chapter one a survey of sanskrit commentary literature in kerala

1CHAPTER ONEA SURVEY OF SANSKRIT COMMENTARYLITERATURE IN KERALACommentary literature is an integral part of the world of writing in Sanskritworks. Vedas, the earliest works from India were interpreted by a number offamous commentators like Y¡ska and S¡ya¸a. R¡ghavabhaa, Ttripur¡ri,Ghana¿y¡mavidy¡m¡dhava and others are credited with several areas of knowledgeof Sanskrit. Through this technique of interpretive literature we have got a numberof notable texts on various philosophical and scientific subjects. Br¡hama¸as,UpaniÀads, dar¿anas, works on poetics, dramas and ¿astraic works werecommented upon, which caused to reconstruct or reevaluate ancient systems ofknowledge. Pataµjali, Sabara, Sa´kara, Pra¿astap¡da, V¡caspatimi¿ra,Madhus£danasarasvati and Appayya D¢kÀita are some famous commentators on¿astraic works. Interpreter knows the taste and skill of poetry, not the poet,

2‘EòÊ´ÉiÉÉ®úºÉSÉÉiÉÖªÉÈ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉiÉÉ ´ÉäÊkÉ xÉÉä EòÊ´É&’. The sense of thetext is revealed through interpretations.Kerala’s contribution towards Sanskrit studies is unique. Besides writingoriginal compositions, Kerala writers have written excellent commentaries onstandard works. Sa´kar¡c¡rya may be considered as the most notable scholarsamong the commentators. Even during the early centuries of the Christian era, thepeopleof

3Kerala had shown keen interest in the study of Sanskrit enthusiastically, and fromthe eighth century AD, almost all branches of literature were attracted the minds ofSanskrit scholars of Kerala.Mention may be made of outstanding works and commentaries onastronomy, astrology, tantra, stotra, k¡vya, drama, and the like, which are thevaluable contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit studies. P£r¸asarasvati, Aru¸agirin¡tha,Govindabhaatiri of Talakku½att£r, Abhir¡ma and R¡ghav¡nanda are famousancient commentators on excellent Sanskrit works. This chapter deals with theSanskrit commentarial literature of Kerala to some extent.Origin and development of hermeneuticsHermeneutics or vy¡khy¡na¿¡stra is very old one in India. Many scholarsargue that the vy¡khy¡na¿¡stra was originated in India and some others say it is inabroad. K. Maheswaran Nair refers: “hermeneutics originated in Europe in theHellenic period in connection with the study of and analysis of classical texts, like

4those of Homer 1 ”. The principles of Hermeneutics were rampant in India from thevery early period. According to Indian scholars, commentary could be manifold. Ingeneral it is called bh¡Àya, ¢k¡, vivrti, vivara¸¡, vy¡khy¡na, vy¡khy¡, nibandha,which are considered synonyms. But each of these names is technically differentaccording to the nature of interpretation. Mainly these are used to teach disciples insimple method. Rgvedapr¡ti¿¡khy¡ (15-9) refers to the method of teaching Vedas as:MÉÖ¯û& ÊɹªÉºªÉ {Énù¨Éɽþ ¨ÉÖJªÉÆ ºÉ¨ÉɺÉSÉänùºÉ¨ÉɺÉÉä ªÉÊnùuäù *BiÉäxÉ Eò±{ÉäxÉ ºÉ¨ÉÉ{ªÉ |ÉxÉÆ |ÉiªÉ¨xÉɪÉÖºiÉnÂù {ÉÖxÉ®äú´É ºÉ´Éæ ** 1This verse provides some light on the ancient form of interpretation. In Ny¡yako¿a 2 ,‘¢k¡’ is defined as follows: ‘¨ÉÚ±ÉOÉxlɺªÉ+|ÉÊiÉ{ÉÊkÉÊ´É|ÉÊiÉ{ÉkªÉxªÉlÉÉ|ÉÊiÉ{ÉÊkÉÊxÉ´ÉÉ®úhÉäxÉiÉiEòiÉÖÇ®úʦÉ|ÉäiɺªÉ ɤnùÉxiÉ®äúhÉ Ê´É´É®úhÉÆ ]õÒEòÉ *’1Ed. P.C Muraleemadhavan, Indian theories of Hermeneutics, (article) entitled Historicity of Vedic Exegesis,by K. Maheswaran Nair New Bharatiya Book Corporation, NewDelhi, 2002, p.3321( Article) The commentarial literature in Sanskrit, by N.V.P. Unithiri, Journal of Kerala studies, ed.T.K.Raveendran, vol. x, 1983, p. 1572vy¡khy¡na¿¡stram of C.Rajendran, (Mal), Keralabhasha Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 2005, p.9(Ny¡yako¿a, p.306),

5The word ¢k¡ can be derived from the root ‘¢k’ meaning ‘to move’ ‘to go’etc ‘]õÒCªÉiÉä MɨªÉiÉä OÉxlÉÉlÉÉæ +xɪÉÉ

6In Mah¡bh¡Àya 1 Pataµjali defines vy¡khy¡na as ‘xÉ Eäò´É±ÉÆSÉSSÉÉÇ{ÉnùÉÊxÉ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxÉÆ ´ÉÞnÂùvªÉiÉä

7={ÉÉänÂùPÉÉiÉ{ÉnÆù SÉè´É {ÉnùÉlÉÇ&{ÉnùÊ´ÉOɽþ&*SÉɱÉxÉÉ |ÉiªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ SÉ ¹ÉÉäføÉ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxɱÉIÉhɨÉÂ** 3From the above mentioned references about commentaries it is clear thatcommentary literature occupies a notable position in Sanskrit from the ancienttime. In later time many minute differences were discussed about the technicalterms in commentaries. Moreover viv¤ti, v¡rtik¡, bh¡Àya and k¡rik¡ were generallywritten only in the field of ¿¡straic literature. As far as general literature isconcerned, ¢k¡ or vy¡khy¡naand ippa¸i are the relevant forms of commentaries.P¡hya also is a term to denote a form of commentary.The Nirukta and various Br¡Åma¸as may be considered as the detailedteaching notes. Sa´kar¡c¡rya agrees that one of the eight3Vatakkumkur, K.S.S.C, vol.I, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit,Kalady, 1997 p.511

8divisions of the Br¡Åma¸a as vy¡khy¡na is the means of interpretation of the hymns:‘¨ÉxjÉÊ´É´É®úhÉÆ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxÉÉÊxÉ* 1 ’As the Vedic literature became more and more ambiguious in the latertimes, the six ved¡´gas developed through oral teaching. Later on theseweredocumented as written works and the learning of these by heart became moredifficult. Then developed a system of s£tra literature where ideas are arranged intoo brevity. Subsequently all the systems of philosophy came to be recorded in thesutra form, which is highly useful to grasp wordings and to recollect easily. JamesMill, the author of ‘The History of British India’ observes: “all their (of the Indians)compositions, with wonderfully few exceptions in general, are in verse. Their sacredbooks, and even their books of sciences, are in verse; and what is more wonderfulstill, their very Dictionaries 2 ”. N.V.P. Unithiri observes it as “The method of oralteaching through question and answer and subsequent discussions was revived. Incourse of time, this oral tradition had also to be put in writing. Thus came into1B¤had¡ra¸yakabh¡Àya, 2-4-102James Mill, The History of British India, vol.I, Associated publishing house,New Delhi, 1972 (IInd ed, reprint), Pp.365-66.

9existence the different types of commentaries such as v¤tti, v¡rtik¡, bh¡Àya, ¢k¡,viv¤ti vy¡khy¡na and the like 3 ”.A brief survey of commentators and commentaries on Sanskrit works inIndia especially related to Kerala on various systems of philosophy is given in thefollowing pages.3Op.Cit., ( article) The commentarial literature in Sanskrit, by N.V.P. Unithiri, p. 158

10Comentators on Vedic TextsThe verse of Mah¡bh¡rata (1-1-204) ‘

11he has commented upon the fifth s£kta of tenth ma¸·ala of Rgveda. N¡r¡ya¸¡c¡ryamay be a contemporary of Skandasv¡min.Hast¡malaka, the disciple of great philosopher Sa´kara was a commentatorof Vedas. But the commentary is not available. Ve´kaam¡dhava (11 th century AD),another commentator on Rgveda lived in the village namely Gomana near riverK¡ver¢. His commentary

12known as Rgarthad¢pik¡ is available. LakÀma¸¡c¡rya (12 thcentury AD),DhanuÀkayajvan commented Rk, Yajus, S¡ma vedas and Anandat¢rtha (1255-1335AD) also commented on Rgveda. Atm¡nandat¢rtha (13 th century AD) is also anRgvedic commentator, who commented only forty ¿lokas of tenth ma¸·ala.Another famous commentator S¡ya¸¡c¡rya, commented four Vedas in detail.R¡va¸a, Mudgal¡c¡rya, (15 th century AD) Devasv¡mi, Bhaabh¡skara Guh¡deva,Durg¡c¡rya (15 th century AD), Uvvaa, Mah¢dhara etc are famous among them.Bhaasv¡mi’s commentary on Taittar¢yasaÆhit¡ is not presently available.Commentaries on Dar¿anasSix systems of orthodox philosophy namely s¡´khya, yoga, ny¡ya, vai¿eÀika,p£rvam¢m¡Æsa and uttaram¢m¡Æsa were came into existence first in the form ofs£tras. They were also followed by numerous bh¡Àya or commentaries on them. It isdifficult to ascertain the chronological order of the s£tras as well as that of thebh¡Àyas.Sa´kar¡c¡rya in his BraÅmas£trabh¡Àya mentions the name ofSabarasv¡min as a commentator of m¢m¡Æsa. R¡m¡nuja mentions that there was a

13v¤tti on the BraÅmas£tra by Bodh¡yana before Sa´kara. We have some proofs thatthe bh¡Àyas were written when there were other v¤ttis or short explanations of thes£tras. K¡lid¡sabha¡c¡rya mentions that “the Gau·ap¡dak¡rik¡1of the1Ed.Ramasvami iyer, Cultural Heritage of India, vol. V, The Ramakrishnamission Institute of Culture.1993,p.372

14M¡¸·£kyopaniÀad was written in the form of k¡rik¡s or short verses”.S¡´khyadar¿ana of KapilaS¡´khyadar¿ana is probably the oldest one in our traditional schools ofphilosophy. Though Kapila is universally recognized as the founder of s¡´khyasystem, the S¡´khyas£tra that is available is not very old. But the first systematicwork on s¡´khya is supposed to be I¿varak¤À¸a’s (3 rd century AD) S¡´khyak¡rik¡. Anumber of commentaries are available on it. Recently a very old commentary on itnamed Yuktid¢pik¡ by an unknown writer has been published 1 .Gau·ap¡da (7 th century AD) wrote a commentary on S¡´khyak¡rik¡ calledGaudap¡dabh¡Àya. In the ninth century AD a commentary by V¡caspatimi¿ra,known as Tatvakaumud¢, which is the most popular work, was composed.Sa´kar¡c¡rya’s (8 th century AD) Jayama´ga½a, V¡caspatimi¿ra’sTatvakaumud¢, Aniruddha’s (15 th century A D) Aniruddhav¤tti, Vijµ¡nabhikÀu’s(17 th century AD) S¡´khyapravacanabh¡Àya, N¡r¡ya¸at¢rtha’s (17 th century AD)Candrik¡, VaÆ¿¢dharami¿ra’s (17 th century AD) S¡´khyatatvavibh¡kara and1Ed.by Gerald James Larson and Ramshankar Bhattacharya, Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, MotilalBanarsidass, New Delhi, 1987

15K¤Àa¸avallabh¡c¡rya’s Kira¸a are the popular commentaries on s¡´khya. Gu¸aratna(14 th century AD)

16and Mah¡deva¿¡stri (17 th century AD) commented s¡´khya but their works are notpresently available.Yogadar¿anaThe yoga system of Pataµjali is a meta-psychological technique based uponthe philosophy of the s¡´khya. As a system of practice it is as old as the Atharvavedaand some earlier upaniÀads. The Mah¡bh¡rata the Bhagavadg¢t¡ and Lalitavist¡raalso refer to Yogic practices. The literature on yoga is thus found in an unsystematicform extensively in ancient Indian works.The first systematic work on yoga,however, is Pataµjali’s Yogas£tra. Vy¡sa’s (6 th century AD) Yogabh¡Ày¡ or V¡rtik¡ isan elaborate commentary on it.V¡caspatimi¿ra’s Tatvavai¿¡rad¢ and Vjµ¡nabhikÀu’s Yogav¡rtika are thetwo famous commentaries on Vy¡sa’s bh¡Àya. Bhoja has also written a smallcommentary not so much on Vy¡sa’s bh¡Àya as on the Yogas£tra itself, known asBhojav¤tti otherwise known as R¡jam¡rt¡¸·a. K¤À¸avallabh¡c¡rya’s Kira¸a is anothercommentary on it. Other commentaries on Yogas£tra are Ga¸e¿a D¢kÀita’s V¤tti,R¡m¡nandasarasvati’s (7 th century AD) Ma¸iprabh¡, N¡r¡ya¸at¢rtha’s

17Yogasiddh¡ntacandrik¡, and S£tr¡rthabodhin¢, N¡ge¿abhaa’s (18 th century AD)Ch¡y¡vy¡khy¡, Sad¡¿iva’s (18 thcentury AD) Yogasudh¡kara, Anandapa¸·ita’sCandrik¡, Baladevami¿ra’s Yogaprad¢pik¡ and

18Vijµ¡nabhikÀu’s Yogas¡ra. Thus like other systems, yoga texts have a good numberof commentaries.Vai¿eÀikadar¿anaVai¿eÀika philosophy, known as Aul£kyadar¿ana, is formulated in theVai¿eÀikas£tra of Ka¸¡da who belonged to a very ancient age. Vai¿eÀikas£traemphasized more in metaphysics than in logic and theory of knowledge. It beginswith proposing the task of explaining ‘dharma’ and ends with referring to theefficacy of Vedic injunctions. The contributions of vai¿eÀikas are more popular andmaterialistic. The earliest commentary on Vai¿eÀikas£tra is Bharadv¡jav¤tti andR¡va¸abh¡Àya. They are however no longer extant. One has now to rely chiefly onsuch treatises as Up¡skara by Sa´karami¿ra (15 th century AD) and Ka¸¡das£trav¤ttiby Jayan¡r¡ya¸atarkkapaµc¡nana (19 th century AD). There is also a detailedcommentary on Up¡skara called PariÀk¡ra composed recently by Paµc¡nana.Vyoma¿iv¡c¡rya’s (10 th century AD) Vyom¡vat¢ is the commentary onPad¡rthadharmasa´graha on the vai¿eÀika system. This was followed by

19Sr¢dhar¡c¡rya’s (10 th century AD) Ny¡yakandal¢, which was commented upon byR¡ja¿ekhara (12 th century AD) in his Ny¡yakandal¢paµcik¡.Udayana (12 th century AD) wrote LakÀa¸¡val¢ which is a short manual ofVai¿eÀika. Other major works of Udayana are:

20Ny¡yakusum¡µjal¢ on Ny¡yavai¿eÀika and Atmatatvaviveka a work in which theNy¡yavai¿eÀika concept of the self has been elaborated and LakÀa¸am¡l¡. Anumber of commentaries are available on Udayana’s works. Sa´karami¿ra’sKalpalat¡ on Udayana’s Atmatatvaviveka is very popular.Ny¡yadar¿anaThe philosophy of ny¡ya from the ancient days to the beginning of thethirteenth century was as much on the theory of knowledge as on constructivemetaphysics. The first systematic work on ny¡ya is the Ny¡yas£tra of Gautama(AkÀap¡da) supposed to have been composed in the third century BC. The earliestcommentary on it written before the fifth century AD is by V¡tsy¡yana and is knownas V¡tsy¡yanabh¡Àya. Udyotakara (6 th century AD) wrote a commentary on thisbh¡Àya known as Ny¡yav¡rtik¡.V¡caspatimi¿ra (9 thcentury AD) wrote a commentary on Udyotakara’sNy¡yav¡rtik¡ an expository treatise known as Ny¡yav¡rtikat¡tparya¢k¡.V¡caspatimi¿ra was a multi faceted scholar who wrote a number of commentaries

21on different systems of philosophy namely ny¡ya, advaitaved¡nta, s¡´khya, yoga andm¢m¡Æsa.Among the ny¡ya commentaries Vardham¡na’s (13 thcentury AD)Ny¡yapari¿iÀhaprak¡¿a on Udayana’s Ny¡yapari¿iÀha, Jayantabhaa’sN»¡yamaµjar¢ (9 th century AD), Vardham¡na’s

22(13 th century AD) Anv¢kÀ¡ny¡yatatvabodha and some ten commentaries entitledPrak¡¿a on different topics, are famous. Jayadevami¿ra, author of Many¡loka wroteseveral commentaries on Vardham¡na’s works. Thus numerous commentaries areavailable by famous scholars on ny¡ya philosophy.P£rvam¢m¡ÆsaP£rvam¢m¡Æsa is a system of philosophy, which deals with the nature ofdharma as propounded in the karmak¡¸·a of the Vedas. This system diverted itselfinto two main schools, namely that of Kum¡rilabhaa (7 th century AD) and thatof his disciple Pr¡bh¡karami¿ra to which was added a third viz. that of Mur¡ri.Jaimini’s M¢m¡Æsas£tra (400 BC) forms the foundation of m¢m¡Æsa philosophy.M¢m¡Æsas£tras were commented on by UpavarÀa and later bySabarasv¡min. The earliest available commentary on M¢m¡Æsas£tra isSabarasvamin’s Sabarabh¡Àya. There were other commentaries before him.Bhart¤mitra referred to in Ny¡yaratn¡kara, Slokav¡rtika, Bhavad¡sa is also

23referred to in Slokav¡rtika. Keith also refers the name of UpavarÀa, commentatorwho must have flourished before Sabarasv¡min 1 .Sabarabh¡Àya had commented upon by Kum¡rilabhaa in hisSlokav¡rtika, Tantrav¡rtika and Tup-¢ka and also in his B¤hat¢ka andMadhyama¢ka. Based on Sabarabh¡Àya,1A. Berried ails Keith, A History of Sanskrit literature, Motilal Benarsidass, New Delhi, 1996, p.473

24Prabh¡kara who formed a different school wrote two independent commentariesB¤hati (nibandha), and Laghvi (Vivara¸a). These are again commented upon byS¡lik¡n¡tha in Rjuvimala and Paµcik¡ elucidating Prabh¡kara’s interpretation ofm¢m¡Æsa. Ma¸·anami¿ra (8 th century AD) who eventually accepted Vedantismunder the influence of Sa´kara and Bhaomveka were also Kum¡rila’s disciples.The former wrote Vidhiviveka, Bh¡van¡viveka and M¢m¡Æs¡nukrama¸¢ while thelater composed commentaries on Slokav¡rtika and Bh¡van¡viveka.P¡rthas¡rathimi¿ra (9 th century AD) wrote S¡strad¢pik¡, Tantraratna andNy¡yaratnam¡l¡ in support of Kum¡rila’s interpretation of m¢m¡Æs¡. Among thefollowers of Kumarila, the most eminent are Sucaritami¿ra author of K¡¿ik¡ andBhaasome¿vara author of Ny¡yasudha. R¡mak¤À¸a’s commentary on theS¡strad¢pik¡ of Tarkap¡da called Yuktisnehaprap£ra¸¢siddhantacandrik¡ andSoman¡tha’s commentary on the remaining chapters of S¡strad¢pik¡ known asMay£kham¡lik¡ are held to be important contribution to m¢m¡Æs¡dar¿ana.ParitoÀami¿ra’s Ajit¡ is a competent commentary on Tantravartika.Other important works on P£ravam¢m¡Æsa are Ny¡yam¡l¡vist¡ra of M¡dhava,

25Ny¡yaka¸ik¡ of V¡caspatimi¿ra, M¢m¡Æs¡paribh¡Àa of K¤Àa¸ayajvan,M¢m¡Æs¡ny¡yaprak¡¿a

26of Apadeva, Subodhin¢ of G¡g¡bhaa and M¢m¡Æs¡b¡laprak¡¿a etc.Appayyad¢kÀita’s (1520 AD) Vidhiras¡yana and May£kh¡val¢ (acommentary on S¡strad¢pik¡). Ve´kae¿varad¢kÀita’s V¡rtik¡bhara¸a (acommentary on Tup-¢k¡), Kha¸·adeva’s Bhaakaustubha, Bhaad¢pik¡ andBhaarahasya, and M¡nameyodaya of N¡r¡ya¸abhaa, Sa´karabhaa’sSiddhiras¡yanad£Àa¸a, Ve´kaan¡tha’s M¢m¡Æs¡p¡duk¡, Laug¡kÀibh¡skara’sArthasa´graha, Vallabh¡c¡rya’s P£rvam¢m¡Æs¡k¡rik¡ Bhavan¡tha’s Ny¡yavivekaand R¡m¡nuj¡c¡rya’s Tantrarahasya are famous works and commentaries onm¢m¡Æsa school.Uttaram¢m¡Æs¡ or Ved¡ntaUttaram¢m¡Æs¡ examines the nature of BraÅman or reality behind themortal world. A vast literature is available in the form of commentaries on theUpaniÀads, Bhagavadg¢t¡ and Brahmas£tra which have been written from thestandpoints of Advaita, Vi¿iÀ¡dvaita, Dvaita, Dvait¡dvaita, Suddh¡dvaita,Acintyabhed¡bhed¡dvaita etc. It may be assumed that the first ancient systematic

27commentaries on Ved¡nta are that of Sa´kara, great advaita philosopher (8 thcentury AD).So many commentaries are available in Ved¡ntic field. The chief schools ofinterpretations are the advaita expounded first by

28Gau·ap¡da and followed by Sa´kara, the Vi¿iÀh¡dvaita by R¡m¡nuja, the Dvaitaof M¡dhva, the Dvait¡dvaita of Nimb¡rka, the Suddh¡dvaita of Vallabha and theAcintyabhed¡bhed¡dvaita by Sr¢caitanya, all are establishing their norms indifferent criteria of truth and relaying upon different sources of valid knowledgeand the commentators arrived at different conclusions.Sa´kara and commentary literatureDr.E.Isvaran Namputiri observes: “There is no name in the history ofIndian philosophy which is more honoured and inspiring than that of Sa´kara, thegreatest philosopher of the world… 1 ” Of Sa´kara’s works, bh¡Àya on theBraÅmas£tra is the most important one, which is acclaimed as a masterpiece notonly for its acute logical analysis but also for its graceful style. His other importantworks are the commentaries on the principal UpaniÀads such as Kena, Kaha,Pra¿na, Mu¸·a, M¡¸·£kya, Aitareya, Taitar¢ya, Ch¡ndogya and B¤had¡ra¸yaka.1 Ved¡ntapaddhati,ed.Isvaran Namputiri,Keralasamskrtam Publications, Thiruvananthapuram,1996, p.3

29Sa´kara’s bh¡Àya on the Bhagavadg¢t¡ is also a classic. Besides,ViÀ¸usahasran¡mabh¡Àya, Sanatsuj¡t¢yabh¡Àya, Hast¡malakabh¡Àya,Lalitatri¿at¢bh¡Àya, Vivekac£·¡ma¸i, Upade¿as¡hasr¢, Paµc¢kara¸aprakriy¡,AparokÀ¡nubh£ti, Sarvaved¡ntas¡rasa´graha, V¡kyasudh¡, D¤gd¤¿yaviveka,Prapaµcas¡ra, Atmabodha etc are also attributed to him.

30Sa´kara’s BraÅmas£trabh¡Àya has served as a basic document for furthercommentaries and sub commentaries of great philosophic insight and logicalthroughness. Some of them are noted below:Anandagiri wrote a commentary called Ny¡yanir¸aya, while Govind¡nanda(16 th CenturyAD) wrote another one known as Ratnaprabh¡. V¡caspatimi¿ra wrotea commentary on Sa´kara’s bh¡À»a known as Bh¡mat¢. On it Amal¡nanda (13 thcentury AD) wrote his Kalpataru which is commented upon by Appayyad¢kÀitain his Kalpataruparima½a.Padmap¡da another disciple of Sa´kara wrote a commentary known asPaµcap¡dik¡ dealing with the first four sutras. Sure¿var¡c¡rya wroteNaiÀkarmmasiddhi, which is partly in prose and partly in verse and consists offour chapters exposing the nature of avidy¡. Jµ¡nottamami¿ra’s T¢k¡ calledBh¡vatatvaprak¡¿ik¡ is well known exposition of NaiÀkarmmasiddhi. Its othersubcommentaries are Jµ¡n¡m¤ta’s Vidy¡surabhi, Akhil¡tman’sNaiÀkarmmasiddhivivara¸a and R¡madatta’s S¡r¡rtha. Prak¡¿¡tman wrote acommentary on Paµcap¡dik¡ known as Paµcap¡dik¡vivara¸a which has two

31commentaries Tatvad¢pana of Akha¸·¡nanda and Vivara¸abh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ byN¤siÆha¿armamuni (1500 AD). Amal¡nanda and Vidy¡s¡gara also wrotecommentaries on Paµcap¡dik¡ named Paµcap¡dik¡darpa¸a and Paµcap¡dik¡¢k¡respectively. Vidy¡ra¸ya (1350 AD) elucidated and expanded the teachings ofPaµcap¡dik¡vivara¸a in his Vivara¸aprameyasa´graha.Sarvajµ¡tmamuni (900 AD) wrote SaÆkÀepa¿ar¢rik¡ based on theteaching of Sa´kara’s bh¡Àya. Citsukha had also written an independent work onVed¡nta dialectics known as Tatvad¢pik¡, which was commented upon byPratyagr£pa in his Nayanapras¡din¢. Dharmar¡j¡dhvar¢ndra’s (1550 AD)Ved¡ntaparibh¡À¡ is a celebrated work on ved¡nta which was commented upon byhis son R¡mak¤À¸¡dhvar¢ndra in his SikÀ¡ma¸¢ and by Amarad¡sa in hisMa¸iprabh¡.Madhus£danasarasvati (16 th century AD) wrote his Advaitasiddhi whichis regarded as a comprehensive treatise on Advaitaved¡nta. His other importantworks are G¢t¡g£·h¡rthad¢pik¡ (a commentary on Bhagavadg¢t¡),

32Prasth¡nabheda, AdvaitaratnarakÀa¸a, Nirv¡¸ada¿aka¢k¡, Vedastuti¢k¡,Atmabodha¢k¡ etc.Other notable works on Advaita include Anandabodhabha¡kar¡c¡rya’s(12 th century AD) Ny¡yamakaranda, Sad¡nandagovinda’s (16 th century AD)Ved¡ntas¡ra, (It has two commentaries Subodhin¢ and Vidvanmanoraµjin¢),Prak¡¿¡nanda’s (16 th century AD) Ved¡ntasiddh¡ntamukt¡val¢, andK¡¿m¢rakasad¡nandayati’s (18 th century AD) AdvaitabraÅmasiddhi.

33Sanskrit commentary literature of KeralaKerala has contributed profusely on Poetics, Dramaturgy, ¡yurveda, andjyotiÀa both original works and commentaries. Many works of skilled scholarscaused for significant original works, come down through the detailedcommentaries. Kerala has noted for a long and continuous tradition of Sanskritlearning. In addition to k¡vya, n¡aka, ala´k¡ra, studies comprised the Vedas andved¡´gas and a number of other ¿¡stras like the dar¿anas, tantra, ¿ilpa, ¡yurveda,jyotiÀa etc. The vast literary outputs as well as the profound learning displayed inmost of the works particularly those are in the form of commentaries bespeak theintensity of the learning.Sanskrit study, which is associated with Aryan culture, must havecommenced in Kerala with the spread of this culture here. This culture took root inKerala or influenced strongly at least from the seventh century AD. Poet Da¸·in, inthe introductory part of his Avantisundar¢kath¡, refers to some of his friends ofKerala who were great teachers and scholars, commentators on Vedic texts andKalpas£tras and performers of sacrifices. From this reference it is clear that Vedicreligion was well established in Kerala by that time. Kunjunni Raja refers that

34Kula¿ekhara A½v¡r the author of Mukundam¡l¡ was a Keralite born atTiruvaµciku½am in 3075 BC. 1 The migration of Brahmins to Kerala and other partof south India formed into a distinct set off Brahmins called ‘Namputiris’1 K.Kunjunni Raja, Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature (C.K.S.L), University of Madrass, 1980, p.1-3

35amalgamating the customs of the different settlers and incorporating some newones resulting from the peculiarities of environment.Namputiris founded schools for the study of Veda and ¿¡stra particularlywith a view in producing scholars to meet arguments against the upholders ofBuddhism and Jainism, which had considerable hold on the people in those days,and reassert the supremacy of the Vedic religion. It is believed that Prabh¡karamay be considered as the master of one of these schools, although it has to beremembered that all do not accept the claim for this nativity of Prabh¡kara.Venkatasubrahmanya Iyer says in his paper entitled ‘Sanskrit studies inKerala-past and present’ that “the Namputiris were close followers of Vedictradition and naturally therefore, they had a partiality for a ritualistic philosophyof m¢m¡Æsa, with the result that even the great philosophy of advaita propoundedby Sa´kara, the greatest son of Kerala, did not fascinate them as much as it did thepeople in the rest of India 1 ”.1 (Article) Sanskrit studies in Kerala-past and present by S.Venkitasubramonia Iyer, Journal of Kerala studies,vol.III, ed. T.K. Ravindran, Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, p.162 1976.

36Acadamic centres of medival of KeralaEven during the early centuries of the Christian era, the people of Keralahad taken to the study of Sanskrit enthusiastically embracing almost all branchesof literature. The princes and rulers of small territories in Kerala greatlyencouraged original writing in Sanskrit and

37this resulted in a great number of poets and valuable works and interpretationswere produced on all areas of Sanskrit sources.Semi religious educational institutions called sabh¡mahas wereestablished for the propagation of Vedas and ¿¡stras. The mahas at Thrissur andThirunavaya are famous of Vedic lore and even now continue as centres of Vedicstudy. S¡stras were imparted in ¿¡strasabh¡mahas. The main ¿¡stras taught inthem were Bh¡am¢m¡Æsa, Pr¡bh¡karam¢m¡Æsa, ved¡nta and vy¡kara¸a, eachmaha having its own subject of specialisation. The mahas at Covvan£r,Iakku½att£r, Kumba½am and Udayatu´ge¿varam were very famous. TheSany¡simahas were connected with the study of ved¡nta. There were four of themat Thrissur believed to be established by the disciples of Sa´kara namelyTekkemaham, Iayilmaham, Nauvilmaham and Vaakkemaham, eachwas headed by a Sany¡sin.In addition to these, there were academies associated with some of theimportant temples and endowed by the rulers of the time. Those were known as

38¿¡l¡s of M£½iku½am, Thiruvalla, K¡ntall£r and P¡rthivapuram which werefamous acadamic institutions. 1Although m¢m¡Æsa, vy¡kara¸a and ved¡nta were taught for intensive andspecialised study, general literature and other ¿¡stras were also part of thecurriculum. The teachers and scholars interpreted topics of interest throughcommentaries for the purpose of1 Kera½attinte vaidikap¡ramparyam, C.M.Neelakanthan, ‘Anhuruvarshathekeralam chilaviraladayalangal’ ed. V.S. Vargese, Current Books, kottayam, 1999.

39teaching. A number of simple works and commentaries had been produced fortheir disciples or academic society. For example, M¡t¤datta of Melpatt£r illam, thefather of the famous poet and grammarian N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa was a renownedteacher, and his house was always echoing with ¿¡strap¡has taught to hisdisciples. The work, Dh¡tuk¡vya of N¡r¡ya¸abhaa, R¡va¸avadha of Bhai,Prakriy¡sarvasva etc, are written in the form of teaching methodology.Contribution of Kerala on various fields of knowledge namely m¢m¡Æsa,vy¡kara¸a, jyotiÀa, tantra, ved¡nta, ¡yurveda, poetics and other areas of knowledgeare outstanding and thus provide significance in the field of writingcommentaries. Mall¢n¡tha, P£r¸asarasvati and Govindabhaatiri ofTalakku½att£r were famous commentators.Commentaries on VedaDa¸·in (7 thcentury AD) indicates the name of M¡t¤datta in hisAvantisundar¢kath¡, as his friend who may be the first to be remembered inconnection with the Vedic commentaries in Kerala. He has commented onHira¸yake¿¢¿rautas£tra and Hira¸yake¿¢g¤hyas£tra. Sadguru¿iÀya (12 th century

40AD) renowned commentator of the Vedas even before S¡ya¸a, has writtencommentaries MokÀaprada on Aitarey¡ra¸yaka, Sukhaprada onAitareyabr¡Åma¸a, Abhyudayap¡da on A¿val¡yana¿rautas£tra andVidarthad¢pik¡ on Sanaka’s

41Sarv¡nukrama¸¢. A work called Aitarey¡ra¸yakavy¡khy¡ is ascribed to Sa´kara.KauÀ¢takabraÅma¸avy¡khy¡ by Udaya (15 th century AD) is famous in this regard.A Padaprad¢pik¡ was written by Vatsyan¡r¡ya¸a (17 thcentury AD)discussing the Padap¡ha of K¤À¸ayaj£rvedatantr¢yasaÆhit¡ which wascommented by the author. It is a valuable addition to Vedic studies in Kerala 1 .N¡r¡ya¸a Pa¸·ita was a famous scholar and commentator of Kerala, who has writtena number of commentaries on Sarv¡nukrama¸ik¡, and vy¡khy¡na ofRgvedaparibh¡À¡ 2 .M¢m¡Æs¡ tradition of KeralaDr. E. Isvaran Namputiri has said; “for the importance of the m¢m¡Æs¡ it issaid that knowledge comprises mainly eighteen branches, fourteen of theminstrumental to the attainment of dharma and mokÀa and the remaining four tothat of artha and k¡ma 3 ”1 Padaprad¢pik¡, N.V.P. Unithiri, Mathrubhumi weekend, edi. 22 April. 1984.2Op.Cit., K. S .S.C, vol.I, p.5213Isvaran Namputiri, Glimpses of Sanskrit Research (G.S.R), Kerala Samskrita Publication,Thiruvananthapuram, 1995, p.55

42+RÂóMÉÉÊxÉ ´ÉänùÉSÉi´ÉÉ®úÉä ¨ÉÒ¨ÉÉƺÉÉxªÉɪÉʴɺiÉ®ú&*{ÉÖ®úÉhÉÆ vɨÉÇÉɺjÉÆ SÉ Ê´ÉtÉ ÁäiÉÉSÉiÉÖnÇùÉ**Among these fourteen vidy¡s, m¢m¡Æs¡ is an important one. South Indiaespecially Kerala had a great tradition of the study of m¢m¡Æs¡ ¿¡stra. There isanother tradition recorded by Udda¸·a ¿¡stri in his Kokilasande¿a regarding theintroduction of the Bh¡a school of m¢m¡Æs¡ in Kerala.

43B¹ÉÉÆ ´ÉÆÉä ºÉ¨ÉVÉÊxɽþÊ®úSÉxpùxÉɨÉÉ xÉ®äúxpù&|ÉiªÉÉ{ÉÊkÉ& {ÉiÉMÉ ªÉnÖù{ÉYÉÆ SÉEòÉè¨ÉÉÊ®ú±ÉÉxÉɨÉÂ** 1Bhavad¡sa (2 ndcentury AD) one of the early commentators onJaimin¢yas£tr¡s is believed to be a son of Kerala. According to some scholarsKum¡rila and Prabh¡karaguru are believed to be Keralite m¢m¡Æs¡ scholars 2 .Cid¡nanda Pa¸·ita, the author of N¢titatv¡virbh¡va and BhaaviÀ¸u the author ofNy¡yatatvasa´graha were the two m¢m¡Æs¡ scholars of Kerala of thirteenth andfourteenth centuries respectively.Parame¿vara I is called ‘m¢m¡Æs¡ cakravartin’ by Udda¸·a S¡stri, whoseworks are the Ny¡yasamuccaya and the two commentaries called JuÀadhva´kara¸¢and Svadita´kara¸¢ on the Ny¡yaka¸ik¡ of V¡caspatimi¿ra.Parame¿vara II was a great scholar on m¢m¡Æsa and he wrotecommentaries on Ma¸·anami¿ra’s Sphoasiddhi and Vibhramavivek¡,V¡caspatimi¿ra’s Tatvabindu and Cid¡nandapa¸·ita’s N¢titatv¡virbh¡va.1Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.23.2Op.Cit., G.S.R, p.59

44Parame¿vara II is the author of the Jaimin¢yas£trasa´graha, a valuablecommentary on the Jaimin¢yas£tras. He had a brother V¡sudeva whosecontributions are more literary than scientific.Melputt£r M¡t¤datta, the father of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸abhaa, was wellversed in the school of m¢m¡Æs¡ particularly in the Bh¡a

45School. Prof. Venkata Subrahmanya Iyer observes that the unpublishedSarvamatasiddh¡ntas¡ra is in all probability a work of this author 1 . Melputt£rN¡r¡ya¸abhaa was not only a great grammarian and poet but also a famousm¢m¡Æsa scholar. M¡na portion of the M¡nameyodaya written by him is a uniquework on m¢m¡Æsa. It deals with the epistemology of Bh¡a School.N¡r¡ya¸abhaa also wrote a commentary on the Tantrav¡rtik¡ of m¢m¡Æsa calledNibandhan¡.Certain other m¢m¡Æs¡ works produced in Kerala are referred to by Dr.P.K. Narayanapillai in his introduction to the Jaimin¢yas£trarthasa´graha. Thoseare Ma´gala¢k¡ on the N¢titatv¡virbh¡va by one N¢laka¸ha,Kum¡rilamatopany¡sa written by one SubraÅma¸ya, the Prameyapram¡¸a ofD¡modara, Gurusammatapad¡rtha of unknown authorship and theGurumatapad¡rthasa´graha dealing with the eight pad¡rthas of Prabh¡kara.A manuscript of the work Atharvam¢m¡Æsas£trasa´graha has beenpreserved in the Govt. Oriental Manuscript Library. The work is referred to in the1 (Article), Melputt£r m¡t¤dattabhaa, Journal of Oriental Research, Madras, vol. 28, Pp.62 - 67

46appendix II of Tatvabindu. This is a lucid commentary on theP£rvam¢m¡Æs¡s£tras of Jaimini. According to the colophon of the manuscripts,the author belongs to Malabar, but his name is not given. The manuscriptcontains the first two chapters

47and first and second adhikara¸as of the first p¡da of the third adhy¡ya.A commentary on the Bh¡van¡viveka of Ma¸·anami¿ra calledViÀamagranthabhedik¡ is mentioned in the triennial catalogue of Sanskritmanuscripts 1 . This is written by one N¡r¡ya¸a, son of ViÀ¸u who may be a Keraliteauthor 2 . It is produced from Kochin. This commentary is written in accordancewith the view of Kum¡rila on the M¢m¡Æs¡s£tras of Jaimini. The commentary is ofunknown authorship. This work begins with the salutation of Jaimini, B¡dar¡ya¸a,Sabarasv¡min and Sa´kara, hence this work may be written by a Keralite 3 .Da¿¡dhy¡y¢ is another commentary of the same author. The phrase‘Éä¹É±ÉIÉhɨɴÉÊɹ]õÉxªÉRÂóMɱÉIÉhÉÉÊxÉ +RÂóMɱÉIÉhÉÆ ´ÉÉnùÉÉùvªÉɪªÉÉÆ ´ÉIªÉɨÉ&’ gives the name of that commentary on m¢m¡Æsa.Adhvaram¢m¡Æs¡s£tr¡rthad¢pik¡ on Jaimin¢yas£tra of unknown authorship isanother commentary on m¢m¡Æsa 4 .1Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, R. No. 306 B2Jaimin¢yas£trav¤tti, R. No. 2973 of the Triennial Catalogue3Op.Cit., G.S.R, p.604Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.II, p.589.

48So·ha¿¡dhy¡y¢ is a good commentary on the sixteen chapters ofP£rvam¢m¡Æsa and Uttaram¢m¡Æsa. The author whose name is not given andthe work salute Jaimini, Vy¡sa, Sabarasv¡min and Sa´kara.Ny¡yasiddhi is available in the form of manuscript at Pattambi in Palakkaddistrict of Kerala. This text is probably written by

49Keralite. It comments on S¡lik¡n¡tha’s Prakara¸apaµcik¡ and is of unknownauthorship 1 .M¡naratn¡val¢ is a transcript of a manuscript from Koappa·i atMalappuram district in Kerala. This is a treatise dealing with metaphysicalstandpoints of the Bh¡a school of m¢m¡Æs¡ as against Buddha’s, thePr¡bh¡kara’s, the Nayy¡yikas and the M¡y¡v¡dins.From the foregoing brief sketch it is evident that the contribution of Keralato P£rvam¢m¡Æsa literature is remarkable in quantity as well as in quality.Dharma¿¡straKerala authors have given much attention to the studies of Dharma¿¡strasfrom a very remote past. Vararuci’s A¿auc¡Àaka on ceremonial rituals iscommented upon by three anonymous Kerala authors. Their commentaries areknown as Vivara¸a, S£cyagravedhana and Vy¡khy¡. Vatakkumkur quotes a verseof A¿auc¡Àaka 2 on A¿auc¡Àaka of Vararuci as follows:1Ed. by T.K. Ravindran, vol. X, (article) Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture, N.V.P.Unithiri, KeralaUniversity, Thiruvananthapuram, 19832Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.II, p.517

50¦ÉMÉ´ÉxiÉÆ ¨ÉxÉÖÆ ªÉÉYɴɱCªÉÆ ªÉÉäMÉÒ·É®Æú iÉiÉ&*+YÉÉxÉÊiÉʨɮúÉxvÉÉxÉÉÆ VÉxÉÉxÉÉÆ oùι]ÉÖrùªÉä*+¹]õEò±ÉÉäEòºÉÚSªÉOÉ´ÉävÉxÉÆ EÞòiÉ´ÉÉxÉ ʽþ ªÉ&*iÉÆ SÉ xÉi´ÉÉ ´É®ú¯ûËSÉ iÉnùlÉÈ Ê´É´ÉÞhÉÉ䨪ɽþ¨ÉÂ**A¿aucad¢pik¡ by Parame¿vara has two commentaries namely Vivecana byVidvan Godavarma Yuvar¡ja of Kodungallur (1800-1850

51AD) and A¿aucacandrik¡ by a native of Peruvanam. The second one is said to beby Govindabhaatirip¡· of Tara¸anall£r (1902-1974 AD) who has written acommentary on A¿aucacint¡ma¸¢ of Vidv¡n Godavarma Yuvar¡ja of Kodungallur.An anonymous author has written a sub commentary B¡lakr¢·¡, onY¡jµavalkyasm¤ti. N¡radabhaktis£travy¡khy¡ by R¡mavarma Kuµju¸¸i R¡ja ofCir¡layam (1860-1942 AD) on Y¡jµavalkyasm¤ti 1 . A¿aucad¢pik¡ of ParamesvaranNamputiri, has a number of commentaries of which A¿aucacandrik¡ was writtenby the author himself.{ÉÖ¯û´ÉxɺÉÆYÉOÉɨÉäVÉÉiÉäxÉÉÉÉèSÉnùÒ{ÉEÆò ®úÊSÉiɨÉÂ*iÉjÉiªÉäxÉè´Éè¹ÉÉiÉnÂù´ªÉÉJªÉÉÉÉèSÉSÉÎxpùEòÉ ®úÊSÉiÉÉ** 2Kodungallur Vidv¡n I½aya Tampur¡n and Jatavedan Namputirip¡· also havewritten commentaries on A¿aucad¢pik¡. 3Commentaries on ny¡ya philosophy1Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.2Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. II, p.5133Ibid., p.509

52On ny¡ya philosophy, Kerala’s contribution is not much. Valiya GodavarmaBhaan Tampur¡n, Kodungallur (1859-1934 AD) compossed a commentary onPr¡m¡¸yav¡da of Gad¡dhara. Subodhin¢ a commentary of R¡mavarma Par¢kÀitTampur¡n (1948 -1964 AD) on S¡m¡nyanirukti is also noteworthy.

53Advaitaved¡ntaFrom about seventh centuary AD onwards there has been a steady growthin all branches of Sanskrit learning especially in the dar¿anas like p£rvam¢m¡Æs¡and uttaram¢m¡Æs¡. The greatest philosopher Sa´kara (788-820 AD) is said to bea son of Kerala. And following him several preceptors of Kerala have contributedmany creative works and commentaries. Sa´kara’s place of birth has generallybeen accepted as Kalady at Ernakulam district in Kerala.Sa´kara’s bh¡Àya on Prasth¡natraya have established the foundation ofAdvaitaved¡nta philosophy. Numerous exhaustive and valuable commentaries ofSa´kara have come down to us. M¡¸·£kyak¡rik¡, ViÀ¸usahasran¡ma, Sanatsuj¡t¢ya,Lalit¡sahasran¡ma, N¤siÆhap£rvatapanyupaniÀad Aitarey¡ra¸yak¡ andAtharva¿ikÀopaniÀad are also commented by Sa´kara.Sa´kara’s direct disciple Padmap¡da enriched this path by his valuablecommentaries like Paµcap¡dik¡ on the first five padas of Brahmas£trabh¡Àya and

54a commentary on Atmabodhavy¡khy¡ called Ved¡ntas¡ra. Another work attributedhim by name Atm¡n¡tmavivekavy¡khy¡ 1 Catalogues Catalogoram is seen in.R¡ghav¡nanda (1250-1325 AD) is a versatile scholar in the Sanskrit literatureof Kerala. He is generally known as Kokkunnattu Sivayogi, lived in the fourteenthcentury AD. His house was situated1 Op.Cit., G.S.R, (article) Contribution of Kerala to Advaitaved¡nta literature, p.44

55on the banks of Ni½¡ River. 1 K¤Àa¸¡nanda, preceptor of R¡ghav¡nanda who was anative of N¡gapura on Ganges became a monk and lived in Kerala. He wrotecommentaries on Advaitamaµjar¢ and Atmabodha of Sa´kara. R¡ghav¡nanda’sdisciple R¡m¡nan¡da has written a bh¡Àya on TripuropaniÀad. Bh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ onSrutig¢t¡ was written by a scholar of Cett£r 2 .The manuscript of Sapary¡taptakavy¡khy¡ is available in the Oriental ManuscriptLibrary Thiruvananthapuram and is attributed to one R¡m¡nanda.Devan¡r¡ya¸a (15 th century AD) of Ambalapu½a, the patron of Melputt£r,has commented on the first verse of Bh¡gavata from the point of view of advaitanamely Ved¡ntaratnam¡l¡, which is also known as Devan¡r¡ya¸¢ya.N¤siÆhaprajµayati (of unknown date), Sv¡miy¡r of Mah at Thrissur,composed a commentary on the Ka¸vopaniÀad and B¤had¡ra¸yakopaniÀad iswritten in a legendary style. The manuscript of it is belonged to the family ofThirunavaya Va·hayan Namputiri. He has also wrote a commentary on theB¤had¡ra¸yakopaniÀadbh¡Àyav¡rtik¡ of Sure¿vara.1Ibid., p.462Op.Cit., (article) Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.

56Ved¡nanda the preceptor of Advaitaved¡nta in Kerala of unknown date isthe author of an elaborate commentary called Sambandhokti on theSa´kÀepa¿ar¢rik¡ of Sarvajµ¡tman. He was

57also supposed to be an ascetic who belonged to one of the Sv¡miy¡r Mahas ofKerala. P£r¸avidy¡muni is another ved¡ntin of Kerala who has commented onPaµcaprakriy¡ of Sarvajµ¡tman. One Vin¡yaka, probably a pupil of R¡ghav¡nandahas written an advaitic work called Siddh¡ntapaµcara. 1AyurvedaKerala has credited with a number of commentaries and original worksrelated to ¡yurveda from the fifth or sixth centuries. A good number of works andcommentaries have been come out in both Malayalam and Sanskrit.AÀ¡´gah¤daya of V¡gbhaa is the basic and popular work on ¡yurveda. Kairal¢commentary by Pulamanthol (in Malapurm District) M£ssat on the Uttarasth¡nais one of the notable commentaries on AÀ¡´gah¤daya. Sar¡rthadarpa¸a andBh¡vaprak¡¿a are the bh¡À¡ commentaries on AÀ¡´gah¤daya by Kaikulan´araR¡mav¡riyar.V¡ky¡rthad¢pik¡ by Parame¿varan Namputiri of Alatt£r (15 th century AD),Vy¡khy¡ by Govinda PiÀ¡rai of T¤kka¸iy£r (1800-1875 AD) are other1Ibid., p.47

58commentaries on AÀ¡´gah¤daya. Lalit¡ is also a commentary on AÀ¡´gah¤dayaby Vayaskara M£ssat which is quoted 2 as ‘

59Arogya¿¡stra by Koccu¸¸i Tampur¡n of Kodungallur (1858-1925 AD) has acommentary along with the text. P.S. V¡riyar (1869-1944 AD) has also written acommentary on his own AÀ¡´ga¿ar¢ra connecting modern ideas of medicalscience. Parame¿varan Namputiri has written a commentary on AÀ¡´gah¤daya,namely V¡kyaprad¢pik¡ 1 .Tantra works and commentariesTantric concept is very old and popular all over Kerala. Many works andcommentaries are available in this field. M¡t¤datta (friend of Da¸·in) has written acommentary on Rudras£traprapaµcas¡ra. Vivara¸a by Padmap¡da, S¡rasa´grahaby Nity¡nanda are famous tantric commentaries. Valiya Godavarma Tampur¡nwrote a commentary to Upah¢raprak¡¿ik¡. H¡ri¸¢ is a popular commentary ofViÀ¸usaÆhit¡ by N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Puliyann£r.Sarv¡´gasundar¢ by V¡sudeva is a commentary on Prayogas¡ra ofGovinda: ‘|ɪÉÉäMɺÉÉ®ú´ªÉÉJªÉɦÉÚiÉ EÞòiÉɺɴÉÉÇRÂóMɺÉÖxnù®úÒº´ÉhÉÇOÉɨÉÉÊvÉ{ÉäxÉäªÉÆ´ÉɺÉÖnäù´ÉäxÉ1Ibid., vol. I, p.513

60vÉÒ¨ÉiÉÉ* 2 ’ Pradyota by Trivikrama is a commentary on Prayogamaµjar¢ ofRavi.The t¡ntric work Tantras¡rasa´graha of N¡r¡ya¸a has a commentary namelyMantravimar¿in¢ by author. Bh¡vad¢pik¡ of Nityaprajµa is a popular commentaryon Kramad¢pik¡ of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka. Sr¢kum¡ravy¡khy¡ is also a commentary on2Ibid., vol.II, p.593

61Tatvaprak¡¿a of Bhoja. Subhag¡nandan¡tha’s Manoram¡ is a popularcommentary on tantra.Prapaµcas¡ra of Sa´kara is an important work on tantra that has manycommentaries. Among them, Prapaµcas¡rasambandhad¢pik¡ of Uttamabodha(Uttamabodha Yati) is a remarkable one.´ªÉÉJªÉÉÊ´ÉÉä¹ÉÉxÉɱÉÉäSªÉ ºÉÉ®ÆúºÉÆMÉÞÁ ªÉixÉiÉ&*|É{É\SɺÉÉ®úºÉ¨¤ÉxvÉnùÒÊ{ÉEòÉ®úSªÉiÉä ¨ÉªÉÉ** 1Vijµ¡nadyotin¢ by Trivikrama is also a commentary on Prapaµcas¡ra. ‘

62Prapaµcas¡rag£harthad¢pik¡, N¡gasv¡mi’s Tatvad¢pik¡, arefamous andpopular.Prapaµcas¡raviv¤ti,Prapaµcas¡raprayogaviv¤ti,Prapaµcas¡rav¤ttivijµ¡nacandrik¡ of unknown authorship are some othercommentaries on Prapaµcas¡ra.S¡straic works – Vy¡kara¸aIn Kerala from about eighth or ninth centuries AD there has been acontinuous growth in the studies of all branches of Sanskrit. In the ninth centurythere was a special centre for the study of

63vy¡kara¸a¿¡stra in the P¡rthiva¿ekharapura temple in South Travancore.Commentaries on vy¡kara¸a, ko¿agranthas etc were made and were ofconsiderable progress in Kerala. The earliest recast of P¡¸inis£tras produced inKerala is the R£p¡nayanapaddhati of MahiÀama´galam Sa´karan Namputiri (16 thcentury AD) who was also a well-known astrologer. Bhaojad¢kÀita’sSiddh¡ntakaumud¢ and N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa’s Prakriy¡sarvasva were compiled onlylater.Prakriy¡sarvasva is the most important recast of P¡¸ini’s grammar,produced in Kerala. Author of this work is N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa of Melputt£r (1560-1646 AD) Prakriy¡s¡ra is another grammatical work by one N¡r¡ya¸a. 1The manuscript of R£pavuÆ kriy¡padavuÆ 2that is held to be fivehundred years old is also considered as a treatise to be taught as Sanskritgrammar in past. This work is probably the basis of Siddhar£pa, the popularprimer on Sanskrit grammar.1Descriptive catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscript, in the palace Library, Thiruvananthapuram, vol.III, p.998.2Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. p.564

64A.R.Rajaraja Varma (1836-1918 AD) is well known as Kera½ap¡¸ini who haswritten two grammatical works Laghup¡¸in¢ya and Ma¸id¢pik¡. He wrote thesecond one when he was the principal of the Sanskrit college,Thiruvananthapuram.Kaiku½a´´ara R¡mav¡riyar (1832-1896 AD), one of the most outstandingscholars of Kerala has written PadasaÆsk¡racandrik¡. It is a Malayalamcommentary on Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ that was only for P£rvabh¡ga in which sutrasare discussed elaborately.

65The P¡¸in¢yapradyota of I.C. Chakko is also a valuable and simple work onP¡¸ini’s grammar on the model of PadasaÆsk¡racandrik¡ of Ramavaryar ofKaiku½a´´ara.Mah¡mahop¡dhy¡ya N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Ki½½ima´galam (1855-1934AD) has written an original grammatical work called Satokti based on theArthavats£tra on the model of Kro·apatras.Vararucasa´graha of Vararuci (2 nd century AD) is the earliest grammaticalwork in metrical form that is also a good composition on Sanskrit grammarproduced from Kerala. Pary¡yapad¡val¢ or Vy¡kara¸apad¡val¢ of V¡sudeva and theSarvapratyayam¡l¡ of Sa´kar¡c¡rya are the two other metrical works illustratingvarious rules of P¡¸in¢yan grammar.Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡radai (1550-1621AD) the preceptor N¡r¡ya¸aBhaa of Melputt£r is a good work of grammar. The work is indented for the useof beginners of Sanskrit grammar. The Dh¡turatn¡val¢ by a desciple of N¡r¡ya¸aBhaa, the Ya´lu´sa´graha of Akkittam N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri and theDh¡tup¡hak¡rik¡ by Vaakkeatt Koccu¿a´karan M£ttat (1775-1832 AD) are

66grammatical works on the line of the Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡roi. Prave¿aka ofAcyutapiÀ¡roi has many commentaries by GovindapiÀ¡roi of T¤kka¸iy£r,V¡su¸¸im£ssat of Ve½½¡´´a¿¿eri (1885-1914 AD) and Ananta N¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri 1 .1 Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.

67Vaiy¡kara¸asiddh¡ntasa´graha 1 of R¡jar¡javarma Tampur¡n (1853-1917 AD)of E¸¸akka, is a summury of Bhattojadiksita’s Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ written inanuÀup metre. Godavarma Bhaan Tampur¡n (1859-1934 AD) of Kodungallurpalace, the profound scholar of his time has written a work called Siddh¡ntam¡l¡or Vyutpattiv¡dak¡rik¡. This is a work on the semantic aspect of Sanskrit languagelike the Vyutpattiv¡da of Gad¡dhara. The Suga½¡rtham¡l¡ by Pa¸·itar¡ja P.N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri, retired professor of vy¡kara¸a in the Sanskrit college;Thrippunithura is a grammatical treatise in metrical form.S¡stra k¡vyasSr¢cihnak¡vya 2 or Govind¡bhiÀeka in pr¡k¤t language by K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka(14 th century AD) is one of the earliest ¿¡strak¡vya of Kerala. In eighth sargasL¢l¡¿uka narrates the story of K¤À¸a and illustrates the rules of Vararuci’s pr¡k¤tgrammar. Bh¡mat¢vil¡sa of Durg¡pras¡dayati, desciple of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka (14 thcentury AD) is a commentary on Sr¢cihnak¡vya of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka. The1Ullur.S. Paramesvara iyer, K.S.C, vol.IV, Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, 1990,p.6362Being published in the Sanskrit journal of Trivantrum,vol.xiii.no.1

68Subhadr¡hara¸a of N¡r¡ya¸a (15 th century AD) is the most important ¿¡strak¡vya inSanskrit produced in Kerala. It is written, as a model of bhakti k¡vya andillustrating grammatical rules of P¡¸ini. The author was a member of K£all£rNamputiri family. The author wrote a commentary on the work called Vivara¸a.

69V¡sudevavijaya of V¡sudeva (16 thcentury AD) is attributed by somescholars to V¡sudevabhaatiri, the author of the YudhiÀhiravjaya. ButK.Kunjunni Raja has rejected this view and established the identity of the authorof the V¡sudevavijaya to an elder contemporary of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa 1 .CommentariesSabdabh£Àa¸a is a commentary on P¡¸ini’s AÀhadhy¡y¢. N¡r¡ya¸asudhiis the author of this commentary, who lived at Ponnani in Malappuram district inKerala. 2 On Gaur¢kaly¡¸a of Govindan¡tha, a commentary namely Pad¡rthav¡din¢is available by unknown authorship. 3On the grammatical work Daiva, K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka composed a commentarycalled PuruÀak¡ra. P£r¸asarasvati (15 th century AD) has written a v¤tti on thenip¡tas of Sanskrit grammar 4 . Parame¿vara- II of Payy£r Bhaa family wrote acommentary called Gop¡lik¡ on the Spoasiddhi of Ma¸·anami¿ra. The1Op.Cit., C.K.S.L, p.124.2Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. I, p.4773Ibid., p. 5024Op.Cit., G.S.R, (article) Study of Sanskrit grammar in Kerala, 1995, p. 94

70Vararucasa´graha of Vararuci has a commentary called D¢paprabh¡ written byAkkittam N¡r¡ya¸an Namp£tiri.There is another famous commentary calledVivara¸a 5 .5Descriptive Catalogue of Thiruvananthapuram Palace Library, vol.III, M.S No.805 and 807B.

71R£p¡vat¡ra of Dharmak¢rti has got three commentaries, which is used as atextbook on vy¡kara¸a of Kerala, they are Tatv¡rthad¢pik¡ by a disciple ofN¡r¡ya¸abhaa, Tatv¡rthad¢pik¡ (Incomplete of unknown authorship and date)and Nivi by Sa´karav¡riyar (16 th century AD).N.V.P.Unithiri states that the famous vy¡kara¸a work, Prakriy¡sarvasva ofMelputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa, has seven commentaries. N¢laka¸ha D¢kÀita (18 thcentury AD) has written a commentary 1who lived under the Patronage ofP£r¡am Tirun¡½ Devan¡r¡ya¸a king of Alappuzha. There is also an incompletecommentary on the Prakriy¡sarvasva entitled the Prak¡¿ik¡ published from theThrivanandapuram Sanskrit series.Ullur also stated that one Prak¡¿ik¡ commentary on Prakriy¡sarvasva waswritten by Rudrav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam, (teacher of the famous ManoramaTampur¡i). Rajaraja Varma of Vatakumkur observes it as an anonymous one.Ullur quotes benedictory stanzas from that commentary to substantiate his view.Kera½avarma Valiyakoil Tampur¡n has commented upon the Prakriy¡sarvasva1See. ‘Manuscript notes, S.V. Iyer, Sanskrit Journal of Thiruvananthapuram, vol.II, 1947p.2-3

72with his own ippa¸i and he has given footnotes to it. K. Subrahmanya Sastri, theformer curator of the manuscript Library Thiruvananthapuram has written acommentary called Saµcik¡ on the uttarabh¡ga of the Prakriy¡sarvasva and it hasbeen published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Siries.No.139.

73Ki½½ima´galaÆ N¡r¡ya¸an Namp£tiri has studied vy¡kara¸a¿¡stra from K£all£rMana and has commented upon certain portions of Prakriy¡sarvasva.The Pr¡k¤taprak¡¿av¤tti of R¡map¡¸iv¡da (18 th century AD) Arthaprak¡¿ik¡or Vimar¿in¢ a commentary on the Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ by Koccu¿a´karanM£ttatu of Vaakke·att (1775-1832 AD) and the Pras¡da commentary onN¡ge¿abhaa’s Laghu¿abdendu¿ekhara by SubraÅma¸yan Namputiri ofPautol (1823-1861 AD) are also remarkable. Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡roi hasbeen commented by Laghuviv¤ti written by P.S. Ananta n¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri, byT¤kka¸iy£r GovindapiÀ¡roi and by Attupurattu Impiccan Gurukka½.Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ was commented upon by Koccu¿a´karan M£ssat (1775-1833 AD) for the first part only. Arthaprak¡¿ik¡vimar¿in¢ of unknown authorshipon Ya´lu´sa´graha of N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Akkittam is also worth mention forits simplicity.Vivara¸a is a popular commentary of BraÅmadatta N¡r¡ya¸an (15 th centuryAD) on Subhadr¡hara¸a. The commentary on V¡sudevavijaya of V¡sudeva (8 thcentury AD) K¤À¸aprajµ¡ and Vivara¸a on Dh¡tuk¡vya of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a

74Bhaatiri by a disciple of R¡map¡¸iv¡da (1700-1760 AD) are also noteworthy.R¡ghav¢ya of R¡map¡¸iv¡da is also a k¡vya 1 dealing with1 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.III, p.23.

75vy¡kara¸a written after the Prakriy¡sarvasva of N¡r¡ya¸a Bhaa of Melputt£r.Amarako¿a of Amarasimha is an essential text in basic Sanskrit studies.Many commentaries were produced on it in India. Keralaites also contributedmany commentaries on it. B¡lapriy¡ of Kaikku½a´´ara Ramavariyar, P¡rame¿var¢of T.C Parame¿varan M£ssatu are popular and valuable commentaries fromKerala. J¡taved¡dhvari has written a commentary called Subodhin¢ 1onAmarako¿a in Malayalam.ºÉƺEÞòiÉ Eäò®ú±É¦ÉɹÉɦÉänùʴɽþÒxÉÉÊxÉ ºÉƺEÞòiÉèºiÉèºiÉè&*ʦÉzÉÉÊxÉ iÉÖ xÉɨÉÉÊxÉ |ÉÉäSªÉxiÉäEäò®ú±ÉҪɦÉɹÉÉʦÉ&**Sande¿ak¡vyasApart from literary merits, the Sanskrit sande¿ak¡vyas are one of theprimary source of geography and history of our country. Among the Sanskritworks, the sande¿ak¡vya branch stands in a notable position. The Meghasande¿aof K¡½id¡sa has inspired for the origin of several sande¿ak¡vyas in Kerala withcommentaries.1Ibid., p.588

76The earliest and the most important sande¿ak¡vya of Kerala is theSukasande¿a of LakÀm¢d¡sa (14 thcentury AD). Many sande¿ak¡vyas wereproduced from Kerala. Some of them are notable from the historical standpoint.They are Hamsasande¿a of P£r¸asarasvati (14 thcenturyAD), Kokilasande¿a ofUdda¸·a S¡stri (15 th century AD) the May£rasande¿a of Udayar¡ja (16 th centuryAD), K¡masande¿a of M¡t¤datta, (16th century AD) the

77Bh¤´gasande¿a also called Bhramarasande¿a by one V¡sudeva (17 th century AD),Subhagasande¿a of N¡r¡ya¸a (17th centuryAD), C¡takasande¿a of an unknownBrahmin (18 thcentury AD) from Tirum¡ndh¡mkunnu near Perintalmanna inMalapuram district and the N¢laka¸hasande¿a by Sr¢dharan Nambi ofPunna¿¿eri (1774-1030 AD).Sukasande¿a of LakÀm¢d¡sahas many commentaries. There are manycommentaries on it, known to us so far. They are Cint¡tilaka by Gaur¢dasa,Varavar¸in¢ by Dharmagupta, Vil¡sin¢ by M¡naveda, Vy¡khy¡ by R¡mapiÀ¡roi,two Tippa¸is called Vy¡k¤ti and Pad¡rthad¢pik¡ by Anantan¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri andKerala Varma Valiyakoil Tampuran respectively. In the Vil¡sin¢ commentary ofM¡naveda it has been documented as; ‘

78ocean abounding in incomprehensible expression and the commentary to a stickenable one to cross it 2 .”Disciple of Sa´kara one Payy£r Parame¿vara Bhaa has composed acommentary namely Sumanorama¸¢ on Meghasande¿a. Vidyullat¡ 3 onMeghasande¿a with the2Ed. N.P.Unni, Vil¡sin¢ commentary of Manaveda, Nag Publishers, New Delhi, 1985, p.613Vidyullat¡, Vanivilasam press, Sreerangam, 1989

79commentaries Prad¢pa and Vidyullat¡ 1by P£r¸asarasvati are popular amongthem. Commentary on May£rasande¿a of Udayaraja by C. Kunjan Raja (1895-1964 AD) is also remarkable.Commentaries on creative writingsThere are a number of commentaries from Kerala on famous Sanskritcreative works. Various commentators are interpreted such works on differentstandpoints. Such commentaries are very useful and they keep novelty. Thefamous commentator Aru¸agirin¡tha observes that every commentator desires toadd something of their own contributions to what has already been explained bytheir predecessors:+ɱÉÉäSªÉ {ÉÚ´ÉÇ]õÒEòÉSÉ ±ÉIÉhÉÉÊxÉSÉ vÉÒ¨ÉiÉɨÉÂ*Ê´ÉÊxĘ́ÉiÉÉ ¨ÉªÉÉ ºÉäªÉƺÉÉä{ɪÉÉäMÉÉ ¦ÉʴɹªÉÊiÉ**xÉ SÉä½þ {ÉÚ´ÉÇ]õÒEòÉʦÉ& Eèò¨ÉlÉÇCªÉ|ÉiÉÒªÉiÉɨÉÂ*1Ed. Dr. N.P. Unni, Meghasande¿a with the commentaries Prad¢pa, Vidyullat¡, Sumanorama¸¢,Bharatiyavidhya prakasan, New Delhi 1987

80ªÉiÉÉä Ê´Éuùx¨ÉiÉÉ ºÉ´ÉÉæ xÉ ºÉ´ÉÈ{ɪÉiÉÒÊiÉ ´ÉÉEÂò** 2The great epic Mah¡bh¡rata was commented on by two kerala scholars,namely K¤À¸a and Mah¡nandap£r¸a. Many scholars of Kerala have commentedMah¡k¡vyas. The famous commentator Aru¸agirin¡tha (14 th to 16 th century AD) isalso called ‘A¸¸¡mala’ who wrote commentaries on RaghuvaÆ¿a andKum¡rasambhava of K¡½id¡sa, each commentary is known as Prak¡¿ik¡ 3 . It isknown2Op.Cit., Indian Theories of Hermeneutics, (article) The art of commentary: precepts and practices by N.P.Unni, p.953RaghuvaÆ¿a with Prak¡¿ik¡, Ravivarma Sansikrit Series.No.3, Thrippunithura, Kochi, 1964

81as ‘A¸¸¡malavy¡khy¡na’ -

82B¡labodhin¢ or B¡labodhik¡ is the commentary on Si¿up¡lavadha of M¡ghaby Sr¢ka¸hav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam (15 th century AD) and SandehaviÀauÀadh¢of K¤À¸abhaa are famous. On Kir¡t¡rjun¢ya of Bh¡ravi there are severalcommentaries from Kerala. One of them is by Vidy¡m¡dhava by

83name Kir¡t¡rjun¢yavy¡khy¡ ‘Ê´ÉtɨÉÉvɴɺÉÆÊYÉiÉ&EòÊ´É®ú½Æþ EòÉ´ªÉÆ ¨É½þɦÉÉ®ú´Éä& 1 ’.Sabd¡rthad¢pik¡ of unknown authorship, Trisarg¢ of Citrabh¡nu (16 th centuryAD), Sukhabodhin¢ by Devar¡ja and Vy¡khy¡ by Sr¢ka¸ha are noteworthy.R¡ghav¢ya and ViÀ¸uvil¡sa k¡vyas of R¡map¡¸iv¡da were commented on asB¡lap¡hya and ViÀ¸upriy¡ respectively. Vil¡sin¢ is the famous commentary ofR¡map¡¸iv¡da on Sr¢k¤À¸avil¡sak¡vya of Sukum¡rakavi. Maµjubh¡Ài¸¢ is also acommentary on Sr¢k¤À¸avil¡sa by R¡masv¡mi S¡stri.R¡mavarma Kuµju¸¸i R¡ja of Chir¡laya has written a commentary onA´galas¡mr¡jya of A.R.Rajaraja Varma. Vivara¸a of K¤À¸apa¸·ita is a famouscommentary on Pravarasena’s Setubandha is noteworthy.Commentaries on yamakak¡vyaYamakak¡vya is a very old form of k¡vya style of Kerala. Keralites havecontributed numerous original works and commentaries on yamaka poems.YudhiÀhiravijaya of V¡sudeva Bhaatiri has at least four commentaries. They1Op.Cit., K.S.S.C vol.I, p.399

84are Pad¡rthacintana by R¡ghavav¡riyar alias Sr¢ka¸had¡sa (15 th century AD),Ratnaprad¢pik¡ by Sivad¡sa, Vijayadar¿ik¡ by Acyuta and Kavika¸h¡bhara¸a bySr¢ka¸ha. Vatakumkur has quoted a verse from Ratnaprad¢pik¡ 2 as:2Ibid., p.166

85ªÉÖÊvÉι`ö®VɪÉä EòÉ´ªÉä xÉɨxÉÉ®úixÉ|ÉnùÒÊ{ÉEòÉ*ÊGòªÉiÉä ÊÉ´ÉnùɺÉäxÉ ´ªÉÉJªÉɺɴÉÉÇxÉÖºÉÉÊ®úhÉÒ**Tripuradahana is another popular yamakak¡vya of V¡sudeva which wascommented upon by N¢laka¸ha called Arthaprak¡¿ik¡. Saur¢kathodaya ofV¡sudeva was also commented by N¢laka¸ha; it is called Tatvaprak¡¿ik¡ 1 .Anvayabodhik¡ is a commentary of Nity¡m¤tayati on Saur¢kath¡.Kavih¤dayadarpa¸a by Sr¢ka¸hav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam (18 thcenturyAD) Vivara¸a by ViÀ¸u and Vy¡khy¡ by N¢laka¸ha are commentaries onNa½odaya, yet another yamakak¡vya of V¡sudeva. Pad¡rthavedin¢ by a disciple ofN¡r¡ya¸a on Gaur¢kaly¡¸a of Govindan¡tha and Rudr¡rthad¢pik¡ by Rudrami¿ra(10 th century AD) on Ragh£daya of Sr¢ka¸hav¡riyar are also included in thisgroup.Commentaries on camp£k¡vyasCamp£k¡vyas or prabanthas are notable in Keralite’s literature onSanskrit. A number of works and commentaries are available on camp£k¡vyas.1Ibid., p.167

86Karu¸¡kara and M¡naveda (1765-1840 AD) have written commentaries onR¡m¡ya¸acamp£ of Bhoja. K¤À¸apiÀ¡roi of An¡yatt (17 th century AD) commentedthe P£rvabh¡ratacamp£ of M¡naveda. Arthavimar¿in¢ of P¡ccu M£ttat ofVaikkam (1815-1883 AD) is a famous commentary on R¡jas£ya. Tara¸anall£rGovindan Namputirip¡· has written a commentary on Sant¡nagop¡la.

87Commentaries on stotrak¡vyasKerala’s contribution to the stotra and commentaries on stotra literature issubstantial. Y¡ska defines stotra as ‘|ÉÉƺÉÉEòÉ®úEÆò ºÉÚjÉƺiÉÉäjɨÉÂ*’ and Amarasimha defines ‘ºiÉ´ÉÆ ºiÉÉäjÉƺiÉÖÊiÉxÉÖÇÊiÉ

88ÊGòªÉiÉä nùɨɺEòxvÉ]õÒEäòªÉÆ ¤ÉÖvÉ®Î\VÉxÉÒ** 3Vatakumkur 4 documents as ‘

89that there is an anonymous commentary on Bh¡gavata of considerable merit.R¡ghav¡nanda (1250 – 1325 AD) was well known as a philosopher as well asa commentator. K¤À¸apadi on the Bh¡gavata is a good commentary written byhim. Other stotra commentaries of R¡ghav¡nanda are V¤tti on Laghustuti ofLaghubha¡raka, Vivara¸a on Param¡rthas¡ra of SeÀa, T¡tparya¢k¡ onMukundam¡l¡ of Kula¿¡khara, Vy¡khy¡ on ViÀ¸ubhujangapray¡ta of Sa´kara.Laghub¤mh¸¢ by Parame¿var¡c¡rya 1 on Laghustuti are also popular.On G¢tagovinda of Jayadeva, B¡labodhin¢ by K¤À¸av¡riyar of Ko¸ath(1884-1943 AD), Bhaktapriy¡ by Rudrav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam, Rasikapriy¡ byR¡mapiÀ¡roi, are outstanding commentaries. Both on N¡r¡ya¸¢ya andSr¢p¡dasaptati of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a two commentaries are available.Anvayabodhin¢ by Vidv¡n Kuµjan Tampur¡n of Kodungallur and Vy¡khy¡ byN¡r¡ya¸a Namb¢¿an of M£riyil (20 th century AD) are popular. Bh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ is acommentary on Srutig¢t¡ of unknown authorship 2 .1Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.3392Ibid., vol.I, p.525

90Bhaktiras¡yana by Ramacandra is a valuable commentary onK¤À¸akar¸¡m¤ta of Vilvamangala. Kodungallur Kunjikuttan Tampur¡n hascommented on it 3 . H½¡din¢ by Anantan¡r¡ya¸a3Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture, p.232

91S¡stri: ‘

92notable point is that Kerala can be proud of half a dozen commentaries onDhvany¡lokalocana of Abhinavagupta. Kaumud¢ by Udaya (14 th century AD) andAµjana by D¡¿arathi (17 th century AD) are available only up to the end of the firstudyota of Dhvany¡lokalocana.

93There are at least two commentaries on Locana, which are also incomplete.But only the single complete commentary on Locana available to us is B¡lapriy¡ byK.R¡mapiÀ¡roi who has contributed other prominent commentaries on poeticsand dramaturgy, such as Appayyad¢kÀita’s Kuvalay¡nanda, and Citram¢m¡Æs¡and Dhanaµjaya’s Da¿ar£paka. Damodaran Namputiri of Polpukara (1882-1964AD) has written a commentary on Madhus£danasarasvati’s Bhaktiras¡yana.Kerala Sanskrit drama literatureDrama is an important part of Indian culture. A number of dramas andcommentaries are available from Kerala. Among thirteen plays of Bh¡saAbhiÀekan¡aka and Pratim¡n¡aka are commented on from Kerala.Ullur opines that P£r¸asarasvati has written a commentary onAbhijµ¡na¿¡kuntala of Kalidasa 1 . Anvayabodhin¢ by a member of K£all£r family,Tippa¸a by unknown authorship, S¡r¡rthad¢pik¡ by R¡mavarma and R¡mapiÀ¡roiare another commentaries on Abhijµ¡na¿¡kuntala.1Op.Cit., K.S.C, vol.II, p.287.

94Mah¡v¢racarita of Bhavabh£ti has a Tippa¸a. It might have been written byAbhir¡ma 2 . Rasamaµjar¢ by P£r¸asarasvati is a valuable commentary onM¡lat¢m¡dhava of Bhavabh£ti. Kunjunni Raja notes that a commentary onUttarar¡macarita of Bhavabh£ti2GaveÀa¸aprabandhanal, N.V.P.Unithiri, National Bookstall, Kottayam,1979, p.68

95is available and only the author’s name as Bharadv¡jagr¡ma who was a follower ofBh¡a school of m¢m¡Æsa 1 is seen referred.An anonymous commentary is available on A¿caryac£·¡ma¸i ofSaktibhadra. Vatakkumkur refers to it as Viv¤ti 2 . There are three othercommentaries on Karp£ramaµjar¢ of R¡ja¿ekhara. They are Vy¡khy¡ by SiÆhar¡ja(14 th century AD) Prak¡¿a by V¡sudevan Namputiri of M£kkola andPad¡rthad¢pik¡ by Anantad¡sa (17 th century AD).Vimar¿in¢ on N¡g¡nanda of HarÀa, and Vic¡ratilaka and Vivara¸acommentaries on Subhadr¡dhanaµjaya and Tapat¢saÆvara¸a of Kula¿ekhararespectively. Govind¡m¤tayatin’s N¡ak¡bhara¸a on K¤À¸ami¿ra’s allegoricaldrama Prabodhacandrodaya is one of the important commentaries.Sr¢vidy¡kaumud¢ on P£r¸aauruÀ¡rthacandrodaya another allegorical drama, waswritten by Keralite named J¡taveda of unknown authorship 3 .Conclusion1Op.Cit., C.K..S.L, p.2112Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.3013Op.Cit., (article) Sanskrit in Kerala Commentarial Litareture, p.231

96Contribution of Keralites to various fields of literature of Sanskrit isconsiderable and valuable by all means. The writers from Kerala had writtenexcellent commentaries on all standard original works. Among the commentariesof Kerala that of Sa´kar¡c¡rya is the turning point. Among other writers mentionmay be made of Govindabhaatiri also

97known as Talaku½att£r Bhaatiri who wrote Da¿¡dhy¡y¢ commentary on theB¤hajj¡taka of Var¡hamihira.Particular mention may be made of the 14 th century poet commentatorP£r¸asarasvati’s Vidyullat¡ on Meghasande¿a and Rasamaµjar¢ onM¡lat¢m¡dhava, Aru¸agirin¡tha’s (15 th century AD) Prak¡¿ik¡ commentary onKum¡rasambhava 1 and RaghuvaÆ¿a, Abhir¡ma’s Di´m¡tradar¿ana 2 andAbhijµ¡na¿¡kuntalacarcca of unknown authorship are also deserve specialmention.Dr. T.G. Mainkar rightly says “It is an unfortunate trend to neglect thesecommentaries. Often very sweeping generalizations, based primarily on ignoranceand perhaps through prejudice towards Sanskrit and handwork are madecondemning these commentaries as ‘useless literature’ a serious student ofSanskrit however, cannot afford to neglect this precious treasure 3 ”.1Kum¡rasambhava, TSS. RaghuvaÆ¿a, Sanskrit college Publication, Thrippunithura2Ed. A.R. Rajaraja Varma, Thiruvananthapuram.3T.G. Mainkar, Studies in Sanskrit dramatic criticism, Motilal Benarsi dass, New Delhi, in preface.