Illuminating Worlds explores the foundations of the world?s longest continuous multilingual literary tradition. It provides fresh and accessible translations of classical Indian texts from ancient Vedic hymns to the songs of Tamil bhakti. Organized both chronologically and thematically, this wide-ranging collection gives a broad perspective on Indian history while highlighting the deep connections between multiple literary traditions. Spanning time, texts and languages, this anthology?the first of its kind?provides a comprehensive survey of of ancient India?s most important literary contributions.