This book is a study of the five shorter works of Tirumaṅkai Āḻvār, an eighth-century Tamil poet who had retired from a military career in South India to pursue his interest in literature. For each work, the book provides the original Tamil in metric feet, transliteration indicating word boundaries, and an English translation as true to the original Tamil as possible, with numerous notations on grammar and textual highlights. The introduction treats the poet's interest in developing his literary skills by emulating a variety of poetic devices, techniques, structures, and strategies of earlier Tamil texts. The material covers developments in Tamil prosody, a unique poetic scheme, and adaptation of several Tamil literary motifs. The book also includes an analytical glossary, as well as appendices highlighting the status of some Middle Tamil grammatical forms. The first appendix provides uninterrupted translations of the five works in an English style that attempts to approach the voice and tenor of the Āḻvār, while an appendix on prosody discusses a previously undocumented adaptation of a Tamil metrical unit.


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