CONTENTS: List of Illustrations, Abbreviations, 1. Introduction: The Hisorical Setting, 2. The Lierature in Tamil from the Early Age to the Medieval Period, 3. Tamil Poetry through the Eyes of the Europeans: The Discovery, the Description and the Western Chronology, 1547-1731, 4. The Travel of Tamil Palm-Leaf and Paper Manuscripts to Paris, Copenhagen and Halle, 1714-1801, 5. The New Forms and Styles of Tamil Poetry and the Wandering Hindu Poets, 16th-18th Centuries, 6. The Literary Contours of Tamil Puranams and he Religious Identity, 16th-19th Centuries, 7. The Rapid Expansion of Thalapuranam Poetry in Tamil and the Changing Form and Function, 16th-19th Centuries, 8. The Hindu Madams, the Ascetics and the Production of Tamil Poetry 17th-18th Centuries, 9. The Kings, Poets and the Changing Facets of Tamil Social Poetry, 16th-18th Centuries, 10. The Poets, Islamic Literature in Tamil and the European Description, 1572-1800, 11. The Jesuits, Lutheran Missionaries and Tamil Christians: From Poetical Manuscripts to Printing, 1715-1900, 12. Conclusion, Select Bibliography, Index.