Description: Examining the interplay of religion, history, and literature through a case study of King Krsnadevaraya's celebrated Telugu poem Āmuktamālyada, Ilanit Loewy Shacham showcases the groundbreaking worldview that this often-overlooked poem embodies. Krsnadevaraya (r.1509-1529) ruled over the Vijayanagara Empire during its heyday, and his monumental poem situates all power and authority not in the imperial center, but in the villages and temples at the empire's outskirts; not in the royal court, but in a religious community - a worldview radically different from how literary and political histories portray the king and his empire.
Review Quotes: "This book significantly contributes to the field of religious studies by inviting us to reconsider the seemingly clear-cut boundary between the political and religious domains in early modern India." -- Manasicha Akepiyapornchai, Reading Religion
"Due to its comparative literary readings between Telugu and Sanskrit sources, its beautifully compact translations, and rich analysis of the religious and political landscape of sixteenth-century South India, Empire Inside Out will undoubtedly be the touchstone study of this powerful Vijayanagara monarch and his incomparable poetic work." -- Harshita Mruthinti Kamath, International Journal of Hindu Studies