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SKT 4(3) C02 - ºÉƺEÞòiÉEòÉ´ªÉÉxÉÖ¶ÉÒ±ÉxɨÉÂ

( AND CULTURE)

III SEMESTER

BA

COMPLEMENTARY III/IV SANSKRIT

(2019 ADMISSION)

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

THENJIPALAM, CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.., , KERALA - 673 635

School of Distance Education

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

Study material

SKT 4(3) C02 - ºÉƺEÞòiÉEòÉ´ªÉÉxÉÖ¶ÉÒ±ÉxɨÉÂ

III SEMESTER

B.A MALAYALAM

COMPLEMENTARY COURSE III/IV SANSKRIT

Prepared by: Dr. K. INDIRA, Assistant Professor on contract in Sanskrit, School of Distance Education, University of Calicut.

Scrutinized by: Smt. Sruthi P.A., Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Sreekrishnapuram V.T. Bhattathirippad College,

Mannampatta, Palakkad.

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SKT 4(3) C02 - ºÉƺEÞòiÉEòÉ´ªÉÉxÉÖ¶ÉÒ±ÉxɨÉÂ

Module :- Origin, characteristics, technical terms and divisions of sanskrit

Module II: - Appreciation of the dramatical works of and introduction to the other works of Kalidasa

Essential reading Abhijnanasakunthala of Kalidasa Act IV, Chowkhambha Publication, Delhi.

Module III:- Major dramatists and their works –Bhasa, Bhavabhuti and Saktibhadras. Kerala Sanskrit Theatre - Kutiyattom, Cakyarkuttu and Nangyarkuttu.

Module IV:- Literature - study of Kerala Sanskrit poets and leader of Renissance like Kulasekhara, Sankaracharya, Melpathur Narayanabhatta, Ramapanivada, Sri Narayanaguru, Chattambi Svamikal, K.N. , P.C. Devasya and P.K. Narayanapilla

Module V:- Branches of Sanskrit wisdom

General awareness in major works on

General study of Vastu Sastra

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Module I: - Origin, characteristics, technical terms and divisions of sanskrit drama

The earliest manifestations of a dramatic idea in are to be found in the hymns of the Rig Veda. Certain of these hymns Origin. are in the form of dialogues between various personages of the Vedic pantheon, such as and Yamī, Saramā and the Paṇis, while the of King Purūravas and the nymph Urvaśī is the foundation for one of the plays of India's greatest dramatist. The lack of accurate data precludes our knowing much about the origin of the drama in India, but it is probable that it had its beginning in a combination of these hymns in dramatic form and in the religious dances, in which certain pantomimic features came to be conventionalized and stereotyped in later times until we get the classical Sanskrit drama. This theory is borne out by the fact that in Sanskrit the words for play (nāṭaka) and actor (naṭa) are from the root naṭ which is the Prākrit form of the Sanskrit nṛt 'to dance.' The native Hindu account of the origin of the drama was that it came down from as a fully developed art invented by the divine sage . This theory, however satisfying to mind, cannot be accepted by modern scholarship, and we are forced to presuppose a development from the religious to the dramatic, as outlined above, which is not essentially different from that found in Greece. The earlier stages, which were connected with religious festivals, and especially with the worship of Kṛṣṇa-Viṣṇu, were not unlike the early primitive Christian mystery-plays of the Middle Ages in Europe. Whatever may have been its beginnings, it is certain that the drama flourished in India, and had a high development. The Character earlier plays as we know them had considerable freedom of choice of subject and treatment and they can be described, for the most part, as melodramas or tragi-comedies. Primarily their elements are mixed: gravity and gaiety, despair and joy, terror and —all are combined in the same play. , in our sense of the term, there is none, for every drama must have a happy ending. As, according to the rules, cannot be represented on the stage, it follows

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School of Distance Education that one great source of inspiration for European tragedy is entirely eliminated. The usual subject for dramatic treatment is love, and according to the rank or social position of the hero and heroine the play is placed in one or another of the ten chief (rūpaka) or eighteen minor (uparūpaka) divisions of the drama recognized by the Hindu text-books.

The trials and tribulations of the lovers, relieved by the rather clumsy attempts at wit of the vidūṣaka, or court jester, the plotting of the viṭa, or parasite, and the efforts of the rival wives to establish themselves in the favor of their and masters, with the incidents of every day life in the harem and court, constitute the plot of the play. The laments of the hero to his confidant, the jester, serve to introduce lyrical stanzas descriptive of the beauties of nature, the wiles and graces of woman, and the tender passion which fills the hero's heart for some fair maiden or celestial nymph. According to the Sanskrit treatises on dramatic art the subject of a nāṭaka is to be taken from some famous legend, and its hero must be high-minded and of noble. For the technical divisions of a drama and the development of the plot there are carefully elaborated rules, but of the actual scenic arrangement of a play, the manner of producing it, and the Technical Divisions and Arrangement of a Play. assignment of the roles we know comparatively little. Plays seem to have been usually presented at the spring festival. A drama always opens with a nāndī, or benediction, usually addressed to Śiva, for the prosperity of the audience, by the sūtradhāra, or director. This director must have been very accomplished and versatile, for the rules say that among other things he must know music, technical treatises, dialects, the art of managing, works on , rhetoric, acting, industrial arts, , astronomy, geography, history, and the genealogies of royal families. He was to have a good memory, and to be honest, intelligent, dignified, and noble. According to the text- books he had two associates: the sthāpaka and the pāripārśvika. It is probable that in the actual practice of the theatre the duties assigned by the treatises to the sthāpaka were all performed by the sūtradhāra. At the end of the nāndī there is a dialogue between the manager and some actor complimenting the audience on their critical ability and ending by introducing one of the characters of the play, after which the action goes on with regular divisions into acts and scenes. Scenes are marked by the exit of one person and the entrance of another, as on the Classical and the French stage, and the stage is never left empty until the end of the act. Between the acts a

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School of Distance Education connecting scene called viṣkambhaka is often introduced, in which occurrences that have taken place since the preceding act are explained. The theory of the unity of time, place, and action, which played so important a part in the Greek drama, appears in rather a modified form in India. The time of the action is supposed to be the same as that occupied in the performance, or else to fall within twenty-four hours. But this rule is not always observed, and we find in the Uttararāmacarita of Bhavabhūti a lapse of twelve between the first and second acts. Unity of place is not strictly observed, and journeys are often made, sometimes even through the air in celestial cars.

Dṛsyakavya is of two types - Rupaka and Uparupaka or minor Rupaka, where Rupaka is divided into ten and Uparupaka is divided into eighteen varieties. The ten Rupakas are – Naṭaka, Prakaraṇa, , Vyayoga, Samavakara, Dima, Ihamṛga, Aṅka, Vithi and Prahasana. Uparupakas are Nāṭikā, Troṭaka, Goṣṭhī, Saṭṭaka, Nāṭyarāsaka, Prasthānaka, Ullāpya, Uparupaka etc.

1. Nāṭaka

The characteristics of Nāṭaka, provided by Sanskrit Dramaturgy are to some extent rigid. The Vastu or the plot of Nāṭaka should be derived from the traditional or popular Legend i.. it must be well known. This plot is an aggregate of all incidents and episodes. The plot of a drama is of three types- Prakhyāta, Utpādya and Mixed. Prakhyāta is that where the plot is borrowed from any traditional stories i.e. well known Legend. The story which is not borrowed from any mythological or historical source and is the creation of the poet‘s own fancy is Utpādya. Again the plot which is partially traditional and partially original and at the same time is created by poet‘s own fancy is called Miśra or Mixed. The plot of Nāṭaka should be Prakhyāta or Khyāta or popular. The of acts of Nāṭaka would be five to ten. The Nāṭyaśāstra gives a brief outline regarding the characteristics of Nāṭaka. Nāṭaka is the most developed form of drama which narrates some events of the life of a distinguished or Saintly character. Bharata has classified the hero of a drama into four varieties- Dhīrodātta, Dhīroddhata, Dhīralalita and Dhīrapraśānta.

2. Prakaraṇa

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Prakaraṇa is a type of Rupaka which is distinguished from the Naṭaka or other Rupakas for its plot and characterization. The plot of a Prakaraṇa should be created by the poet‘s own capacity or imagination. The Prakaraṇa, like the Naṭaka, consists of five and the number of acts also is similar to that of Naṭaka. Other technicalities i.e. the five Arthaprakṛties, five stages of action, the different modes of behaviour etc. follow the pattern of Naṭaka. Yet it has some peculiarities. The Prakaraṇa deals with narration of the characters of a , a Businessman, a Minister, a Purahita or a Sarthavaha. The hero of a Prakaraṇa would be a Dhirodatta or Dhiraprasanta character. 3. Samavakara Samavakara is distinct from other Rupakas for its peculiarities. It deals with the different objects of and demons. The deities include the semi-divine beings or the super human beings of various classes like the Yakṣas, , and . The principal character or the hero of Samavakara would be divine and this hero would also be well known and gallant (Udatta) type. The number of the heroes is twelve. Samavakara consists of three acts, three horror, three types of passion or Sṛṅgara and three types of dejection (sadness). The three types of passion or Sṛṅgara are Dharmasṛṅgara, Kamasṛṅgara and Arthasṛṅgara. 4. Ihamṛga Ihamṛga is another variety of Rupaka the plot of which deals with Divine and Human being. It is of a mixed type which is partly legendary and partly invented by the poet‘s own fancy. The subject matter follows the acquisition of a divine woman or a celestial damsel who is captivated by the opponent but is difficult to obtain and the hero is found to be met with tragic end, yet the actual death of the hero is technically avoided on the stage. The hero of this type of drama is Uddhata and he may be either a divine or human character. Ihamṛga contains three types of Sandhis, Garbha and Vimarṣa are absent here. 5. Dima Dima is a four-act drama having four junctures. Garbhasandhi is absent in this type of drama. The plot of Dima is well-known as in case of Nāṭaka. It has sixteen principal characters possessing Uddhata nature. Most of them are , Rākṣasas, Yakṣas, Piśācas and other witches. Heroic (Sāttvatī) or Horrific (Ᾱrabhaṭī) are the Vṛttis which belong to the mode of the behaviour of the characters. Dima contains only six

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School of Distance Education sentiments and does not admit Erotic and Comic sentiments. Magic, Sorcery etc. are the important deeds found in the actions of the characters. In this type of drama Viṣkambhaka and Praveśaka do not get any place though it is important in case of Nāṭaka.

6. Utsṛṣṭikāṅka Utsṛṣṭikāṅka is an Rūpaka mainly in pathetic sentiment which depicts a well- known story of mortal character. Bharata has strictly prohibited the divine character here and adds the women characters who are found to lament in sorrowful speech. It contains only one mode of behaviour i.e. Bhāratī Vṛtti while Sāttvatī, Ᾱrabhaṭī and Kaiśikī are omitted here. Viśwanātha has named it Aṅka. 7. Prahasana The term Prahasana itself depicts the sense of comedy. It is full of comic characters and is presented in the costumes, suitable for comic scene. The ruling sentiment is Hāsya as it arouses laughter in the audience. It is of two types - Śuddha and Saṃkīrṇa. The characters of Prahasana are Monks, Brāhmanas, Servants, Slaves, Villains, Courtisans etc. Prahasana contains all the ten sub-divisions of Vīthī. It follows the pattern of Bhāna in case of behaviour, junctures etc. 8. Bhāṇa Bhāṇa is a monologue or one-act play, the plot of which is purely created by the poets own imagination. In this type of Rūpaka the hero speaks for himself and also for other characters. In Bhāṇa, at the time of presentation of the play on the stage, only one actor appears on the stage as it is a monologue and addresses to a feigned listener and also himself acts as the treatment of the addressee. There would be two Sandhis- Mukhasandhi or opening juncture and Nirvahaṇa or concluding juncture. 9. Vyayoga Vyayoga is a Rupaka of one-act. It deals with a popular topic as its characters are also popular or well- known, though it has a little women character. The hero of this type of drama, according to Bharata, should not be a divine figure, or a king with saintly character. It contains only three junctures namely the opening, the progression and the conclusion. 10. Vithi

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Vithi is also a one-act play. All the sentiments are introduced in this type of drama but the principal sentiment should dominate here. It contains Udghatyaka and Avalagita variety of Induction. Three types i.e. upper, lower and middle characters are introduced in Vithi category of Rupaka. Vithi has its own thirteen sub-divisions which are also sub- divisions of Bharati Vṛtti, known as Vithyaṅgas. It contains only two junctures- opening and conclusion. 11. Aṅka Aṅka is a Rupaka mainly in pathetic sentiment which depicts a well-known story of mortal character. Bharata has strictly prohibited the divine character here and adds the women characters who are found to lament in sorrowful speech. It contains only one mode of behaviour i.e. Bharati Vṛtti while Sattvati, Ᾱrabhaṭi and Kaisiki are omitted here. Viswanatha has named it Aṅka.

Module II: - Appreciation of the dramatical works of Kalidasa and introduction to the other works of Kalidasa

The greatest in is that of Kālidāsa who lived at the court of Ujjain, probably about the first half of Kālidāsa. The sixth century of our era, although his date is not settled and the question is still a mooted one. He is the author of three plays, Abhinjana Śakuntalam, Vikramorvaśī, and Mālavikāgnimitra. The first two of these compositions reach the highest level attained by the Hindu dramatists and win for their author a place among the greater poets of the world. Their richness of fancy and appreciation of nature, added to the beauty of poetic technique and choice of , have never been equaled in India, and bear favorable comparison with the of any nation. The play of Sakuntala has been known in Europe since its by Sir William Jones in 1789, by which work that great Orientalist really introduced Sanskrit poetry to the West and started the study of Hindu literature. The play is a naṭaka, or heroic comedy, of seven acts, and its plot is drawn from the first book of the . The subject of the drama is the love of King Dusyanta for Sakuntala, their separation by accident, and their ultimate reunion in the presence of their son after the lapse of some years. The importance of this play lies not only in the fact that it is the most perfect Sanskrit drama extant, but also in the fact that its great literary

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School of Distance Education , as was evident from Sir William's translation, aroused a widespread interest in the literature of India throughout Europe. It was enthusiastically received by the followers of the Romantic School and exercised a genuine influence upon them. Jones's English version was soon rendered into other , and independent from the original Sanskrit have since been made into almost all the tongues of Europe, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, and Bohemian. Kalidasa's other important play is the Vikramorvasiyam. It was first translated into English into 1827 by , a scholar who devoted a great part of his life to the study of the Sanskrit drama, and whose 'Select Specimens of the Theatre of the ' is a standard work even to-day. Later investigations have rendered some of his views antiquated, but his book remained for years the only work upon the Sanskrit drama as a whole, until the appearance, in 1890, of Sylvain Lévi's admirable and scholarly treatise, Le Théâtre indien, a work indispensable to students. The plot of the Vikramorvasiyam is briefly as follows: King rescues the nymph Urvasi, who has been carried away by the demons, and his heroism wins her love. The lovers become separated by accident, but after various vicissitudes are reunited in the presence of their son when the latter is about twelve years old. The third play of Kalidasa, entitled Malavikagnimitra, or 'King Agnimitra's Love for Malavika,' is a conventional drama of harem intrigue at the court, and is decidedly inferior to the author's other two plays. So marked is this inferiority that some scholars have even gone so far as to question its right to bear Kalidasa's name. Kalidasa is the author of two , Raghuvamsa ("Dynasty of Raghu") and Kumarasambhava (Kumara meaning son, and sambhavam meaning possibility of an event to take place, in this context it means birth. Kumarasambhavam means the birth of a son (to goddess and )). Raghuvamsa is an epic poem about the kings of the Raghu dynasty. Kumarasambhava describes the birth and adolescence of the goddess Parvati, and her with Shiva. Kalidasa also wrote two khandakavyas (minor poems): Descriptive: Ritusamhara describes the six seasons by narrating the experiences of two lovers in each of the seasons. Kalidasa created his own genre of poetry with Meghaduta (The Cloud Messenger), the story of a trying to send a message to his lover through a cloud. Kalidasa set this poem to the mandakranta meter, which is known for its

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School of Distance Education lyrical sweetness. It is one of Kalidasa's most popular poems and numerous commentaries on the work have been written.

Kalidasa’s Abhinjanasakuntalam - Act IV

During the interval after the last act, has married Sakuntala by the form of marriage and has then left for the capital, having promised to send a suitable guard to take his bride to her rightful home, Dushyanta‘s palace. While Sakuntala is alone in the hermitage, her thoughts being away with her absent husband, she fails to offer proper hospitality to the choleric sage, , come to the asrama as a guest. The hot-tempered sage curses her with the words - ― He of whom art thinking, neglecting to recive me properly as a guest- he won‘t remember you even when remined (of you)‖. One of Sakuntala‘s companions, however, pleads Sakuntala‘s absentmindedness, and obtains from the sage and concession in so far that, the curse would cease to have effect on the production of some token of recognition. (this has an important bearing on the plot, as will be seen later). The two companions say nothing about the curse to anyone; they do not communicate it even to Sakuntala, as they thought it was not advisable to worry her with it, and especially as some token of recognition could easily be produced when the ocaasion needed it. All this is related in an interlude. In the act proper, we learn that has come to know of Sakuntala‘s marriage and that he has approved of it. In the meanwhile the curse has began to operate and Dushyanta has completely forgotten everything about his forest- bride. But those in the hermitage are not aware of that; and , as Sakuntala as by this time developed signs of preganancy they are now preparing to send her to her lawful husband. The whole scene depicting her departure from the penance-grove wher she had resided so long,and where every plant, creeper and animal was bound to her ties of affection, is very touchingly portrayed. It contains also Kanva‘s well-known advice to Sakuntala on the duties of a wife and a daughter- in-law.

Module III:- Major dramatists and their works – Bhasa, Bhavabhuti and Saktibhadras

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Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in the early 20th century. Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, like the Kavyamimamsa on poetics from 880–920 AD. In the Kavyamimamsa, Rajashekhara attributes the play Swapnavasavadattam to Bhāsa. In the 1909 the play Swapnavasavadatta was discovered by Anandalvar of the Archeological Survey of , two years later the Mahamahopadhyaya T. Ganapati Sastri came upon 13 Sanskrit plays that were used in the plays. The first discovery yielded ten complete manuscripts (Swapnavasavadatta, Pratigya Yaugandharayana, Pancharatra, Charudatta, Dootaghatotkacha, Avimaraka, Balacharita, Madhyamavyayoga, Karnabhara and ) and fragments of one. Later, he found two more: and Pratimanataka. Finally, he found intact manuscript of Dootavakyamadding up to total thirteen plays believed to be authored by Bhasa. Unlike other classical plays, none of them mentioned the author, but one was the Swapnavāsavadatta. Comparing the style of writing and techniques employed in these plays and based on the knowledge that Swapnavāsavadatta was Bhāsa's work, all of them were credited to him. Some scholars have disputed Bhāsa's authorship of all the plays but over the years the plays have generally come to be ascribed to Bhāsa. The Uru-Bhanga and -bhara are the only known tragic Sanskrit plays in ancient India. Though branded the villain of the Mahabharata, is the actual hero in Uru-Bhanga shown repenting his past as he lies with his thighs crushed awaiting death. His relations with his family are shown with great pathos. The epic contains no reference to such repentance. The Karna-bhara ends with the premonitions of the sad end of Karna, another epic character from Mahabharata. Early plays in India, inspired by Natya , strictly considered sad endings inappropriate. The plays are generally short compared to later playwrights and most of them draw the theme from the Indian epics, Mahabharata and .Though he is firmly on the side of the heroes of the epic, Bhāsa treats their opponents with great sympathy. He takes a lot of liberties with the story to achieve this. In the -nataka, Kaikeyi who is responsible for the tragic events in the Ramayana is shown as enduring the calumny of all so that a far noble end is achieved.

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Plays based on Ramayana Pratima-nataka: The statues Yagna-Phalam: Abhisheka- natka: The coronation Plays based on Mahabharata, Panch-ratra: The five-nights Madhyama-vyayoga: The middle one Duta-Ghattotkacha: Ghattotkacha as envoy Duta-Vakya: The envoy's message Urubhanga: The broken thigh Karnabharam: Karna's burden or Bala-charita: 's dynasty or the tale of Childhood The Duta-Vakya and Bala-charita are perhaps the only Sanskrit plays by a famous playwright with as the central character. His other plays are not epic based. Avimaraka is a fairy tale, which later became part of a Mani film, The Cloud Door (1994). The unfinished Daridra-Charudatta (Charudatta in poverty) tells the story of the courtesan Vasantasena and is interesting for the same story was developed by Śhudraka into the more famous Mrichakatika on which 1984 film, Utsav by Girish Karnad is based. His most famous plays Pratigya Yaugandharayanam (the vow of Yaugandharayana) and Swapnavāsavadattam (Vasavadatta in the dream) are based on the legends that had grown around the legendary King Udayana, probably a contemporary of the Buddha. The first play tells the story of how the king Udayana married the princess Vasavadatta (his first wife).The second play tells the story of how the king Udayana, with the help of his loyal minister Yaugandharayana, later married the princess Padmavati, a daughter of the king of , and thus made this king his ally rather than enemy. Though his plays were discovered only in the 20th century, two of them Uru-Bhanga and Karna-bhara, have become popular due to their appeal to modern tastes and performed in translation and Sanskrit. Many of Bhasa's plays are staged in Koodiyattam even now, like parts of Pratijna-Yaugandharayana, Abhisheka-nataka etc. Bhavabhuti The dramatist Bhavabhuti, who lived during the first half of the eighth century, was a native of Vidarbha, the Province of Bhavabhuti. Berar, in south-central India, and he wrote under the protection of king Yasovarman of Kanauj. He is the author of three plays, the Malatimadhava, Mahaviracarita, and Uttararamacarita, which are distinguished by great poetic beauty and feeling, exquisite verse, polished style, but little humor or wit (the jester being absent from all), and only moderate dramatic power. They are, perhaps, dramatic poems rather than dramas. Bhavabhuti's home in the mountain regions of south-central India doubtless gave him a love of the grand and titanic aspects of nature instead of the mild and gentle phases described by the

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School of Distance Education other Hindu authors. His characters have much grace and tenderness and also possess energy and life. His most popular play is the ten act prakarana, or melodrama, Malati-, the scene of which is laid in Ujjain. It is the story of the love of Malati, daughter of a cabinet minister, and Madhava, a young student. This charming play is often called the Romeo and Juliet of India, but it has a happy ending, as all Sanskrit plays must have. The whole drama is a succession of contrasted situations, first of love and then of the weird incantations of the terrible priestess of , scenes which are used to heighten the dramatic effect as well as to contribute to the plot. In the fifth act the scene is laid in the field where the bodies of the dead are burned. The two other plays of Bhavabhuti form a history of the deeds of the hero , and are based on the epic poem Ramayana. I shall omit a detailed description of these. Sakthibhadran Sakthibhadran was a Classical Sanskrit writer, who lived in ancient Kerala. He wrote Ascharyachoodamani () the first Sanskrit drama from . He may have been born in Kodumon a in Adoor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, between the 7th and 11th centuries. A popular tradition current in malabar represents Shaktibhadran as a pupil of Adi ; and if this tradition could be trusted, Adi Shankaracharya saved 'Ascharyachoodamani' from complete loss by reciting it from his memory when the work was accidentally burnt. According to Ascharyachoodamani, he was the first playwright of South India and also wrote the play named 'Unmadavasavadatta' on popular story of King Vatsaraj. First Act - In first Act stage-manager give introduction of play. Play start with Lakshman who made hut for his brother and wife . Surpanakha disguised as a beautiful woman meet Lakshman and request him to marry her; but Lakshman refused and went to hut. Rama and sita praise Lakshman for making such a beautiful hut. Second Act - Surpanakha requested Rama for marriage but Rama refused and asked to meet Lakshman so angry Surpanakha in take her real horror form try to abduct Lakshman but Lakshman cut her ears, nose and breasts. Third Act - In this Act, sages give magical to Rama and chudamani (hairpin) to Sita. , A demon-king and brother of Surpanakha take help of who take magical form. Ravana disguised as Rama meet Sita; charioteer of

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Ravana disguised as Lakshman so Sita went with them. Surpanakha disguised as Sita meet Rama and Maricha disguised as Rama meet Lakshman. Fourth act - In this Act, Surpanakha who disguised as Sita meet Rama and Converse with him but when magical ring of Rama touched Sita; she take his original form of Surpanakha. Surpanakha tell Rama it's all plan of ravana to abduct Sita. Ravana who abducted Sita disguised as Rama touch Sita's magical chudamani (hairpin) and take his real form. , a vulture try to help Sita but Ravana kill him. Fifth Act - learns that Ravana arranged vasantotsav (festival of spring) for Sita but Sita doesn't like this and Ravana treys to convince her but she refuses. Sixth Act - meets Sita in Ashokavana and gives ring of Rama. He also give message of Rama. Sita give his chudamani as sign to Hanuman. Seventh Act - and his wife tell fighting between ravana and Rama. Rama defeat Ravana. Finally Rama meet sita who wear beautiful ornaments so Rama makes Sita undergo a trial by fire to prove her chastity. tell secret that Anasuya give magical ornaments to Sita so she look beautiful. Finally Rama went with Sita and Lakshman. Kerala sanskrit theare – Kutiyattam, Cakyarkuttu and Nagyarkuttu Kutiyattam Koodiyattam, meaning "combined acting" in Malayalam, combinesSanskrit theatre performance with elements of traditional . It is traditionally performed in known as . It is the only surviving art form that uses drama from ancient Sanskrit theatre. It has a documented history of a thousand years in Kerala, but its origins are not known. Koodiyattam and koothu were among the dramatized dance worship services in the of ancient India, particularly Kerala. Both koodiyattam and originated from the ancient art form koothu, which is mentioned several times in , and the epigraphs of the subsequent Pallava, Pandiyan, Chera, and Chola periods. Inscriptions related to koothu can be seen in temples at Tanjore, Tiruvidaimaruthur, Vedaranyam, Tiruvarur, and Omampuliyur. They were treated as an integral part of worship services, alongside the singing of Tevaram and Prabandam hymns. Koodiyattam Ancient kings are among those listed as authors of works for these services. There is evidence of these across the ancient subcontinent during the Chola and Pallava periods. A Pallava king called Rajasimha has been credited with authoring the play Kailasodharanam in Tamil, which has the topic of Ravana becoming subject

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School of Distance Education to Siva's anger and being subdued mercilessly for this. It is believed that Kulasekhara Varman Cheraman Perumal, an ancient king of the who ruled from Mahodayapuram (modern ), reformed koodiyattam, introducing the local language for Vidusaka and structuring the presentation of the play into well-defined units. He himself wrote two plays, Subhadradhananjayam and Tapatisamvarana and made arrangements for their presentation on stage with the help of a friend called Tolan. These plays are still performed. Apart from these, the plays traditionally presented include Ascaryacudamani of Saktibhadra, Kalyanasaugandhika of Nilakantha, Bhagavadajjuka of Bodhayana, Nagananda of Harsa, and many plays ascribed to Bhasa, including Abhiseka and Pratima. Traditionally, the main musical instruments used in koodiyattam are the , kuzhitalam, edakka, kurumkuzhal, and sankhu. The mizhavu, the most prominent of these, is a percussion instrument that is played by a person of the Ambalavas Nambiar , accompanied by Nangyaramma playing the kuzhithalam (a type of cymbal). Traditionally, koodiyattam has been performed by (a subcaste of Kerala Hindus) and by Nangyaramma (women of the Nambiar caste). The name "koodiyattam", meaning playing or performing together, is thought to refer to the presence of multiple actors on stage who act in rhythm with the beats of the mizhavu drummers. Alternatively, it may also be a reference to a common practice in Sanskrit drama where a single actor who has performed solo for several nights is joined by another. He main actor is a Chakyar who performs the ritualistic koothu and koodiyattam inside the temple or in the .

Cakyarkuttu

Chakyarkoothu is a performance art from Kerala, India. It is primarily a type of highly refined monologue where the performer narrates episodes from Hindu epics (such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata) and stories from the . Sometimes, however, it is also a traditional equivalent of the modern stand-up comedy act, incorporating commentary on current socio-political events (and personal comments directed at the members of the audience). "Koothu" means dance. which is a misnomer, as facial expressions are emphasized and there is minimal choreography. It is performed in the Koothambalam; a place inside Hindu temples specifically designed for performing Kutiyattam and Chakyar Koothu. Ideally, the performance

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School of Distance Education takes place in conjunction with festivals, presented by members of the Chakyar community along with the Ambalavasi Nambiars. It is a solo performance, by a narrator in a distinctive headgear and black moustache with his torso smeared with sandalwood paste and red dots all over the body. The headgear resembles ‘s hood, to symbolise the narration by Anantha, the thousand headed . The Chakyar narrates the story based on the Sanskrit style of "Champu Prabandha" - a mixture of prose (gadya) and poetry (). He begins with a prayer to the of the temple. He then goes on to narrate a verse in Sanskrit before explaining it in Malayalam. The narration uses wit and humor to draw parallels with current events and local situations. Koothu has traditionally been performed only by the Chakyar community. Two instruments accompany the performance - a mizhavu and a pair of ilathalam. This is different from the , which is performed by women called Nangyarammas who belong to the Nambiar caste, and is a more highly refined theatre art. Chakyar Koothu was originally performed only in Koothambalams of Hindu temples. It was Natyacharya- meaning a great teacher and practitioner of natyam (dramaturgy), a title accorded in his honour- Padma Māni Mādhava Chākyār, a virtuoso of this art, who took Koothu and Kudiyattam outside the temples to the common people. He was the first to perform Chakyar Koothu for and Doordarshan. Many consider him to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Kutiyattam artist of modern times. The story goes that his , Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran wrote a Sanskrit champu prabandha called Prahlādacharita and requested some senior artists to study and perform it, but they found it impossible to do. It was then young Māni Mādhava Chākyār's turn to try. He agreed and studied a part of the prabandha overnight and performed it the next day at Tripunithura, then the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin. The incident proved his mastery of both Sanskrit and the classical art forms. After some months, he performed the entire Prahlādacharita on the same stage. The late Ammannur Madhava Chakyar and Painkulam Raman Chakyar were another important 20th century figure in this art form.

Nagyarkuttu

Nangiar koothu or Nangyar Koothu is an allied traditional art of Kutiyattam, an age-old Sanskrit drama tradition of India. It is performed traditionally by the women of

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School of Distance Education the Ambalavasi Nambiar community of Kerala, known as Nangyaramma, but since the second half of the 20th century it's no longer the case. Nangiarkoothu, an offshoot of Kutiyattam, is a solo performance with an antiquity of 1500 years. It is the sole domain of female artistes. The stories for the performance are taken from the text Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna. During the performance the actress presents the long-winded stories of Lord Krishna through hand , facial expressions, and body movements to the accompaniment of the resonant pot drum mizhavu.

Module IV:- Literature- General study of Kerala Sanskrit poets and leader of Renissance like Kulasekhara, Sankaracharya, Melpathur Narayanabhatta, Ramapanivada, Sri Narayanaguru, Chattambi Svamikal, K.N. Ezhuthachan, P.C. Devasya and P.K. Narayanapilla

Kulasekhara

Kulasekharas of Mahodayapuram are from the royal family in ancientKerala. Many of the Kulasekharas of Mahodayapuramwere not only greatpatrons of literature; they were themselves well accomplished scholars whomade original contribution to Sanskrit literature. Kulasekhara Alvar who maybe considered as the author of the Mukundamālāand the royal dramatistKulasekhara Varman who may be identified with the patron of poet,Vasudeva are the most outstanding among them.

Kulasekhara Alvar was the son of Dhridavrata, the king of ancient Kerala.Mukundamālā, a shortdevotional lyric in Sanskrit, is the main work of Alvar. Inthe text of Mukundamālā, itself the author‘s name is given as the kingKulasekhara. The language of the poem is quite simple. Owing to the greatpopularity of the poem there are various recensions of the text, each differentfrom the others in the number of verses and in their arrangement. The Keralaversion has 31 verses.

The dramatist Kulasekhara Varman was the author of Tapatīsamvarana and Subhadrādhananjaya. The drama, Tapatīsamvarana describes in six acts the story of the love between , daughter of the and Samvarana, the king of Hastinapura. The plot of the drama is taken from Mahābhārata. Subhadrādhananjaya through its five acts describes the well known story of Arjunas abduction of , from Dvaraka. The dramas of Kulasekharadeserve a prominent place among the classical

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School of Distance Education dramas in Sanskrit literature. They were very popular in Kerala and are staged even to this day by the professional actors.

There are many commentaries on the two dramas prevalent in Kerala and Vyangyavyākhya is most important among them. The author of Tapatīsamvarana Vyangyavyākhya and Subhadrādhananjaya vyangyavyākhya was a Brahmin contemporary of Kulasekharavarman. He belonged to Paramesvaramangalam on the banks of the Periyar. He was a great art critic that attracted the attention of the king. The king invited him to the palace for writing commenteries and for supervising the staging of the plays. It was he who popularised these two dramas in Kerala by introducing humorous verses in Malayalam and Sanskrit mixture, in parody of the Sanskrit verses. We can identify this commentator with Tolan, the famous court jester of the king. Tolan is supposed to have written a called Mahodaya pureśacaritam in asimple style, keeping the normal syntax of the language.

Sankaracharya

Sree Sankaracharya (788-820) is considered as one of the greatest scholars in the world of . He was the main preceptor of Advaita philosophy in ancient India. Among the nine philosophical systems of India, the Advaita, one of the prominent streams of , developed and spread beyond other systems all over India due to the intellectual invincibility of Sankara. He developed the concept of monism or oneness and explained most of the ancient concepts on the basis of the system of Advaita. It is noted that all the darsanas in post Sankara period in India are highly influenced by the views of Advaita philosophy. Sankara travelled across the to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanisads and , in a time when the Mimamsa School established strict ritualism and ridiculed . He is reputed to have founded four (), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of of which he is known as the greatest revivalist. Life and works of Sankaracharya The birth place of Sankara is Kalady at the bank of the river Periyar in the district of Eranakulam. The stories about Sankara describe him as someone who was attracted to the life of Sanyasa from early childhood. But his mother did not agree with

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School of Distance Education his vision. According to one of the related with Sankara, at the age of eight he went to a river with his mother to bathe, and where he is caught by a crocodile. Sankara called out to his mother to give him permission to become a Sanyasin or else the crocodile will kill him. The mother agrees, Sankara is freed and leaves his home for education. Then he became the disciple of Govindapada, one of the great scholars of ancient India. The Prasthanatraya is considered as the most important collection among his works. It is the collective name given to the commentaries , Bramha Sutra and Bhagavat Gita, which are accepted as three sources from which the different schools of Vedanta derived their authority. The commentary of Sankara on the Brahmasutra of Badarayana is the basic text of his philosophy. Thus Brahmasutra sankarabhasya is considered as the unavoidable scripture of Advaita School. Ten major Upanishads are also commented on the basis of Advaita School. They are: Isavasyopanishad, Kenopanishad, Kathopanisad, Prasnopanishad, Mundakopanishad, Mandukyopanishad, Taittariyopanishad, Aitareyopanisad, Chandogyopanisad and Brhadaranyakopanisad. Sankara tries to confirm the infallibility of the philosophy of Advaita through the explanation of these three bhasyas. He proclaimed the ultimate reality of the universe is , the indefinite concept of everything and explained:- Brahmasatyam jaganmithya - that is Brahma is alone the truth and the empirical world is illusion. The entire universe is mithya or illusion, derived from the ignorance. He vehemently opposed the orthodox customs of Vedic culture like yagas and gave importance to knowledge as the only way of . He rejected the tradition and strictly believed in tradition. That is why he accepted the Veda, especially the ends of Veda or Upanishads as one of the of true knowledge. Sankara's works are the foundations of Advaita Vedanta School. Over 300texts are attributed to his name, including Bhasya (commentaries), Prakaranagrantha (original philosophical expositions) and poetry. However most of these are not authentic works of Sankara and are likely to be works of his admirers or scholars whose name was also Sankaracharya.

Melputhur Bhattathiri

Narayana Bhatta of Melputhur, the well known author ofNārāyanīya, the Prakriyāsarvasva and the first part of Mānameyodaya, is one of the greatest scholars

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School of Distance Education that Kerala has produced. He was considered as the great scholar in Sanskrit literature, , mathematics and Mımamsa . Bhattathri was born in Melpathur Illam, on the north banks of Bharathapuzha River, close to the holy town of Thirunavaya, near . Bhattathiri's father was Mathrudattan, and he studied from his father as a child. He learned the from Madhava, Tharka Sastra from Damodara and from Achyuta Pisharati. He became a scholar by the age of 16. He married Achuta Pisharati's niece and settled at Thrikandiyur. He was one of the last mathematicians of the Sangamagrama School, which had been founded by Madhava in Kerala. Paramesvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati, Melputhur Narayana Bhattathiri and Achyuta Panikkar were the main scholars of this tradition.

Works of Narayana Bhatta Nārāyanīya is the famous work of Narayana Bhatta. It is a devotional Sanskrit work consisting of 1036 verses. It was written by Bhattathiri in 1586AD and gives a summary of 18,000 verses of the Bhāgavata Purāna. According to a myth related to Narayana Bhatta, his guru, Achyutha Pisharati has been affected by rheumatism. Unable to see his pain, by yogic strength and by way of Gurudaksina, Bhattathri is said to have taken the disease upon him and relieved his guru. To relieve Narayana of this disease, Ezhuthachan, Malayalam poet and Sanskrit scholar hinted- "meen thottu koottuka" (start with the fish). On the face of it, the suggestion would seem offensive to an orthodox Brahmin, who are strict vegetarians. However, Bhattathiri, understanding the hidden meaning, decided to present the various incarnations of Visnu starting with the fish, as narrated in the Bhāgavata Purānain a series of Daśakas (groups of ten slokas). Upon reaching Guruvayur, he started composing one daśaka a day in the presence of the Lord. The refrain in last śloka of every daśaka is a prayer to him to remove his ailments and sufferings. Every day, he sang 10 ślokas on Sri Guruvayoorappan. Each set of 10 poems ends with a prayer for early cure. He finished his compositions in100 days.

Prakriyāsarvasva is the most important among the scientific works of Narayana Bhatta. It is a grammatical work and is an original recast of Panini‘s divided in to twenty sections, with a lucid commentary explaining all the difficult points. Mānameyodaya is the important work of Bhattathiri on Purva Mımamsa tradition. It is noted that the meya portion of Mānameyodaya is written by another Narayana.

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Dhātukāvya, Apānīnīyapramānata, Niranunāsikaprabandha, Kotiviraha, Astamicampu and Subhadrāharana are some of the important works of Narayana Bhatta.

Ramapanivada

Ramapanivada was a great poet and a scholar of Kerala in 18 AD. A prolific writer both in Sanskrit and Prakrt, he has to his credit several works of outstanding merit covering almost all branches of general literature. Some of the scholars strongly believe that Ramapanivada is another name of Kunchan Nampiar of Kalakkath family. Rāghavīya, Visnuvilāsa, Sītāraghava, Candrikā Līlāvatī, Madanaketucarita, Mukuntaśataka, Bhāgavatacampu and Vrttavārttika are the main works of Ramapanivada.

Sree Narayanaguru

The year 1888 which witnessed the idolatory of Siva of Sri (1856-1928) on the despotism of , indicates a new phase of Kerala renaissance history. The revolutionary activity of Sri Narayana Guru started an ideological battle against the caste discriminations in the society and the traditional evil practices prevalent among the Ezhava community. The attempt of idol installation at Aruvippuram was his debut in the social activities of Kerala. It was the most important proclamation of human equality and had produced results which eventually changed the face of the socio-religious-economic-political life of Kerala.

Sree Narayana Guru fought against untouchability, declaring that all , and gods are one and same, and the essence of all is the same. He amalgamated the concept of ‗, cross and crescent‘ into one single symbol, revealing the unity of all religions. This created a new way of thought and it could banish many evil customs among the people. He had a vision of a classless society and developed a full philosophy of the uselessness of caste. The stress that he put on education was with a to modernising the lower classes. The feeling of inferiority was washed away and made them conscious of their dignity as human beings through the enlightenment ideas of Sree Narayana Guru. The message of Sree Narayana Guru was

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School of Distance Education not intended for the Keralites alone, but to the whole of humanity. It was universal. He longed to see human beings united in one caste, one religion and one for .

The activities of Sree Narayana Guru encouraged many organizations to fight against all anti-social evils and caste rigidities prevalent in Kerala in those days. Moreover, communal organizations in early twentieth century helped to supplement the activities of social reform leaders in Kerala. The most important organization was the Sree Narayana Paripalana Yogam (SNDP). He was the founder president of the SNDP Yogam.

Sree Narayana Guru wrote many works including Sanskrit and Malayalam. Most of them are reveal his philosophy and the vision on social life. Atmopadeśa śataka is the most important work among his books. Darśana Māla, Advaita Dīpikā, Brahmavidyā Pancakam, Nirvrti Pancakam and ślokatrayi are other works of Sree Narayana Guru.

Chattampiswamikal

Sree Vidyadhiraja Parama Bhattaraka Chattampi Swamikal (1853–1924) was aprominent social reformer in Kerala. His thoughts and work influenced the launching of many social, religious, literary and political organizations and social movements in Kerala. Chattampiswamikal was born on 25 August 1853 at Kannammoola, a village of Trivandrumin southern Travancore. His father was Vasudevan Namputhiri, a Nambuthiri from Mavelikkara, and his mother was Nangamma, a from Kannammoola. He was formally named Ayyappan but was called by the pet name of Kunjan by all. As his parents were not able to provide him formal education, he learned initial lessons from children of his neighborhood who attended schools. Knowing his thirst for learning his uncle took him to the traditional school conducted by Pettayil Raman Pillai Asan, a renowned scholar and writer who taught him without any fee. It was there thathe earned the name Chattampi on account of his assignment as the monitor of the class.

Chattampiswamikal denounced the traditional interpretation of religious texts citing sources from the Vedas. The chief characteristic of Kerala society during nineteenth century was the deep social stratification based on the caste system. He vehemently opposed the Brahminic concepts based on the four fold system of

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School of Distance Education social hierarchy and tried to criticize the unwanted customs and worships of the society. Unreasonable and useless customs had strangled the social body. Both the Savarnas, especially the , and the Avarnas were strictly practiced these customs. Each community then had certain customs and social events of its own observed almost with religious favour as symbols of their self-esteem and pride, though most of them were meaningless, unreasonable, and unscientific, not be fitting the modern age and above all pushing down the lower classes to utter poverty. The society widely suffered from economic impoverishment arising from wasteful expenditure connected with the observance of these customs. The customs such as talikettu, tirantukuli, pulikuti, balikkala etc. were practiced by the people, especially the Nairs. He realized that all the customs of Nair caste are made for the vested interests of Brahmin supremacy. He wanted to stop all these practices for the wellbeing of the people. He proclaimed that every man has the right to learn the sacred texts. The sudras, last group of the varna system, have the right to learn Vedas and upanisads. He revealed that the ban on the Vedic education for śudras is mere interpolations of the sacred scriptures by the Brahminic supremacy.

Vedādhikāranirūpana, Advaitacintāpaddhati and Kristumatanirūpanam are the important works of Chattampiswamikal. Among them Vedādhikāranirūpana is considered as most important. The work deals with the interpretation of apaśūdrādhikarana of Brahmasūtra and the right of sudra to learn the Veda. Vedādhikāranirūpana has infused strength and inspiration to the subaltern groups to fight for their rights and spread the ideas that lead the movements for reformation and renaissance in Kerala.

Dr KN Ezhuthachan

Dr KN Ezhuthachan was born in the village Cherpulassery in Palakkad district, Kerala. He began his career as school teacher and also worked as a clerk and stenographer in Bombay for a brief period. Later, he took his Masters degrees in Sanskrit, Malayalam, and English. In 1953, he joined Madras University as Lecturer and simultaneously worked for his Ph.D. in the same University. After the completion his Ph D in Bhāsākautalīyam, Ezhuthachan joined University of Calicut as a Lecturer. He also served as a Senior Research Officer at Kerala State Institute of Languages,

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Research Fellow of Dravidian Association and Visiting Professor at University of Calicut.

He was a prominent writer in Malayalam and Sanskrit. Kathāmālika, Kathābhūsanam and Kathāmanjusha are the important short stories of Ezhuthachan. Poems like Kusumopahāram and Pratijna and essays like Ilayum Verum, Katirkkula, Uzhuta Nilangal, Ezhilampāla, Kiranangal, Dīpamala are other works of Ezhuthachan.

Keralodaya, the great modern Sanskrithistorical kavya, is considered as the magnum opus of Ezhuthachan. Keralodaya is a beautiful Sanskrit kavya composed in simple language. It describes the mythology, culture and . It begins with the myth of the origin of Kerala through the tale of Parasurama and ends with the description on the day of the origin of the new state Kerala. Keralodaya has 2484 ślokas in its 21 cantos. They are again divided in to five groups called manjaris. Themanjaripancaka of Keralodaya are: 1.Svapnamanjari, 2.Smrtimanjari, 3.Aitıhyamanjari, 4. Bodhamanjari, 5.Caritramanjari.

PC Devasya

P C Devasya was a well known modern writer of Sanskrit in Kerala. He was born in a Christian family at Kottayam in 1906. He is the author of Kristubhāgavata kavya in the world that is fully describes the story and teachings of Jesus Christ. The life and the teachings of Jesus Christ are beautifully presented through its 33 sargas. This Sanskrit mahakavya reveals the teachings of Bible through a traditional Indian genre of literature. The mode of presentation and the simplicity of the language help the reader to learn the poetical excellence of the author. The Krstubhāgavata contains over 1600 Sanskrit verses divided into 33 cantos; perhaps corresponding to the number of years lived by Jesus. Each Sanskrit verse is accompanied by an English translation. The poem and the translation comprise 434 pages. For composing the Krstubhagavata, Devasya won several awards, including the Award for Sanskritin1980.

P. K. Narayana Pillai

P. K. Narayana Pillai (21 March 1879 – 10 February 1936), better identified as Sahitya Panchanan P. K. Narayana Pillai, was an Indian literary critic, essayist,

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School of Distance Education scholar, grammarian and poet of Malayalam language. One of the pioneers of literary criticism in Malayalam, he wrote more than 25 books which include Panchananante Vimarssthrayam, a critique of the writings of Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, Cherusseri Namboothiri and was one of his major works and the book was published by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. He also wrote two books on , Leghuvyakaranam and Vyakarana Pravesika. A four-volume work, Sahitya Panchanante Kruthikal has been published compiling all his major works.

He was a judge of the High Court of Kerala, a member of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly and the founder president of the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad.

Module V:- Branches of sanskrit wisdom

General awareness inmajor works on Ayurveda

General study of vastu sastra

Ayurveda tradition of Kerala

Ayurveda is considered as one of the great contributions of ancient Indian culture to the world. Carakasmhitā, Suśrutasamhitā and Astangahrdaya are the foundations of Indian medicine. Besides these texts, hundreds of works related to Ayurveda and commentaries on the aforesaid scriptures expanded the knowledge of Indian medicine. All these treaties on Ayurveda were adopted and developed by the tradition of Kerala also. Kerala, with its abundant resource of medicinal plants, has a long history of Ayrveda traditions practiced by healers from all levels of society. The arrival in Kerala of the canonical Astangahrdaya composed between the 6 and 7 century CE by Vagbhata, a Buddhist from Sind, stimulated the development of a new dynamic medical culture. Some of the scholars in Ayurveda of Kerala adopted this work as their source book while continuing to draw on regional folk and physical medical practices from diverse sources such as poison therapy and Kalarippayatt, the martial . The eight fold divisions of Ayurveda, i.e. kayacikitsa,

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śalyacikitsa, śalakyacikilsa, kaumarabhrtya, agadatantra, bhutavidya, and vajıkarana are also practiced in ancient Kerala.

Between the 13 and the 17 centuries, with generous royal and individual patronage, a fertile intellectual milieu developed in the Nila valley region in Malabar, where scholarship and scientific research on medicine, mathematics and astronomy made significant progress. The Ashtavaidya culture evolved in this environment, blending the Ayurveda of Ashtāngahridayam with the knowledge and practices of local healers. Among the healers of Kerala, the Ashtavaidyas represent the scholar physicians who were masters of the eight branches (Ashtanga) of Ayurveda mentioned in classical texts. According to tradition, initially eighteen families of Kerala were designated as Ashtavaidyas. Each family developed its own therapeutic specialties and its specific methods of transmission. Although many of the specialties were guarded as family secrets, students outside the family were accepted as disciples. This helped disseminate their knowledge beyond the family circle and create new lineages of transmission. They made many commentaries on the foundational texts and wrote their own medical treaties. Commentaries on the Ashtāngahridayam such as Hridayabodhikā and Vākyapradīpikā, and compendiums in Malayalam such as Ālattūr Manipravālam, Cikitsāmanjari, Sahasrayogam and Sindūramanjari are important among them.

Contribution of P.S. Warrier to Kerala Ayurvedic tradition is remarkable. He was a great scholar and a physician. His knowledge in medicine embraced both indigenous and western concepts. He is the founder of the association of Ayurveda physicians called Aryavaidyasamaja in 1902. The main works of P.S. Warrier on Ayurveda are: Cikitsāsangraha, Ashtāngaśārīra, Brhacchārīra, Malayalam rendering of Ashtāngahridayam and Visūcika. PS Warrier is the founder of Aryavaidyacikitsasala and Aryavaidyasala at Kottakkal.

Vastu shastra

Vāstu śāstra - literally "science of architecture" is a traditional Indian system of architecture originating in India. Texts from the Indian subcontinent describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, arrangement, and spatial . Vastu incorporate traditional Hindu and (in some

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School of Distance Education cases) Buddhist beliefs. The designs aim to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilizing geometric patterns (yantra), symmetry, and directional alignments. Vastu Shastra are the textual part of Vastu - the broader knowledge about architecture and design theories from ancient India. Vastu Vidya knowledge is a collection of ideas and concepts, with or without the support of layout diagrams that are not rigid. Rather, these ideas and concepts are models for the organisation of space and form within a building or collection of buildings, based on their functions in relation to each other, their usage and the overall fabric of the Vastu. Ancient Vastu Shastra principles include those for the design of Mandir (Hindu temples), and the principles for the design and layout of houses, towns, cities, gardens, roads, water works, shops and other public areas. The Sanskrit word vāstu means a dwelling or house with a corresponding plot of land. The vriddhi, vāstu, takes the meaning of "the site or foundation of a house, site, ground, building or dwelling-place, habitation, homestead, house". The underlying root is vas "to dwell, live, stay, reside". The term shastra may loosely be translated as "doctrine, teaching". Vāstu-Śastras (literally, science of dwelling) are ancient Sanskrit manuals of architecture. These contain Vastu-Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling).

Works on Vāstuvidya

Kerala has had a continuous and rich tradition of architecture, as evidenced by the volume of literature on this discipline presently available to us, mostly in the form of manuscripts.

Prayogamanjari

Prayogamanjari written by Ravi is one of the earliest texts on and architecture in Kerala. Prayogamanjari is also known as śaivāgamasiddhāntasāra. The text is divided in to 21 on different topics. Some of the patalas are devoted to the subjects of temple construction. The time of the text is considered as 10 and 11 century AD. Prayogamanjari gives in detail the qualities of the land required for the construction of temples and the purification methods of the land. The Pradyota, a detail commentary on Prayogamanjari, of Trivikrama is of great value in understanding the Prayogamanjari properly.

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Mayamata

Mayamata is the first available text that is fully devoted to the Indian architecture from Kerala. It is assumed that the work could have been produced between 11and 12 century AD. It contains about 3000 verses in its 36 chapters. It deals with the various aspect of architecture, including house building, constructions of and cities, planning of palaces, roads and constructions vehicles. Mayamata is also used as the authority of later works like Iśānaśivagurudevapaddhati. Most of the later works related to architecture and tantra are widely influenced by Mayamata.

Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati

Īśanaśivagurudevapaddhati or tantrapaddhati is a great work dealing with the aspects of tantra and architecture. The work consists of nearly 18000 verses in various meters and distributed in to 119 patalas. There are mainly four parts of this work Samanyapada, mantrapada, kriyapada and yogapada. Most of the patalas in kriyapada, deal with the construction of temple and idols. The patalas 23 to43 are fully devoted to architecture. Selection of the land, preparation of the land, location of the temple, vastupuja, classifications of temples and houses and the matters related to the idols are explained through the patalas.

Tantrasamuccaya

The author of Tantrasamuccaya is Narayana (1428) of Cennas family. Tantrasamuccaya, elaborated treaties in twelve patalas, is a standard work on temple architecture and worship, widely popular in Kerala. Tantrasamuccaya deals with the connected with seven deities i.e. , siva, sankaranarayana, Durga, Subrahmanya, Ganapati and sasta. The first contains the selection of the land for the construction of the temple, vastubali, nidhikalaśa, laying of the bricks and the selection of materials. The second patala of Tantrasamuccaya deals with the types and measurements of temples and idols. Third patala contains the purification and fertility of the land and preparation of idols. The sixth patala of Tantrasamuccaya gives the information about the construction of the installation of mahabalipıtha and the flag stem of the temple.

Devālayacandrikā

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The authorship of Devālayacandrikā is also ascribed to Narayana (1428) of Cennas family. As its name indicates, the subject matter of the text is the construction of buildings for the gods. The work should be assigned to Narayana of Cennas family on the basis of the evidences available in the detailed Malayalam commentary on the text. The text deals with the selection of good site for temple, the details about the outer wall, pillars, sanctum sanctorum, drain doorways, decorations of walls, roofing and rooming.

Manushyālayacandrikā

Manushȳalayacandrikā is a famous work of Neelakantha of Tirumangala on Indian architecture from Kerala. Most of the works dealing with tantra and architecture focus on the construction of temples and idols. Manushȳalayacandrikā of Neelakantha is fully devoted to the construction of dwelling buildings for the men. All the matters related to the construction of the houses can be seen in the work. The work is used as a reference manual by traditional carpenters in Kerala. The text is divided in to seven chapters and each chapter contains twenty to fifty verses in different meters. Manushȳalayacandrikā deals with the boundaries of a , the site for house, the length and breadth of a house, types of halls, the courtyard, the pillars, rafters, the underground rooms, cowsheds , bathrooms, the kitchen and guest rooms.

Śilparatna

Śilparatna of Sree Kumara is an important work on śilpaśāstra and architecture. The text contains two parts, the pūrvabhāga with 46 and 35 chapters respectively. The first part deals with the constructions of houses villages and towns. Iconography and allied subjects are explained in the second part of the work. The text is considered as the authentic work on iconography in Kerala. Taikkāttubhāsa, the manipravālam version of Śilparatna, was also familiar among the traditional carpenters in Kerala.

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