleading information, and do not infringe the rights of any third party. Contributors should not submit confidential, private, proprietary, defamatory, unlawful, or unauthorized material.

Unless separate written terms apply, by submitting contributor material, the contributor grants PushtiKirtan.com a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, edit, adapt, combine, publish, display, distribute, archive, preserve, and create derivative works from that material in connection with PushtiKirtan.com and related preservation, educational, devotional, research, administrative, and promotional purposes.

PushtiKirtan.com may keep records of contributor activity, submitted edits, review decisions, timestamps, account status, and related technical information for security, audit, attribution, quality control, dispute resolution, and operational purposes. Contributors should not expect submitted drafts, comments, proposed edits, or review history to remain private from Website administrators or reviewers who need access for these purposes.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, PushtiKirtan.com and its owner(s), operator(s), administrator(s), volunteer(s), contributor(s), licensor(s), service provider(s), and affiliate(s) are not liable for contributor submissions, rejected or accepted edits, delayed review, account suspension, account deletion, loss of access, loss of draft work, attribution decisions, translation disagreements, editorial judgment, reliance on contributor work, or any consequences arising from volunteer contribution activity.

20. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PUSHTIKIRTAN.COM AND ALL CONTENT AND SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH IT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY.

To the extent legally permissible, all warranties concerning accuracy, completeness, availability, reliability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, security, or uninterrupted or error-free operation are disclaimed.

Nothing in these Terms excludes any warranty or right that applicable law does not permit to be excluded.

21. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PushtiKirtan.com and its owner(s), operator(s), administrator(s), contributor(s), volunteer(s), licensor(s), service provider(s), and affiliate(s) shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, loss of data, loss of profits, loss of goodwill, business interruption, or similar loss arising from or relating to the Website or its content.

Any limitation or exclusion applies only to the extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit liability that legally cannot be excluded or limited.

22. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by applicable law, users agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PushtiKirtan.com and its owner(s), operator(s), administrator(s), contributor(s), volunteer(s), licensor(s), and affiliate(s) from claims, liabilities, losses, damages, judgments, costs, and reasonable legal expenses arising from the user's unlawful use of the Website, material submitted by the user, violation of these Terms, or infringement by the user of another person's rights.

23. No Waiver

Failure by PushtiKirtan.com to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision or of the right to enforce it subsequently.

24. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court or other authority of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be interpreted or limited to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable where legally permissible, and the remaining provisions shall continue in effect.

25. Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be modified from time to time to reflect changes in the Website, its services, technology, applicable law, or operating practices.

The revised version will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. Continued use of PushtiKirtan.com following publication of revised Terms constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by applicable law.

26. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any additional policies or notices expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the agreement between the user and the Website concerning use of PushtiKirtan.com and supersede prior Website terms concerning the same subject matter.