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CHAPTER ONE

A SURVEY OF SANSKRIT COMMENTARY

LITERATURE IN KERALA

Commentary literature is an integral part of the world of writing in Sanskrit

works. Vedas, the earliest works from India were interpreted by a number of

famous commentators like Y¡ska and S¡ya¸a. R¡ghavabha¶¶a, Ttripur¡ri,

Ghana¿y¡mavidy¡m¡dhava and others are credited with several areas of knowledge

of Sanskrit. Through this technique of interpretive literature we have got a number

of notable texts on various philosophical and scientific subjects. Br¡hama¸as,

UpaniÀads, dar¿anas, works on poetics, dramas and ¿astraic works were

commented upon, which caused to reconstruct or reevaluate ancient systems of

knowledge. 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,

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‘EòÊ´ÉiÉÉ®úºÉSÉÉiÉÖªÉÈ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉiÉÉ ´ÉäÊkÉ xÉÉä EòÊ´É&’. The sense of the

text is revealed through interpretations.

Kerala’s contribution towards Sanskrit studies is unique. Besides writing

original compositions, Kerala writers have written excellent commentaries on

standard works. Sa´kar¡c¡rya may be considered as the most notable scholars

among the commentators. Even during the early centuries of the Christian era, the

people of

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Kerala had shown keen interest in the study of Sanskrit enthusiastically, and from

the eighth century AD, almost all branches of literature were attracted the minds of

Sanskrit scholars of Kerala.

Mention may be made of outstanding works and commentaries on

astronomy, astrology, tantra, stotra, k¡vya, drama, and the like, which are the

valuable contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit studies. P£r¸asarasvati, Aru¸agirin¡tha,

Govindabha¶¶atiri of Talakku½att£r, Abhir¡ma and R¡ghav¡nanda are famous

ancient commentators on excellent Sanskrit works. This chapter deals with the

Sanskrit commentarial literature of Kerala to some extent.

Origin and development of hermeneutics

Hermeneutics or vy¡khy¡na¿¡stra is very old one in India. Many scholars

argue that the vy¡khy¡na¿¡stra was originated in India and some others say it is in

abroad. K. Maheswaran Nair refers: “hermeneutics originated in Europe in the

Hellenic period in connection with the study of and analysis of classical texts, like

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those of Homer1”. The principles of Hermeneutics were rampant in India from the

very early period. According to Indian scholars, commentary could be manifold. In

general 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 different

according to the nature of interpretation. Mainly these are used to teach disciples in

simple method. Rgvedapr¡ti¿¡khy¡ (15-9) refers to the method of teaching Vedas as:

MÉÖ¯û& ʶɹªÉºªÉ {Énù¨Éɽþ ¨ÉÖJªÉÆ ºÉ¨ÉɺɶSÉänùºÉ¨ÉɺÉÉä ªÉÊnùuäù *

BiÉäxÉ Eò±{ÉäxÉ ºÉ¨ÉÉ{ªÉ |ɶxÉÆ |ÉiªÉ¨xÉɪÉÖºiÉnÂù {ÉÖxÉ®äú´É ºÉ´Éæ **1

This verse provides some light on the ancient form of interpretation. In Ny¡yako¿a2,

‘¶¢k¡’ is defined as follows: ‘¨ÉÚ±ÉOÉxlɺªÉ

+|ÉÊiÉ{ÉÊkÉÊ´É|ÉÊiÉ{ÉkªÉxªÉlÉÉ|ÉÊiÉ{ÉÊkÉÊxÉ´ÉÉ®úhÉäxÉ

iÉiEòiÉÖÇ®úʦÉ|ÉäiɺªÉ ¶É¤nùÉxiÉ®äúhÉ Ê´É´É®úhÉÆ ]õÒEòÉ *’

1 Ed. P.C Muraleemadhavan, Indian theories of Hermeneutics, (article) entitled Historicity of Vedic Exegesis,

by K. Maheswaran Nair New Bharatiya Book Corporation, NewDelhi, 2002, p.332

1 ( Article) The commentarial literature in Sanskrit, by N.V.P. Unithiri, Journal of Kerala studies, ed.T.K.

Raveendran, vol. x, 1983, p. 157

2 vy¡khy¡na¿¡stram of C.Rajendran, (Mal), Keralabhasha Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 2005, p.9

(Ny¡yako¿a, p.306),

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The word ¶¢k¡ can be derived from the root ‘¶¢k’ meaning ‘to move’ ‘to go’

etc ‘]õÒCªÉiÉä MɨªÉiÉä OÉxlÉÉlÉÉæ +xɪÉÉ <ÊiÉ ]õÒEòÉ*’ R¡ja¿ekhara’s

definition is based on this derivation who refers as ‘iÉlÉɺɨ¦É´ÉÆ +lÉǺªÉ

]õÒEòxÉÆ ]õÒEòÉ*’3.

Both v¤tti and vivara¸a are derived from the root ‘v¤’and ‘vi’ meaning

‘to reveal and ‘to unfold’ respectively. It is defined as ‘ªÉÉä +lÉÈ Ê´É´ÉÞhÉÉäÊiÉ

´ªÉxÉÊHò |ÉEòɶɪÉÊiÉ º¡òÉä]õªÉÊiÉ ºÉ Ê´É´ÉÞÊiÉÌ´É´É®úhÉÆ ´ÉÉ*’ Vy¡khy¡

and vy¡khy¡na may be derived from the root ‘vi’-¡-khy¡’, meaning ‘to tell’ ‘to

explain’ ‘to narrate’ etc. This is also seen in Ny¡yako¿a as

‘+|ÉÊiÉ{ÉkªÉÉÊnùÊ´É´É®úhÉ|ɪÉÉäVÉEÆò iÉiºÉ¨ÉÉxÉÉlÉÇEò{ÉnùÉxiÉ®äúhÉ

ʴɺiÉÉ®äúhÉ {ÉnùÉlÉÇEòlÉxÉÆ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxɨÉÂ*4’. Kau¶ilya defines it in a

different way ‘+ÉÊnù®úxiªÉ´ÉhÉÇxÉÉ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxɨÉÂ*5’.

3 K¡vyam¢m¡Æsa, p.27

4 Op.Cit., Ny¡yako¿a, p.828 and Hermenutical Inerpretation in Sanskrit, p. 159

5 Artha¿¡satra,15-150

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In Mah¡bh¡Àya1 Pataµjali defines vy¡khy¡na as ‘xÉ Eäò´É±ÉÆ

SÉSSÉÉÇ{ÉnùÉÊxÉ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxÉÆ ´ÉÞnÂùvªÉiÉä <ÊiÉ ËEò iÉ̽þ?

=nùɽþ®úhÉÆ |ÉiªÉÖnùɽþ®úhÉÆ ´ÉÉMÉvªÉɽþÉ®ú <iªÉäiÉiÉÂ

ºÉ¨ÉÖÊnùiÉÆ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxÉÆ ¦É´ÉÊiÉ*’

Par¡¿arapur¡¸a gives a fivefold division of definition as splitting of words,

explanation of meaning, dissolution of compound words, presentation of prose

order and rising of doubts followed by the answers. The verse is as follows:

{ÉnùSUäônù& {ÉnùÉlÉÉæÊHòÌ´ÉOɽþÉä

´ÉÉCªÉªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ*

+ÉIÉä{ÉÉä%lÉ ºÉ¨ÉÉvÉÉxÉÆ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉxÉÆ

{É\SɱÉIÉhɨÉÂ**2

The Keralite commentary of AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya of V¡gbha¶¡c¡rya explains vy¡khy¡na

as

1 Mah¡bh¡Àya, pa¿pa¿¡Ån¢kaÆ, p.77

2 Op.Cit., Ny¡yako¿a, p.828

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={ÉÉänÂùPÉÉiÉ{ÉnÆù SÉè´É {ÉnùÉlÉÇ&

{ÉnùÊ´ÉOɽþ&*

SÉɱÉxÉÉ |ÉiªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ SÉ ¹ÉÉäføÉ

´ªÉÉJªÉÉxɱÉIÉhɨÉÂ**3

From the above mentioned references about commentaries it is clear that

commentary literature occupies a notable position in Sanskrit from the ancient

time. In later time many minute differences were discussed about the technical

terms in commentaries. Moreover viv¤ti, v¡rtik¡, bh¡Àya and k¡rik¡ were generally

written only in the field of ¿¡straic literature. As far as general literature is

concerned, ¶¢k¡ or vy¡khy¡na and ¶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 detailed

teaching notes. Sa´kar¡c¡rya agrees that one of the eight

3 Vatakkumkur, K.S.S.C, vol.I, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit,Kalady, 1997 p.511

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divisions 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 later

times, the six ved¡´gas developed through oral teaching. Later on these

weredocumented as written works and the learning of these by heart became more

difficult. Then developed a system of s£tra literature where ideas are arranged in

too brevity. Subsequently all the systems of philosophy came to be recorded in the

sutra form, which is highly useful to grasp wordings and to recollect easily. James

Mill, 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 sacred

books, and even their books of sciences, are in verse; and what is more wonderful

still, their very Dictionaries2”. N.V.P. Unithiri observes it as “The method of oral

teaching through question and answer and subsequent discussions was revived. In

course of time, this oral tradition had also to be put in writing. Thus came into

1 B¤had¡ra¸yakabh¡Àya, 2-4-10

2 James Mill, The History of British India, vol.I, Associated publishing house,

New Delhi, 1972 (IInd ed, reprint), Pp.365-66.

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existence the different types of commentaries such as v¤tti, v¡rtik¡, bh¡Àya, ¶¢k¡,

viv¤ti vy¡khy¡na and the like3”.

A brief survey of commentators and commentaries on Sanskrit works in

India especially related to Kerala on various systems of philosophy is given in the

following pages.

3 Op.Cit., ( article) The commentarial literature in Sanskrit, by N.V.P. Unithiri, p. 158

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Comentators on Vedic Texts

The verse of Mah¡bh¡rata (1-1-204) ‘<ÊiɽþɺÉ{ÉÖ®úÉhÉɦªÉÉÆ ´ÉänÆù

ºÉ¨ÉÖ{ɤÉÞƽþªÉäiÉÂ*’ denotes that Veda is to be interpreted through the epics.

Vedic language is mysterious and it is very difficult to grasp its meanings, hence

commentaries or interpretations are essential in Vedic studies. A number of

commentators had commented upon Vedic hymns from the ancient time.

Skandasv¡mi may be the first ancient commentator on Rgveda who lived at

Valabhi in Gujarat in seventh century AD. In his Vedic commentary on the first

aÀ¶aka of Rgveda he gives full details of each hymn with ¤Ài, chanda, devat¡ etc.

Dvijendran¡tha¿¡stri says: “Skandasv¡mi has documented of his former

commentators’ indications with the word ‘kecana’”1.

N¡r¡ya¸¡c¡rya is another commentator on Rgveda. He has commented upon

the fifth and seventh aÀ¶akas of Rgveda. Udg¢t¡c¡rya was a famous commentator

1SaÆsk¤tas¡hityavimar¿a, ed. Suryaprakasa Snataka, Gurukulavrndavan Snatak Sodha Samstha, New Delhi,

p.83

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he has commented upon the fifth s£kta of tenth ma¸·ala of Rgveda. N¡r¡ya¸¡c¡rya

may be a contemporary of Skandasv¡min.

Hast¡malaka, the disciple of great philosopher Sa´kara was a commentator

of Vedas. But the commentary is not available. Ve´ka¶am¡dhava (11th century AD),

another commentator on Rgveda lived in the village namely Gomana near river

K¡ver¢. His commentary

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known as Rgarthad¢pik¡ is available. LakÀma¸¡c¡rya (12th century AD),

DhanuÀkayajvan commented Rk, Yajus, S¡ma vedas and Anandat¢rtha (1255-1335

AD) also commented on Rgveda. Atm¡nandat¢rtha (13th century AD) is also an

Rgvedic 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, (15th century AD) Devasv¡mi, Bha¶¶abh¡skara Guh¡deva,

Durg¡c¡rya (15th century AD), Uvva¶a, Mah¢dhara etc are famous among them.

Bha¶¶asv¡mi’s commentary on Taittar¢yasaÆhit¡ is not presently available.

Commentaries on Dar¿anas

Six 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 of

s£tras. They were also followed by numerous bh¡Àya or commentaries on them. It is

difficult to ascertain the chronological order of the s£tras as well as that of the

bh¡Àyas.

Sa´kar¡c¡rya in his BraÅmas£trabh¡Àya mentions the name of

Sabarasv¡min as a commentator of m¢m¡Æsa. R¡m¡nuja mentions that there was a

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v¤tti on the BraÅmas£tra by Bodh¡yana before Sa´kara. We have some proofs that

the bh¡Àyas were written when there were other v¤ttis or short explanations of the

s£tras. K¡lid¡sabha¶¶¡c¡rya mentions that “the Gau·ap¡dak¡rik¡ 1 of the

1 Ed.Ramasvami iyer, Cultural Heritage of India, vol. V, The Ramakrishnamission Institute of Culture.1993,

p.372

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M¡¸·£kyopaniÀad was written in the form of k¡rik¡s or short verses”.

S¡´khyadar¿ana of Kapila

S¡´khyadar¿ana is probably the oldest one in our traditional schools of

philosophy. Though Kapila is universally recognized as the founder of s¡´khya

system, the S¡´khyas£tra that is available is not very old. But the first systematic

work on s¡´khya is supposed to be I¿varak¤À¸a’s (3rd century AD) S¡´khyak¡rik¡. A

number of commentaries are available on it. Recently a very old commentary on it

named Yuktid¢pik¡ by an unknown writer has been published1.

Gau·ap¡da (7th century AD) wrote a commentary on S¡´khyak¡rik¡ called

Gaudap¡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 (8th century AD) Jayama´ga½a, V¡caspatimi¿ra’s

Tatvakaumud¢, Aniruddha’s (15th century A D) Aniruddhav¤tti, Vijµ¡nabhikÀu’s

(17th century AD) S¡´khyapravacanabh¡Àya, N¡r¡ya¸at¢rtha’s (17th century AD)

Candrik¡, VaÆ¿¢dharami¿ra’s (17th century AD) S¡´khyatatvavibh¡kara and

1 Ed.by Gerald James Larson and Ramshankar Bhattacharya, Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Motilal

Banarsidass, New Delhi, 1987

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K¤Àa¸avallabh¡c¡rya’s Kira¸a are the popular commentaries on s¡´khya. Gu¸aratna

(14th century AD)

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and Mah¡deva¿¡stri (17th century AD) commented s¡´khya but their works are not

presently available.

Yogadar¿ana

The yoga system of Pataµjali is a meta-psychological technique based upon

the philosophy of the s¡´khya. As a system of practice it is as old as the Atharvaveda

and some earlier upaniÀads. The Mah¡bh¡rata the Bhagavadg¢t¡ and Lalitavist¡ra

also refer to Yogic practices. The literature on yoga is thus found in an unsystematic

form extensively in ancient Indian works. The first systematic work on yoga,

however, is Pataµjali’s Yogas£tra. Vy¡sa’s (6th century AD) Yogabh¡Ày¡ or V¡rtik¡ is

an elaborate commentary on it.

V¡caspatimi¿ra’s Tatvavai¿¡rad¢ and Vjµ¡nabhikÀu’s Yogav¡rtika are the

two famous commentaries on Vy¡sa’s bh¡Àya. Bhoja has also written a small

commentary not so much on Vy¡sa’s bh¡Àya as on the Yogas£tra itself, known as

Bhojav¤tti otherwise known as R¡jam¡rt¡¸·a. K¤À¸avallabh¡c¡rya’s Kira¸a is another

commentary on it. Other commentaries on Yogas£tra are Ga¸e¿a D¢kÀita’s V¤tti,

R¡m¡nandasarasvati’s (7th century AD) Ma¸iprabh¡, N¡r¡ya¸at¢rtha’s

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Yogasiddh¡ntacandrik¡, and S£tr¡rthabodhin¢, N¡ge¿abha¶¶a’s (18th century AD)

Ch¡y¡vy¡khy¡, Sad¡¿iva’s (18th century AD) Yogasudh¡kara, Anandapa¸·ita’s

Candrik¡, Baladevami¿ra’s Yogaprad¢pik¡ and

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Vijµ¡nabhikÀu’s Yogas¡ra. Thus like other systems, yoga texts have a good number

of commentaries.

Vai¿eÀikadar¿ana

Vai¿eÀika philosophy, known as Aul£kyadar¿ana, is formulated in the

Vai¿eÀikas£tra of Ka¸¡da who belonged to a very ancient age. Vai¿eÀikas£tra

emphasized more in metaphysics than in logic and theory of knowledge. It begins

with proposing the task of explaining ‘dharma’ and ends with referring to the

efficacy of Vedic injunctions. The contributions of vai¿eÀikas are more popular and

materialistic. The earliest commentary on Vai¿eÀikas£tra is Bharadv¡jav¤tti and

R¡va¸abh¡Àya. They are however no longer extant. One has now to rely chiefly on

such treatises as Up¡skara by Sa´karami¿ra (15th century AD) and Ka¸¡das£trav¤tti

by Jayan¡r¡ya¸atarkkapaµc¡nana (19thcentury AD). There is also a detailed

commentary on Up¡skara called PariÀk¡ra composed recently by Paµc¡nana.

Vyoma¿iv¡c¡rya’s (10th century AD) Vyom¡vat¢ is the commentary on

Pad¡rthadharmasa´graha on the vai¿eÀika system. This was followed by

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Sr¢dhar¡c¡rya’s (10th century AD) Ny¡yakandal¢, which was commented upon by

R¡ja¿ekhara (12th century AD) in his Ny¡yakandal¢paµcik¡.

Udayana (12th century AD) wrote LakÀa¸¡val¢ which is a short manual of

Vai¿eÀika. Other major works of Udayana are:

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Ny¡yakusum¡µjal¢ on Ny¡yavai¿eÀika and Atmatatvaviveka a work in which the

Ny¡yavai¿eÀika concept of the self has been elaborated and LakÀa¸am¡l¡. A

number of commentaries are available on Udayana’s works. Sa´karami¿ra’s

Kalpalat¡ on Udayana’s Atmatatvaviveka is very popular.

Ny¡yadar¿ana

The philosophy of ny¡ya from the ancient days to the beginning of the

thirteenth century was as much on the theory of knowledge as on constructive

metaphysics. 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 earliest

commentary on it written before the fifth century AD is by V¡tsy¡yana and is known

as V¡tsy¡yanabh¡Àya. Udyotakara (6th century AD) wrote a commentary on this

bh¡Àya known as Ny¡yav¡rtik¡.

V¡caspatimi¿ra (9th century AD) wrote a commentary on Udyotakara’s

Ny¡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

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on different systems of philosophy namely ny¡ya, advaitaved¡nta, s¡´khya, yoga and

m¢m¡Æsa.

Among the ny¡ya commentaries Vardham¡na’s (13th century AD)

Ny¡yapari¿iÀ¶haprak¡¿a on Udayana’s Ny¡yapari¿iÀ¶ha, Jayantabha¶¶a’s

N»¡yamaµjar¢ (9th century AD), Vardham¡na’s

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(13th century AD) Anv¢kÀ¡ny¡yatatvabodha and some ten commentaries entitled

Prak¡¿a on different topics, are famous. Jayadevami¿ra, author of Many¡loka wrote

several commentaries on Vardham¡na’s works. Thus numerous commentaries are

available by famous scholars on ny¡ya philosophy.

P£rvam¢m¡Æsa

P£rvam¢m¡Æsa is a system of philosophy, which deals with the nature of

dharma as propounded in the karmak¡¸·a of the Vedas. This system diverted itself

into two main schools, namely that of Kum¡rilabha¶¶a (7th century AD) and that

of 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 by

Sabarasv¡min. The earliest available commentary on M¢m¡Æsas£tra is

Sabarasvamin’s Sabarabh¡Àya. There were other commentaries before him.

Bhart¤mitra referred to in Ny¡yaratn¡kara, Slokav¡rtika, Bhavad¡sa is also

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referred to in Slokav¡rtika. Keith also refers the name of UpavarÀa, commentator

who must have flourished before Sabarasv¡min1.

Sabarabh¡Àya had commented upon by Kum¡rilabha¶¶a in his

Slokav¡rtika, Tantrav¡rtika and Tup-¶¢ka and also in his B¤hat¶¢ka and

Madhyama¶¢ka. Based on Sabarabh¡Àya,

1 A. Berried ails Keith, A History of Sanskrit literature, Motilal Benarsidass, New Delhi, 1996, p.473

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Prabh¡kara who formed a different school wrote two independent commentaries

B¤hati (nibandha), and Laghvi (Vivara¸a). These are again commented upon by

S¡lik¡n¡tha in Rjuvimala and Paµcik¡ elucidating Prabh¡kara’s interpretation of

m¢m¡Æsa. Ma¸·anami¿ra (8th century AD) who eventually accepted Vedantism

under the influence of Sa´kara and Bha¶¶omveka were also Kum¡rila’s disciples.

The former wrote Vidhiviveka, Bh¡van¡viveka and M¢m¡Æs¡nukrama¸¢ while the

later composed commentaries on Slokav¡rtika and Bh¡van¡viveka.

P¡rthas¡rathimi¿ra (9th century AD) wrote S¡strad¢pik¡, Tantraratna and

Ny¡yaratnam¡l¡ in support of Kum¡rila’s interpretation of m¢m¡Æs¡. Among the

followers of Kumarila, the most eminent are Sucaritami¿ra author of K¡¿ik¡ and

Bha¶¶asome¿vara author of Ny¡yasudha. R¡mak¤À¸a’s commentary on the

S¡strad¢pik¡ of Tarkap¡da called Yuktisnehaprap£ra¸¢siddhantacandrik¡ and

Soman¡tha’s commentary on the remaining chapters of S¡strad¢pik¡ known as

May£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,

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

M¢m¡Æs¡ny¡yaprak¡¿a

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of Apadeva, Subodhin¢ of G¡g¡bha¶¶a and M¢m¡Æs¡b¡laprak¡¿a etc.

Appayyad¢kÀita’s (1520 AD) Vidhiras¡yana and May£kh¡val¢ (a

commentary on S¡strad¢pik¡). Ve´ka¶e¿varad¢kÀita’s V¡rtik¡bhara¸a (a

commentary on Tup-¶¢k¡), Kha¸·adeva’s Bha¶¶akaustubha, Bha¶¶ad¢pik¡ and

Bha¶¶arahasya, and M¡nameyodaya of N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a, Sa´karabha¶¶a’s

Siddhiras¡yanad£Àa¸a, Ve´ka¶an¡tha’s M¢m¡Æs¡p¡duk¡, Laug¡kÀibh¡skara’s

Arthasa´graha, Vallabh¡c¡rya’s P£rvam¢m¡Æs¡k¡rik¡ Bhavan¡tha’s Ny¡yaviveka

and R¡m¡nuj¡c¡rya’s Tantrarahasya are famous works and commentaries on

m¢m¡Æsa school.

Uttaram¢m¡Æs¡ or Ved¡nta

Uttaram¢m¡Æs¡ examines the nature of BraÅman or reality behind the

mortal world. A vast literature is available in the form of commentaries on the

UpaniÀads, Bhagavadg¢t¡ and Brahmas£tra which have been written from the

standpoints of Advaita, Vi¿iÀ¶¡dvaita, Dvaita, Dvait¡dvaita, Suddh¡dvaita,

Acintyabhed¡bhed¡dvaita etc. It may be assumed that the first ancient systematic

27

commentaries on Ved¡nta are that of Sa´kara, great advaita philosopher (8th

century AD).

So many commentaries are available in Ved¡ntic field. The chief schools of

interpretations are the advaita expounded first by

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Gau·ap¡da and followed by Sa´kara, the Vi¿iÀ¶h¡dvaita by R¡m¡nuja, the Dvaita

of M¡dhva, the Dvait¡dvaita of Nimb¡rka, the Suddh¡dvaita of Vallabha and the

Acintyabhed¡bhed¡dvaita by Sr¢caitanya, all are establishing their norms in

different criteria of truth and relaying upon different sources of valid knowledge

and the commentators arrived at different conclusions.

Sa´kara and commentary literature

Dr.E.Isvaran Namputiri observes: “There is no name in the history of

Indian philosophy which is more honoured and inspiring than that of Sa´kara, the

greatest philosopher of the world…1” Of Sa´kara’s works, bh¡Àya on the

BraÅmas£tra is the most important one, which is acclaimed as a masterpiece not

only for its acute logical analysis but also for its graceful style. His other important

works are the commentaries on the principal UpaniÀads such as Kena, Ka¶ha,

Pra¿na, Mu¸·a, M¡¸·£kya, Aitareya, Taitar¢ya, Ch¡ndogya and B¤had¡ra¸yaka.

1Ved¡ntapaddhati,ed.Isvaran Namputiri,Keralasamskrtam Publications, Thiruvananthapuram,1996, p.3

29

Sa´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.

30

Sa´kara’s BraÅmas£trabh¡Àya has served as a basic document for further

commentaries and sub commentaries of great philosophic insight and logical

throughness. Some of them are noted below:

Anandagiri wrote a commentary called Ny¡yanir¸aya, while Govind¡nanda

(16th CenturyAD) wrote another one known as Ratnaprabh¡. V¡caspatimi¿ra wrote

a commentary on Sa´kara’s bh¡À»a known as Bh¡mat¢. On it Amal¡nanda (13th

century AD) wrote his Kalpataru which is commented upon by Appayyad¢kÀita

in his Kalpataruparima½a.

Padmap¡da another disciple of Sa´kara wrote a commentary known as

Paµcap¡dik¡ dealing with the first four sutras. Sure¿var¡c¡rya wrote

NaiÀkarmmasiddhi, which is partly in prose and partly in verse and consists of

four chapters exposing the nature of avidy¡. Jµ¡nottamami¿ra’s T¢k¡ called

Bh¡vatatvaprak¡¿ik¡ is well known exposition of NaiÀkarmmasiddhi. Its other

subcommentaries are Jµ¡n¡m¤ta’s Vidy¡surabhi, Akhil¡tman’s

NaiÀkarmmasiddhivivara¸a and R¡madatta’s S¡r¡rtha. Prak¡¿¡tman wrote a

commentary on Paµcap¡dik¡ known as Paµcap¡dik¡vivara¸a which has two

31

commentaries Tatvad¢pana of Akha¸·¡nanda and Vivara¸abh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ by

N¤siÆha¿armamuni (1500 AD). Amal¡nanda and Vidy¡s¡gara also wrote

commentaries on Paµcap¡dik¡ named Paµcap¡dik¡darpa¸a and Paµcap¡dik¡¶¢k¡

respectively. Vidy¡ra¸ya (1350 AD) elucidated and expanded the teachings of

Paµcap¡dik¡vivara¸a in his Vivara¸aprameyasa´graha.

Sarvajµ¡tmamuni (900 AD) wrote SaÆkÀepa¿ar¢rik¡ based on the

teaching of Sa´kara’s bh¡Àya. Citsukha had also written an independent work on

Ved¡nta dialectics known as Tatvad¢pik¡, which was commented upon by

Pratyagr£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 by

his son R¡mak¤À¸¡dhvar¢ndra in his SikÀ¡ma¸¢ and by Amarad¡sa in his

Ma¸iprabh¡.

Madhus£danasarasvati (16th century AD) wrote his Advaitasiddhi which

is regarded as a comprehensive treatise on Advaitaved¡nta. His other important

works are G¢t¡g£·h¡rthad¢pik¡ (a commentary on Bhagavadg¢t¡),

32

Prasth¡nabheda, AdvaitaratnarakÀa¸a, Nirv¡¸ada¿aka¶¢k¡, Vedastuti¶¢k¡,

Atmabodha¶¢k¡ etc.

Other notable works on Advaita include Anandabodhabha¶¶¡kar¡c¡rya’s

(12th century AD) Ny¡yamakaranda, Sad¡nandagovinda’s (16th century AD)

Ved¡ntas¡ra, (It has two commentaries Subodhin¢ and Vidvanmanoraµjin¢),

Prak¡¿¡nanda’s (16th century AD) Ved¡ntasiddh¡ntamukt¡val¢, and

K¡¿m¢rakasad¡nandayati’s (18th century AD) AdvaitabraÅmasiddhi.

33

Sanskrit commentary literature of Kerala

Kerala has contributed profusely on Poetics, Dramaturgy, ¡yurveda, and

jyotiÀa both original works and commentaries. Many works of skilled scholars

caused for significant original works, come down through the detailed

commentaries. Kerala has noted for a long and continuous tradition of Sanskrit

learning. In addition to k¡vya, n¡¶aka, ala´k¡ra, studies comprised the Vedas and

ved¡´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 in

most of the works particularly those are in the form of commentaries bespeak the

intensity of the learning.

Sanskrit study, which is associated with Aryan culture, must have

commenced in Kerala with the spread of this culture here. This culture took root in

Kerala or influenced strongly at least from the seventh century AD. Poet Da¸·in, in

the introductory part of his Avantisundar¢kath¡, refers to some of his friends of

Kerala who were great teachers and scholars, commentators on Vedic texts and

Kalpas£tras and performers of sacrifices. From this reference it is clear that Vedic

religion was well established in Kerala by that time. Kunjunni Raja refers that

34

Kula¿ekhara A½v¡r the author of Mukundam¡l¡ was a Keralite born at

Tiruvaµciku½am in 3075 BC.1 The migration of Brahmins to Kerala and other part

of 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

35

amalgamating the customs of the different settlers and incorporating some new

ones resulting from the peculiarities of environment.

Namputiris founded schools for the study of Veda and ¿¡stra particularly

with a view in producing scholars to meet arguments against the upholders of

Buddhism 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¡kara

may be considered as the master of one of these schools, although it has to be

remembered that all do not accept the claim for this nativity of Prabh¡kara.

Venkatasubrahmanya Iyer says in his paper entitled ‘Sanskrit studies in

Kerala-past and present’ that “the Namputiris were close followers of Vedic

tradition and naturally therefore, they had a partiality for a ritualistic philosophy

of m¢m¡Æsa, with the result that even the great philosophy of advaita propounded

by Sa´kara, the greatest son of Kerala, did not fascinate them as much as it did the

people in the rest of India1”.

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.

36

Acadamic centres of medival of Kerala

Even during the early centuries of the Christian era, the people of Kerala

had taken to the study of Sanskrit enthusiastically embracing almost all branches

of literature. The princes and rulers of small territories in Kerala greatly

encouraged original writing in Sanskrit and

37

this resulted in a great number of poets and valuable works and interpretations

were produced on all areas of Sanskrit sources.

Semi religious educational institutions called sabh¡ma¶has were

established for the propagation of Vedas and ¿¡stras. The ma¶has at Thrissur and

Thirunavaya are famous of Vedic lore and even now continue as centres of Vedic

study. S¡stras were imparted in ¿¡strasabh¡ma¶has. The main ¿¡stras taught in

them were Bh¡¶¶am¢m¡Æsa, Pr¡bh¡karam¢m¡Æsa, ved¡nta and vy¡kara¸a, each

ma¶ha having its own subject of specialisation. The ma¶has at Covvan£r,

I¶akku½att£r, Kumba½am and Udayatu´ge¿varam were very famous. The

Sany¡sima¶has were connected with the study of ved¡nta. There were four of them

at Thrissur believed to be established by the disciples of Sa´kara namely

Tekkema¶ham, I¶ayilma¶ham, Na¶uvilma¶ham and Va¶akkema¶ham, each

was headed by a Sany¡sin.

In addition to these, there were academies associated with some of the

important 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 were

famous acadamic institutions.1

Although m¢m¡Æsa, vy¡kara¸a and ved¡nta were taught for intensive and

specialised study, general literature and other ¿¡stras were also part of the

curriculum. The teachers and scholars interpreted topics of interest through

commentaries for the purpose of

1Kera½attinte vaidikap¡ramparyam, C.M.Neelakanthan, ‘Anhuruvarshathekeralam chila

viraladayalangal’ ed. V.S. Vargese, Current Books, kottayam, 1999.

39

teaching. A number of simple works and commentaries had been produced for

their disciples or academic society. For example, M¡t¤datta of Melpatt£r illam, the

father of the famous poet and grammarian N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a was a renowned

teacher, and his house was always echoing with ¿¡strap¡¶has taught to his

disciples. The work, Dh¡tuk¡vya of N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a, R¡va¸avadha of Bha¶¶i,

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 knowledge

are outstanding and thus provide significance in the field of writing

commentaries. Mall¢n¡tha, P£r¸asarasvati and Govindabha¶¶atiri of

Talakku½att£r were famous commentators.

Commentaries on Veda

Da¸·in (7th century AD) indicates the name of M¡t¤datta in his

Avantisundar¢kath¡, as his friend who may be the first to be remembered in

connection with the Vedic commentaries in Kerala. He has commented on

Hira¸yake¿¢¿rautas£tra and Hira¸yake¿¢g¤hyas£tra. Sadguru¿iÀya (12th century

40

AD) renowned commentator of the Vedas even before S¡ya¸a, has written

commentaries MokÀaprada on Aitarey¡ra¸yaka, Sukhaprada on

Aitareyabr¡Åma¸a, Abhyudayap¡da on A¿val¡yana¿rautas£tra and

Vidarthad¢pik¡ on Sanaka’s

41

Sarv¡nukrama¸¢. A work called Aitarey¡ra¸yakavy¡khy¡ is ascribed to Sa´kara.

KauÀ¢takabraÅma¸avy¡khy¡ by Udaya (15th century AD) is famous in this regard.

A Padaprad¢pik¡ was written by Vatsyan¡r¡ya¸a (17th century AD)

discussing the Padap¡¶ha of K¤À¸ayaj£rvedatantr¢yasaÆhit¡ which was

commented by the author. It is a valuable addition to Vedic studies in Kerala1.

N¡r¡ya¸a Pa¸·ita was a famous scholar and commentator of Kerala, who has written

a number of commentaries on Sarv¡nukrama¸ik¡, and vy¡khy¡na of

Rgvedaparibh¡À¡2.

M¢m¡Æs¡ tradition of Kerala

Dr. E. Isvaran Namputiri has said; “for the importance of the m¢m¡Æs¡ it is

said that knowledge comprises mainly eighteen branches, fourteen of them

instrumental to the attainment of dharma and mokÀa and the remaining four to

that of artha and k¡ma3”

1 Padaprad¢pik¡, N.V.P. Unithiri, Mathrubhumi weekend, edi. 22 April. 1984.

2 Op.Cit., K. S .S.C, vol.I, p.521

3 Isvaran Namputiri, Glimpses of Sanskrit Research (G.S.R), Kerala Samskrita Publication,

Thiruvananthapuram, 1995, p.55

42

+RÂóMÉÉÊxÉ ´ÉänùɶSÉi´ÉÉ®úÉä ¨ÉÒ¨ÉÉƺÉÉ

xªÉɪÉʴɺiÉ®ú&*

{ÉÖ®úÉhÉÆ vɨÉǶÉɺjÉÆ SÉ Ê´ÉtÉ ÁäiÉɶSÉiÉÖnÇù¶É**

Among these fourteen vidy¡s, m¢m¡Æs¡ is an important one. South India

especially Kerala had a great tradition of the study of m¢m¡Æs¡ ¿¡stra. There is

another tradition recorded by Udda¸·a ¿¡stri in his Kokilasande¿a regarding the

introduction of the Bh¡¶¶a school of m¢m¡Æs¡ in Kerala.

43

B¹ÉÉÆ ´ÉƶÉä ºÉ¨ÉVÉÊxÉ

½þÊ®ú¶SÉxpùxÉɨÉÉ xÉ®äúxpù&

|ÉiªÉÉ{ÉÊkÉ& {ÉiÉMÉ ªÉnÖù{ÉYÉÆ SÉ

EòÉè¨ÉÉÊ®ú±ÉÉxÉɨÉÂ**1

Bhavad¡sa (2nd century AD) one of the early commentators on

Jaimin¢yas£tr¡s is believed to be a son of Kerala. According to some scholars

Kum¡rila and Prabh¡karaguru are believed to be Keralite m¢m¡Æs¡ scholars2.

Cid¡nanda Pa¸·ita, the author of N¢titatv¡virbh¡va and Bha¶¶aviÀ¸u the author of

Ny¡yatatvasa´graha were the two m¢m¡Æs¡ scholars of Kerala of thirteenth and

fourteenth centuries respectively.

Parame¿vara I is called ‘m¢m¡Æs¡ cakravartin’ by Udda¸·a S¡stri, whose

works 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 wrote

commentaries on Ma¸·anami¿ra’s Spho¶asiddhi and Vibhramavivek¡,

V¡caspatimi¿ra’s Tatvabindu and Cid¡nandapa¸·ita’s N¢titatv¡virbh¡va.

1 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.23.

2 Op.Cit., G.S.R, p.59

44

Parame¿vara II is the author of the Jaimin¢yas£trasa´graha, a valuable

commentary on the Jaimin¢yas£tras. He had a brother V¡sudeva whose

contributions are more literary than scientific.

Melputt£r M¡t¤datta, the father of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a, was well

versed in the school of m¢m¡Æs¡ particularly in the Bh¡¶¶a

45

School. Prof. Venkata Subrahmanya Iyer observes that the unpublished

Sarvamatasiddh¡ntas¡ra is in all probability a work of this author1. Melputt£r

N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a was not only a great grammarian and poet but also a famous

m¢m¡Æsa scholar. M¡na portion of the M¡nameyodaya written by him is a unique

work on m¢m¡Æsa. It deals with the epistemology of Bh¡¶¶a School.

N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a also wrote a commentary on the Tantrav¡rtik¡ of m¢m¡Æsa called

Nibandhan¡.

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. Those

are 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 of

D¡modara, Gurusammatapad¡rtha of unknown authorship and the

Gurumatapad¡rthasa´graha dealing with the eight pad¡rthas of Prabh¡kara.

A manuscript of the work Atharvam¢m¡Æsas£trasa´graha has been

preserved in the Govt. Oriental Manuscript Library. The work is referred to in the

1(Article), Melputt£r m¡t¤dattabha¶¶a, Journal of Oriental Research, Madras, vol. 28, Pp.62 - 67

46

appendix II of Tatvabindu. This is a lucid commentary on the

P£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 manuscript

contains the first two chapters

47

and 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 called

ViÀamagranthabhedik¡ is mentioned in the triennial catalogue of Sanskrit

manuscripts1. This is written by one N¡r¡ya¸a, son of ViÀ¸u who may be a Keralite

author2. It is produced from Kochin. This commentary is written in accordance

with the view of Kum¡rila on the M¢m¡Æs¡s£tras of Jaimini. The commentary is of

unknown 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 Keralite3.

Da¿¡dhy¡y¢ is another commentary of the same author. The phrase

‘¶Éä¹É±ÉIÉhɨɴÉʶɹ]õÉxªÉRÂóMɱÉIÉhÉÉÊxÉ +RÂóMɱÉIÉhÉÆ ´ÉÉ

nù¶ÉÉùvªÉɪªÉÉÆ ´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 is

another commentary on m¢m¡Æsa4.

1 Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, R. No. 306 B

2 Jaimin¢yas£trav¤tti, R. No. 2973 of the Triennial Catalogue

3 Op.Cit., G.S.R, p.60

4 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.II, p.589.

48

So·ha¿¡dhy¡y¢ is a good commentary on the sixteen chapters of

P£rvam¢m¡Æsa and Uttaram¢m¡Æsa. The author whose name is not given and

the work salute Jaimini, Vy¡sa, Sabarasv¡min and Sa´kara.

Ny¡yasiddhi is available in the form of manuscript at Pattambi in Palakkad

district of Kerala. This text is probably written by

49

Keralite. It comments on S¡lik¡n¡tha’s Prakara¸apaµcik¡ and is of unknown

authorship1.

M¡naratn¡val¢ is a transcript of a manuscript from Ko¶¶appa·i at

Malappuram district in Kerala. This is a treatise dealing with metaphysical

standpoints of the Bh¡¶¶a school of m¢m¡Æs¡ as against Buddha’s, the

Pr¡bh¡kara’s, the Nayy¡yikas and the M¡y¡v¡dins.

From the foregoing brief sketch it is evident that the contribution of Kerala

to P£rvam¢m¡Æsa literature is remarkable in quantity as well as in quality.

Dharma¿¡stra

Kerala authors have given much attention to the studies of Dharma¿¡stras

from a very remote past. Vararuci’s A¿auc¡À¶aka on ceremonial rituals is

commented upon by three anonymous Kerala authors. Their commentaries are

known as Vivara¸a, S£cyagravedhana and Vy¡khy¡. Vatakkumkur quotes a verse

of A¿auc¡À¶aka2 on A¿auc¡À¶aka of Vararuci as follows:

1 Ed. by T.K. Ravindran, vol. X, (article) Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture, N.V.P.Unithiri, Kerala

University, Thiruvananthapuram, 1983

2 Op.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 by

Vidvan Godavarma Yuvar¡ja of Kodungallur (1800-1850

51

AD) and A¿aucacandrik¡ by a native of Peruvanam. The second one is said to be

by Govindabha¶¶atirip¡· of Tara¸anall£r (1902-1974 AD) who has written a

commentary on A¿aucacint¡ma¸¢ of Vidv¡n Godavarma Yuvar¡ja of Kodungallur.

An anonymous author has written a sub commentary B¡lakr¢·¡, on

Y¡jµavalkyasm¤ti. N¡radabhaktis£travy¡khy¡ by R¡mavarma Kuµju¸¸i R¡ja of

Cir¡layam (1860-1942 AD) on Y¡jµavalkyasm¤ti1. A¿aucad¢pik¡ of Paramesvaran

Namputiri, has a number of commentaries of which A¿aucacandrik¡ was written

by the author himself.

{ÉÖ¯û´ÉxɺÉÆYÉOÉɨÉä

VÉÉiÉäxÉɶÉÉèSÉnùÒ{ÉEÆò ®úÊSÉiɨÉÂ*

iÉjÉiªÉäxÉè´Éè¹ÉÉ

iÉnÂù´ªÉÉJªÉɶÉÉèSÉSÉÎxpùEòÉ ®úÊSÉiÉÉ**2

Kodungallur Vidv¡n I½aya Tampur¡n and Jatavedan Namputirip¡· also have

written commentaries on A¿aucad¢pik¡.3

Commentaries on ny¡ya philosophy

1 Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. II, p.513

3 Ibid., p.509

52

On ny¡ya philosophy, Kerala’s contribution is not much. Valiya Godavarma

Bha¶¶an Tampur¡n, Kodungallur (1859-1934 AD) compossed a commentary on

Pr¡m¡¸yav¡da of Gad¡dhara. Subodhin¢ a commentary of R¡mavarma Par¢kÀit

Tampur¡n (1948 -1964 AD) on S¡m¡nyanirukti is also noteworthy.

53

Advaitaved¡nta

From about seventh centuary AD onwards there has been a steady growth

in 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 be

a son of Kerala. And following him several preceptors of Kerala have contributed

many creative works and commentaries. Sa´kara’s place of birth has generally

been accepted as Kalady at Ernakulam district in Kerala.

Sa´kara’s bh¡Àya on Prasth¡natraya have established the foundation of

Advaitaved¡nta philosophy. Numerous exhaustive and valuable commentaries of

Sa´kara have come down to us. M¡¸·£kyak¡rik¡, ViÀ¸usahasran¡ma, Sanatsuj¡t¢ya,

Lalit¡sahasran¡ma, N¤siÆhap£rvatapanyupaniÀad Aitarey¡ra¸yak¡ and

Atharva¿ikÀopaniÀad are also commented by Sa´kara.

Sa´kara’s direct disciple Padmap¡da enriched this path by his valuable

commentaries like Paµcap¡dik¡ on the first five padas of Brahmas£trabh¡Àya and

54

a commentary on Atmabodhavy¡khy¡ called Ved¡ntas¡ra. Another work attributed

him 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 literature

of Kerala. He is generally known as Kokkunnattu Sivayogi, lived in the fourteenth

century AD. His house was situated

1Op.Cit., G.S.R, (article) Contribution of Kerala to Advaitaved¡nta literature, p.44

55

on the banks of Ni½¡ River.1 K¤Àa¸¡nanda, preceptor of R¡ghav¡nanda who was a

native of N¡gapura on Ganges became a monk and lived in Kerala. He wrote

commentaries on Advaitamaµjar¢ and Atmabodha of Sa´kara. R¡ghav¡nanda’s

disciple R¡m¡nan¡da has written a bh¡Àya on TripuropaniÀad. Bh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ on

Srutig¢t¡ was written by a scholar of Cett£r2.

The manuscript of Sapary¡taptakavy¡khy¡ is available in the Oriental Manuscript

Library Thiruvananthapuram and is attributed to one R¡m¡nanda.

Devan¡r¡ya¸a (15th century AD) of Ambalapu½a, the patron of Melputt£r,

has commented on the first verse of Bh¡gavata from the point of view of advaita

namely Ved¡ntaratnam¡l¡, which is also known as Devan¡r¡ya¸¢ya.

N¤siÆhaprajµayati (of unknown date), Sv¡miy¡r of Ma¶h at Thrissur,

composed a commentary on the Ka¸vopaniÀad and B¤had¡ra¸yakopaniÀad is

written in a legendary style. The manuscript of it is belonged to the family of

Thirunavaya Va·hayan Namputiri. He has also wrote a commentary on the

B¤had¡ra¸yakopaniÀadbh¡Àyav¡rtik¡ of Sure¿vara.

1 Ibid., p.46

2 Op.Cit., (article) Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.

56

Ved¡nanda the preceptor of Advaitaved¡nta in Kerala of unknown date is

the author of an elaborate commentary called Sambandhokti on the

Sa´kÀepa¿ar¢rik¡ of Sarvajµ¡tman. He was

57

also supposed to be an ascetic who belonged to one of the Sv¡miy¡r Ma¶has of

Kerala. P£r¸avidy¡muni is another ved¡ntin of Kerala who has commented on

Paµcaprakriy¡ of Sarvajµ¡tman. One Vin¡yaka, probably a pupil of R¡ghav¡nanda

has written an advaitic work called Siddh¡ntapaµcara.1

Ayurveda

Kerala has credited with a number of commentaries and original works

related to ¡yurveda from the fifth or sixth centuries. A good number of works and

commentaries have been come out in both Malayalam and Sanskrit.

AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya of V¡gbha¶a is the basic and popular work on ¡yurveda. Kairal¢

commentary by Pulamanthol (in Malapurm District) M£ssat on the Uttarasth¡na

is one of the notable commentaries on AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya. Sar¡rthadarpa¸a and

Bh¡vaprak¡¿a are the bh¡À¡ commentaries on AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya by Kaikulan´ara

R¡mav¡riyar.

V¡ky¡rthad¢pik¡ by Parame¿varan Namputiri of Alatt£r (15th century AD),

Vy¡khy¡ by Govinda PiÀ¡ra¶i of T¤kka¸¶iy£r (1800-1875 AD) are other

1 Ibid., p.47

58

commentaries on AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya. Lalit¡ is also a commentary on AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya

by Vayaskara M£ssat which is quoted2 as ‘<ÊiÉ

Eòh]õEòÒ¡ò±ÉÉxnùÉäʱÉEòɱɪÉÊ´ÉJªÉÉiɸÉÒxÉÉ

®úɪÉhɺÉÚxÉÖxÉÉ ´ÉªÉºEò®úÊ´Éʶɹ]õÉMÉÉ®ú

xÉɨÉÉxiÉ®ú¶ÉÉäʦÉxÉÉ

+PɱÉÉ´ÉxÉɱɪÉʴɸÉÖiÉxÉÒ±ÉEòh`ö¶É¨ÉÇhÉÉ

Ê´É®úÊSÉiÉɪÉÉÆ ±ÉʱÉiÉÉ´ªÉÉJªÉɪÉÉÆ ...*’

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.513

59

Arogya¿¡stra by Koccu¸¸i Tampur¡n of Kodungallur (1858-1925 AD) has a

commentary along with the text. P.S. V¡riyar (1869-1944 AD) has also written a

commentary on his own AÀ¶¡´ga¿ar¢ra connecting modern ideas of medical

science. Parame¿varan Namputiri has written a commentary on AÀ¶¡´gah¤daya,

namely V¡kyaprad¢pik¡1.

Tantra works and commentaries

Tantric concept is very old and popular all over Kerala. Many works and

commentaries are available in this field. M¡t¤datta (friend of Da¸·in) has written a

commentary on Rudras£traprapaµcas¡ra. Vivara¸a by Padmap¡da, S¡rasa´graha

by Nity¡nanda are famous tantric commentaries. Valiya Godavarma Tampur¡n

wrote a commentary to Upah¢raprak¡¿ik¡. H¡ri¸¢ is a popular commentary of

ViÀ¸usaÆhit¡ by N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Puliyann£r.

Sarv¡´gasundar¢ by V¡sudeva is a commentary on Prayogas¡ra of

Govinda: ‘|ɪÉÉäMɺÉÉ®ú´ªÉÉJªÉɦÉÚiÉ EÞòiÉÉ

ºÉ´ÉÉÇRÂóMɺÉÖxnù®úÒ

º´ÉhÉÇOÉɨÉÉÊvÉ{ÉäxÉäªÉÆ ´ÉɺÉÖnäù´ÉäxÉ

1 Ibid., vol. I, p.513

60

vÉÒ¨ÉiÉÉ*2’ Pradyota by Trivikrama is a commentary on Prayogamaµjar¢ of

Ravi.

The t¡ntric work Tantras¡rasa´graha of N¡r¡ya¸a has a commentary namely

Mantravimar¿in¢ by author. Bh¡vad¢pik¡ of Nityaprajµa is a popular commentary

on Kramad¢pik¡ of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka. Sr¢kum¡ravy¡khy¡ is also a commentary on

2 Ibid., vol.II, p.593

61

Tatvaprak¡¿a of Bhoja. Subhag¡nandan¡tha’s Manoram¡ is a popular

commentary on tantra.

Prapaµcas¡ra of Sa´kara is an important work on tantra that has many

commentaries. Among them, Prapaµcas¡rasambandhad¢pik¡ of Uttamabodha

(Uttamabodha Yati) is a remarkable one.

´ªÉÉJªÉÉʴɶÉä¹ÉÉxÉɱÉÉäSªÉ ºÉÉ®Æú

ºÉÆMÉÞÁ ªÉixÉiÉ&*

|É{É\SɺÉÉ®úºÉ¨¤ÉxvÉnùÒÊ{ÉEòÉ

®úSªÉiÉä ¨ÉªÉÉ**1

Vijµ¡nadyotin¢ by Trivikrama is also a commentary on Prapaµcas¡ra. ‘<ÊiÉ

Ê´ÉYÉÉxÉtÉäÊiÉxªÉÉÆ |É{É\SɺÉÉ®ú]õÒEòɪÉÉÆ ÊjÉÊ´ÉGò¨ÉEÞòiÉɪÉÉÆ

uùÉËjɶÉiÉ {É]õ±ÉÉ& ºÉ¨ÉÉ{ªÉäªÉÆ Ê´ÉYÉÉxÉtÉäÊiÉxÉÒ ¶É֦ɨɺiÉÖ*’ The

phrases documented at the end of this commentary refer to the author. Another

commentaries like Padmap¡da’s Prapaµcas¡ravy¡khy¡, Prayogakramad¢pik¡,

Prapaµcas¡ravy¡khy¡, N¡r¡ya¸a’s Prapaµcas¡rad¢pa, Nity¡nanda’s

1 Ibid., p. 595

62

Prapaµcas¡rag£¶harthad¢pik¡, N¡gasv¡mi’s Tatvad¢pik¡, are famous and

popular.

Prapaµcas¡raviv¤ti, Prapaµcas¡raprayogaviv¤ti,

Prapaµcas¡rav¤ttivijµ¡nacandrik¡ of unknown authorship are some other

commentaries on Prapaµcas¡ra.

S¡straic works – Vy¡kara¸a

In Kerala from about eighth or ninth centuries AD there has been a

continuous growth in the studies of all branches of Sanskrit. In the ninth century

there was a special centre for the study of

63

vy¡kara¸a¿¡stra in the P¡rthiva¿ekharapura temple in South Travancore.

Commentaries on vy¡kara¸a, ko¿agranthas etc were made and were of

considerable progress in Kerala. The earliest recast of P¡¸inis£tras produced in

Kerala is the R£p¡nayanapaddhati of MahiÀama´galam Sa´karan Namputiri (16th

century AD) who was also a well-known astrologer. Bha¶¶ojad¢kÀita’s

Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ and N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a’s Prakriy¡sarvasva were compiled only

later.

Prakriy¡sarvasva is the most important recast of P¡¸ini’s grammar,

produced in Kerala. Author of this work is N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a of Melputt£r (1560-

1646 AD) Prakriy¡s¡ra is another grammatical work by one N¡r¡ya¸a.1

The manuscript of R£pavuÆ kriy¡padavuÆ2 that is held to be five

hundred years old is also considered as a treatise to be taught as Sanskrit

grammar in past. This work is probably the basis of Siddhar£pa, the popular

primer on Sanskrit grammar.

1 Descriptive catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscript, in the palace Library, Thiruvananthapuram, vol.III, p.998.

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. p.564

64

A.R.Rajaraja Varma (1836-1918 AD) is well known as Kera½ap¡¸ini who has

written two grammatical works Laghup¡¸in¢ya and Ma¸id¢pik¡. He wrote the

second one when he was the principal of the Sanskrit college,

Thiruvananthapuram.

Kaiku½a´´ara R¡mav¡riyar (1832-1896 AD), one of the most outstanding

scholars of Kerala has written PadasaÆsk¡racandrik¡. It is a Malayalam

commentary on Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ that was only for P£rvabh¡ga in which sutras

are discussed elaborately.

65

The P¡¸in¢yapradyota of I.C. Chakko is also a valuable and simple work on

P¡¸ini’s grammar on the model of PadasaÆsk¡racandrik¡ of Ramavaryar of

Kaiku½a´´ara.

Mah¡mahop¡dhy¡ya N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Ki½½ima´galam (1855-1934

AD) has written an original grammatical work called Satokti based on the

Arthavats£tra on the model of Kro·apatras.

Vararucasa´graha of Vararuci (2nd century AD) is the earliest grammatical

work in metrical form that is also a good composition on Sanskrit grammar

produced from Kerala. Pary¡yapad¡val¢ or Vy¡kara¸apad¡val¢ of V¡sudeva and the

Sarvapratyayam¡l¡ of Sa´kar¡c¡rya are the two other metrical works illustrating

various rules of P¡¸in¢yan grammar.

Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡rada¶i (1550-1621AD) the preceptor N¡r¡ya¸a

Bha¶¶a of Melputt£r is a good work of grammar. The work is indented for the use

of beginners of Sanskrit grammar. The Dh¡turatn¡val¢ by a desciple of N¡r¡ya¸a

Bha¶¶a, the Ya´lu´sa´graha of Akkittam N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri and the

Dh¡tup¡¶hak¡rik¡ by Va¶akke¶att Koccu¿a´karan M£ttat (1775-1832 AD) are

66

grammatical works on the line of the Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡ro¶i. Prave¿aka of

AcyutapiÀ¡ro¶i has many commentaries by GovindapiÀ¡ro¶i of T¤kka¸¶iy£r,

V¡su¸¸im£ssat of Ve½½¡´´a¿¿eri (1885-1914 AD) and Ananta N¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri1.

1 Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture.

67

Vaiy¡kara¸asiddh¡ntasa´graha1 of R¡jar¡javarma Tampur¡n (1853-1917 AD)

of E¸¸akka¶¶, is a summury of Bhattojadiksita’s Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ written in

anuÀ¶up metre. Godavarma Bha¶¶an Tampur¡n (1859-1934 AD) of Kodungallur

palace, 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 language

like 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¡vyas

Sr¢cihnak¡vya2 or Govind¡bhiÀeka in pr¡k¤t language by K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka

(14th century AD) is one of the earliest ¿¡strak¡vya of Kerala. In eighth sargas

L¢l¡¿uka narrates the story of K¤À¸a and illustrates the rules of Vararuci’s pr¡k¤t

grammar. Bh¡mat¢vil¡sa of Durg¡pras¡dayati, desciple of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka (14th

century AD) is a commentary on Sr¢cihnak¡vya of K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka. The

1 Ullur.S. Paramesvara iyer, K.S.C, vol.IV, Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, 1990,p.636

2 Being published in the Sanskrit journal of Trivantrum,vol.xiii.no.1

68

Subhadr¡hara¸a of N¡r¡ya¸a (15th century AD) is the most important ¿¡strak¡vya in

Sanskrit produced in Kerala. It is written, as a model of bhakti k¡vya and

illustrating grammatical rules of P¡¸ini. The author was a member of K£¶all£r

Namputiri family. The author wrote a commentary on the work called Vivara¸a.

69

V¡sudevavijaya of V¡sudeva (16th century AD) is attributed by some

scholars to V¡sudevabha¶¶atiri, the author of the YudhiÀ¶hiravjaya. But

K.Kunjunni Raja has rejected this view and established the identity of the author

of the V¡sudevavijaya to an elder contemporary of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a1.

Commentaries

Sabdabh£Àa¸a is a commentary on P¡¸ini’s AÀ¶hadhy¡y¢. N¡r¡ya¸asudhi

is the author of this commentary, who lived at Ponnani in Malappuram district in

Kerala.2 On Gaur¢kaly¡¸a of Govindan¡tha, a commentary namely Pad¡rthav¡din¢

is available by unknown authorship.3

On the grammatical work Daiva, K¤À¸al¢l¡¿uka composed a commentary

called PuruÀak¡ra. P£r¸asarasvati (15th century AD) has written a v¤tti on the

nip¡tas of Sanskrit grammar4. Parame¿vara- II of Payy£r Bha¶¶a family wrote a

commentary called Gop¡lik¡ on the Spo¶asiddhi of Ma¸·anami¿ra. The

1 Op.Cit., C.K.S.L, p.124.

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol. I, p.477

3 Ibid., p. 502

4 Op.Cit., G.S.R, (article) Study of Sanskrit grammar in Kerala, 1995, p. 94

70

Vararucasa´graha of Vararuci has a commentary called D¢paprabh¡ written by

Akkittam N¡r¡ya¸an Namp£tiri. There is another famous commentary called

Vivara¸a5.

5 Descriptive Catalogue of Thiruvananthapuram Palace Library, vol.III, M.S No.805 and 807B.

71

R£p¡vat¡ra of Dharmak¢rti has got three commentaries, which is used as a

textbook on vy¡kara¸a of Kerala, they are Tatv¡rthad¢pik¡ by a disciple of

N¡r¡ya¸abha¶¶a, Tatv¡rthad¢pik¡ (Incomplete of unknown authorship and date)

and Nivi by Sa´karav¡riyar (16th century AD).

N.V.P.Unithiri states that the famous vy¡kara¸a work, Prakriy¡sarvasva of

Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a, has seven commentaries. N¢laka¸¶ha D¢kÀita (18th

century AD) has written a commentary1 who lived under the Patronage of

P£r¡¶am Tirun¡½ Devan¡r¡ya¸a king of Alappuzha. There is also an incomplete

commentary on the Prakriy¡sarvasva entitled the Prak¡¿ik¡ published from the

Thrivanandapuram Sanskrit series.

Ullur also stated that one Prak¡¿ik¡ commentary on Prakriy¡sarvasva was

written by Rudrav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam, (teacher of the famous Manorama

Tampur¡¶¶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¡sarvasva

1 See. ‘Manuscript notes, S.V. Iyer, Sanskrit Journal of Thiruvananthapuram, vol.II, 1947

p.2-3

72

with his own ¶ippa¸i and he has given footnotes to it. K. Subrahmanya Sastri, the

former curator of the manuscript Library Thiruvananthapuram has written a

commentary called Saµcik¡ on the uttarabh¡ga of the Prakriy¡sarvasva and it has

been published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Siries.No.139.

73

Ki½½ima´galaÆ N¡r¡ya¸an Namp£tiri has studied vy¡kara¸a¿¡stra from K£¶all£r

Mana and has commented upon certain portions of Prakriy¡sarvasva.

The Pr¡k¤taprak¡¿av¤tti of R¡map¡¸iv¡da (18th century AD) Arthaprak¡¿ik¡

or Vimar¿in¢ a commentary on the Siddh¡ntakaumud¢ by Koccu¿a´karan

M£ttatu of Va¶akke·att (1775-1832 AD) and the Pras¡da commentary on

N¡ge¿abha¶¶a’s Laghu¿abdendu¿ekhara by SubraÅma¸yan Namputiri of

Pa¶utol (1823-1861 AD) are also remarkable. Prave¿aka of AcyutapiÀ¡ro¶i has

been commented by Laghuviv¤ti written by P.S. Ananta n¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri, by

T¤kka¸¶iy£r GovindapiÀ¡ro¶i 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 authorship

on Ya´lu´sa´graha of N¡r¡ya¸an Namputiri of Akkittam is also worth mention for

its simplicity.

Vivara¸a is a popular commentary of BraÅmadatta N¡r¡ya¸an (15th century

AD) on Subhadr¡hara¸a. The commentary on V¡sudevavijaya of V¡sudeva (8th

century AD) K¤À¸aprajµ¡ and Vivara¸a on Dh¡tuk¡vya of Melputt£r N¡r¡ya¸a

74

Bha¶¶atiri 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¡vya1 dealing with

1 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.III, p.23.

75

vy¡kara¸a written after the Prakriy¡sarvasva of N¡r¡ya¸a Bha¶¶a 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 contributed

many commentaries on it. B¡lapriy¡ of Kaikku½a´´ara Ramavariyar, P¡rame¿var¢

of T.C Parame¿varan M£ssatu are popular and valuable commentaries from

Kerala. J¡taved¡dhvari has written a commentary called Subodhin¢1 on

Amarako¿a in Malayalam.

ºÉƺEÞòiÉ Eäò®ú±É

¦ÉɹÉɦÉänùʴɽþÒxÉÉÊxÉ ºÉƺEÞòiÉèºiÉèºiÉè&*

ʦÉzÉÉÊxÉ iÉÖ xÉɨÉÉÊxÉ |ÉÉäSªÉxiÉä

Eäò®ú±ÉҪɦÉɹÉÉʦÉ&**

Sande¿ak¡vyas

Apart from literary merits, the Sanskrit sande¿ak¡vyas are one of the

primary source of geography and history of our country. Among the Sanskrit

works, the sande¿ak¡vya branch stands in a notable position. The Meghasande¿a

of K¡½id¡sa has inspired for the origin of several sande¿ak¡vyas in Kerala with

commentaries.

1 Ibid., p.588

76

The earliest and the most important sande¿ak¡vya of Kerala is the

Sukasande¿a of LakÀm¢d¡sa (14th century AD). Many sande¿ak¡vyas were

produced from Kerala. Some of them are notable from the historical standpoint.

They are Hamsasande¿a of P£r¸asarasvati (14th centuryAD), Kokilasande¿a of

Udda¸·a S¡stri (15th century AD) the May£rasande¿a of Udayar¡ja (16th century

AD), K¡masande¿a of M¡t¤datta, (16th century AD) the

77

Bh¤´gasande¿a also called Bhramarasande¿a by one V¡sudeva (17th century AD),

Subhagasande¿a of N¡r¡ya¸a (17th centuryAD), C¡takasande¿a of an unknown

Brahmin (18th century AD) from Tirum¡ndh¡mkunnu near Perintalmanna in

Malapuram district and the N¢laka¸¶hasande¿a by Sr¢dharan Nambi of

Punna¿¿eri (1774-1030 AD).

Sukasande¿a of LakÀm¢d¡sa has many commentaries. There are many

commentaries 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¡ro¶i,

two Tippa¸is called Vy¡k¤ti and Pad¡rthad¢pik¡ by Anantan¡r¡ya¸a S¡stri and

Kerala Varma Valiyakoil Tampuran respectively. In the Vil¡sin¢ commentary of

M¡naveda it has been documented as; ‘<ÊiÉ

¶ÉÖEòºÉxnäù¶É´ªÉÉJªÉɪÉÉÆ nùÉèiªÉªÉÉäVÉxÉÆ

xÉÉ¨É ÊuùiÉÒªÉ|ÉEò®úhɨÉÂ*’1. Reference about Pad¡rthad¢pik¡

on Sukasande¿a is from the Vil¡sin¢ commentary as “the anonymous author of

the Pad¡rthad¢pik¡ commentary on Sukasande¿a compares the poem to a deep

1 Ibid., vol.I, p.316.(Vil¡sin¢ commentary of Manaveda, ed N.P.Unni, Nag Publishers New Delhi,1985.)

78

ocean abounding in incomprehensible expression and the commentary to a stick

enable one to cross it2.”

Disciple of Sa´kara one Payy£r Parame¿vara Bha¶¶a has composed a

commentary namely Sumanorama¸¢ on Meghasande¿a. Vidyullat¡3 on

Meghasande¿a with the

2 Ed. N.P.Unni, Vil¡sin¢ commentary of Manaveda, Nag Publishers, New Delhi, 1985, p.61

3 Vidyullat¡, Vanivilasam press, Sreerangam, 1989

79

commentaries Prad¢pa and Vidyullat¡1 by P£r¸asarasvati are popular among

them. Commentary on May£rasande¿a of Udayaraja by C. Kunjan Raja (1895-

1964 AD) is also remarkable.

Commentaries on creative writings

There are a number of commentaries from Kerala on famous Sanskrit

creative works. Various commentators are interpreted such works on different

standpoints. Such commentaries are very useful and they keep novelty. The

famous commentator Aru¸agirin¡tha observes that every commentator desires to

add something of their own contributions to what has already been explained by

their predecessors:

+ɱÉÉäSªÉ {ÉÚ´ÉÇ]õÒEòɶSÉ ±ÉIÉhÉÉÊxÉ

SÉ vÉÒ¨ÉiÉɨÉÂ*

Ê´ÉÊxĘ́ÉiÉÉ ¨ÉªÉÉ ºÉäªÉÆ

ºÉÉä{ɪÉÉäMÉÉ ¦ÉʴɹªÉÊiÉ**

xÉ SÉä½þ {ÉÚ´ÉÇ]õÒEòÉʦÉ& Eèò¨ÉlÉÇCªÉ

|ÉiÉÒªÉiÉɨÉÂ*

1 Ed. Dr. N.P. Unni, Meghasande¿a with the commentaries Prad¢pa, Vidyullat¡, Sumanorama¸¢,

Bharatiyavidhya prakasan, New Delhi 1987

80

ªÉiÉÉä Ê´Éuùx¨ÉiÉÉ ºÉ´ÉÉæ xÉ ºÉ´ÉÈ

{ɶªÉiÉÒÊiÉ ´ÉÉEÂò**2

The 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 commented

Mah¡k¡vyas. The famous commentator Aru¸agirin¡tha (14th to 16th century AD) is

also called ‘A¸¸¡mala’ who wrote commentaries on RaghuvaÆ¿a and

Kum¡rasambhava of K¡½id¡sa, each commentary is known as Prak¡¿ik¡3. It is

known

2 Op.Cit., Indian Theories of Hermeneutics, (article) The art of commentary: precepts and practices by N.P.

Unni, p.95

3 RaghuvaÆ¿a with Prak¡¿ik¡, Ravivarma Sansikrit Series.No.3, Thrippunithura, Kochi, 1964

81

as ‘A¸¸¡malavy¡khy¡na’ -<ÊiÉ ®úɨÉnùkɺÉÚxÉÖxÉÉ

+¯ûhÉÊMÉÊ®úxÉÉlÉäxÉ Ê´É®úÊSÉiÉɪÉÉÆ

®úvÉÖ´ÉƶÉ|ÉEòÉʶÉEòɪÉÉÆ |ÉlɨɺÉMÉÇ&*1

N¡raya¸apa¸·ita (17th century AD), Kaikula´´ara R¡mav¡riyar (19th century

AD) and Sarvajµavanamuni ( ) have commented upon Kum¡rasambhava by name

Vivara¸a, Preyas¢ and Si¿ubodhin¢ respectively. Pad¡rthad¢pik¡ by N¡raya¸apa¸·ita

and SalakÀa¸a by Sarvajµavanamuni (only for five sargas) on RaghuvaÆ¿a are

famous commentaries from Kerala. JayasiÆh¡c¡rya¿iÀya of De¿ama´galam,

R¡mav¡riyar (1832-1896 AD) of Kaiku½a´´ara and R¡mapiÀ¡ro¶i of Ki¶a´´£r are

the other commentators on Kum¡rasambhava.

B¡labharata of Agastyabha¶¶a (13th century AD) a valuable k¡vya which

contains twenty sargas. It follows {É\SɨɽþÉEòÉ´ªÉ lakÀa¸as. It was

commented on by unknown authorship. Vatakkumkur documented that it is

available in two forms. One is in the form of translation of original work and

second one is vy¡khy¡na named Manohara2.

1 Op.Cit., K..S.S.C, vol.I, p.195

2 Ibid., vol.II, p.16

82

B¡labodhin¢ or B¡labodhik¡ is the commentary on Si¿up¡lavadha of M¡gha

by Sr¢ka¸¶hav¡riyar of De¿ama´galam (15th century AD) and SandehaviÀauÀadh¢

of K¤À¸abha¶¶a are famous. On Kir¡t¡rjun¢ya of Bh¡ravi there are several

commentaries from Kerala. One of them is by Vidy¡m¡dhava by

83

name 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 (16th century

AD), 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 as

B¡lap¡¶hya and ViÀ¸upriy¡ respectively. Vil¡sin¢ is the famous commentary of

R¡map¡¸iv¡da on Sr¢k¤À¸avil¡sak¡vya of Sukum¡rakavi. Maµjubh¡Ài¸¢ is also a

commentary 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 on

A´galas¡mr¡jya of A.R.Rajaraja Varma. Vivara¸a of K¤À¸apa¸·ita is a famous

commentary on Pravarasena’s Setubandha is noteworthy.

Commentaries on yamakak¡vya

Yamakak¡vya is a very old form of k¡vya style of Kerala. Keralites have

contributed numerous original works and commentaries on yamaka poems.

YudhiÀ¶hiravijaya of V¡sudeva Bha¶¶atiri has at least four commentaries. They

1 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C vol.I, p.399

84

are Pad¡rthacintana by R¡ghavav¡riyar alias Sr¢ka¸¶had¡sa (15th century AD),

Ratnaprad¢pik¡ by Sivad¡sa, Vijayadar¿ik¡ by Acyuta and Kavika¸¶h¡bhara¸a by

Sr¢ka¸¶ha. Vatakumkur has quoted a verse from Ratnaprad¢pik¡ 2 as:

2 Ibid., p.166

85

ªÉÖÊvÉι`ö®VɪÉä EòÉ´ªÉä xÉɨxÉÉ

®úixÉ|ÉnùÒÊ{ÉEòÉ*

ÊGòªÉiÉä ʶɴÉnùɺÉäxÉ ´ªÉÉJªÉÉ

ºÉ´ÉÉÇxÉÖºÉÉÊ®úhÉÒ**

Tripuradahana is another popular yamakak¡vya of V¡sudeva which was

commented upon by N¢laka¸¶ha called Arthaprak¡¿ik¡. Saur¢kathodaya of

V¡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 (18th century

AD) Vivara¸a by ViÀ¸u and Vy¡khy¡ by N¢laka¸¶ha are commentaries on

Na½odaya, yet another yamakak¡vya of V¡sudeva. Pad¡rthavedin¢ by a disciple of

N¡r¡ya¸a on Gaur¢kaly¡¸a of Govindan¡tha and Rudr¡rthad¢pik¡ by Rudrami¿ra

(10th century AD) on Ragh£daya of Sr¢ka¸¶hav¡riyar are also included in this

group.

Commentaries on camp£k¡vyas

Camp£k¡vyas or prabanthas are notable in Keralite’s literature on

Sanskrit. A number of works and commentaries are available on camp£k¡vyas.

1 Ibid., p.167

86

Karu¸¡kara and M¡naveda (1765-1840 AD) have written commentaries on

R¡m¡ya¸acamp£ of Bhoja. K¤À¸apiÀ¡ro¶i of An¡yatt (17th century AD) commented

the P£rvabh¡ratacamp£ of M¡naveda. Arthavimar¿in¢ of P¡ccu M£ttat of

Vaikkam (1815-1883 AD) is a famous commentary on R¡jas£ya. Tara¸anall£r

Govindan Namputirip¡· has written a commentary on Sant¡nagop¡la.

87

Commentaries on stotrak¡vyas

Kerala’s contribution to the stotra and commentaries on stotra literature is

substantial. Y¡ska defines stotra as ‘|ɶÉƺÉÉEòÉ®úEÆò ºÉÚjÉÆ

ºiÉÉäjɨÉÂ*’ and Amarasimha defines ‘ºiÉ´ÉÆ ºiÉÉäjÉÆ

ºiÉÖÊiÉxÉÖÇÊiÉ <iªÉ¨É®ú&*1’. A number of stotrak¡vyas are

famous and many of them commented by prominent scholars especially in Kerala.

ViÀ¸usahasran¡ma is a stotra work which is commented by two Keralite scholars.

One of them is Laghuvivara¸a by N¢laka¸¶han Namputiri (17th century AD) of

K£¶all£r he was born at Me½att£r Agnihotri family2 and another one is

Haribhaktik¡madhenu by Anantan¡r¡ya¸a (18th century AD) of Coravana.

Bh¡gavata is a stotrak¡vya on it have many commentaries from Kerala.

Melputt£r Naraya¸a Bha¶¶a has commented the Bh¡gavata verse beginning:

‘ªÉtºÉVVÉx¨É…’. The Budharaµjin¢ by one V¡sudeva are noteworthy in this

regard:

xÉi´ÉÉ EÞò¹hÉ{ÉnùùuùxuÆù ´ÉɺÉÖnäù´ÉäxÉ ªÉixÉiÉ&*

1 Amarako¿a, P¡rmesvar¢ commentary, chapt. I, p.158

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.525

88

ÊGòªÉiÉä nù¶É¨ÉºEòxvÉ]õÒEäòªÉÆ ¤ÉÖvÉ®Î\VÉxÉÒ**3

Vatakumkur4 documents as ‘<ÊiÉ

¸ÉÒ¨Éi{É®ú¨É½ÆþºÉ{ÉÊ®úµÉÉSÉEòÉSÉɪÉǸÉÒEÞò¹hÉÉxÉxnùVÉ{ÉÚVªÉ{ÉÉnù

ʶɹªÉºªÉ ¸ÉÒ¨ÉnÂù ®úÉPÉ´ÉÉxÉxnù¨ÉÖÊxÉEÞòiÉÉè

¸ÉÒ¦ÉÉMÉ´ÉiÉ´ªÉÉJªÉɪÉÉÆ EÞòiºxÉÆ {ÉtÆ nù¶É¨ÉºEòxvÉä

xÉ´ÉÊiÉiɨÉÉvªÉɪÉ&*’ It can be assumed

3 Ibid., vol.I, p.338

4 lbid., vol.I, Pp.334-335

89

that 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 as

a commentator. K¤À¸apadi on the Bh¡gavata is a good commentary written by

him. Other stotra commentaries of R¡ghav¡nanda are V¤tti on Laghustuti of

Laghubha¶¶¡raka, Vivara¸a on Param¡rthas¡ra of SeÀa, T¡tparya¶¢k¡ on

Mukundam¡l¡ of Kula¿¡khara, Vy¡khy¡ on ViÀ¸ubhujangapray¡ta of Sa´kara.

Laghub¤mh¸¢ by Parame¿var¡c¡rya1 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¡ by

R¡mapiÀ¡ro¶i, are outstanding commentaries. Both on N¡r¡ya¸¢ya and

Sr¢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¡ by

N¡r¡ya¸a Namb¢¿an of M£riyil (20th century AD) are popular. Bh¡vaprak¡¿ik¡ is a

commentary on Srutig¢t¡ of unknown authorship2.

1 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.339

2 Ibid., vol.I, p.525

90

Bhaktiras¡yana by Ramacandra is a valuable commentary on

K¤À¸akar¸¡m¤ta of Vilvamangala. Kodungallur Kunjikuttan Tampur¡n has

commented on it3. H½¡din¢ by Anantan¡r¡ya¸a

3 Op.Cit., (article), Sanskrit in Kerala commentary Litareture, p.232

91

S¡stri: ‘<ÊiÉ +xÉxiÉxÉÉ®úɪÉhɶÉÉκjÉEÞòiÉɪÉÉÆ ¼±ÉÉÊnùxªÉÉJªÉɪÉÉÆ

xɴɨɺÉMÉÇ& ºÉ¨ÉÉ{iÉ&* MÉÖ¯û¦ªÉÉä xɨÉ&*’ and Vipaµcik¡ is also an

exhaustive popular commentary on K¤À¸ag¢t¢ of M¡naveda1.

Commentaries on poetics

In the field of poetics many works and commentaries have came down to

us. Some of such works and commentaries are noted here. The famous and

popular work K¡vyaprak¡¿a of Mama¶abha¶¶a (11th century AD) has two

commentaries of Keralites namely K¡vyaprak¡¿ottejin¢ by Ved¡nt¡c¡rya2 and

K¡vyoll¡sa by N¢laka¸¶ha of Tiruma´gala (16th century AD). N¢laka¸¶ha is the

author of ManuÀy¡layacandrik¡ and M¡ta´gal¢la. The commentary is only on the

tenth chapter of K¡vyaprak¡¿a dealing with ala´k¡ras and it is called

Ravir¡jaya¿obh£Àa¸a since it eulogizes king Ravivarma of Kochi.

Samudrabandha (14th century AD) has written a commentary on

Ala´k¡rasarvasva of Ruyyaka. To the great and popular poetic work Dhvany¡loka of

Anandavardhana there is a comprehensive gloss by Prof. S. Nilakanthasastri. One

1 Ibid.,vol.III, p.224

2 Op.Cit., C.K..S.L, p.163

92

notable point is that Kerala can be proud of half a dozen commentaries on

Dhvany¡lokalocana of Abhinavagupta. Kaumud¢ by Udaya (14th century AD) and

Aµjana by D¡¿arathi (17th century AD) are available only up to the end of the first

udyota of Dhvany¡lokalocana.

93

There 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¡ by

K.R¡mapiÀ¡ro¶i who has contributed other prominent commentaries on poetics

and dramaturgy, such as Appayyad¢kÀita’s Kuvalay¡nanda, and Citram¢m¡Æs¡

and Dhanaµjaya’s Da¿ar£paka. Damodaran Namputiri of Polpukara (1882-1964

AD) has written a commentary on Madhus£danasarasvati’s Bhaktiras¡yana.

Kerala Sanskrit drama literature

Drama is an important part of Indian culture. A number of dramas and

commentaries are available from Kerala. Among thirteen plays of Bh¡sa

AbhiÀekan¡¶aka and Pratim¡n¡¶aka are commented on from Kerala.

Ullur opines that P£r¸asarasvati has written a commentary on

Abhijµ¡na¿¡kuntala of Kalidasa1. Anvayabodhin¢ by a member of K£¶all£r family,

Tippa¸a by unknown authorship, S¡r¡rthad¢pik¡ by R¡mavarma and R¡mapiÀ¡ro¶i

are another commentaries on Abhijµ¡na¿¡kuntala.

1 Op.Cit., K.S.C, vol.II, p.287.

94

Mah¡v¢racarita of Bhavabh£ti has a Tippa¸a. It might have been written by

Abhir¡ma2. Rasamaµjar¢ by P£r¸asarasvati is a valuable commentary on

M¡lat¢m¡dhava of Bhavabh£ti. Kunjunni Raja notes that a commentary on

Uttarar¡macarita of Bhavabh£ti

2 GaveÀa¸aprabandhanal, N.V.P.Unithiri, National Bookstall, Kottayam,1979, p.68

95

is available and only the author’s name as Bharadv¡jagr¡ma who was a follower of

Bh¡¶¶a school of m¢m¡Æsa1 is seen referred.

An anonymous commentary is available on A¿caryac£·¡ma¸i of

Saktibhadra. Vatakkumkur refers to it as Viv¤ti2. There are three other

commentaries on Karp£ramaµjar¢ of R¡ja¿ekhara. They are Vy¡khy¡ by SiÆhar¡ja

(14th century AD) Prak¡¿a by V¡sudevan Namputiri of M£kkola and

Pad¡rthad¢pik¡ by Anantad¡sa (17th century AD).

Vimar¿in¢ on N¡g¡nanda of HarÀa, and Vic¡ratilaka and Vivara¸a

commentaries on Subhadr¡dhanaµjaya and Tapat¢saÆvara¸a of Kula¿ekhara

respectively. Govind¡m¤tayatin’s N¡¶ak¡bhara¸a on K¤À¸ami¿ra’s allegorical

drama Prabodhacandrodaya is one of the important commentaries.

Sr¢vidy¡kaumud¢ on P£r¸aauruÀ¡rthacandrodaya another allegorical drama, was

written by Keralite named J¡taveda of unknown authorship3.

Conclusion

1 Op.Cit., C.K..S.L, p.211

2 Op.Cit., K.S.S.C, vol.I, p.301

3 Op.Cit., (article) Sanskrit in Kerala Commentarial Litareture, p.231

96

Contribution of Keralites to various fields of literature of Sanskrit is

considerable and valuable by all means. The writers from Kerala had written

excellent commentaries on all standard original works. Among the commentaries

of Kerala that of Sa´kar¡c¡rya is the turning point. Among other writers mention

may be made of Govindabha¶¶atiri also

97

known as Talaku½att£r Bha¶¶atiri who wrote Da¿¡dhy¡y¢ commentary on the

B¤hajj¡taka of Var¡hamihira.

Particular mention may be made of the 14th century poet commentator

P£r¸asarasvati’s Vidyullat¡ on Meghasande¿a and Rasamaµjar¢ on

M¡lat¢m¡dhava, Aru¸agirin¡tha’s (15th century AD) Prak¡¿ik¡ commentary on

Kum¡rasambhava1 and RaghuvaÆ¿a, Abhir¡ma’s Di´m¡tradar¿ana2 and

Abhijµ¡na¿¡kuntalacarcca of unknown authorship are also deserve special

mention.

Dr. T.G. Mainkar rightly says “It is an unfortunate trend to neglect these

commentaries. Often very sweeping generalizations, based primarily on ignorance

and perhaps through prejudice towards Sanskrit and handwork are made

condemning these commentaries as ‘useless literature’ a serious student of

Sanskrit however, cannot afford to neglect this precious treasure3”.

1 Kum¡rasambhava, TSS. RaghuvaÆ¿a, Sanskrit college Publication, Thrippunithura

2 Ed. A.R. Rajaraja Varma, Thiruvananthapuram.

3 T.G. Mainkar, Studies in Sanskrit dramatic criticism, Motilal Benarsi dass, New Delhi, in preface.