Premanand Kavi

Premanand Kavi — the poet himself — steps into *Okhaharan* not merely as its invisible craftsman but as a living presence within the text. Following a convention beloved in medieval Gujarati poetry, Mahakavi Premanand weaves his own name and authorial voice into the fabric of the narrative, addressing his audience directly, reflecting on the act of composition, and occasionally offering moral or devotional commentary that reminds listeners they are in the hands of a conscious, devout storyteller.

These self-referential moments are far more than literary signature. They reveal Premanand's deep identification with the Vaishnava tradition, his humility before the divine subject matter, and his awareness of the oral performance context in which his verses would be sung and heard. When he names himself within a canto, he simultaneously anchors the work in a specific human voice and elevates it as an act of bhakti. Readers tracing this tag across the cantos of *Okhaharan* will find a portrait of the poet as devotee, craftsman, and community storyteller all at once.