K. S. Neelakantan Unni (1895-1980) was a renowned Malayalam writer and Sanskrit scholar - translator from Kerala, India. He was born into a family called Kavil Madam in a village Olassa in Kottayam District of Kerala, India. This family is associated to the

ThekkumKoor The Kingdom of Thekkumkur ( ml, തെക്കുംകൂർ രാജ്യം) (also transliterated as ''Thekkumkoor'' or ''Thekkumcore'') was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE.P. Shung ...

royal dynasty as their Asan or Guru (who initiates someone into the world of letters by a ritual called ''vidyarambham'')

Early life and education

Neelakantan Unni completed preliminary studies in Sanskrit and Malayalam under the supervision of Kannampally Mathu Asan, a local teacher and then joined Travancore Royal Sanskrit College. He earned the degrees Shasthry and Mahopadhyaya from this college.

Career

After his education Unni joined different educational institutions and worked as a Malayalam Munshi for 35 years. He retired from M D Seminari High School, Kottayam. Neelakantan Unni has written a number of books in Malayalam. He published several remarkable collections of legends related to temples, rituals and ancient traditions. He translated

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

's Sanskrit texts of '' Abhijñānaśākuntalam'' and '' Meghadūta'' into Malayalam. One of his most famous works is ''Pancha Maha Nikhandu''. Besides these, he has also written 3 ''attakkathas'', the lyrics used for

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

. He wrote a poetic biography of Muhammad in Sanskrit, called ''Vishuddha Nabi Charitham''. Being an eminent Scholar in Sanskrit, "Ayodhya Sanskrit Parishad" honoured him with ''Sahitya Ratna'' and ''Vidyabhushan'' degrees. Neelakantan Unni died in 1980. On 4 April 2011, D C Books released "Aithihyakathakal" as a compilation of Neelakantan Unni's collection of legends and is considered as the most important collection of its kind after ' Aithihyamala' by

Kottarathil Sankunni Kottarathil Sankunni (born Vasudevan, 1855–1937) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry ...

Important works

*''Abhijnanasakuntalam'' (1970) * ''Meghasandesham'' * ''Vishuddha Nabi Charitham'' * ''Pañcamahānighanṭu'' (1976) Pañcamahānighanṭu
'' Open Library''.

References

*http://www.mdshss.org/mdschool/about_school/former_teachers.htm *http://kosal.us/Archives/Kalidasa.html

External links

K. S. N. Unni
at ''

Worldcat.org WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OC ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Unni, K. S. Neelakantan Malayalam-language writers Indian Sanskrit scholars Translators of Kalidasa 1980 deaths 1895 births Writers from Kerala Translators from Sanskrit Translators to Malayalam Scholars from Kerala People from Kottayam district 20th-century Indian translators