CHAPTER I

THE NYAYATRADITION OF KERALA

I. Sanskrit studies in Kerala

The contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit literature is rich and varied.

It includes all branches of learning like ~ & a , ~ G a k a , Carnpu and the - 1 . technical literature like Vyakarana, Tantra, Mantra, Ganita, Silpa and - - - - 4 - Vaidya. The study of ~u;vamimamsa and Uttaramimamsa were also

prevalent in Kerala. In the field of ~andeka k&iYa and ~ t i t r a kAya,

Kerala is having vast bulk of literature.

It is believed that Sanskrit language got entrance to our land with

the Brahmins with their vedic culture. They came from outside in avery

early period and Sanskrit existed for many years as the basic language

for the spiritual social as well as cultural learning in eral la'. Sanskrit,

the treasure house of all kinds of knowledge is treated with great respect,

awe wonder and even with devotion by the natives of Kerala. India's - treasures like the Vedas, ved;ngas, Itihasas, ~uran-s, Upanisads, / - C - Sastras, as and Dramas exist in this Devabhasa. Kerala - the

southern most part of India also accepted the study of Sanskrit from

very olden days.

The Nampootiri Brahmins of Kerala were held at the top in the

spiritual and social hierarchy ar~d were well versed in the arts of war and

piece. Due to their special kind of family set up there existed a leisured

class who were free from the worries of day to day life and they devoted

their entire time to the cultivation of literature and arts.There were many

royal families in Kerala and they were also responsible for the rich

contribution to Sanskrit literature. The royal courts and the aristocratic

Brahmin families functioned like some sort of universities where learning

in all branches of literature were freely dispersed in the traditional way to

deserving students. The princes of the royal families had special attention

to contribute the education in the traditional subjects.

Many of the temples under the management of the Nampootiris / -

also had facilities for teaching Vedas and Sastras. The Brahmaswam

Mathom Trissur was a centre for vedic study. The Kolathiris in the north,

the Zarnorins of Calicut, the members of Cochin Royal Family in the

central part and the Tiruvithamkur kings in the south were some of the

rulers who devoted much attention for promoting the study of Sanskrit in

Kerala.

It was the general practice that first the Kzvyas, ~ * k a s and ,---

preliminary Vyakarana are studied and then the study is extended to

higher level to the technical subjects such as ~ ~ a k a r a n a , ~ ~ o t i s a , - - - - -

Mimamsa, Smrti and the Vediingas. The great Mimamsa teacher C -

~rabhakara is claimed by tradition to be a son of Kerala. $ankaracarya

(9th C) the great Advaita scholar is an all Indian personality born in the

central part of Kerala and his contribution is well known. The name of

this great philosopher is enough to highlight that Kerala was a traditional

centre for Sanskrit learning.

Dr. Kunjunni ~ i j a , a recent Sanskrit scholar remarks that Kerala

might have come under the influence of Sanskrit from very early time. It

began to be seriously felt in Kerala much earlier than the "Kollam era3.

He further says that the Avanti sundGi kath5 of Da?din belonging to 7th

century A.D. refer to a great Sanskirt scholar from Kerala like ~atrdat ta,

the poet who wrote some commentaries and his father ~havarata who

commented on some ~ a l ~ a s z r a s . So Sanskrit study may be regarded

to have begun to develop in Kerala about 7th century A.D. and from

about the 8th and 9th centuries there have been a continuous and

luxuriant growth in all branches of Sanskrit literature. The Sanskrit

literature is intimately connected with that of the Malayalam literature.

Many Sanskrit authors have been authors of Malayalam too and much

information could be obtained about Sanskrit from Malayalam literature.

f Great dramatist Sakt~bhadra is considered as a contemporary of -

Sree /Sankaracarya. ~ula2ekharas of Mahodayapuram (9th C.), - - -

Bilvamangalam (14th C.), Melpattur Naraya~a bhattatiry . (17th C.), and

I3imapanlv6da (1 8th C.) come in the line of scholars in sanskrit3. This

line could be lengthened to the 21st century in Kerala.

The rich scholarship in Mantra, Tantra, Jyotisa and Vaidya, even

now exist only in the manuscripts. The study of these's;astras were so

vast but it had a secrecy in transmitting. Yet the manuscripts in our

libraries and in many aristocratic families can unfold varied knowledge in

this field.

The learning of Sanskrit as said before was undertaken in the

traditional way and there existed many traditional centresfor every kzstras. - - -

Mimamsa and ~Gka rana , have prominence in the study of 6astras in

Kerala. So two centres should be mentioned viz. pay$r, and ~u!all ir.

These two traditional learning centres are famous for the study of -

~ y i k a r a ~ a and ~ i m a m s a respectively.

Ancient centres of Traditional learning

I. payyir

The payy& Bhatta's . . family had played an important role in the

history of Sanskrit literature especially in the study of ~ i rvamimimsa.

There were many great scholars and poets in that family and their -

contribution to ~ i m a m s a literature and Sanskrit poetry is immense both

in volume and in depth.

The family of the payy;r Bhattas is situated near Porkalam about . . sixteen miles away to the northwest of Trissur. Their village is called

Velangad and there exists a temple of that name even today. The deity of

the temple is Goddess Gopalika4. Dr. Kunjunni ~ a j a remarks that the

earliest member of the pay$r Bhattas family about whom we have some . . literary reference is RsiZ He has a brother named ~hzvadt isa who was . . a great scholar in vedanta. Rsi I married Gauri and got a son named . . paramekwara i. This ~arame'swara has written many works. He was a

f great scholar, critic and poet. The following works of Parameswara Iare

known -

1. Sumanoramani,a commentary of Kalidasa's Meghaduta.

2. Jusadhwamkarani and Svaditamkarani on the ~ ~ a ~ a k a n i k a of 4

Vacaspatimisra.

3. Haricarita a short poem. - - -

4. ~ ~ ~ ~ a s a r n u c c a ~ a a work on Mimamsa.

- In the Malayalam work called ~nnunilisande'sa . . belonging to the

14th century A.D. there is a reference to the poetry of Payyur ~ h a t t a ~ . . . 130th Udda?cja hastry and ~ i k k d s i e r i ~ i m o d a r a Bhatta . . who were

patronised by ~;navikrama,the zamorin of Calicut of 15th century A.D.

have also praised the great scholar of the Payy&family. uddand$s2stry

actually mentions one Maharsi and his son Parame'swara of that ancient - - -

family as great authorities of Mimamsa and literature.

There are about six generations of scholars in the PayGr Bhatta ,.

famlly from about the fourteenth century. The Parameiwaral had five h

sons. Rsl 11, ~havad i sa D, ~asudeval, ~ub$ramanya and/Sankara6. Of I s 6 ,

these the eldest RSI II marr~ed ~ o ~ a l i k a and had a son ~aramegwara 11. . . - - - Th~s Parame'swara I1 was a great scholar in Mimamsa and has several

important works in his credit. Paramgswara II has written commentaries - - - on some of the standard works on Pfirvamimamsa. The commentaries

are 1. ~ o ~ a l i k 5 commentary on the ~ ~ d t a s i d d h i 2. ~attvavibh;van~ - commentary on the Tattvabindu of vacaspatimiira 3. Another - - commentary on Cidananda's ~ititattvivibhavanii and a commentary on

1,

Mandana . . miira's Vibramaviveka. All these four great works are referred . -

to by Parame'swara 11's grandson Parame'swara Ill - in his Jaiminiya - - 7 sutrarthasangraha . Parame(swara9s commentaries are not only

supplementary to the text but are also helpful in understanding the difficult

language of the original text. He explains the misleading parts of the

texts and sometimes shows how to dissolve difficult compounds. In the

~attvavibh&aG he gives a succinct summary of the discussion in verse

at the end of each section. Paramegwara II had a brother namedvGudeva

II who was not only a good scholar but also a well known poet. ~ G u d e v a ? -

has many scholarly poems in his credit viz. Devicarita, Achyuta lila,

Satyatapa katha and $ivodaya. The ~evicar i ta is a yamaka poem

describing the story of Goddess ~opal ik5. The Achyuta i a is also a

yamaka poem dealing with the ~hagavata. The Satyatapa katha deals

with the story of Satyatapas also called as Maharsi, , an ancestor of the

author. It describes the penance of satyatapas at vedaranga and on the

bank of Nila.

- ParamGwara ll had a son named Rsi Ill. He married Arya and . .

had a son named paramekwara Ill. This Parame'swara is the author of - -

the Jaimineeya sutrarthasangraha. Thus we have seen at least six

generations of scholars in the family of payy;r Bhattas . . among them

some of them adorned the court of ~anavikrama,the great. There is a / -.

verse in prarse of Maharsi which is attributed to Uddanda Sastri. . .

Another famous traditional learning centre which is to be mentioned

here is K$allur. Kutailur Mana - the family of Narnpootiri BrZhmins stands

formost for the study of ~ G k a r a n a . This family is called ~arngarnala~a

in Sanskrit and was situated at Nagasreni generally known as N a r e ~ i

near Pattambi. The ~;jallur Nampootiris were believed to be the

descendents of Mezhathol Agnihotri. They with their scholarship in

Sanskrit andkistras, and with the proficiency in teaching, contributed

much to the Sanskrit literature especially f o r~yaka ra~a . Everyone born - - in Ku!allur was avaikGkarana. The study of ~ G k a r a n a which undergone

by the Gurukula method was praised by the scholars. There is a verse

in praise of this Gurukula.

This Gurukula was famous not for the study of Kaurnudralone

but for higher studies in vyakarana it was the only abode in Kerala. It is

believed that the study of vyakarana continued in this Gurukulaforfourteen

generations. Ever1 then there are some scholars who are to be mentioned

particularly. The most famous among them was ~>r$a?an Nampootiri

the author of ~ubhadriharava belonging to 15th century A.D. ~his 'sastra - kavya containing twenty sargas illustrates the sutras of ~ @ i n i . The

other scholars of ~ G k a r a n a are Kunjunni Nampootiri and ~unjikkravu . . Nampootir~. visudevan Nampootiripad is another well known scholar

and Kunjunni . . Narnpootiripad was his disciple. The son of Kunju . . - ~arn~oot i r ipad viz. Kunjunni . . Nampootiripad was a famous Mimamsaka

and his elder brother Kavu ~ a m ~ o o t i r i c a d was the teacher of

~ ~ ~ ~ & a s t r i k a l ~ , the famousvaiyakarana who adorned the court of R2arsi - Rarnavarman -the king of Cochin.

We have reference to Unni Nampootiripad of the Mana whom . .. U l lh refeslike this-"This Unni . . Nampootiripad once said to R;jarSi, the

Abdicated Maharaja of Cochin that the ~ G k a r a n a study in this family is

continuing for the last fourteen generations and I feel sorry that the tradition

will last after me''. So this Unni - . Nampootirip2d is believed to be the last

scholar of that Gurukula. There are many scholars in ~ G k a r a n a who

got education from that Gurukulam. Mahamahopidhy5ya Killimangalathu - - -

Narayanan Narnpootiripad, vadanamkuri tgi ~ ichu&st r ika l , 6,--

Cennarnangalam Ayya Sastrikal and the Abdicated Mahgrija of Cochin

- were the great disciples of ~u!all;r Nampootiris. The ~rthav:da&atakoti

- - of Killimangalam Narayana Nampootiri is a krodapatra in which two Gtras

. - I / - of Paqini are interpreted widely. Cennamangalam Ayya Sastrikal wrote

an upotghata for that3atakoti.

Besides this there are many vyikarana works from Kerala. The

Vaiyakarana siddhinta sangraha is a kzstra kzvya written by ~nnakkattu . . .. Rajarajavarma~ampur5n. It surnmarised the whole ~iddhintakaumudi

- in 'anustup' ,. metre. The Rgmavarma maharaja carita of p ~ c c u m ~ s a t ,

- - Suruparaghava of Elantur Rama'sastri are other famous kgstra khyas

of Kerala. ~ r i kkan t i yC r~c~u ta . . ~is;ro!y, the teacher of famous Melpattir

~irayanabhatta . . was a scholar in ~Gka rana , Vaidya, ~ lankara k>stra

and Jyotisa. His famous ~qakarana work is Prave'saka. It includes the

whole Sanskrit grammar in five hundred karikas. Acyuta Piszrofi's - -

disciple Naraya"a Bhatta .. is a famous vai$karana as well as a poet and

philosopher. Beside ~aGya$ya the famous kavya he wrote three works F - 7fiL

in v@karana viz. ~rakriykarvaswa, ~ h a t u k G a and Apavya pr%n@ya - sadhana. The works of modern scholars viz. A.R. Rajarajavarrna's (1 863-

191 8) ~ a ~ h u ~ & ~ n i y a and P.S. Ananda Nar:ya?a kastri's 6kyatatva are - -

also to be remembered in this context. ~eruntiinam Narayanan Nampootiri, - - the teacher inSesacarya mahapa!ha'sila upto 1963 wrote a~yakarana

work called ~ u ~ a l ~ t h a m a l a which deals with the meanings of lakara in

130 'slokas. Sn. D. ~amodara,~isaroti, the NGya teacher of the same -.

institution upto 1972 wrote a commentary on this work known as'Dipik5'.

/

II. Tradition of N G ~ ~ Sgstra in Kerala -,

The study of ~Gka rana , Mimgrnsa etc.were prevalent in Kerala,

but Nyiiya study was not much popular. The ~abh2mathorrrs did not

include NGya as a subject for study in their curriculum. Yet there are

some references about the scholars of ~ ~ < ~ a . Vadakkamkur - - Rajarajavarma states that the books relating to Nygya was not written

by Keralites and the study of NGya was not popular1 l . But we can see

in many places,~adakkamk~r mentions many authors as studied Tarka

from somebody. So Tarka was studied by sankrtists and many had h

basic knowledge of that sistra. Kumbfko?am ~risnas&try is told as

the student of vidvzn Elaya ~ a m ~ u r a n by vadakkamkurl*. It is also

stated by vadakkumkur that ~ u t u k u ~ u i g i ~hgskaran Nampootiri was a

student of a Mani Tampuran of Kozhikode. He was called as Mani 13 Tampuran because he was well versed in "Cintamani" a NGya grantha .

Moreover the style and methodology of Navya Nygya can be

seen in the works of other kZstras. As the study of sanskrit language

and Gstras flourished under royal patronage, the study of N ~ G ~ also

got entrance to the royal courts at a later period. While thinking about

these royal courts Kotungallur and ~ripunithura are to be remembered

first where blyiya scholars from the neighbouring states were invited

and respected by appointing them as the teachers in ~ $ ~ a in their

Gurukulam and Palace.

1. Contribution of ~ y a y a scholars from Tamil Nadu to the

study of ~ y z y a

The literary patronage of Kerala chieftans attracted not only

scholars and poets trom the different parts of Kerala but also from the

neighbouring states. Many scholars outside Kerala visited and spent

considerable part of their life time in this state. The scholars are fortunate

enough to enjoy sufficient encouragement and highly favourable

atmosphere. The kings regarded that it is their duty to give patronage to

those scholars.

The Nyiya study in Kerala was popularised with these scholars h h / - - -

of Kumb3konarn. Kumbakonam Y . Krsna . . Sastry and/Satakbpacarya were

appointed as Nysya teachers in the Kotungallur Kovilakam. Tripunithura

acquired eminence in the study of ~ y a y a from three reputed scholars

a - - - from Tam11 Nidu v ~ z ' ~ e s a c a r ~ a , % a t a k o ~ ~ r ~ a and Rangappacaryal4. f - Sesacarya's grandson ~etum:dhavadeeksitar, an eminent ~ y & a scholar - - / /

was the friend of Pariksit Rama varman and ~as t~sa r rnan .

The famous ~ y i y a scholars of Kerala viz. Bhatan Tampuran of e

Kotunyallur, ~ a j a r s i Ramavarma and Pariksit ~ a m a v a r m a from

Tripunithura are the disciples of these scholars who came to Kerala

seeking patronage. Other Nyaya scholars are also considered as the

'Pra6isyaAs of these pandits. The contribution of these scholars should

be recognized with gratitude by the lovers of ~ $ ~ a as that chain continues

in Kerala.

It seems that Navya NyZya was more appreciated in Kerala than - - -. -

Pracina Nyiya. The manuals like Tarka Sangraha with Dipika, Mukt5valT

and Dinakari are studied first within three years. Then the higherworks

like Pihcalaksani, % , ~aturdakalaksani, . , Siddhinta laksana, . . .SamGya nirukti,

Avayava, ~ a k s a G and vyutpattivada are studied within three years. Thus

the study of Nyaya'sastra in the formal level lasts within six years. Then

the students enrich their scholarship by self study and discussions. The <. - sastra sadas'was a great help for them to think deeply on the subjects

and students got opportunities to participate in it alongwith the teachers.

2. Kotungal lur Guruku lam

The Kotungallur Kovilakam was well known as the Taksisila of

south India in the eighteenth century A.D. It was a centre forthe distribution

of all kinds of traditional knowledge. The rulers of that family were great

scholars and patrons. Depending on them a number of scholars served - a lot for the propogation of the study of 'kzstra, kZvya and sangita. So it

is known as the ~otungallGr ~ u r u k u l a m ' ~ . The great scholars like

~avisarvabhauma Koccunni ~ s a , Kuncikuttan Tampuran famous as Kerala - ~ y z s a , Valiyakoccunni Raja,great scholar in Astronomy were some of

the teachers that adorned this Gurukulam. ~odavarma ElayaTampuran,

~odavarrna Bhattan , . Tampuran were the great scholars in ~ ~ a ~ a .

~andi tahjan ~ i n t i t t a .. Kunju Nampootiri -the famous Naiyayika,

~ t t u r Krisna ~ isaro ty - famous as ~bhayakadwara are the disciples of

the above said scholars who were later become more famous than their

teachers

Vadakkamkur states that in that Gurukula learning and teaching

were done on ~ ~ d h ~ z y a d i n a s (days on which teaching is not prohibited)

and d~scussions and other academic activities were done on

~nadhya~adinas (days on which teaching is prohibited)'6. The'sastra-

sadas', kavisarnrnelana in Sanskrit and Malayalam were the chief

functions of the Gurukula.The dramas were played and even the kings

participated as actors. The women also had opportunities to study>~stras.

There were many scholars among the queens of this Kovilakam. All the

queens were well studied in the preliminaries of the Sastras like NyGa, - - vyakarana and ~ah i t ya . Koccikkavu rajfic wife of ~ g n t i t t a K u ~ ~ u

Narnpootiri was a famous scholar who was ornated with the title - '~anditaraja'by Pariksit Rarnavarma. The grandmother of ~eralavyzsa

17 ie ~pp';ccira]?ii was also a scholar in differentsistras .

3. ~ ~ i i ~ a scholars from Kotungallur Gurukulam

- Godavarrna Vidvan Yuvaraja (Elaya Raja) and Godavarma Bhattan .,

Tampuran are the two important ~ y g y a scholars to be mentioned from

this Gurukularn.

Godavarrna idv van ~uvaraja was an accomplished scholar in - P

various branch of learning like ~ y o t i ~ a , Kavya, Tarka, Silpa, Vaidya, - ~ k a u c a and was famous as a ~ a i y a y i k a by his work

A

'~e tvabh~sodahara~a ' , Elaya Tampuran was born in 1800 A.D. and his

parents were ~lankuru'ssi Matrdatta Nampootiri and Vidusi . . Kunnikkutty

Tampuratty. His first teacher was Valappil Asan and studied ~yakaraqa

from De'samangalam Warrier. adh ha van Atitiri was another teacher. h

His famous disciples are Kumbakonam Krsna &str j a famous teacher .. . 18 and ~accumusat another scholar and composer of many books .

Vadakkamkur mentions about fifteen works of this great scholar - - viz. Rarnacarita, Hetvabhasa, Sri ~adasa~takam, ~udhanandalahari, - - Rasasadanarn, Goladhyaya etc19. Among his works Rgmacarita is the

most important one which is a kavya deals with the incarnation of

Sreerama upto the ~ i tzdar iana of ~ a v a ~ a . It is a narrative one but

incomplete. "~etv~bh~sod~hara"a" is a work which deals with the fallacies

of hetu. It gives the 'slokas as examples for hetGbhasa-s. ~etvabhasa

is an important topic in the ~ y a ~ a system which is included in the ~numana

portion. The knowledge of hetvabhisa prohibits the production of anumiti. -

There are five kinds of hetvabhasa3 viz. 'savyabhicara', 'viruddha',

'satpratipaksa', 'asiddha'and 'badhita'. Vadakkamkur quots three karikzs

from that book. Among them the first one is -

"Fiqg**rn*mw ..

This karika is given as an example for'sadharana savyabhicara' - - - -

which is defined as sadhyabhavavat vrtti hetu*- the hetu exists in the t , - - - t

locus where the absence of's~dhyaoccurs. Here sadharaqasavyabhicara u -.

can be shown in the inference, Ramah namyah parthivatvad'(~ama is

salutable as he is a king). ~ar th iva means a king and king is saluted by

all. But this word can also denote the genus of Pritivi (earth - ~arthiva).

So in this inference the hetu p2rthivatva (earthness) exists in the pot

which is made up of earth. But the'&dhyaLnarnyatva' (salutable) is not

existing in a pot.

Then next karika

It may be an example for asidhirana savyabhicari which is defined

as "Sarvasapaksa vipaksa vyavrttal> paksam>travrtti" - the hetu is with

the character of existing only in the paksa and not in'sapaks~or~ipaksa.

In the 6loka the character of the beloved is described as its own that is i

existing in the paksa alone, so it is a fallible reason called 'asiidhirana'.

Vadakkamkur mentions that there are many such works in - 21 ~ G k a r a n a but no other work of this type is found inTarka'sastla .

Godavarma Bhattan -. Tampuran

GBT of Kotungallur Kovilakam was a famous scholar in many

sastras espec~ally in NyZya sastra. He was born in 1858 A.D. and his - .*.

parents were ~kkarakkurigsi Rarnan Nampootiri and Srnt. Kunjikutty Rajnl.

It is beheved that this Tarnpuran was so unhealthy in his childhood and

was even unable to speak. He gained the ability to speak by the grace of

Kotungallur ~ h a ~ a v a t h i ~ ~ .

GBT's first guru was his own father. He gained the knowledge

about ritual practices from his father. His uncle Godavarma and

~unjunnirgja ) I taught him kavya and jyotisa. Rsjarsi Rgrnavarma of Cochin

Palace taught ~ G k a r a n a and Nyzya. But higher works in Nygya were h # 4

studied from Kurnbakonam sadakopacarya who was famous as Nyiya

~ancanana. GBT gained deep knowledge in ~ ~ Z y a from him. SO /" ~a tako~aca rya is considered as his principle teacher. A kir ika in

~jddhantarnila denotes the devotion to that teacher23. ~ e d z n t a and

Dharrna6;stra were studied by his own effort. Even though well versed

in all sastras ~ G y a was h ~ s favourite subject. People approach GET to

clear their doubts in various subjects. Ullur remarks that even Rsjarsi

~amavarma, a famous scholar in Nyhya approached BhattanTampuran . . 24 to clear his doubts in Nyaya .

The title 'Bhatta', , . the greatest honour was conferred on the

scholars who proved either their superior excellence in several kgstras

in open contests of scholarship in debates at ~ a b h a marhorn, or who

proved their super intelligence in composing or interpreting books of

high ~ tanda rd *~ . Godavarma, a famous scholar who deserved the title

in both ways was awarded with the same by the contemporary s&colars. -

C

The Visroy of India awarded him the title ~ a h g m a h o ~ a d h ~ a ~ a in 191 1

A.D. as a recognition for his all sided scholarship. ~ l l u r remarks that

after Ganapati sistri the title ~ a h & n a h o ~ a ; f h ~ a ~ a was given to two - -

scholars and they are Killirnangalarn Narayanan ~ a r n ~ o o t i r i ~ s and

Godavarrna ~ h a t t a n ~ a r n ~ u r a n ~ ~ .

The great disciple of GBT - ' ~ g t r / ~ a r m a n remembers his Guru

in the work &aka ~andeha very reverently as a well versed teacher in

the'sastras of ~ G k a r a ? a , N ~ G ~ , ~ e d G t a and ~ h a r r n a ' s k t ~ ~ ~ . i t tu r

Krsna . . Pisaroty,a well known Malayalam writer is also his disciple.

Works of Godavarma Bhattan . . Tampuran

It is believed that there are about 12 books as that of GBT like A - - - /'

Upaharaprakasikzvyakhya, Saktiprak%ika, ~ h i ~ a v a t a Pradhamasloka

vygkhya, ~y$aratn&ali vy;khya, Pramanya vada v 6 k h y a and

~idhintam>la. Among these works of Bhattan , . Tampuran, some are

commentaries on standard works. Some of them are not yet published.

~ h e ' ~ r ; m & ~ a vzda ~ G k h G n d is a ~ y % ~ a work but this is also -

unpublished. ~iddhantamala is a1s;stya grantha'written in karika style

which describes briefly the meanings of seven cases according to the ..-

4 -

~~utpatt ivada of Gadadharabhattacarya. There are various theories about

the'/Sabdabodhi in Indian Philosphy. ~adadharabhatta . . proposed his - - - ,.

theory of 'samsarga maryadavada in ths text28.

GBT composed the commentary in the ~ i i r i k i i form with all the . theories proposed by ~adadharabhatta. It includes seven prakaranas

and 495 karikas. The first kLarika is a'managala$lbkiand . . it includes the

concept that cakti is the power of words to denote the meaning and the

same is the desire of ~ o d ~ ' . The method followed in this work is simple

and very much useful for the beginners to understand and byheart the

theories.

Ill. ~ y a y a Scholars fromTripunithura

The tradition of N ~ G ~ is popularised inTripunithura by the eminent P - - f - -

~ ~ & a scholar Sesacarya from ~umt$akonarn.~esacar~a taught ~ y a ~ a

to the Mahsraja of Cochin i.e Fl$arsi ~ a m a ~ a r m a n and it was developed

by the descendents of that family and by their disciples.

It is believed that the kings of Cochin had their origin from the

Perurnals of Mahodayapurarn. The capital Mahodayapuram was shifted

to Cochin in the fourteenth century A.D. Later it came under the rule of

British kingdom. Cochin ceased to exist as a separate state consequent

to the integration of Cochin andTravancore in 1948. Then it became the

central part of Kerala by the formation of states in the basis of languages

used by people.

The mention of Nyaya scholars are seen in Kerala from the early

time but their erudition was transmitted to their disciples only by oral

tradition. The disciples also followed the same method and there existed

this traditional scholarship without break. They are happy and satisfied if

their disciples had attained the erudition which was given by these

'Guru-s'. So they were not cared much to record their scholarship.

The scholars had chances to show their all round scholarship in

7 ' - - - -

the Sastra Sadas: while doing the Vakyartha varnana: The strong

arguments proposed by them are enough to highlight their deep knowledge.

The winners of'sadaiwere honoured with titles and presents. More over

these scholars had wide recognition and patronage from the rulers. That

may be one reason for the scholars that they were reluctant to write

more. The other reason may be the thought that have occured in their

minds that even the vast literature written by the earlier eminent scholars

could not be studied completely in this life, then what is the use for

writing more. All the members of the Cochin royal family were scholars

and patrons of learning and some of them have contributed to other

branches of Sanskrit literature also. Among them two kings should be

specially mentioned who had devoted their whole life for studying and

popularising sanskrlt language and especially ~ ~ a ~ a ' s a s t r a . They are

&jarsi Ramavarman, the Abdicated ~aha ra ja of Cochin and ~ a i k s i t

Ramavarrnan the last ruler of Cochin.

RRV was a scholar king, a patron of learning and an efficient

ruler, who adorned the royal palace of Cochin. His reign was considered

as the golden age for the study of Sanskrit literature and especially for

~ ~ Z ~ a $ > s t r a . RRV was the king who made Cochi as the modern Cochin.

RRV was born in 1852 as the son of Kutalzthpurath ~ h i s k a r a n

Nampootiripad and ~mba l i ka Tampuratty. . . RRV's first teacher was

Kunnunni Nambi. His Highness studied English from Robert white and . . / - -

~ ~ a ~ a ' s a s t r a from Sesacarya.

Contribution of RRV to the study of ~ & t r a

The important contribution of RRV to the study of kistra is the

establishment of Samskrta ~ i p a 6 a l a in the name of his ~ ~ & a teacher /- - - Sesacarya and there by the king showed his devotion to that Guru. The

origin of the present Sanskrit College, Tripunithura,is to be traced to the

sastra classes conducted by the'Gthana andi it& of Cochin Palace - -

who were specially invited by the Maharaja and appointed for imparting

instruction in the Higher branches of Sanskrit learning in the traditional

way3'. These scholars held regular sastla classes in some buildings

attached to the Palace where students eager to pursue advanced studies

in'sastras came and lived as in Gurukula. Facilities for free lodging and

boarding were provided. Books and manuscripts of Palace Grantha library 4 .

/ - C

were made accessible to them. Scholars like Rangapacarya, Bhimacarya, i - i' sesac2rya, Satakopacarya, ~ / c h u ~yotsyar, Trikkdvil Uzzuthara Warrier

d

and Sri ~etumadhava Diksitar were some of the well known teachers

lived in that period.

RRV the Maharaja of Cochin was a profound scholar in k5stra's

particularly in ~ y a y a and ~ ~ a k a r a n a . He had a strong desire for the

preservation and advancement of the indegenous system of Sanskrit

study in its higher branches, so that the old type of Pandits -. with their

profound knowledge of 'sastr,aas may not altogether die out. So ~ z j a r s i

established the2istra ~ah&itha'sala which offered advanced instruction

in three sastras viz. N G ~ ~ , vy6karana and Vedanta. The duration of

course of study was seven years; five years for the study of the above

subjects and two years for the study of general subjects which would

enable the students to appear for the oriental Title Examination of the

Madras university. 1-he college was not affiliated to any university, for

the founder has the view that the affiliation to the university might not be

conducive to the realisation of the purpose for which the college was

started. So the college was existed under the control of the Divan.

On the opening day itself MahZGja appointed prominent teachers

in this institution. In the Ravivarma GrantfiZvaliit is said "on the opening

day itself the Paiha'sGa had the prevelage of having in its staff two eminent

scholars of South India ~ r a h m a g r i ~ i n t i t t a ,. Kufiju Nampoothiri and M.B. ,.'% "31 Sankara Nariyana /Sastri as lecturers in ~ ~ a ~ a and vyskaraPa . Brahmakfi P.V. Pancapake"sa/Sistri joined as lecturer in ~edan ta and

these three scholars were in full charge of their respective sections as

far as teaching work is concerned. It was because of these three gems

that the ~aha~atha6ala reached the zenith of its glory. Later this institution

was handed over to the Government of Kerala and known as Government

Sanskrit College, Tripunithura. Even then the encouragement given to

the study of5astras was continued and arrangements were made by the

kings of that family to continue the-/Sistra Sadas' and to publish

unpublished valuable works.

&stya Sadas - an outline

'- It was at the time of RRV that the 'Sastra Sadas' at Tripunithura

was established as an annual function. Reputed scholars inside and

outside of Kerala were invited to that sadas. The scholars assembled

and there were interactions among them. It was a common platform for

them to discuss the various knotty points of the'sastra. Each scholar

will get opportunity to present his opinion in that assembly. King RRV

will preside over the function. All the other scholars in that sabha also

will get chance to present ideas either as complimentary or contradictory

to the opin~ons proposed by the previous scholars. Always there will be

deep discussions and each one try to explain his points with strong

arguments. The sabha will continue till they reach to a determination

about the discussion. The winners are fotunate enough to get valuable - presents, or titles from the ~ a h a & j a .

*/ . Eminent scholars like Panditagjan Punnasser~ Nambi, ~;!all;r

Kunhu""i Nampootiripad, Killimangalam ~ ~ r a ~ a n a n Nampootiripad,

panditarajan Uzuthara Warrier, Setumidhava ~ l k ~ i t a r , ~ i n t i t t a .. Kunju

Nampootiri were sorne of the eminent participants and winners of honour

from that sadas. The sabha of such eminent scholars was very helpful

for the participants to enrich their knowledge and to think about a subject

deeply with all the connected issues. The rules followed in that'sabhi

were that marked in the Nyaya sfitra -the first systematic work of ~ya'ya

sastra. The subjects of NGya'sast!a were included as important topics

of discussion. Even now the'sistra sadaiand publication of books are

going on in that institution.

Honours Received

The fame of RRV as a 'scholar king' was recognised all over

lndia and he was the president in the conference of All lndia Ayurvedic

Samiti held at Poona on 1917 A.D. It is noted that after hearing the

presidential address ~okam;dn~a ~ a l a ~ a n ~ a d h a r a Tilak remarked "It is

known that you are a scholar among kings, but now I know that you are

a king among scholars"32. RRV participated in the all lndia philosophical

conference in Trivandrum and talked about the intellectual tradition of

lndia wh~ch impressed the members and his erudition was accepted by

all. He was so humble to approach other scholars to clear the doubts. It

is said that if the doubt is in ~ ~ a k a r a n a , he will go to Killimangalam

Narayanan Nampootiri and if the doubt is in ~ ~ a ~ a he is ready to clear it

with Bhattan . , ~ a m ~ u r a n ~ ~ . RRV was a recognised scholar and was the

ruler of a state but still he lived as an ascetic.

RRV was not interested much to record his scholarship yet we - - have two books of him. First one isVedanta Paribhasa Sangraha which

is a resume of the ~ e d $ t a principles. Next one is ~ i labodhana - a

primary text to ~fakarana. It is great help to the beginners to study.

Sanskrit grammar which deals with the nature of technical forms in

~y'gkarana's~stra .. like Pada, Vskya, Sakarmaka, Akarmaka and Vibhakti.

&jar$ abanded his position as the ~aha ra ja of Cochin in 1914

and so he is well known as the Abdicated ~ a h i r i j a of Cochin. Then he

led his life in Trissur as ascetic until his sad demise in 1931 A.D.

PRV a scholar king, and the last Maharaja of Cochin is accepted

: 27 :

as the author of many works in N y ~ y a ka'stra as well as in another

branches of Sanskrit learning. His ~ ~ g y a works are Subodhini, Jalavad ' -

h!da nibcayatvavic~ra and 6hGmika to the work of ~astr.?arman.

Life and Education

Ramavarma Kunnunni Tampuran otherwise known as

Tampuran was born in 1876 A.D. as the son of Ottur Raman Nampootiripad

- a Rgvedic scholar and Mankuiampuran of Cochin Palace. He started

his primary education from his mother and then studied Sanskrit from - -

Kunnan Warrier - the teacher in Sarnskrita ~ i iha& la . Kavyas and

rudiments of NyGa were studied from this ~a!ha$ala. Higher studies in - +

~ y g y a were under his uncle ~ a j a r ~ i and sri3atakopacarYa, the court

Pandit and one of the greatest Nyaya scholars of India. Moden Education

was in Maharaja's College Ernakularn and in the Presidency College

Madras. Then the prince settled in Tripunithura and studied the sastras -

like Mimzmsa, Vedsnta and Nyiya.

PRV led a Pure and Chaste life. Most of his time was spent for

meditat~on, worship, reading books and forSZstric discussions with the

court pa~dits of the palace. As the ~ $ a was brought up in an atmosphere

where Sanskrit learning was held in the higher level, and was surrounded

a - with well known scholars like his uncle ~a ja r~ i :~a tako~a&r~a , Mantit!a -

- r - Kunju Nampootiri, Ayyasastrikal and ~etumadhava diksitar. It is no

wonder that the R2ja had a special attachment to the ancient language,

literature and kastra.

PRV's life was for learning and contributing learning. He dedicated

his life for the propogation and advancement of knowledge. Even though

His Highness was a highly orthodox follower of the ritualistic practices in

his personal life, he is the first ruler who abanded the royal power merely

for three copies of Government Calender and paved the way to function

a socialist government in the state. Thus PRV stood for the love and

wellfare of his people when he knew that democratic rule is more preferable

for them.

Honours received

~ r i Sankar~c i i r~a of Kanci K k a k o t i Mathorn bestowed the title

~akanaka lan idh i on PRV by recognising his authority in Indian -.. Philosophies. The Acaryas of ~ g n c i Kzmakoti awarded the title Abinava

.- - Tarkavagisa in recognition of his erudition in ~ ~ & a . The Banaras

.- - University proposed to give him the degree Vidyavacaspaty but His

Highness declined it owing to poor health. Dr. C. Kunjan r s a - a modern

scholar wrote a beautiful poem about him and Achyuta ~o tuva l - a

'Pra<isya3 of ~ a j a r s i , . wrote ~ariksitcarita about his life.

Contribution of P.R.V. t o Sanskrit study

/ - The encouragement given by PRV to the study of Sanskrit Sastra

and Sahitya is very great. ~he'sgstra ~ a d a i started by his uncle RRV;

got more enthusiasm in his period. PRV presided over the sadas and

the scholars were treated as guests. ~andi tar i ja and sahitya nipuna

gold medals were being awarded for deserving scholars.

Works of PRV

PRV was the author of many works which include Commentaries,

Stotras and Campus. The ~arar thadee~ika is the commentary on

~ i l i dasa 's ~bhij'n:r,akikun$ala. It is a product of the combined workof

~ a j k s i t and his friend ~anditaGjjan K. ~ama~i&roty . It gives exhaustive

explanation to every word rasa and bh'iva. The other commentaries are

the Rasikapriya to the 'Narayaneeya' of ~ e l p u t t k ~ a r a ~ a n a Bhattatiri . . and ~ a l a ~ r i ~ ~ commentary to the4~hvanGloka'of Gandavardhana.

1-he Stotras written by PRV are praises shown to PGrnatrayeeka

which is the family diety of the author. The collection of stotras is known

: 30 :

as ~totram'ala where Visnu . . and Subrahmanya are praised. ~angzstava

is another short devotional poem praising the river ~ a n ~ z . The critical

essays written by him in Malayalam is known as'Dalangall.

PRV was closely associated with Keralastage in its performance

of ~Gt tu and Kirtiyattarn. PRV patronised great actors like ~ a c c u c;kyar, .- -

Paimkulam ~ & a Cakyar and ~ a n i Madhava c;kyar. He wrote many

Prabhandhas for their performance. The Campu works are ~rahlidacarita, - Ambarisa carita, ~ukan~aca r i t a and adh ha ~gdhava .

Subodh~n~ and Jalavad hr,da nihcayatva viczra are the works in - 4

Nyayasastra.

importance of Subodhini

The work Subodhini written by PRV is a monumental work from

Kerala to ~~aya 'sast ra . It is a commentary on Mukthali andTarangini - - --- the commentaries for the ~hasa~ar iccheda Bhasapariccheda - a manual

of ~ ~ ~ ~ a v a i s e s i k a has many commentaries. The first commentary

Muktavali is written by the author himself. Mahaeva wrote acommentary

known as ~raka/sa and it was completed by Dinakara, his son. So it is

called as 'Dinakari' also. Likewise ~ a m a r u d r ~ or TarangiYT is the - I commentary written by ~amarudra and it was completed by Rajasekhara.

Later commentaries are ~ r a b h a by ~ ~ s i r n h a k s s t ~ ~ and ~ a f i j u $ by

~ a t t ~ b h i r ~ m a " s i s t r ~ . ,. Subodhini is a commentary which includes all the

views of these commentators.

There are two kinds of works in the 'sastra viz. Prakarana and

~ & a . One can enter the second type only after studying the first type.

The modern works are generally cosidered as Prakarana even though

there are exceptions. IheTarkasamgraha, ~uk t i va l i , ~edgnta paribhacs,5

and Arthasangraha can be included in the former type. The works like - -tL

Tattvacintamani, Di,:dhi,and ~adhdhar i are examples for the second

type.

The ~ h a s a pariccheda of Viswanatha ~ancanana (1 7th century

A.D.) and his commentary on the same were very popular and important - +; among the Prakaranas as that of ~attvacintarnani and DiNdhLamong the

d

Vada works. The Prakarana or manuals of logic is defined as a book

which concerns itself with the topics of a portion of a'ssstra which may

deal even with matters not included in t h a t % ~ s t [ a ~ ~ . ~hasgpariccheda

is avaiiesika work which incorporates the ~ ~ a ~ a category of pramina.

The prarnana concept of ~ y a y a is included while discussing the category

of dravya.

The commentaries like Prabha and ahj jug are very vast in

certain places but it is silent in some other places. The criticism porposed

by these authors against ~ahgdeva and Dinakara are sometimes out of

place, as without understanding the apt meaning. But ~ a h c d e v a

discusses the toplc with enough words (mitaksara). So it is very much

conducive to understand the real meaning intended by the author. Hence

Prominence of this work is accepted by the teachers and students. The

commentary of it- the ~amarudriends with the 5abdakha"da.

Subodhini is a commentary for all these commentaries, but

always tries to establish the views of ~ahadevabhatta. , . It is a valuable

contribut~on to Tarka'sistra in which high thinking and power of

interpretation is displayed. It is composed after deep research in other

commentaries and old manuscripts along with the scholarship the

commentator had obtained from his erudite teachers. Subodhini starts

with a salutation to the family deity - 'P;rnatra$aland to his teachers.

Then he gives the nature of the work35.

The author 01'~rabh: has attacked the views of'Prak&a on

several occassions without sufficient justifications. '~a"h jus~genera l l~

appreciates and approves the line of'Prak%a: Yet at times it too has

adversily criticised the views of ~ahi ideva. The author of ~ubodhin i is

partial towards the views of Mahadeva. SS in his ~vatGika to 'Subodhini'

commends that Tarnpuran has a tradition which is gathered from A

Sesacarya who is the prakisya of the author of RarGarudri: So the

appreciation to ~ r a k & a commentary is natural and the Subodhini can

be considered as aC'Guru ~ a ~ a r y ? ~ ~ (Offering to the Guru). For instance

explaining the sentence beginning from "~ak.smT~i ida~u~am", the author

of Dinakafisays that this term is referential to father and mother because

they are considered as deities on the lJpanisadv;k)hya - "Mat~dwo bhava,

Pit[devo bhava". So the salutation is done to these deities. Then he

gives the vlews of others with the term 'Kecit'. Their view is that the - -

vigraha of '~aks rn i~ada~uga ' is given as 'Lak~mi pgdayuge yasya tam'

(to him, where the laksmy resides in his feet). So the term may be

treated as the qualifier of pita. So the invocation is done by throat to the

father37. PRV refutes it by saying that - it cannot be approved in a

humble word 'Tadasundararn', because there is no laxity in approving

the secondary meaning.

Another example can be shown from the first part of Subodhini,

while discussing the significance of the word 'vigha&;ta7 (Vighna

vigh6tiya), he says that the words of the~aran~i"i 'and the abuses put on

et by the author of ~ a h j u $ should be discussed38. The word "Paraib!"

denotes -the author of ~ a n j u ~ a .

In another place PRV says that ~atJa'bhi~ma elaborately explained I

the law that "vkista , . vacakanZm padanam sati visesana &aka pada . . samavadhine ~ i ~ e ~ y a : ~ a t r a ~ a r a t a " , but PRV says that the view of

~ahgdevabhatta is more reasonable3'. .. The author had given vivid explanations where the subject matter

dealt in the earlier works remained abruse. So new light has been shown

and new ideas have been incorporated in this book by PRV

0

Jalavad hrda ni&cayatva viczra n

The other ~ y a y a work of PRV is'Jalavad hrda niscayatvavicaral. A

It is a small work dealing with a special topic in the hethbhasa prakarapa.

ln the~attvacintamar?i of Gange'sa there is a Prakarana called ~ & n ? m ~ a

nirukti prakarana which deals with the 'hetvabhas&' (fallacies of hetu).

According to ~ y i y a concept - anumana is the second means of knowledge

which produces the inferential knowledge (anumiti) and it is defined as

~aramarkajan~am jGanarn. ~a&ma&a is 'vyaptivi'sitapaksadharmat~-

j&nam'. So vyapti and paksadharmata are the components of this type

of knowledge. yapt ti is the special feature of'sadhetu: Hetu can be of

two types,"sadhetd- possessing vyapti and paksadharmata andisadhet;

- - - , which is lacking such features. ~he'asadhetu'is also called as' hetvabhasa

or dusta . . hetu and it is divided into five kinds ie '~avyabhicgra, viruddha,

satpratipaksa, asiddha and badhita'. Dusta , . hetu is that which possess

dosas viz. vyabhicara virodha etc. Anumiti is obstructed when the

knowledge of the d6sas occur in the hetu.

e - Naiyayika considers the pratibhandhakatvabhava as a common

cause for the production of the effect because pratibhandhaka always

obstructs the production of it. Here anumiti which is also an effect must

have this cause prior to its production. ~etv>bh;sa j k n a which obstructs - 40 the anumiti or paramar& is defined in three ways by ~ a n ~ & o ~ ~ d h y a y a .

Among these definitions,a topic in the second one is the content

of the work of PRV He tliscusses about the meaning of the case 'Trhiya'

in the term "yatvisayakatvena" and it is accepted as 'avacchedakatva'.

Then the 'avacchedaka' can be qualified as '~var~~asamb$andha ' or

'anatirikta vrittitva'. While discussing about these issues he says that

the 'pratibandhakatva' is to be approved to a definite knowledge qualified

with another definite knowledge (ni<cayaviiista niicaya). For example -. ? I .

0-

in the inference 'Lake posseG:fire as there is smoke (hrdo vahnirnan h

-.. - dhumat) the h(da is paksa, fire is sSdhya and smoke is the hetu. It is an

example for the heGbhasa viz.'satpratipaksa'because we can point out

another hetu which can prove the absence of sadhya in the paksa - the

absence of fire in the lake can be proved by another hetu viz. water. We

are sure that the lake is possessing water and if there is water there will

not be fire. So the nature ~f'~ratibandhakatvgis in the form of a qualified a,

knowledge i.e.'jalavyapaka vahnyabhzva iti nigcaya vigista d . jalavat hrda h

a visayaka niicayatvena rbpena'. This 'jalavat hrda ni6cayatva'is discussed

:\

elaborately in the text by PRV.

The next contribution to Nyaya'szstra by PRV is a ~6umika written

for the '~acaratnar&likac' of kastr,iarman. It is a brief and significant

essay which includes many contemporary problems, the traditional sastric

study has to face. At the beginning of this essay ~aGksit seems to be so

anxious about the future of it because it is not conducive to wealth,

respect and fame4'. But this condition is changing because new trends

are seeing i.e new Sanskrit colleges are establishing, the students and

scholars of'sastra are encouraging. In this condition, the scholar like

~an t i t t a Kunju Nampootiri is really a lightening star who is a traditional

scholar in all the branches of learning especially in ~ ~ S y a and who have

wrote many works in Nyaya and fahitya. PRV gives a summary of the

content of NRM taking thezva l i~ (chapters) one by one. So it servesas

a great help to enter that scholarly work.

IV. ~antit ta . . Kunju Nampootiri - the author of

~acaratnamalika (1 876 - 1959)

/ - /

Sastrsarman well known as ~andi tara jan ~ g n t i t t a -. Kunju

Narnpootiri is a famous Naiyayika from Kerala in the nineteenth century

A.D. His Magnum Opus - ~acaratnam%iika is really a valuable

contribution to the wealth of ' ~ g d a prasthiina'. He was also a poet who - has composed many other works viz. a devotional poem ~angataran~in i

- - with Viswanathastaka and the message poem &takasandeta.

, .

Education and Life

&&[&arman was a native of Venkitangu near Guruvayoor in h

Trissur district. He was born in 1876 as the second son of Subrarnanyan * Narnpootiri, a great vedic Pand~t and Parvathy Antarjanam. The family

/ name was ~an t i t t a . . . The elder brother of Sarrnan, Sr ivGudevan

Nampootiri became a great ~ a i y a k a r a ~ a and his younger brother C.

Subrarnanyan Nampootiri was a ~ a i ~ g ~ i k a . A .

v' SS was known by the pet name Kunju in his childhood and Sarrna'

is the term added to denote brahmins4'. He was initiated into formal

education at the age of seven. SS began to learn Rgveda Samhita with ,

/. Pada in the family temple of Sankara ~ a r a ~ a n a . Sarrna in the

~<takasandeka remembers this temple as a place where even now

Nampootirl s study ~ e d a ~ ~ . Higher studies in Veda were started at the

age of fifteen in the Brahmaswam Mafhom Trissur. Basic ~ y a y a and

sahitya were studied from Panditarajan ~ama52s t r~ .

, Sarma reached Kotungallur at the age of eighteen for higher

studies in NGya. This Gurukulam, a famous centre of all kinds of P

traditional learning was adorned with many great scholars. Sarma studied

~ ~ i y a under GBT. This Tampuran was well versed in many sastras but

was unparallel in Indian logic. The Natural intelligence and effort of the

student attracted the teacher and 'Kunjikkivu Tampuratti' .. the niece of

Bhattan .. Tampuran was given to him as his wife. This Tampuratti . . also

was a well versed scholar who was adorned with the title "Panditafija" /

by the king of Cochin Royal Family. So Sarma got a co-sharer in the

intellectual persuit as his wife.

,< Sarma was a permanent participant in the ' ~ ~ s t r a Sadas' at

Tripunithura. He was duly respected by the kings and scholars of that

sadas who showed the wast knowledge and deep thinking in that sadas.

The participants were amazed by his deep scholarship. ~anditaGjan

Acyuta potuval remarks that3arma's learned performance in such sadas

was astonishing to all scholars around. The historic encounter in one of

- * these conference between the aged/~r~nivasacarya from ~anch i~ura rn

/ - - who was known as Singalacarya and the young garma has been - - c

described by many Pandits . . to that of Bhismacarya and Arjuna in the fi. - -

battle field of ~ u r u k ~ e t r a ~ ~ . 6arma defeated S~ngalacarya who was a

terror to Pandits and won the title of honour "~$kikatilaka" from the

Mahsraja of Cochln.

/'

As a recognition to his scholarship Sarma was appointed as the

teacher in 5ree kesacirya Sams5;ta ~Zthata la by Figjarsi Tampuran.

Later he was appointed as the professor of ~ y a y a in the Sast!q

~ah-a~;!h&ila. % a r m had unequal knowledge in otherfs':stras like

~ G k a r a ~ a and sahitya but his special interest laid in the ~ k s a & d a

daGana and there in Vsdagrantha was his favourite field. The vgda

granthas are treatises which includes strong arguments and discussions

about the topics in a 'sastra. The study, discussion and composing of

these kinds of books were regarded as interesting sports by them, which

were really an exercise for developing the intellectual powers. PRV

remarks that one can not point out even a single part in the works like - - - 4

Tattva cintaman~ or in its commentaries - Didhiti, ~ a ~ a d i i i , Gadadhari - or in its wide interpretations, which is not thought about by them, making

P,

the night as a day45. Sarma's intellect was much interested in the more

higher works known as'~rodapatra'-s. Moreover the intellect was - - - nourished by the acquaintance with great scholars in ~ $ ~ a and Mimarnsa. / - T ' - - Sri ~etumadhava deeksitar, the grandson of Sesacarya and king ~a ja rs i

/

are to be noted here. Sarma himself says frequently that the acquaintance

with ~eturnadhava deeksitar is the main reason that he could enter the

higher treatises like the'Kroda patra which are very difficult to enter and 46 even more difficult to come out .

SS served in the ~ahafa\ha&la for a long time with the blessings

of ~ a j a r ~ i and other scholars. He was so lucky to have distinguished

disciples IikeT. Rama Warrier, C.K. Raman Nambiar, K. Acyuta poduval

and P.C. ~asudevan Elayath. There were only very few persons like /-

Sarrna who spent the whole life for attaining and distributing knowledge

and who lived only for the cause of knowlege.

6arma was a great devotee of Siva and was always seen

worshiplng/Siva with bilvapatras. His life was pure and chaste following

all the ritual practises. People approached him with hesitation whether

he is approachable or not but his innocent friendship and patronage made

him approachable to the people as well as for his students to clear their

doubts.

Honours Received

After RRV the next ~ a h a r i j a of Cochin known as ~h6rmika C

cakravarthy awarded to Sarrnan the title of honour "pandita6janW. This

was the greatest horiour conferred on scholars of outstanding erudition. b J '

The same R&'a awarded the golden "~ ' i a2 rn~a la " three times to Sarma. . *. ,/ ' Sarma retired from his official position in 1931 but was retained in the

Palace as the 'Asthma Pa?dita'. The Cattarji commission instituted by

the Government of India for the encouragement of Sanskrit studies

accepted many valuable suggestions from Weakened by diseases

of old age this valuable life breathed his last in the year 1959.

/ Contemporary ~ ~ a ~ a scholars respected with ~ a s t r . Sarman

in Tripunithura

.-. f sm.

K. ~ ~ m a ~ i s ~ r . o t ~ (1 876-1 947) and Cennarnangalam Ayya Sastrikal

were the other scholars entitled by RRV with SS as Sahrdayatilaka and

kibdikatllaka.

K. Ramapiszroty, a great authority in Poetry and ~ ~ a ~ a was

considered as the outer life (bahi$carap&?a) of pa'?bsit. He was a friend

- of Pariksit and they spent most of their time with/s&tric discussion and

+- p -

they jointly produced a commentary for Abhijnana Sakuntala known as

~ariirthadee~ika. ~amapisarojy came toTripunithura at the age of eleven

and studied under Rijarsi. Higher works in ~ y i ~ a were studied from + -

~id,avacarya in the royal palace with PRV. Then he continued his studies c

under Kumbakonam 'S~strikal. In the year 1890 at the age of 23 . - .+

Ramapisaro~i became the teacher of Sesacarya ~atha'si la and was a

permanent participant in the 'kastra sadas'. His sad demise was on

1947.

Works of Rams P i sa ro~ are Rsmavarma ddsaka a khanda k&ya. - - Tippani for Citramimamsa, ~inaka;ya and vyutpattiv&ia. His interest

laid in teaching ~ ~ i ~ a and Alanksra. He travelled all over Kerala and

collected valuable manuscripts from Cochin and Malabar and they were

donated to the Cochin Palace library.

Cennarnangalam ~~$/S&trjka1(1864-1945)

* ' - Cennamangalam Ayya Sastrikal was another brilliant scholar who

was graded in the first category and choosen to be the first receipent of

~aharaja's 'PanditaGja gold medal'. He was appointed as the teacher in ,- -

the F'a!ha<ala Tripunithura. Another honour is the title 'Sabdikatilaka'

... received from Rajarsi along with SS. He was reluctant to write anything.

- ~ t t u r Krisna ~ i s i r o t i

Attur Krisna Pisaroti is the friend of SS from his student days in . . I / -

Kotungallur Gurukulam. He received theUPanditar?ija" title from the Sastra

sadas'of ~ripunithura. The title '~avitaratna'is received from the 'Vidwad

sadas', Ayodya. Pisaroty's special attention was for the enlightenment

of Malayalam literature. His scholarship in interpretation, publication, s

translation and research is recognized by the scholarly society. ~ t t G r

published three works of his preceptor Godavarma Bhattan Tampuran / . - < -

viz. LJpah~apraka.iika,Saktitatvaprakaslka and ~iddhantamala.

r ' - P.S. Ananta ~ i i r a ~ a n a Sastry (1 885-1 957)

P.S. Ananta Narayana'sastry, another contemporary ~ G y a

scholar of SS belonged toTrissur. He was a dependent of Rarnavarma

of Cochin. Tarkasara , is a ~ y z ~ a work written by him. As its title refers

it is a summary of the rnaln principles of '~arka s ~ s t r i . In the beginning

of the work it is said that it is written for the use of beginners who wish to

study Nyaya4'. This work is a true follower o i~a rkasa rn~ rah i which

deals with the categories of ~ y z y a vaiiesika in a simple style.

- V. Commentators of ~utanaloka

Three disciples of ~<ntif!a, viz. C.K. Raman Nambiar, K.Acyuta

Potuval and T. Rama Warrier jointly wrote a sub commentary to

~acaratnarniilik6. Sarma's commentary is known as ~Gtansloka and

the disciple's commentary is the ~ l o k a ~ r a k i ~ a . These commentaries

serves as great help to get the explanations of the sentences given by

the author. At times they quote the ideas from vedas and puranas as

supportive to the~r views. Many incidental topics are included and

exhaustively discussed in this commentary.

C.K. ama an ~ a m b i a r

C.K. Raman Namb~ar was a reputed Nyaya scholarwho contributed - -

to the Nacaratnamal~ka in the form of the sub commentary ~ l o k a ~ r a k i s a .

He was ihe professor of Nyaya in the Sanskrit College,Tripunithura, and

was honoured by the king PRV by awarding the titleuPandita&ja".

Raman Nambiar was born in 1900 in the Kuzuppilli Mathom at

Vallachira village in Trissur district. His parents were Polapurath

Putiyedath Govindan Nambiar and Kunnippilly Nangiaramma. Early h

education was at Palapurath. Sanskrit was studied under Pasedath - Nampootiri. Higher studies were in the Samskrita ~atha<ala,~ri~unithura.

~ i n t i t t a . , Kunju Nampootiri is the main teacher who taught N ~ G ~ ~ . After

passing' ~ y a y a bh;sarial - the title exam Nambiar was appointed as the \ ,

tutor in ~ ~ a y a in the same institution. Later he was promoted as lecturer

and principal.

Raman Nambiar was the chief editor of the journal - Ravivarma / -

Samskrta Grantavali - and wrote many short essays and Slokas in it.

The Govt. of India recognised his scholarship and a fellowship was k

awarded. Even now his wife Amminiyamma belonging to Kadekuzi family <

near Tripunithura is receiving the financial help from the Central

Government.

An essay seen in the Journal titled, ' ~ a r k a s a s t r a ' ~ ~ shows the

scholarst~ip of Sri Narnbiar. It is an essay in which he gives a short

history of N G ~ ~ vaiiesika system of Indian philosophy. Nambiar is of

opinion that this 'sistra is conducive for the betterment of man in this

world and for attaining Moksa in another world. He further remarks that

the difference between ~ $ ~ a and~aibesika lies in the nature of treatment

not in the content. The unique quality of ~ ~ a ~ a 'sastra is that it accepts

the importance of anumzna which is the most required means of - - knowledge for a~ l ' s i s t ras~~. Udayanacarya and other philosophers uses

the anumana more than any other pramana. Raman Narnbiar further

holds that Paninyyam is used to know the proper words to denote the

objects and ~ a n g d a is conducive to know the object and thereby the

right knowledge can be attained by these'sistras5'. At the end of this

essay he seems to be anxious about the present condition of ~ y i y a

6astra that people without studying this's;;stra, argues like a6Vaita@ika'

and so the kzstra itself is known as 'Kutarka'. Nambiar concludes the

essay by saying that even then there exists two or three eminent scholars.

Among them the first one is His Highness ~ar iks i t ~amavarma and the

second person is Sri Mantitta Kuncu Nampootiri, the honourable teacher

of the author. They ornates the'paramparalof ~adadhara bhatta and at

the end he express hrs devotion and reverence to these eminent scholars.

K. Acyuta ~ o t u 6 l (1898-1 972)

- K. Acyuta ~o tu& l is the disciple of ~ast~/sarman, and Meladath

Govindan Nambiar. He was awarded with the title'~andita<ajari from the

Cochir~ Royal Palace and was appointed as the professor of ~ y a y a in the I Sesac5rya Mahapatha(sLla. It is said that Acyuta PotuvZil was a

< - permanerlt participant in Sastra sadas'and attracted the participants by

his sweet and musical sgnskrit.

Acyuta ~otuva l was the sub editor of the Ravivarma Samskrta

Journal published from the ~a thaz i i l a once in three months and

C.K. Rarnan Nambiar was the chief editor. After the retirement of C.K.

R h a n Narnbiar, Acyuta PotuGl had taken that position. He had written

many essays and short poems in that journal.

Acyuta PotuG;l is the author of many works viz. vilapasaptati, - ~atrnivedana, Pariksit carita, 'kivastuti, ~ a ~ h C ~ i t i and ~haktirassyana

beside the commentary to NUA. Among these w o r k s ' ~ i l ~ ~ a s a ~ t a t i ' i s a

poem in 700 stanzas bemoaning the death of F?;jarsi ~gmavarrna. ~azksi t - carita is a Khacga kzvya which describes the life history of Pariksit

Tarnpuran in four sargas. The others are stotra works in which the use of

alankargs and ttie depiction of rasa are so attractive and that surpass

even the ~ar iks i t carlta. The sub commentary - Aloka prakgga shows

the deep knowledge of the author in ~ ~ a y a as well as that of/Sruti smriti,

Upanisads arid Purana.

T. Rama Warrier

Trikovil Rama ~ a r r i e r was a familiar and respected Ayurvedic

physician for the inhabitants of Tripunithura. He was also a ~ y z ~ a scholar

who joined with C.K. Raman Nambiar and K.Acyuta ~otuva l to compose

the commentary for ~acaratnam2likS. ~ a m a ~ G r i e r was respected by

the king of Cochin Roayal Family by awarding the title 'PanditaGjan'.

T. Rama Warrier was born in 1897 A.D. in theTrikkovil Warriyam

in Valluvanad Taluk as the son of KuttypisZrasySr and Podumana Krsnan ... . Nampootiri. After the primary education in his birth place, he reached

Tripunithura with his uncle Uzutra ~ a r r i e r who was the professor of

Ayurveda in the Samskcta ~ a h ~ ~ a ! h a / s ~ l a and the Ayurveda physician

in royal palace. The remaining education of ~ g m a Warrier was at

Tripunithura. He joined in the Samskrta P;tha&la and studied ~ G y a

from the reputed ~ ~ & a teacher ~ a n t i t t a Kunju Nampootiri and passed

the ~~a~abh;sana. He got the traditional knowledge of hyurvedafrom C I

his uncle and took the title 'iyurveda bhzsana'. After the education he /

. I served for two years as the teacher of Ayurveda in the Madras university.

In 1933 he was appointed as the Ayurveda teacher in the place of his

uncle in the ~i !ha&la atTripunithura.

7. ~ a m a Warrier spent most of his time in the Palace holding the

position of "Kottaram Vaidyan". ~ $ ~ a also was his favourite subject and - h until death he enthusiastically participated in the Vakyarte sadas held at

Tripunithura and Sringeri. After the retirement from the Samskrta I

PZthak2la he served as the Sanskrit teacher in Palace school and retired

from there when this school was handed overto the Government. As his

h wish Rams Warr~er's last days were at ~a'kii. He breated his last in

\

1978 A.D.

Thus the members of Cochin Royal Family had served a lot for

the development of the Sanskrit language and iastra. ~ y i y a was the

subject which is studied handled and taught by most of the kings of this

Royal Family. Their contribution can be evaluated from the existing %stra

works composed by them. The chain of ~ a i ~ a ~ i k a s continues in this

state as the flames of lamps lightened from another lamp.

4

vide. Keraliya Samskrta Sahitya Caritram, Vadakkurnkur, Sahitra pravarthaka

co-operative society, 1962, Part 1 p-4.

vide. TCKSL p- XVll

See Ibid, chapters 1 to 6

Ibid, p-91 -

vide. unninilisandesa Part II, verse 14

vide. bt WW@Ffi- W?W

~&T~E@TT+&w

$2 vh7lCqj &: firnp7mG . ~ ~ 0 7 t v ~ h :

Nititattvavirbhava vyakhya.

?FIT ?l7 V.J?I: VqT7hhTKd U d ? k+m: ~ r r d w b d 4 * & W : - \

Jaiminiya ~ Z r a r t h a Sangraha of Parameswara 11, p.49

KSSC VOI. V, p- 556

KSC vol. V, p-214

Ibid, p-214

KSSC vol.VI, p-502

KSSC vol. IV, p-317

Ibid, p-306

vide. KSC vol. V, p-221

KSSC voi. IV, p-312

KSSC VOI. V, p-254

vide. ~ ~ u t p a t t i v ~ d a s i d d h a n t a m ~ l a -edited by Dr. P.C. ~uralirnadhavan,

p-36

KSSC Val. V., p-:31 7

Ibid, p-318

Ibid, p-31 7

Ibid, pp - 337-348

vide. 3~&~d-&

w d Q k % ~ ~ ~ u t p a t t i v ~ d a s i d d h ~ n t a m ~ l a - karika 3

KSC vol.V, p - 224

Ibid, p-219

vide. ~ i h ~ ~ l r i ~ 7 r l ~ ~ h &+: G T h i h I W d - vyutpattiva>a of

~adadtiarabhatt&&a opening lines.

v~de d?i@$.~ 77- r

U& iq fid Vyutpatti ~ iddh~ntarnala, kariki I

v~de. Ravivarrna Sarnskrta ~ranthavali - Edited by ~anditaGjan Achyuta

~ o t u & l 1961 October Book No.9. November 18., p-1

Ibid, p-3

KSSC Vol. V, p--186

KSC Vol. V, p-224

HIL, p-392

vide. 3 W T 1 j u i ~ 4 h fkd@ yFC?I J j i 5 7 J l f q * J ai'k

V T V ~ ~ T ~ ~ H ??@ h T ?

~?ikFii~d=1~ Fd d Subodhini Mangalasloka

~va tG ika of Subodhini, p-1

Subodhini, p-3

vide. rn. v ~ ~ u ~ ~ i ~ ~ i m r f ? d + ~ ? m : &~rnKt(r+~fS?V: bib, p-3

0

vide. ~ h f l ~ ~ ~ d y ~ , f % & F $T&Wkhf%k h d , ~ $i7Jj~4'~4h: ~li?ikR TT/?i/kh -$id? Ibid, p-3

vrd e TS wcf~$ ~ f l p i l W f d ? w, f%$TFR

f , 7FWI7 - Tattvacintarnani

of ~ a n ~ e s ' o p & t l ~ a ~ a Part 11, p-763

vide. - ? & : ~ 7 ! 1 ~ ~ 4 ~ C?TVJTE~&T $? ~ C R T T F ~ kP7Ff

6rn71?4? yik? r~h+~i;;~ &%w - t 3 h h ka to N RM, PRV, p - %

CS, sI. - 8

~vatarika to GT, Achyuta ~ o t u v i l , p-Ill 4

Bhurnika to NRM, p - 9

Ibid, p - %:

CS, Edited by Dr. ~uralimiidhavan, p-XX

vide. f # i Z W E d d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * &*k~*mdi$elTiJ@77rjBi~mi

d *, - introduction of Tarkaszra

vide. Ravivarrna Sanskrit series 1959 January, p-4

Ibid, p-4

+ . *'fu J - 1 Ibid, p-4