Seeing into the Mind in Early Modern South India

Abstract

In contrast to the many South Asian texts that explore deep, metaphysically oriented states of mind, introspection of a personal, empirical, everyday kind is relatively rare in the textual archive until the early modern period, beginning roughly in the 16th century. At that time a remarkable richness of personal introspective works is evident in all the major south Indian languages. This article explores some of the features of that literature, with representative examples of literary, musical, and philosophical sources focused on the individual and on her or his sense of self.