The present work is a compilation of papers written on different occasions and presented in different venues. But they have one thing in common: all of them are attempts to explore the intellectual history of Kerala from the angle of her Sanskritic tradition. As I have argued in the subsequent pages, Sanskrit and the culture it represents have percolated deep into the psyche of Kerala, influencing her language, knowledge systems, and ways of life. The remarkable contributions made by Kerala scholars in Vedic literature, Classical Sanskrit literature, schools of Indian philosophy, grammar, mathematics, historiography, Vastuvudya, and Commentary literature all point to the manner in which Sanskrit scholarship was nurtured in this part of the subcontinent. Sanskrit tradition paved the way for a rich performance tradition including Kutiyattam, Krishnanattam and Kathakali, the later being originally a theatre of the epics. The high percentage of Sanskrit words in the Malayalam language testify to the enduring influence of Sanskrit. Importantly, Keralite authors were not simply repeating the contents of original texts written elsewhere. The remarkable progress Kerala has made in disciplines like Ayurveda and Vastuvidya is actually due to a fusion of different traditions of knowledge.
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive treatment of Kerala's contributions towards Sanskrit tradition which may require several volumes. All I hope is to present some rough contours of the remarkable contributions of the erudite Sanskrit authors to some areas of knowledge in the past, which would help us to appreciate the role Sanskrit played in Kerala's intellectual history. Though the tradition almost died out in the past, Kerala studies are gaining momentum at the global level and we could retrieve lost streams of tradition in future. I remember that when I was appointed as Visiting Professor at Sree Sankaracharya University some time back, Dr. P.K. Dharmarajan, the present Vice Chancellor of the University, who was the Head of the Department of Sahitya at that time, had suggested that I should write some books during my tenure, so that these could be brought as University publications. This is the main inspiration behind the present publication. However, due to my other commitments, this could materialize only now. I am happy that I could hand over the script at least now, to Dr.V.R. Muralidharan, another former student of mine at Calicut University who is the present head of the department. I am thankful to him, other colleagues of Department and the University authorities who made the publication possible.
Kerala, from a very remote past, was known for its original Sanskrit heritage and art forms and many scholars have attempted to trace out the contributions of Kerala on particular areas of that tradition. Though Dravidian by origin and is connected with Tamil for centuries, Malayalam, the vernacular language of Kerala, wholeheartedly accepted the treasures of Sanskrit, literally and in spirit. So, Sanskrit became a part of the cultural and literal activities of the last few centuries. The tradition of Kerala and Vedic culture, Mimamsa philosophy, Sanskrit grammar, Historical literature, Art forms like Kutiyattam, Dramas and translations of Sanskrit works and other remarkable attempts reveal the quality and quantity of Sanskrit sources in the cultural tradition of Kerala. Each of these, needs special attention for further research in the form of interdisciplinary studies and evaluation. It is really a herculean task to collect and provide some critical comments on these topics in a very systematic and scientific research-oriented manner. Dr. C. Rajendran, senior Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Calicut, presently working as the Dean of Sanskrit Literature and Visiting professor of the Department of Sanskrit Sahitya, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, is a universally accepted scholar and is the teacher of all of us for the last thirty or more years. He has written a number of books in English, Malayalam and, of course in Sanskrit. His areas of interest are not in Sanskrit alone, but in world literature as a whole which is evidenced in all his writings. In this book, entitled Multiple Streams of Kerala's Sanskrit Tradition', Dr. C. Rajendran has led us through various areas of the cultural and literary domains of knowledge which are interrelated both with Sanskrit and Malayalam. The first article is a general sketch of Sanskrit heritage of Kerala. Then he moves to trace out the Vedic culture of Kerala especially in the revival and preservation of the Vedic lore. It follows with a summary of the contribution of Mimamsa philosophy in Kerala. Then he proceeds to evaluate the volume and quality of contribution of Kerala scholars to Sanskrit grammar. Thus, discussing the Vedic, Mimamsa and grammatical realms of Sanskrit, Dr. C. Rajendran, as a true historian of Sanskrit literature, turns to the historical recordings of some of the royal families of Kerala in the Sanskrit language. For this he introduces the Musakavamsa, a historical epic poem of the tenth century AD attributed to Atula. As a lover and practitioner of Karnatic music, then he has traced out the texts and traditions of Kerala's musical heritage. Kutiyattam may be considered as the only available performing theatre of Sanskrit drama which is the intangible heritage of Kerala from the last ten or more centuries. So, Dr. C. Rajendran provides some clear picture about.
the Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala. This study on Kutiyattam follows the specific study on Ascaryacudamani of Saktibhadra, a Sanskrit drama of the nineth century AD from Kerala on the story of Rama which is enacted in Kutiyattam theatre from a long past. The last articles are related with the impact of Sanskrit in Malayalam literature. The first one focuses on the adaptation of Pancatantra by Kuncan Nampiar. Finally, Dr.C. Rajendran evaluates the impact of Sanskrit in the post-colonial Malayalam literature. Thus, each and every article of these ten are self-sufficient in its own way, but are related with each other in one or another way. A synthesis of all these areas may provide a clear picture of the cultural and literary wisdom of Kerala, which is undoubtedly connected with Sanskrit in many ways. There are, of course, areas untouched in this small volume, like scientific and technical fields of Sanskrit in Kerala. But is not an easy task to cover all the topics in such a compact work. However, this showers sufficient light to many hitherto untouched areas on the cultural and literary fields and will be helpful to the researchers for further attempts in those multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary areas with new insights. Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady celebrates its silver jubilee in this year and we have decided to publish some valuable studies in the form of books as a part of the academic venture of the institution. Dr.C. Rajendran offered this collection of articles, which were presented in various national seminars and the like and he arranged the same in a unique and related structure, so that it will reflect the multiple streams of Kerala traditions of Sanskrit. We are thankful to our teacher, Dr. C. Rajendran for his willingness to publish this book in this particular juncture. We are also thankful to Dr. Dharmaraj Adat, the Hon. Vice Chancellor of the university and other authorities who selected this as a publication of our prestigious institution.
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