This book, through a close study of Näini, as well as other poems, authored by Mahakavi Kumaran Asan, demonstrates how Asan employed a theme of love among humans during the modern period in Kerala that was grounded in the native South Indian bhakti understanding of love of the deity.

1 Introduction: Themes, Theories, and Trajectories 2 Place: Caste, Colonialism, and Reforms in Kerala (1870-1924) 3 Person: Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (1873-1924) 4 Poetics of Devotion: Bhakti as Devotion 5 Poetics of Reform: Bhakti as a Movement 6 Conclusion; Appendix 1: Transliterations of Malayäam Poems Appendix 2: Translation of Näini or Oru Sneham (1911)

George Pati holds the Surjit S. Patheja Chair in World Religions and Ethics and is Associate Professor of Theology and International Studies at Valparaiso University, USA. His research interests include religious literature in the Malayalam language, South Asian devotional traditions, and the mediation of Hindu devotion through texts, rituals, and performances of Kerala, South India.