Dr. Gil Ben-Herut is an Assistant Professor in the Religious Studies Department, University of South Florida. His research interests include pre-modern religious literature in the Kannada language, South-Asian devotional traditions, and the vernacularization of Sanskrit poetics and courtly literature.

Winner of the 2020 Southeast Conference of the Association for Asian Studies Annual Book Prize
Winner of the 2019 Southeastern Medieval Association (SEMA) Award for Best First Book

"a valuable addition" -- John E. Cort, Religious Studies Review

"Śiva's Saints is to be recommended for its lively retelling of several unforgettable stories, such as those of Nimbavve and Ko=&vu=&ra Bommatande, its perceptive comments on the politics of premodern South Asian religious literature, and its noteworthy contribution to the growing body of critical scholarship on the still little-understood Vir=&aśaiva tradition." -- Eric Steinschneider, Journal of Religion

"Śiva's Saints is a ground-breaking and thought-provoking book that is innovative, well-researched, and well-written. Ben-Herut has established himself as a leader in the study of Indian devotional (bhakti) traditions with this remarkable scholarly contribution. This book will undoubtedly be part of ongoing scholarly discussions concerning Kannada-speaking religion and ought to become a mainstay in graduate courses about bhakti for years to come." -- Caleb Simmons, Religion

"Śiva's Saints undoubtedly will engender a new wave of interest and scholarship on this important and neglected tradition, as well as the broader region" -- History of Reilgions

"Ben-Huret's inferences and observations not only invite us to rethink not only Kannada Bhakti but the whole of Indian Bhakti. I welcome this well-written, cogently argued book, as an invaluable contribution to Bhakti Studies and all the related areas." -- H.S. Shivaprakash, The Hindu

"Ben-Herut's work is both accessible to a general readership and integral to the library of any scholar of Hinduism." -- Elaine Fisher, Reading Religion

"Śiva's Saints is a ground-breaking and thought-provoking book that is innovative, well-researched, and well-written. Ben-Herut has established himself as a leader in the study of Indian devotional (bhakti) traditions with this remarkable scholarly contribution. This book will undoubtedly be part of ongoing scholarly discussions concerning Kannada-speaking religion and ought to become a mainstay in graduate courses about bhakti for years to come." -- Caleb Simmons, Religion