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List of contents
Lists of Images
List of Maps
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Note on transcription and other conventions
Note on translation
Introduction: Material Religion: Contexts and Sources
1. Materiality in Literary Landscapes
2. Religious Movements: Journey Through Desire and Devotion
3. On Mountains, Waterways, and Intoxication
4. Bodily Forms of Devotion
5. Materiality, Ornaments, and Gifts that Glitter
Conclusion: A Kingdom of Riches
Bibliography
Glossary
About the author
Leah E. Comeau is Associate Professor of Religion, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USA
Summary
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 —Tirukkovaiyar—the 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.
Foreword
An engaging case study of classical Tamil Hindu texts, exploring these texts from a sensual, material perspective.
Additional text
Leah Elizabeth Comeau’s 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 ... Comeau’s 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.
