Masterpieces leave to the world the task of explaining thern. The Adhyatma Ramayana of Eluthacchan (A.R.) is no exception. It can be approached in different ways. The present thesis attempts to study the grammatical structure of the A.R.
Eluthacchan, in many respects, is unique. He is at once a poet of the highest genius and a great social reformer. He created no new characters; invented no new themes or situations of his own. All the same, he is looked upon as the greatest poet in Malayalam. Eluthacchan has become a part of the cultural legacy of Kerala as Shakespeare has of England or Kälidasa has of India.
The Adhyatma Ramayanam (A.R.) here and henceforth means the Ramayanam Kilippattu excluding the Uttara Ramayanam. The text followed is the 2nd edition of the A.R. published in 1963 by the Travancore Devaswam Board. Obvious mistakes like 'murppura vairi (Balakandam: Line 19: page 8) for 'muppura vairi (the enemy of the demons called tripuras) have, however, been corrected. The Mss. Library of Kerala University itself has 213 manuscripts of the A.R. It is regarded as a work of spiritual devotion and was copied out by many hands and innumerable manuscripts still exist. No attempt has been made to prepare a variorum edition of the work, though, such a work is overdue.
This thesis consists of two parts. The first is the grammar and the second, the index verborum. The norms followed in the preparation of the index have been explained in the prefatory note to it.
Prof. N.R. Gopinatha Pillai's contributions to Malayalam Linguistics are quite substantial and will be remembered for ever. He taught Malayalam grammar and Linguistics in various Colleges and in the University Department of Kerala which roughly extends a period of four decades. In 1980, the University of Kerala awarded Ph.D. degree for his dissertation on Descriptive Grammar of Eluttacchan's Adhyatma Ramayanam. Prof. V.I. Subramoniam was his supervising Teacher. On the initiations from Prof. V.I. Subramoniam, N.R. Gopinatha Pillai wrote several articles on Malayalam Linguistics.
A few days before his demise, Prof. Gopinatha Pillai sent his Ph.D. dissertation to International School of Dravidian Linguistics with a request to publish it. Taking in to consideration of the merit of the dissertation, the Council of Direction of ISDL gave sanction to publish the grammar part of this work.
Through the works of Eluttacchan the literary language of Malayalam attained standardization. It got acceptability beyond the barriers of regional or dialectical variations. He successfully combined the rules of pattu and Manipravaļa genres for the creation of an elegant literary style for Malayalam. Adhyatma Ramayanam was his first poetical work in which he introduced his experiments for the renovation of the literary style existed in Malayalam. So the study of the language used by Eluttacchan in Adhyatma Ramayanam is linguistically relevant. N.R. Gopinatha Pillai did a commendable job to analise the intricacies of techniques used by Eluttacchan in creating a new literary language for the narration of Ramayanam which eventually became the sacred text of Hindus in Kerala.
This dissertation supplies valuable information on the life and times of Eluttacchan who is affectionately called as the Father of Malayalam Language'. The twenty points enumeration of the features of Eluttacchan's diction is an intelligent contribution to the study of Eluttacchan. N.R. Gopinatha Pillai (hereafter NRG) presents a very detailed and accurate account of the Malayalam phonemes and Morphophonemics. The chapters on Noun and Verb also present a very insightful analysis of the structure of Malayalam Nouns and Verbs. With mathematical accuracy N.R.G carried out the classification of the verb stems. On the whole this study is a product of indepth study and research on the analysis of Eluttacchan's language. Differences of opinion are also recorded wherever they are necessary in the elaborate appendixes.
The second part of this dissertation is the Index verborum of Adhyatma Ramayanam. It is a monumental proof of N.R.G's hard work and patience. Index of the dissertation will be of great help to the scholars engaged in preparing a detailed history of Malayalam.
No doubt, this work is a valuable contribution to the study of the Malayalam language in general and to the study of Eluttacchan in particular.
Eluttacchan or Tuncattu Eluttacchan is acclaimed the 'father of modern Malayalam'. He is admittedly the most popular and honoured seer-poet in Kerala. The admiration of his country men has built a legendary mass of stories around him. His is an epoch making period. Malayalam poetry attained new heights, perhaps one of its zeniths, in his time. His creations sharpened the aesthetic sensibilities of generations; created a new awareness of classical characters and situations; set new standards in poetic diction; opened new vistas of creative excellence and metamorphosed the literary outlook of generations, No wonder, Malayalam still looks upon him for inspiration and imitation.
Eluttacchan was the architect of an age in Malayalam literature. The age in which he lived, in fact, badly required him. The language had deteriorated so awfully: with it the literature and culture and an overall redemption was indispensable. And, just then, he came.
The easy short-cut to feel Eluttacchan's importance is an examination of the state of Malayalam just before him. Society in general was the boiling pot of petty feuds and clan-rivalry. Vulgar middle class landlordism of the feudal type made society chaotic Social disorder was the order of the day. Tuft-hunting and philandering hobbledehoys of feudal ranks were quite a game for voluptuous women. Social standards deteriorated: poetry and literature had ebbed out of life. The advent of the western trading and commercial classes made matters worse. Their ventures, born out of profit-motive disgraced Hindu Society in many ways. The foreigners participated actively in the clan-rivalry and made capital out of the existing social ills. Hinduism was stifled in its internals. It was at this critical juncture in Kerala's social life that Eluttacchan was born. Nature had conspired with time to bring about his birth.
THE NAME OF ELUTTACCHAN
The name of 'Eluttacchan' has got a mist around it. Nothing definite is known about the "given name" of the poet. He is generally called Eluttacchan. This is not a personal name. It may have been a caste name or an honorific title, Eluttacchan is a compound of 'eluttu', 'letter' and 'acchan', "father' or a 'venerable man'. Giving the meaning 'father' to 'acchan' scholars mistakingly interpreted the term Eluttacchan as the father of Malayalam and graciously conferred the title upon the poet.
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