Amaru was a 7th century Sanskrit poet who is usually credited with writing the Amarushatakam (“Amaru's Hundred”), a collection of sexual love poetry.
- The title of the book is doubly deceptive, since current versions include over 200 poems, and there is significant evidence that it was collected from many previous collections, casting doubt on its authorship.
- Despite the fact that Amaru's poetry is not overtly religious and therefore explores the pleasures of carnal love, the themes of lover/beloved and union/separation addressed in this poetry subsequently became common topics in bhakti (devotional) poetry.
Amaru is portrayed as a monarch who becomes mythically linked with the great teacher in the Shankaradigvijaya, a legendary biography of the philosopher Shankaracharya.
- Shankaracharya utilizes his yogic abilities to reanimate Amaru's corpse shortly after his death in response to the challenge that he knows nothing about sexuality.
- Shankaracharya, in this incarnation, is said to have had no desire to explore this aspect of human existence.
- Shankaracharya conducts affairs with Amaru's wives, partakes in the pleasures of passion, and records his exploits in the Amarushatakam.
Despite the fact that this assertion is extremely dubious, it does serve to highlight some significant thematic links between religious and sexual poetry.
For further information, read Lee Siegel's 1983 book Fires of Love—Waters of Peace.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
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