I didn’t have paper versions of my list of further resources available at Many Gods West, so I said I’d share them online. You can find a list on the MGW facebook group (August 6th I think) and I’ve copied it all here in case you’re not on FB.

This list is a bit YouTube heavy because while reading is awesome, I think the one of the best ways to participate in the  legacies of Sri Andal, Akka Mahadevi, and Mirabai is to enjoy contemporary expressions of their work. On YT you’ll find classical dance performances, dance dramas, movies, TV serials, loads of bhajan and vacana albums, temple recitation recordings, tour videos, and more. I collected some of my very favorites and included them on the list. Plus, some of the books I’ve listed are expensive and/or hard to obtain whereas YT is currently free and relatively easy to access. If you’re interested in devotional poetry more generally, you can find many anthologies in English.

Oh yes – I mentioned a few other saints in the course of discussion. I talked very briefly about Sri Caittanya Mahaprabu, divine avatar and teacher of the Six Goswamis. His life, legacy, and teachings are much too complex for me to delve into here but he has been written about extensively so finding additional material will not be challenging. I also mentioned a female saint transformed by Lord Shiva into an old woman; her name was Avvai or Avvaiyar. Finally, the female saint who asked the Lord to transform her into a demon so she could watch the tandava dance is called Karaikalammaiyar. (There is scant material on both these women. If you have a burning interest in them let me know and I’ll dig up some sources for you. Otherwise, I’d suggest looking into books on South Indian saints and their poetry.)

OK, now to the list.

Sri Andal

Goddess Goda Devi Songs – Thiruppavai – Jukebox – Bhakti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TygcSAr_xw

Andal Dance by Sanjana Easwar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNZi8FV0hYg

Andal Kouthuvam Bharatanatyam Tamilnadu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7FNxc5KMHY

Varanamayiram
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7qOLtXyGp0

Andal and Her Path of Love
by Vidya Dehejia (SUNY Press)

Andal and Akka Mahadevi: Feminity to Divinity
by DR Alka Tyagi (D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.)

The Giver of the Worn Garland: Krishnadevaraya’s Amuktamalyada
by Sri Krishnadevaraya, Penguin 2010

The Secret Garland: Antal’s Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli
by Archana Venkatesan, Oxford University Press, 2010

Akka Mahadevi

Akka Mahadevi Vachana

 

Akkamahadevi part 1 (Akkamahadevi: in search of paradise lost)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyvBM4Geng

Akkamahadevi Odyssey of Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd8sxe-SoiU

Akka Mahadevi Caves Yathra

 

Kannada Devotional Songs Akka Mahadevi Amara Vachanagalu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBqxnoyvyo0

Akka Mahadevi Part 01 of 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTxhyHOPfc

Kannada Vachana by Smita Bellur part1 – Basavanna, Akkamahadevi, Allama Prabhu – Veerashaiva
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr9Hi-L8ZL0

Kannada Devotional Songs | Vachana kirana | Bhakti Songs Kannada

(Vacana album by Smita Bellur)

Andal and Akka Mahadevi: Feminity to Divinity
by DR Alka Tyagi (D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.)

Akka Mahadevi, the divine cuckoo: English rendering of Akka’s 50 vacanas

Mirabai

 

A Few Things I Know About Her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg5rbQl9SKM
(a documentary film by Anjali Punjabi)

Meera Bai’s Palace Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuiGPBsqCyU

Krishna Bhajans – Payo Ji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo – Meera Bhajans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW_GY1o_w_s

Meera (1979) Part 2 English Sub

(Movie starring Hema Malini; look for the soundtrack featuring SS Ravi Shankar and Vani Jairam)

Meera Ke Gidhar (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTH7o772XDw

Meera Tamil Full Movie : M. S. Subbulakshmi and Chittor V. Nagaiah

 

Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas, and Kabir in Their Times and Ours
by John Stratton Hawley, Oxford 2012

General Interest

Speaking of Siva
by AK Ramanujan, Penguin 1978

When God is a Customer: Telegu Courtesan Songs by Ksetrayya and Others
By AK Ramanujan, Velcheru Narayana Rao, and David Shulman, University of California 1994

Hymns for the Drowning
By AK Ramanujan (translator), Penguin 2005

Slaves of the Lord: Path of the Tamil Saints
By Vidya Dehejia, Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd, 2002

The Voice of Women: Gargi to Gangasati
By Avadhesh Kumar Singh, D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd. 2008

Manushi: Women Bhakta Poets