Talapurāṇam is one of the most prolific genres of early modern Tamil literature. Unlike its Sanskrit counterpart ( sthala \ kṣetra-māhātmya ) the works of this genre are composed in the form and style of high poetry. One distinctive feature of the genre is the inclusion of descriptive chapters that focus on the land and town eulogized in the texts. These chapters, which I term “lyrical preludes,” were never formalized by traditional poeticians. In this article, I present a preliminary analysis of Tamil talapurāṇams’ lyrical preludes: their sources of inspiration, structural patterns, recurrent themes, and aesthetic principles.
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Ofer Peres (2024) studied this question.
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