Philosophical interpretation of the quality of mercy (dayā) of Sri Venkatesvara, Hindu deity, enshrined at Tirupati, and commentary on Dayāsatakam, verse work on mercy, by Veṅkaṭanātha, 1268-1369, Vaishnavite philosopher and poet.

What is the status of the Goddess Laksmi in relation to her consort Vishnu in South Indian Vaisnavism? In some Hindu sub-traditions the Goddess is seen as a mediator between devotees and God. Other traditions put the Goddess on a par with her male counterpart. In yet other traditions she is worshiped as an independent deity in her own right. South Indian Vaisnavism views the Goddess in all of these ways, and theological debates on these issues have flourished. In clarifying these debates and the assumptions behind them the author contributes not only to the interpretive study of South Indian Vaisnavism, but also to an understanding of gender issues in the study of religion.

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Hymns in praise of Devanātha, form of the Hindu deity Vishnu, enshrined at Tiruvahindrapuram, Tamil Nadu.

This is the first full-length study of the devotional poetry and poetics of the fourteenth-century poet-philosopher Vedantadesika, one of the most outstanding and influential figures in the Hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism (the cult of Lord Vishnu). Despite their intrinsic beauty and theological importance, the poetry and philosophy of Vedantadesika have received very little scholarly attention. But for the millions who belong to the Vaishnava tradition, those poems are not just classical literature; they are committed to memory, recited, sung, and enacted in ritual both in India and throughout the Hindu diaspora. Steven Hopkins here offers a comparative study of the Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tamil poems composed by Vedantadesika in praise of important Vaishnava shrines and their icons--poems that are considered to be the apogee of South Indian devotional literature.

On VenkatĐanatha, 1268-1369, Sanskrit and Tamil poet and philosopher.