Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World

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Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World contributes new methods for the study and interpretation of material religion found within literary landscapes. The poets of Hindu devotion are known for their intimate celebration of deities, and while verses over a thousand years old are still treasured, translated, and performed, little attention has been paid to the evocative sensorial worlds referenced by these literary compositions. This book offers a material interpretation of an understudied poem that defined an entire genre of South Asian literature Tirukkovaiyarthe 9th-century Tamil poem dedicated to Shiva. The poetry of Tamil South India invites travel across real and imagined geography, naming royal patrons, ancient temple towns, and natural landscapes. Leah Elizabeth Comeau locates the materiality of devotion to Shiva in a world unique to the South Indian vernacular and yet captivating to audiences across time, place, and tradition.

Reviews

Nothing compares to medieval Tamil poetry for bringing devotion and divinity to life. Leah Elizabeth Comeau masterfully enters this life by engaging the Tirukkovaiyar as it is meant to be encountered, read deeply and slowly, lingering in its smells, sights, sounds, and emotions. Attending as well to the work's reverberations through local landscapes, sculpture, ritual, and architecture, this book is a feast for the mind and the senses. * Corinne Dempsey, Professor & Rosemarie Beston Chair for Global Studies in Religious Studies, Nazareth College of Rochester, USA *
Manikkavacakars Tirukkovaiyar, a classic of world literature, has long been due for an updated scholarly analysis in English, now addressed by Leah Elizabeth Comeaus elegant study of the poem and its rich literary world. Using new theories of material religion, she provides a sensory-centered reading, revealing that the material sensations of nature, human love, and divine presence combine into a frisson of proximity that is at the center of devotional experience. * Karen Pechilis, NEH Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Professor of Comparative Religion, Drew University, USA *
Leah Elizabeth Comeaus Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World offers a timely analysis of one of the most significant works of Saiva bhakti or devotional literature from the Tamil-speaking southern part of India ... Comeaus book charts important new directions for the study of Tamil poetics, South Asian religions, and material studies while presenting a refreshingly lucid account of an incredibly complex poetic composition, and her work should inspire other scholars to follow her lead. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *

Author Bio

Leah Elizabeth Comeau is Associate Professor of Religion at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USA.