Talk:Maṇipravāla

By Swami Harshananda

maṇipravāla (‘jewel and pearls’)

Tamil and Malayālam are two languages considered of a Draviḍian origin and not derived from or related to Sanskrit. As Sanskrit became more and more popular, it also became a favourite of the scholars. There seems to have arisen a need to integrate it with Malayālam and Tamil, and, produce a new style of composition. This came to be known as ‘maṇipravālam’ (maṇi = jewel like ruby or diamond; pravāla = pearl), Malayālam being the ‘maṇi’ and Sanskrit being the ‘pravālam’.

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The origin of this style is attributed to the poet Tolan in the court of the king Kulaśekhara (circa 9th century A. D.).

Līlātilaka, a grammar of Malayālam, has systematised this style and has also evolved the necessary rules. It might have been composed around the middle of the 15th century.

In this style of writing, Malayālam words and Sanskrit words already present in the common language of the people have been fused into one.

The maṇipravāla literature is generally divided into two styles, sandeśa and campu. Unnanilisandeśa composed probably during A. D. 1315 is a typical work of the sandeśa group.

In the campu works, the poetry part is in Sanskrit metres. The prose part is in the style of Malayālam and Tamil.

The Rāmāyana-campu and the Bhāratacampu are two important works of this class.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore