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Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (, ) (Malayalam: തുഞ്ചത്ത് രാമാനുജൻ എഴുത്തച്ഛൻ) ( ''fl.'' 16th century) was a
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
devotional poet, translator and linguist from
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
, south India.He was one of the members of the Pracheena Kavithrayam. He has been called the "Father of Modern
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
", or, alternatively, the "Father of Modern
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
Literature", or the "Primal Poet in Malayalam". He was one of the pioneers of a major shift in Kerala literary production (the domesticated religious textuality associated with the Bhakti movement). The number and circulation of his texts far outdo that of any other poet of premodern Kerala. Ezhuthachan was born in the Thunchaththu home at present-day
Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Manga ...
, in present-day Malappuram district of northern Kerala, in a traditional
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
family. Little is known with certainty about his life. His success even in his own lifetime seems to have been great.'''' Later he or his followers shifted to a village near
Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...
, further east into the Kerala, and established a hermitage (the "Ramananda ashrama") and a Brahmin residence there. This institution probably housed both
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
and Sudra literary students. The school eventually pioneered the "Ezhuthachan movement", associated with the concept of popular
Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
, in Kerala. Ezhuthachan's ideas have been variously linked by scholars either with philosopher Ramananda, who founded the Ramanandi sect, or
Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...
, the single most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism. For centuries before Ezhuthachan, Kerala people had been producing literary texts in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
and in the Grantha script. However, he is celebrated as the "Primal Poet" or the "Father of Malayalam Proper" for his Malayalam recomposition of the Sanskrit epic ''
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
.'' This work rapidly circulated around Kerala middle-caste homes as a popular devotional text. It can be said that Ezhuthachan brought the then unknown
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
-
Puranic Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
literature to the level of common understanding (domesticated religious textuality). His other major contribution has been in mainstreaming the current Malayalam alphabet.


Sources

The first Western scholar to take an interest in Ezhuthachan was Arthur C. Burnell (1871). The following two texts are the standard sources on Ezhuthachan. *
Eluttaccan and His Age
(1940) by C. Achyuta Menon (Madras: University of Madras). * "Adhyatma Ramayanam" (1969) edited by A. D. Harisharma (Kottayam: Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative).


Historical Ezhuthachan

There is no completely firm historical evidence for Ezhuthachan the author. Main historical sources of Ezhuthachan and his life are * Quasi-historical verses referring to Ezhuthachan (from Chittur Madhom). * An institutional line of masters or gurus, beginning with one Thunchaththu Sri Guru, is mentioned in one oral verse from Chittur Madhom. This lineage can be historically verified. * An inscription giving the details of the founding of the residence (agraharam), hermitage (mathom), and temples in Chittur. This was under the direction of Suryanarayanan Ezhuthachan (with support of the local chieftain). This locale can be historically verified.


Period

Ezhuthachan is generally believed to have lived around the sixteenth or seventeenth century. * Arthur C. Burnell (1871) dates Ezhuthachan to seventeenth century. He discovered the date from a title deed (found in a manuscript collection preserved in
Chittur Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the seco ...
). The deed relates to the date of the founding of the Gurumadhom of Chittur. * William Logan (1887) dates Ezuthachan to the seventeenth century (he supports the dates given by Burnell). * Hermann Gundert dates Ezuthachan to the seventeenth century. * Kovunni Nedungadi dates Ezuthachan to the fifteenth century. * Govinda Pillai dates Ezuthachan to the fifteenth or sixteenth century. He cites the Kali chronogram 'ayurarogyaa saukhyam' that appears at end of the Narayaneeyam of Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (a possible senior contemporary of Ezhuthachan). * A. R. Kattayattu Govindra Menon cites the Kali chronogram 'pavitramparam saukhyam' as a reference to the date of Ezuthachan 's samadhi. *
Chittur Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the seco ...
Gurumadhom authorities also cites the chronogram 'pavitramparam saukhyam' as a reference to the date of Ezuthachan 's samadhi. The word 'surya' is sometimes suffixed to the chronogram. * R. Narayana Panikkar supports Govinda Pillai's date (the fifteenth or sixteenth century). The date is based on Ezhuthachan's contemporaneity with
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri Melputtur Narayana Bhattatiri ( ml, മേല്പുത്തൂർ നാരായണ ഭട്ടതിരി Mēlputtūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student of Achyuta Pisharati, was a member of Madhava of Sangamagra ...
(whom he dates to c. 1531 – c. 1637 AD). He also mentions certain Nilakantan "Nambudiri ", a possible senior contemporary of Ezhuthachan (fl. c. 1565 and c. 1601 AD). * P. K. Narayana Pillai cites a Kali chronogram 'nakasyanyunasaukhyam' or 1555 AD (from a verse relating to the founding of the matham of Chittur) on the date of Ezhuthachan. He dates Nilakanthan, the possible master of Ezhuthachan, to c. 1502 AD. * Poet-turned-historian Ulloor S. Parameshwara Iyer has argued that Ezhuthachan was born in 1495 AD and lived up to 1575 AD * A time frame similar to
Ulloor Ulloor is a city locality in the Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was the home of the modern Malayalam triumvirate poet Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer. The Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram and Credence Hospital Thiruvanantha ...
was proposed by scholar
C. Radhakrishnan C. Radhakrishnan (born 15 February 1939) is a writer and film director in Malayalam language from Kerala, India. Life Chakkupurayil Radhakrishnan was born on 15 February 1939 in Chamravattom (a village in Tirur) in Malapuram District, which w ...
. * Scholar
Sheldon Pollock Sheldon I. Pollock (born 1948) is an American scholar of Sanskrit, the intellectual and literary history of India, and comparative intellectual history. He is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He was ...
dates Ezuthachan to the sixteenth century. * Rich Freeman dates Ezhuthachan to late sixteenth-early seventeenth century.


Life and career


Biography

Little is known with certainty about Ezhuthachan's life. Ezhuthachan was born at Trikkandiyoor, near the modern-day town of
Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Manga ...
, in northern Kerala. It is known that his lineage home was "Thunchaththu". His parents' names are not known, and there are disputes about his given name as well. The name Ezhuthachan, meaning Father of Letters, was a generic title for any village schoolteacher in premodern Kerala. As a boy he seems to have exhibited uncommon intelligence. He was probably educated by his elder brother (early in his life). After his early education he is believed to have travelled in the other parts of India (outside Kerala) and learned
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
and some other
Dravidian languages The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant im ...
. It is believed that Ezhuthachan on his way back from Tamil Nadu had a stopover at
Chittur Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the seco ...
(in
Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...
) and in due course settled down at Thekke Gramam near Anikkode with his disciples. A hermitage (the "Ramananda ashrama") and a Brahmin residence (agraharam), at a site now known as the Chittur Gurumadhom, were established by him (on a piece of land bought from the landlord of
Chittur Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the seco ...
). The institution was flanked by temples of gods Rama and Siva. It probably housed both Brahmin and Sudra students. The street still has an array of agraharas (where the twelve Brahmin families migrated along with Ezhuthachan live). Ezhuthachan was eventually associated with an institutional line of masters (gurus). The locale and lineage of these masters can be historically verified. He and his disciples seem to have ignited a whole new literary movement in Kerala. Its style and content nearly overshadowed the earlier Sanskrit poetry. He is believed to have attained samadhi at the Gurumadhom at Chittur. A verse chanted by the ascetics of the mathom during their daily prayers makes a reference to the following line of masters. * Thunchaththu Sri Guru * Sri Karunakaran * Sri Suryanarayanan * Sri Deva Guru * Sri Gopala Guru


Myths and legends

* Legends consider Ezhuthachan as a " gandharva" (divine being) who in his previous birth was a witness to the Great War in the Mahabharata. * As a young boy Ezhuthachan corrected the Brahmins at Trikkandiyoor Temple. * The Brahmins grew uneasy and gave the boy some plantains to eat, and as a resulting inebriety the boy lost his speech. To counteract this Ezhuthachan's father gave him palm beverage and the boy had his speech restored. Ezhuthachan remained addicted to intoxicants. *
Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...
, the Goddess of Learning and Arts, is believed to have helped him to complete the Devi Mahatmya. * Ezhuthachan is credited with endowing a monkey with the gift of speech. * It is believed that the Raja of
Ambalappuzha Ambalappuzha is a small town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala state, India. It is located south of Alappuzha which is the district headquarters. Ambalappuzha is divided into the two panchayats of Ambalapuzha North and Ambalapuzha South. ...
requested him to decipher a
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...
manuscript on Adhyatma Ramayanam. * It is also said that Ezhuthachan had a young daughter, who copied his works for the first time. * Ezhuthachan or his follower Suryanarayanan predicted the downfall of zamorin's family (the then rulers of
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...
). And the zamorin sought his help to perform a Sakteya Puja. * It is said that Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri sought the advice of Ezhuthachan on how to start his ''Narayaneeyam''.


Contributions

Ezhuthachan—although he lived around sixteenth century AD—has been called the "father of modern
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
", or, alternatively, the "father of
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
literature". His success even in his own lifetime seems to have been great.'''' No original compositions are attributed to Ezhuthachan.'''' His main works generally are based on Sanskrit compositions.'''' Linguists are unanimous in assigning Adhyatma Ramayanam and Sri Mahabharatam to Ezhuthachan. The Ramayanam—the most popular work—depicts the hero,
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...
, an ideal figure both as man and god.'''' Sri Mahabharatam omits all episodes not strictly relevant to the story of the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s and is generally considered as a work of greater literary merit than the Ramayanam. However, there is no unanimity among the scholars about the authorship of certain other works generally ascribed to him. These include the Brahmanda Puranam, Uttara Ramayanam, Devi Mahatmyam, and Harinama Kirtanam. Ezhuthachan's other major contribution has been in mainstreaming (the current) Malayalam alphabet (derived chiefly from the Sanskrit Grantha, or the Arya Script) as the replacement for the old
Vattezhuthu ''Vatteluttu,'' popularly romanised as ''Vattezhuthu'' ( ta, வட்டெழுத்து, ' and ml, വട്ടെഴുത്ത്, ', ), was a syllabic alphabet of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka used for writing t ...
(the then-30-letter script of Malayalam). The Arya script permitted the free use of Sanskrit in Malayalam writing.


Ezhuthachan movement

Ezhuthachan introduced a movement of domesticated religious textuality in Kerala. He was a significant voice of the Bhakti movement in south India. The Bhakti movement was a collective opposition to Brahmanical excesses and the moral and political decadence of the then-Kerala society. The shift of literary production in Kerala to a largely Sanskritic,
puranic Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
religiosity is attributed this movement. Ezhuthachan's school promoted popular and non-Brahman (
Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
) literary production. His works were also a general opposition against the moral decadence of the 16th century Kerala society.


''Father of Modern Malayalam''

The
Middle Malayalam Middle Malayalam is the period of the Malayalam language spanning from 13th century to 15th century AD. The works including ''Unniyachi Charitham'', ''Unnichiruthevi Charitham'', and ''Unniyadi Charitham'', are written in Middle Malayalam, those ...
(''Madhyakaala Malayalam'') was succeeded by Modern Malayalam (''Aadhunika Malayalam'') by 15th century CE. The poem ''
Krishnagatha ''Krishnagatha'' (Malayalam: കൃഷ്ണഗാഥ) is a 15th-century poem written in Malayalam language; It is also known as Krishnapattu. it belongs to the poetic form ''Gatha''. The author of the poem is believed to be Cherusseri Namboothir ...
'' written by Cherusseri Namboothiri, who was the court poet of the king Udaya Varman Kolathiri (1446 – 1475) of
Kolathunadu Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along with ...
, is written in modern Malayalam. The language used in ''Krishnagatha'' is the modern spoken form of Malayalam. During the 16th century CE, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan from the Kingdom of Tanur and Poonthanam Nambudiri from the
Kingdom of Valluvanad Valluvanad was an independent chiefdom in present-day central Kerala that held power from the early 12th century to the end of the 18th century. Prior to that, and since the late 10th century, Valluvanad existed as an autonomous chiefdom within ...
followed the new trend initiated by Cherussery in their poems. The ''
Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu ''Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu'' is the most popular Malayalam version of the Sanskrit Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. It is believed to have been written by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in the early 17th century, and is considered to be a classic ...
'' and ''Mahabharatham
Kilippattu Kilippattu or ''parrot song'' is a genre of Malayalam poems in which the narrator is a parrot, a bee, a swan, and so on. Kiḷippaṭṭu was popularized by the 16th-century poet Ezhuthachan (The Father Of The Malayalam language). In Adhyathma ...
'' written by Ezhuthachan and ''
Jnanappana Jnanappana is a devotional poem written by the 16th century Malayalam poet Poonthanam. This poem written as a devotional prayer to Guruvayoorappan is considered as an important work in Malayalam literature. Written in simple Malayalam, the Jnan ...
'' written by Poonthanam are also included in the earliest form of Modern Malayalam. It is Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan who is also credited with the development of Malayalam script into the current form through the intermixing and modification of the erstwhile scripts of '' Vatteluttu'', '' Kolezhuthu'', and Grantha script, which were used to write the inscriptions and literary works of Old and Middle Malayalam. He further eliminated excess and unnecessary letters from the modified script. Hence, Ezhuthachan is also known as ''The Father of modern Malayalam''. The development of modern Malayalam script was also heavily influenced by the Tigalari script, which was used to write the
Tulu language Tulu () in Kannada script, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word ...
, due to the influence of
Tuluva Brahmin Tulu Brahmins or Tuluva Brahmins are the inhabitants of Tulu Nadu, also considered a part of Parashurama Kshetra which extends to Kerala. They consist of following: Sthanika Brahmins, also called "Sthanika Tulu Brahmins" or "Tulu Brahmins" ar ...
s in Kerala. The language used in the
Arabi Malayalam Arabi Malayalam (also called Mappila Malayalam and Moplah Malayalam) is the traditional Dravidian language of the Mappila Muslim community. It is spoken by several thousand people, predominantly in the Malabar Coast of Kerala state, sout ...
works of 16th-17th century CE is a mixture of Modern Malayalam and
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. They follow the syntax of modern Malayalam, though written in a modified form of
Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and th ...
, which is known as
Arabi Malayalam script Arabi Malayalam script (Malayalam: അറബി-മലയാളം, Arabi Malayalam: عَرَبِ مَلَیَاۻَمٛ), also known as Ponnani script, is a writing system — a variant form of the Arabic script with special orthographic featu ...
. P. Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of the medieval work '' Keralolpathi'', which describes the
Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will app ...
legend and the departure of the final
Cheraman Perumal Perumal (the 'Great One') is the name of a Hindu deity. It was also a medieval Indian royal title of: *Western Ganga dynasty Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 171. **Sripurusha **Rajamalla **Niti ...
king to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
, to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan.


''Adhyatma Ramayanam''

''Adhyatma Ramayanam'', written in the parrot-song style, is Ezhuthachan's principle work. It is not an adaptation from the original
Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...
''Ramayana'', but a translation of the ''
Adhyatma Ramayana ''Adhyatma Ramayana'' ( Devanāgarī: अध्यात्म रामायण, IAST: ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'', ) is a 13th- to 15th-century Sanskrit text that allegorically interprets the story of Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' in the Advaita Ved ...
'', a Sanskrit text connected with the
Ramanandi sect The Ramanandi (IAST ), also known as Ramavats (IAST ), are a branch of the Vaishnava Sri Sampradaya of Hinduism. Ramananda sect is the largest sect of Vaishnavas, out of 52 gates of Vaishnavism, 36 are held by Ramanandi's. They mainly emphasi ...
. The poem is composed in nearly-modern Malayalam. It depicts
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...
, the prince of Ayodhya, as an ideal figure (both as man and god-incarnate, the Bhakti interpretation).'''' The text spread with phenomenal popularity throughout Kerala middle-caste homes as a material for domestic devotional recitation. Throughout the Malayalam month of Karkkidakam, ''Adhyatma Ramayanam'' is still recited—as a devotional practice—in the middle-caste homes of Kerala. According to critic K. Ayyappa Panicker, those who see ''Adhyatma Ramayanam'' merely as a devotional work "belittle" Ezhuthachan.


Style


Parrot-song style

* Known in Malayalam as the Kilippattu genre. * A convention Ezhuthachan adapted from Old Tamil. * Recited to a poet by a parrot (the frame of the parrot-narrator). * Thematic focus: epic or Puranic traditions. * Intended for recitation or singing. Lexicon and grammar * Heavily Sanskritic lexicon with many
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
nominal terminations (lexical distinctions between
Manipravalam Manipravalam (Malayalam: മണിപ്രവാളം, Tamil: மணிப்பிரவாளம்) is a macaronic language found in some manuscripts of South India. It is a hybrid language, typically written in the Grantha script, which comb ...
and the Pattu styles are not visible). * No Sanskrit verbal forms or long compounds. * Most of the grammatical structures are in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
(the frame of the parrot-narrator and the constituent meters). * Assembled in an array of Dravidian meters (in simple metrical couplets). ** "Keka" for Bala Kandha and Aranya Kandha ** "Kakali" for Ayodhya, Kishkindha and Yuddha Kandha ** "Kalakanchi" for Sundara Kandha


Caste

Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan's caste is arguable. It is only known that he belonged to a lower caste (Shudra or Shudra-grade).'''' The two most popular opinions are Ezhuthachan and Nair, with Kaniyar being less popular.


Ezhuthachan

Ezhuthachan caste is a socio-economic caste of village school teachers. According to Arthur C. Burnell, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan belonged to the Ezhuthachan or "school master" caste. Writer K. Balakrishna Kurup also reports the same, in his book ''Viswasathinte Kanappurangal''. E. P. Bhaskara Guptan, a writer and independent researcher of local history from
Kadampazhipuram Kadampazhipuram is a gram panchayat in Palakkad district, state of Kerala, India. It is a local government organisation that serves the villages of Kadampazhipuram-I and Kadampazhipuram-II. The place is on the Palakkad - Cherpulassery Road. Demogr ...
; supports Kurup's conclusion. Historian Velayudhan Panikkassery expresses the same opinion.


Nair

The
Chakkala Nair Chakkala Nair, also known as Vattakkat Nair, and Vaniya Nair is one of the intermediate subcastes of the Nair community. They are distributed throughout Kerala. In Travancore, they are known as Chakkala, while in Cochin and Malabar they are ...
caste had the rights to enter brahmanical temples and to participate in worships. The Malayalam poet and historian Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer agree that Ezhuthachan belonged to this caste and conclude that he could be Vattekattu Nair because he visited brahmanical temples and engaged in worship, which is not allowed for the Ezuthacan caste. William Logan, officer of the Madras Civil Service under the English India Company Government, expresses a similar opinion in his ''Malabar Manual'' and states that Thunchaththu Ezuthachan was "a man of Sudra ( Nayar) caste". Kottarathil Shankunni wrote in his Aithihyamala that the term Ezhuthachan is nothing but a title taken up by school teachers belonging to several castes mainly by Nairs in Northern kerala indicating that Ezhuthachan was a Nair.


Kaniyar

Some sources consider him to be
Kaniyar Kaniyar is a caste from the Indian state of Kerala. There are regional variations in the name used to define them. They are listed under the Other Backward Communities (OBC) by the Kerala Government. Traditions of origin Kathleen Gough has r ...
. This community of traditional astrologers were well versed in Sanskrit and Malayalam. During the medieval period, when non-Brahmins were not permitted to learn Sanskrit, only the Kaniyar community had been traditionally enjoying the privilege for accessing and acquiring knowledge in Sanskrit, through their hereditary system of pedagogy. They were learned people and had knowledge in
astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
, mathematics, mythology and
Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
. They were generally assigned as preceptors of martial art and literacy. In addition to the common title
Panicker Panicker was a title conferred by the king of Travancore to distinguished individuals. Kiriyathil/Illathu Nair panickers should not be confused with Kalari Panicker They were well known as the masters of Kalari tradition, having their ''Nalpathe ...
, the members of Kaniyar from the South Travancore and Malabar region were known as Aasaan, Ezhuthu Aasans, or Ezhuthachans (Father of Letters), by virtue of their traditional avocational function as village school masters to non-Brahmin pupils.


Legacy

The parrot-song genre, pioneered by Ezhuthachan, inaugurated the production of many similar works in Malayalam. The highest literary honour awarded by the
Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decisio ...
is known as the "
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languag ...
".
Sooranad Kunjan Pillai Sooranad P. N. Kunjan Pillai (24 June 1911 8 March 1995) was an Indian researcher, lexicographer, poet, essayist, literary critic, orator, grammarian, educationist, and scholar of the Malayalam language, best remembered for his contributions ...
was the first recipient of the honour (1993). The Malayalam University, established by
Kerala Government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decisio ...
in 2012, is named after Ezhuthachan.


Initiation to Letters

The sand from the compound where the house of Ezhuthachan stood once is considered as sacred. It is a tradition in north Kerala to practise the art of writing in the beginning on the sand with the first finger.


Monuments

* Ezhuthachan was born at Trikkandiyoor in northern Kerala. His birthplace is now known as
Thunchan Parambu Thunchan Parambu or ''Thunchan Memorial Trust and Research Centre'' is a place in Tirur, Kerala, South India. Location It is located 2 km south west of Tirur railway station and 28 km west of the District Headquarters city. It is a re ...
. * Chittur Gurumadhom is located near present-day
Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...
. The madhom is flanked by temples of gods
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...
and Shiva, Siva. The street has an array of agraharas (where the twelve Brahmin families who migrated along with Ezhuthachan live). * Ezhuthachan's samadhi is also situated at
Chittur Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the seco ...
(in
Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...
).


Relics

* Some relics of Ezhuthachan or his age were sacredly preserved at the Chittur madhom. This included the original manuscripts and the clogs used by him. These artifacts were destroyed in a fire 30 or 40 years before William Logan. Only the ''Bhagavatam'' was saved from the fire. * Scholar A. C. Burnell examined this ''Bhagavatam'' (and a stool, clogs and a staff) in the late 19th century. These objects probably belongd to one of the first followers of Ezhuthachan. * Stool, clog and the staff (seen by Burnell) were destroyed in a second fire. This fire destroyed the original ''Bhagavatam'' also. * Copies of a sri chakra and the idols worshipped by Ezhuthachan, the stylus, the wooden slippers, and a few old manuscripts are exhibited for visitors at Chittur madhom.


See also

* Cherusseri Namboothiri, Cherusseri * Kunchan Nambiar


References


External links

*
Eluttaccan and His Age
(1940) by C. Achyuta Menon (Madras: University of Madras).
"Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu", "Sri Mahabharatam Kilippattu" University of Tubingen, Germany (a manuscript of 1870)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezhuthachan, Thunchaththu 16th-century Indian poets Indian male poets Malayali people Hindu poets Translators of the Ramayana Malayalam-language writers Malayalam poets Poets from Kerala People from Malappuram district Bhakti movement History of Kerala Malayali Hindu saints