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Notes:

1. The literary genre of India's medieval era, lyric poetry, was associated with bhakti, or mystical devotion to God.
2. Bhakti is a populist literary form that is usually composed by poet-saints of all castes and both genders in their native tongues.
3. Each poem positions the devotee and God in a particular relationship, but the most popular relationship is that of erotic love between a male god and a female devotee.
4. Bhakti poetry is composed in many different regional languages and elegizes Siva, Krishna, and other important Hindu deities.
5. The emotive quality of the poems, their ability to provide social critique and the representation of love that crosses boundaries between the secular and sacred have made Krishna poetry appealing and accessible to many groups.

Text:
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1. Regional language literatures related to Sanskrit in the north as well as the Dravidian languages flourished during India's medieval era (eleventh–eighteenth centuries).The literary genre of the medieval era, lyric poetry, was associated with bhakti, or mystical devotion to God. In the premedieval era, many bhakti poems were Tamil hymns devoted to the Hindu gods Siva and Visnu. Later, the sixteen other major languages of India added to the corpus of bhakti poetry. bhakti poetry is considered sacred and its authors revered as saints. In general, bhakti is associated with the worship of Siva, Visnu, and his avatars, Rama and Krishna and is accessible to persons of all castes and classes.
2. Bhakti is a populist literary form that is usually composed by poet-saints of all castes and both genders in their native tongues. Some poets come from poor backgrounds, while others are more privileged. All groups are united by their reverence for simplicity and humility. Considered to be true expressions of one's mystical love of God, those who practice bhakti believe that mysticism paves the way to moksa (liberation), thus allowing individuals to escape the karmic cycle of birth and death. Bhakti poems describe the devotee's love for God. The poems often address God, their fellow devotees, or an implied audience and deal with a range of emotions. Concluding with a signature line, or verse, each bhakti poem is markedly individual and is often treated as a work of spiritual autobiography.
3. Each poem positions the devotee and God in a particular relationship, but the most popular relationship is that of erotic love between a male god and a female devotee. Bhakti mystics form part of a larger community of devotees, and their poems have widespread appeal among the oppressed and downtrodden (including low-caste persons and women). Many bhakti poets use their poetry as a vehicle for social change and describe their visions of an egalitarian society, thus challenging the hierarchical nature of Hinduism. The audiences of these poet-saints often view them as symbols of spiritual perfection.
4. Bhakti poetry is composed in many different regional languages and elegizes Siva, Krishna, and other important Hindu deities. The poetry of the Tamil Zaiva praise the glories of Siva, the "destroyer" god of the Hindu triad who dances in a ring of fire, signaling the end of the world. The Kannada Virasaiva poet-saints also elegize Siva. The vacanas (utterances) of the brahman poet Basavanna and the female mystic Mahadeviyakka express the sentiment that true spiritual devotion to Siva can only be attained by challenging societal norms. The Bengali Vaisnava saints are devoted to Krishna, paying particular attention to the relationship between Krishna and his devoted consort, Radha. The most popular north Indian bhakti poet, Mirabai is a staunch devotee of Krishna. Her songs are popular throughout India; while the majority of her poems are composed in her native Brajbhasa, a dialect of Hindi, as well as in Gujarati, they are also translated into India's other languages. Mirabai poetry is closely aligned with the female world, and her songs are often addressed to female devotees. Kabir's poetry suggests that God cannot be understood by engaging in ritual worship, studying texts, or ascetic practices.
5. Most bhakti poems use the form of the short lyric, although longer poems form part of the bhakti canon. Bhakti poems are often transmitted orally as songs among the common people of India. Bhakta, or communities of worshiper, congregate to sing the poems. Oral techniques, including colloquialism, folk imagery, and refrains, are commonly used. The emotive quality of the poems, their ability to provide social critique, and the representation of love that crosses boundaries between the secular and sacred have made bhakti poetry appealing and accessible to many groups, ranging from Indians to Western poets including Robert Bly and Adrienne Rich.