Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat A Legacy of Bhakti in Songs and Stories [Paperback]

Exploring medieval manuscripts, Gandhi's writings, and performances in multiple religious and non-religious contexts, Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat demonstrates how over five centuries, performers and audiences of devotional songs and hagiographic narratives associated with the saint-poet Narasinha Mehta have sculpted them into popular sources of moral inspiration. Taking Gandhi's use of these works in his social reconstruction programs as an example, the book suggests that when religious forms such as songs and hagiographies of saint-poets of South Asia acquire dimensions of popular culture, they offer a platform for communication among diverse groups.

An illuminating study that provides a vivid picture of the Narasinha tradition, Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat will be a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the power of religious performative traditions in popular media.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Preface
Note on transliteration

Introduction

Part I - Devotion and Aesthetics in the Narasinha Tradition
1. Lyrics of Play - Krishna in the Human World
2. Lyrics of Awakening - Mysticism and Moral Reflection
3. Exemplary Bhakti, Exemplary Singing - Narasinha in Sacred Narratives
4. Singing as Bhakti - Musical Performances of Narasinha's Songs

Part II - The Narasinha Legacy in Religious and Popular Cultures
5. The Saint of the Threshold, the First of Poets - The Narasinha Tradition in Gujarat and Beyond
6. A Saint-poet in the Making of a Mahatma - Narasinha Mehta and Gandhi
7. Songs and the Saint in Modern Media - Narasinha in Popular Culture
Concluding Remarks

Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Neelima Shukla-Bhatt has written a beautiful book on Narasinha Mehta, a poet-saint beloved in Gujarat since the fifteenth century. His poetry has circulated in diverse ways across centuries and regions, through melodic everyday songs, the soclÃ~