Yasoda's Songs to Her Playful Son, Krsna

Yasoda's Songs to her Playful Son, Krsna: Periyalvar's 9th century Tamil Tirumoli is a translation of a South Indian devotional text in which the poet predominantly takes the voice of the god Krsna's mother, capturing the emotions of an intimate personal relationship with the deity through the poet's depictions of Krsna as an adorable baby, a naughty boy and then a handsome youth. As the earliest poet to express maternal love as religious devotion, Periyalvar played a crucial part in the pan-Indian development of the Krsna sect and laid the foundation for the prolific genre of later Hindu poetry devoted to baby Krsna which remains popular in many Indian languages. In this book, the charming descriptions of the child god Krsna, his darling infant antics, obnoxious pranks as an older child, and charismatic impact on village women as a young man are presented in rhythmic, colloquial English verse with header notes for each decade to highlight special features. Introductory material for a general audience or undergraduate students of world literature or religion includes information on the poet and the text, unique literary elements, and Periyalvar's innovative devotional approach to god in the voice of a mother.