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Key research themes
1. How did the Bhakti Movement redefine devotion and social structures in South India?
Research in this theme investigates the origins, development, and socioreligious impact of the Bhakti Movement in South India. It highlights Bhakti as a devotional path accessible beyond caste and ritual barriers, emphasizing vernacular expression, the personalization of God, and the elevation of saints from marginalized backgrounds. This theme elucidates how Bhakti served as a social reform movement that challenged orthodox Hinduism and provided a unifying religious platform for the masses.
Key finding: This paper establishes that the Bhakti Movement in South India originated with the Alvars and Nayanars between the 6th and 7th centuries AD, foregrounding an intense personal devotion to Vishnu and Shiva. The movement's... Read more
Key finding: This study articulates Bhakti as a pan-Indian socio-cultural mass movement (8th to 17th century) that distinctively broke caste, class, and gender barriers by privileging devotion over ritual or philosophical speculation. It... Read more
Key finding: This work conceptualizes Bhakti as a vernacular speech genre rooted in emotive personal relationships with the divine, which historically initiated in 7th century Tamil Nadu as a reformist movement against casteism and ritual... Read more
Key finding: Argues that the Bhakti Movement in Tamil Nadu was a radical socio-religious reform initiated in the 6th century CE that challenged caste hierarchy and ritual orthodoxy through vernacular devotional poetry (Tevaram, Nalayira... Read more
2. What are the distinctive literary and philosophical features of Bhakti poetry across regional traditions and how do they reflect devotional introspection?
This theme synthesizes research focused on the literary aesthetics, thematic preoccupations, and introspective dimensions of Bhakti poetry. It contrasts the Nirguna (formless God) and Saguna (personal God) streams, emphasizing how Bhakti poetry incorporates vernacular idioms, emotive expression, and philosophical reflection to internalize and experience divine union. It considers both medieval and modern poetic articulations, tracing how Bhakti poetics serve as vehicles for spiritual realization and social commentary.
Key finding: This paper highlights the introspective nature of Bhakti poetry, particularly within the Nirguna school led by Kabir, which underscores self-realization and God-realization through asceticism and meditation. It delineates the... Read more
Key finding: This study reveals Bhaskaranand Jha Bhasker's poetry in Indian English literature as an extension of Bhakti poetics via metaphysical, spiritual, and transcendental love themes. His work embodies a fusion of emotional and... Read more
Key finding: Analyzes the manifestation of Bhakti sensibility in modern Indian English poetry, specifically Arun Kolatkar’s work, which exhibits a devotional intensity despite lacking direct references to deity or organized religion. The... Read more
Key finding: This extensive study traces the genealogies and cultural syncretism underlying Bhakti poetry from its 8th-century Tamil origins to its pan-Indian proliferation, emphasizing Bhakti’s reformist and hybrid characteristics. It... Read more
3. How does Bhakti literature participate in shaping religious identity, community formation, and cultural memory in regional and modern contexts?
This theme examines Bhakti literature not only as devotional expression but as a constitutive force in forming publics, reinforcing collective memory, and mediating religious identities over time. It addresses Bhakti poetry’s performance and reception dynamics, its role in social movements, and its historic function in bridging caste, class, and gender divides. Additionally, it connects classical Bhakti texts with modern literary reinterpretations and translation efforts that sustain Bhakti’s relevance culturally and academically.
Key finding: This essay theorizes Bhakti as a performative and public act of devotion that extends beyond private religiosity, creating fluid publics of reception rather than fixed communities. It demonstrates how Bhakti poetry and... Read more
Key finding: Focuses on the hagiographical tradition composed by Mahipati (1715-1790), whose voluminous Marathi writings on 281 bhaktas compiled oral histories and diverse devotional narratives. These works illustrate the integrative... Read more
Key finding: Investigates the translation and reinterpretation of Andal’s 7th-century Tamil Bhakti hymns, emphasizing Andal's unique position as female saint-poet and goddess in South Indian Vaishnavism. It explores the challenges of... Read more
Key finding: Analyses Gujarati Bhakti poetry’s historical emergence and social engagement through figures like Narsinh Mehta and Gangasati, showing how their devotional works emphasized caste equality, devotion over ritual, and the... Read more
Key finding: Examines Narsinh Mehta’s poems as social-reformatory Bhakti literature that challenged orthodoxy and promoted ideals of equality and devotion among the masses in 15th-century Gujarat. It details Mehta’s use of oral... Read more