The making of religious tradition : perspectives from pre-colonial south India -- Section 1: Purāṇic religion, bhakti, and religious traditions. From devotion and dissent to dominance : the bhakti of the Tamil Āl̤vārs and Nāyanārs -- Purāṇic religion and the evolution of the Tamil Śaiva tradition -- Śankara and purāṇic religion -- Vaiṣṇava concepts in early Tamil Nadu -- The sacred geography of the Murukan cult -- Section 2: Religion, canon and community. Patikam pāṭuvār : ritual singing as a means of communication in early medieval south India -- Caste and community : oscillating identities in pre-modern south India -- The maṭha : monachism as the base of a parallel authority structure -- Section III: Counter traditions : the śramaṇas. Buddhism in South India : patterns of patronage -- Jainism in Tamil Nadu : a historical overview -- Jainism in Andhra and Karnataka -- The bhakti movement and religious conflict in early medieval Tamil̤akam -- Section IV: Temple as symbol and metaphor. Symbol and metaphor : Temple architecture and iconography in south India -- Iconographic programme and political imagery in early medieval Tamil̤akam : The Rājasimheśvara and the Rājarājeśvara -- Bhāgavata scenes in Pallava and Cōḷa sculptures -- Tañjāvūr, the ceremonial city of the Cōḷas -- The Drāviḍa style of architecture : a historical perspective -- Section V: Ideology and sovereignty. The sovereignty of the divine : the Vaiṣṇava pantheon and temporal power in south India -- Ideology and the state in south India.