Chants dévotionnels tamouls de Karaikkalammaiyar

This earliest expression of saiva devotion in Tamil by the poetess from Karaikkal is published with an outstanding translation by Karavelane (Leon Saint-Jean, a lawyer and freedom fighter from Karaikkal, where he inaugurated in 1937 a French Institute of Indianism). It remains a landmark, and the preface (1956), by Jean Filliozat, a valid charter for French Indology. The new edition has been considerably enriched, by a complete glossary/concordance of the poems, a full translation by Vinson (1906) of the story of the poetess as given by the Periyapuranam, and an iconography substantially improved. The postface explores the legends and controversial iconography of Karaikkalammaiyar. It also attempts to define her literary originality in terms of saiva devotion and mythology.