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CHAPTER II

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHATTAMPI

SWAMIKAL

Early Life

Chattampi Swamikal was one of the greatest

legendary social reformers of Kerala. He firmly

followed typical qualities of an ideal person and

involved in Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, BraÅmacarya

and Aparigraha. His religious influence widened

the vision of all people. He gave self confidence to

numerous people leaving a mark in the religious

approach. Swamikal worked with his current soul

mate Narayana Guru to bring social equality to the

caste ridden Hindu Society in Kerala.

Vidy¡dhiraja Chattampi Swamikal was

born in 1853 August 25th on Thursday 2 pm in the

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birth star of Bara¸i. His family was a part of

Macchel Poniyat Tarav¡d. This Tarav¡d was

famous for imparting education. It was situated in

Malayankeezhu near Kollur Ma·ham. The poverty

destabilized the family setup and the members of

this family were scattered to different places. The

mother of Swamikal, Thirunankai reached at

Ullorkot in Travancore. His father Vasudeva

Sarma was a priest of Kollur Ma·ham. This was a

M¡¶ambi Br¡hma¸a’s house. It was also a learning

centre. This family was under E¶¶arayogam

which influenced the administration of the state.

The members of Ull£rkottu Veedu were dependent

of Kollur Ma·ham. During the time of Swamikal the

family was very poor. Kunchi Pennu, Sister of

Thirunankai also went with her sister to do work at

that time.

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Vasudeva Sarma married Nagamma Pillai. It

was a Sambandham ,not a valid marriage. At that

time marriage was only among the Trivar¸ikas.

The Nairs were considered as á£dras. Swamikal

was their eldest Son. “His name was Ayyappan and

his pet name was Kuµjan. Later it was transformed

to Kuµjan Pillai with his caste ”. “He had a brother

and a sister, their namesm were Velukutty and

Nani. But due to health difficulty Velukutty died

before passage of his childhood’’ . He was very

thoughtful, affectionate and he was in love with

animals and birds. He took bath in the morning and

evening. He was a very pioneer man. He was a

usual visitor of the Devi temple and prayed for all

living creatures.

Education

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Kuµjan did not get any formal education

because his family was very poor. “He was very

much suffered from poverty. He tried to help his

mother for doing the duties of Kollur Ma·ham. He

went to the forest for collecting flowers and gave

them to the temple’’. His father educated him

Malayalam alphabet. ‘‘His thirst for knowledge and

his aptitude for study prompted a near relative of his

to send him to a school kept by Raman Pillai Ë¿an

in Pettai in Trivandrum.’’ . He was also taught

reading and writing by Krishnapilla, a distant

brother. He was a very talented boy. He studied

well Malayalam with his friends. He studied Kalari

from a traditional school. His friends helped him

by giving their palm leaf and he started to learn all

that his friends have learned.

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At the age of ten he learned Sanskrit language

from Kollur Ma·ham. “The Br¡hmin boys of Kollur

Ma·ham was trained by a Sanskrit teacher. Kuµjan

had spent most of his time in ma·ham for listening to

Sanskrit spoken there. He was more educated in

Sanskrit than the Br¡hmin boys. He learned as

everything what áastrikal taught. His intuitive ability

to understand things rapidly enabled him to learn all

matters.’’ On a time áastrikal knew about the

talent of Kuµjan and he was taught by him very

well ,whatever subjects he liked.

During that time education was only in the

hands of upper caste, the low castes were denied

education. The women and á£dras cannot learn

Veda and Sanskrit. Br¡hma¸a, KÀatriya and Vai¿ya

were learned áilpa Vidya. During that time there

existed two types of Vidy¡, Vedavidy¡ and

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áilpavidy¡. The á£dras are D¡sas or servants of

others. If they learned teaching of Vedas the ears

of á£dras should be blocked everlastingly by

pouring hot lead and lace. Kuµjan learned

Siddhar£pa, Amarako¿a, Sr¢ Ramodanta,

Raghuvam¿a and M¡gham thoroughly.

He was very clever in arts science and music.

By his extra ordinary skill his brother KriÀna Pillai a

document writer sent him to a school run by Pettayil

Raman Pillai Asan in Trivandrum. The education

at school had made remarkable changes in the

attitude of Kuµjan. He was a supervisor of the

class. The term in Malayalam for class leader was

“Chattampi’’ means one who observes the customs

of the schools. He has to maintain discipline in the

absence of the teacher. His duty was to take class

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in the absence of the teacher and help the students

in their activities.

His taste for music was inborn. He sang

melodiously. He composed Ragas and showed a

special outlook to many arts like Kathakali,

Mrida´gam and dance. He was well versed in

Mudras of Kathakali . He studied painting from

Neelakandhan Achari. He was an expert in ivory

sculpturing. After his education he was very much

suffered from poverty and as a result he wandered

in search of a job. He worked at Secretariat

construction for loading Kallu. Later Swamikal said

“that in the construction of the Secretariat building

Trivandrum he carried loads of bricks and sand.’’

Mother did not like him doing this job. He reached

his brother Krishnapillai for job by the

recommendation of his mother. He has helped

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Kuµjan to Ëdh¡ramezhuttu. And them he became a

writer of document. Then he got the opportunity for

Government service. He worked at

Neyyattinkara under Bh£ta pandi and got one

rupee. From these places Kuµjan studied

philosophy, culture, science and Tamil with the help

of his friends.

Meeting with Some Eminent Personalities

In his childhood he showed a special liking

towards all saffron clothed Sany¡sins and S¡dhus.

He wanted to travel in search of reality and also for

meditation. After that he discovered such a

place, the Kollur temple. It was a nice place with a

K¡vu. Before the K¡vu there was a áiva temple

many S¡dhus and Siddhas came and meditated the

temple for years. Once while a S¡dhu came and

sitting in meditation Kuµjan watched him and was

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interested to talk to him. The Sany¡si was

impressed and loved Kuµjan very much. He

decided to spend some time with Kuµjan and

taught him more things mainly the B¡lasubrahma¸ya

mantra . The S¡dhu told him that the mantra will

help the path of his progress to ultimate

knowledge. He asked many questions to the sage

and he replied very truthfully about holy matters.

He practiced this mantra daily and meditated.

He was initiated into the world of spirituality with

B¡lasubrahma¸ya mantra. He became a devotee of

Subrahma¸ya later he was âa¸mukhadasa.

Thaikkatt Ayy¡vu

Thikkatt Ayy¡vu was an expert in Vedanta

Dar¿ana and Yoga¿¡stra. He had a lot of great

disciples such as Swamikakl, Narayana Guru,

Padmanabhan Vhidyan etc. He has very much

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interested in Ha¶ah Yoga. In 1873 Kunjan Pillai

met Narayana Guru in Trivandrum. Nanu was a

disciple of Thikkata Ayy¡vu. He was very much

interested in Yoga¿¡stra. He studied Yoga from

Ayy¡vu. Swamikal also studied Yoga with the help

of Narayana Guru. In 1881 Swamikal reached

Vamanapuram.

Kunjan Pillai became an adept in the

performance of Yog¡sana. This helped him to

become an expert wrestler. The friendship with

Ayy¡vu Swami helped him to enhance the way of

presenting Ved¡ntic thoughts in the Tamil classics.

The traditional Schools of thought of the South

áaivait was taught to him.

Swaminatha De¿ikan

He was a teacher of Trivandram College. He

started an educational centre ‘Jµ¡napraj¡garam.’ In

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Jµ¡na Praj¡garam he studied Tamil under the

leadership of Swaminatha De¿ika. Due to the

support of Swaminathan, he taught Tamil very

well. He was an authority in Tamil language and

literature. He learned most of the works of áaivaite

of Tamil Nadu. Above all Kunjan turned the master

of classics of Tamil literature.

As Raman Nair says “India's cultural heritage

was contained only in Sanskrit was a myth. During

these days of learning Kuµjan also felt that for a

clear understanding of our religion, philosophy and

for spiritual knowledge one has to go to Tamil works

and sources and manuscripts available in that

language.’’ Due to his dream to know Tamil

literature he get together Subaja·¡p¡·ikal with the

help of Swaminatha De¿ikan on a Navaratri festival

conducted at Thiruvananthapuram.

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Subaja·¡p¡·ikal.

He was an authority in Ved¡nta, Tarka and

Vy¡kara¸a. He was coming from Kalladakurichi in

Tamil Nadu. He talked to Kuµjan and he

understood that Kunjan had knowledge in all

subjects and invited him to Kalladakurichi for

knowing much about these subjects. This was the

turning point of Kunjan Pillai.

Kalladakurichi was a well-known educational

centre at that time. There were a migrated people

of Parade¿i Br¡hmins in that place. Kunjan had

become the favorite disciple of Ja·ap¡·i. Kunjan

studied all subjects very well. He got chance

for higher studies in eminent Gurukulas of South

India. Everyone in the village also respected

Kunjan because of his character and association

with Ja·ap¡·i.

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“In Sadguru Sarvaswam their friendship is

mentioned by the author who was a disciple of

Chattampi Swamikal. In the days of child hood

and youth of the great sage profound scholars from

different spheres of knowledge. The enlightened

souls who understood his greatness like

Subaja·ap¡·ikal adorned the position of his gurus’’ .

He was also interested in Siddha Vaidya and

became proficient in traditional medicine. “There

were also a few traditional families practicing

Siddha Vaidya in the village. Kuµjan Pillai went to

one such house continuously to learn the basic of

Siddha. He learned various kinds of medicinal

plants available in the southern tip of Western

Ghats and their uses’’ .

The strategic situation of the place helped him

for acquiring knowledge .The people there were

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promoting his views and spiritual experience. The

inspiration for his works like Pr¡c¢na Malay¡lam,

Ved¡dhik¡ra Nir£pa¸am Advaita Cint¡padhati etc

came from the surrounding and they were written at

Kalladakkurichi. The time he spent at

Kalladalladakkurichi laid the firm groundwork of his

future greatness. After learning Kunjan decided to

go back from Kalladakurachi. Guru was not

interested in returning his beloved disciple. At last

he blessed him all success and parted.

Ëtm¡nanda Swamikal

On coming back from Kalladakkurichi

Swamikal saw a Siddha, Kumara Velu. He was

known as Atmananda Swamikal. “He was an expert

in Marma Vidya, a material science prevalent in

Tamil Nadu dealing with vital parts or key position of

the body.

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There he met with Amman Swami and was

educated in yoga. Thangal was a Muslim scholar

and saint. He studied Arabic and learned Quran

from Thangal. Thangal taught Islamic religion and

philosophy. During that time he was respected and

loved by the Muslim community nearby. This

community did not think that he was a person from

another religion or caste.

He also spent some days in Tamil Nadu with a

Christian priest .The priest taught him the Bible

and Christian thoughts. He had learned many

things about Christian philosophy and religion

earlier from Sundaran Pillai. After education he

realized that basic principles of all religions are

same.

Damayanti Naraya Pillai

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During his wandering he concentrated on

finding out books and manuscripts collection. He

was accompanied by Damayanti Naraya Pillai . He

was a well known Kathakali artist. In Kilimanur he

visited to the family friend of Ampangal Kesavan

Asan.

Ampa´gal Kesavan Asan

He was a famous scholar . His house was a

place of meeting for the scholars .With the help of

Kesavan Asan, Swamikal enhanced the

knowledge of Mantrav¡da, JyotiÀa and Ëyurveda.

There he met Cirayinkeezh Govinda Pillai, Kavugal

Kochuraman Vaidyan and many other scholars of

that time.

By gaining education he was wandering in all

places of South India. He loved to sit in

meditation in Marutv¡malai. At the time of

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meditation he takes only fruits and leaves as his

food. “He tasted all leafs, and people called him

Ë·ukuµjanpillai.” After meditation he visited Kollur

Ma·ham. “There was a rare and valuable collection

of Granthas dealing with Tantra, mantras and the

rites and ceremonies connected with temples and

related aspects" . The records were on the founding

of temples, installation of idols, concerned rituals,

Bh£ta Bali etc. These are the sciences and arts the

practice of which was restricted to Br¡hmins. Their

study by non Br¡hmins was against existing customs

and laws. Kuµjan decided to refer to these books.

After this reference he taught every one of

his beloved disciple closely. After inculcating them

in their minds, he asked them to apply them in

society. He propagated the knowledge of science

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of mantras, Tantric systems etc.through his works

‘Devim¡nasap£ja’, ‘Sr¢cakrap£j¡kalpam’ etc.

Swamikal conducted a thorough research on

C¡turvar¸ya system. His studies were based on

the ancient authoritative source, Veda. He wrote

V.N after conducting a deep study. In this work he

proved the right of every one to study the Veda .

He searched for a Guru to achieve the

knowledge of eternal Bliss ie, Brahma. When he

was in Nedumangad he heard about the sickness

of his mother and returned home and took care

of his mother. But unfortunately his mother

passed away. After the funeral function he left from

Ollorkot house. Then he started his journey in

search of knowledge, by this time he became a

Mukta.

Swami Vivekananda

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Swami Vivekananda visited Kerala in 1892 and

met with Chattampi Swamikal in the home of

Ramayya, the Diwan secretary of Travancore State.

He cleared doubt the regarding the subject of

Cinmudra from Swamkal. Swamikal showed

Cinmudra to Vivekananda and also told him the way

to achieve greatness through it according to B.U.

He replied that' he approached many

persons to clear this doubt, travelling distances

and reached Kerala. None of them gave him

proper answer. Thus saying he appreciated the

greatness of him.

After that he taught a Bengali saint Aanandji

about Khecari Mudra. If Pr¡n°p¡sana is practiced in

this Mudra, empowerment will be achieved. It helps

to maintain that posture for a long time as in

Sam¡dhi and to practice yoga.

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Swamikal spokes about Vivekananda in this

manner. ‘Nine qualities are enlightened in that

eyes. I have never seen such eyes elsewhere.’

Disciples of Chattampi Swamikal

Sri Narayana Guru

He was a great reformer of Kerala society.

He fought against evil customs prevailed in the

society. Swamikal also influenced Narayana Guru

working for the emergence of renaissance in Kerala.

Sri Narayana Guru was born in 1854 at

Vayalvarathu Veedu near Chempazhanti in

Travancore. His parents were M¡¶an¡san and

Kuttiamma. M¡¶an¡san was a physician as well as

a scholar in Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil. The

former name of Guru was ‘Nanu’. He had three

sisters. He was the only son of M¡¶an¡san. He got

primary education from his father and uncle. The

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occupation of family was medicine, teaching and

agriculture.

He started his education under

Chempazhanthi M£tta Pillai at the age of five. He

Studied Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil. Later he

studied Ëyurvedic Medicine and Sanskrit with the

help of his uncle Krishnan Vaidyar. He led a life of

religious discipline especially belief in God,

kindness, respect to God and teachers, opposition

to bad customs etc. In his childhood he showed a

spiritual attitude and he learned religious works.

He was not interested in worldly life and was

interested in devotion and detachment.

He became a seeker of knowledge. He started

his wandering life without any aim. He met with

the wandering saint, Kunchan Pillai in 1883.

Kodipparambil Narayanan Pillai, a friend of

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Narayana Guru, introduced Narayana Guru to

Swamikal. Chattampi Swamikal instructed him in

Sany¡sa seeing his face, and made him his disciple.

Then taught him Khecar¢mudra and Yoga and

also taught him B¡lasubrahma¸ya Mantra. These

two great persons occasionally met in the family of

Krishnan Vaidya or Kesavan Vaidya; both were

friends of Naryana Guru.

He was a great thinker, seer and a well-known

poet. He wrote many mystical devotional works in

Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil. The important

works of Narayana Guru are Atm°pade¿a¿atakam,

J¡tinir¸aya, Ved¡ntas£tram, Slokatray¢,

Advaitad¢pika, Dar¿anam¡la, Tev¡rappatika´gal etc.

Guru dedicated his life for the emerging of an

ideal society and also eradicating caste system .For

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the purification of society Guru gave reformative

messages and his followers continued his path.

2. N¢lakandha T¢rtha pada

He was born in Tirumaradi village, near ViÀ¸u

Temple, Muv¡ttupuzha on 25th May 1872 . His family

was a famous Nair

Tarav¡d in Vell¡nikkad. His father was N¢lakandah

and his mother was Kalyaniamma. His father Kochu

N¢lakandah Pillai was a great scholar and an expert

in Mantrav¡da and JyotiÀa. He got early education

from his father and uncle Parameswara. He learned

Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit .After that at the age

of fourteen he started to write poems. He learned

English education from Varadayya.

At the age of fifteen he lost his father. He

studied Toxicology and Mantras in order to pacify

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the effect of ViÀa and studied under Dirkha

Manakkal Namb£thiri. In 1983 he was working as

a clerk in Muvattupuzha. He saw Swamikal in the

house of Taikatt Narayana Pilla. He asked

Swamikal to the relevance of Toxicology and gave

clear answer to the questions of N¢lakanda Tirtha

Pada. He was surprised by the knowledge of

Swamikal became happy about the conduct of

N¢lakandha and blessed him imparting knowledge

of mantra.

He became N¢laka¸da T¢rtha pada. He wrote

introduction to the book about VN. by Swamikal. He

studied Yoga from Swamikal. T¢rthapada Swami

died in 1920. “At the Sam¡dhi of his disciple

Swamikal made him very sad and said this was a

great creation of Brahma the loss of which , is a

great loss to the world’’. Swamikal installed a

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áivali´ga at first and final for his beloved

N¢lakandha’s head. N¢lakandha Swamikal

composed many books, both in Sanskrit and

Malayalam. They are Siva Paµc¡kÀara stotram,

Ved¡nta Ma¸ivilakku, Advaita p¡rij¡tam, DakÀi¸¡m£rty

Bhujangam.

In Malayalam Ac¡rapaddhati, Ved¡nta M¡llika,

Devarc¡paddhati etc. He had many disciples and

has contributed much to the reforms of religious

customs and rites. His disciples were, Sivapras¡da

Vidy¡ Saraswati, Param¡nandan¡ta Taccudaya

Kaimal, Sachid¡nanda Bramendra,

Ëtmayoginiamma, Cidras¡bharanan, Ambhalapattu

Sankaranasan. “His major contribution was

providing literature that supported the religious and

social reformation as well as providing guidance in

following reformed Hindu customs and rules’’.

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3. T¢rthapadaparamahamsa

He was the third important disciples of

Swamikal. He was born in a noble family of

Vadakkema·ham at Parav£r in1881 .His formers

name was Nannukuruppu. Swamikal met Nannu

from his devotee`s Kochuvellupilla`s house. Nannu

studied Sanskrit in a traditional way. He was a

scholar poet spiritual leader, physician and a great

social reformer. After a few years Nannu accepted

Swamikal as his Guru and gave his life for serving

the humanity. He learned B¡lasubrahma¸yamantra.

After that he initiated Sany¡sa to Swamikal and

became T¢rthap¡daparamahamsa.

He established an Ë¿ramam in Swamikal`s

name at Ezhumattur and originated a group of

Sanyasins who sacrificed their life to serve the

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society. T¢rthapada celebrated Swami’s âaÀ¶ip£rti

in 1914. He established T¢rthap¡da¿ramam at

Vaz£r Gurukul¡¿ramam at Eir£r and also conducted

a line of Sany¡sins under T¢rthap¡da system. He

introduced a method of spiritual life named

‘T¢rthapada Sampradaya’ to spread the teachings

of Swamikal. He explained Ved¡nta in an easiest

way to be understood by the common people. He

introduced reforms in Nair caste. Many other

reformers especially Mannathu Padmanabhan

accepted this policy. He wrote many works

important among them are Ved¡ntacind¡¿atakam,

ViÀ¸ustotra¿atakam, Sr¢kum¡r¡bhara¸am,

Sr¢navalaye¿waristotram etc. He was died

in 1938.

Literary Works

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Swamikal was a genius. The humorous

expression of his brilliance can be seen in all works.

All of Swamikal’s works have a common nature, in

that they are a deep examination of a subject.

Chattampi Swamikal’s unique style and

independent thinking is this trade mark. When

examining a subject, he tries to accept the entirety

of that subject as much as possible. “The depth of

the thought, content of his writings often adversely

affects their literarily grace.”

Swamikal had written many literary works. Any

kind of topic that was difficult to understand was

made lighter for listeners to understand by including

examples in the topic he had such kind of verbal

efficiency. Swamikal had experimented on various

topics that include history, language, Vedas,

UpaniÀad and Culture. The books thus written were

96

left in the house of his related friends and students.

His students made them in book forms. Many of

Swamikal's works were lost in course of time. Only

some of them were found.

1. Pr¡c¢namalay¡lam

2. Ved¡dhik¡ranir£pa¸am

3. Nij¡nandavil¡sam

4. Cit¡k¡¿alayam

5. Advitacintapaddhati

6. J¢vak¡ru¸yanir£pa¸am

7. Ved¡ntas¡ram

8. Advitapaµjaram

9. Brahmatatvanirbh¡sam

10 Ëdibh¡Àa

11. Christumatanir£pa¸am

12. Sr¢cakrap£jakalpam

13. M°kÀaprad¢pakha¸danam

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14. Tamilakam

15. Sar¢ratatvasamgraham

16. Brahmatatwanirbh¡sam

17. Prapaµcathil str¢-puruÀanmarkulla st¡nam

18. De¿an¡ma´gal

19. Manona¿am/ áudh¡dvitabh¡vana

20. Pra¸avavum S¡´khya Dar¿anavum

21.Punarjanmanir£pa¸am

22. Sarvamatas¡marasyam

23.Tarkarahasyaratnam

24.BhaÀ¡padmapur¡¸¡bhipr¡yam

25.Pillatt¡l°lip

1. Pr¡c¢namalay¡lam

This work deals with the social history of

ancient Kerala. It was written in Sr¢kan·heswaram

Bhajanama·ham at Trivandrum. In this work

Swamikal criticized the concept of the origin of

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Br¡hmins. The Br¡hmin believed that the land of

Kerala was given to them by Para¿ur¡ma himself

and the common people suffered very much from

their cruelty. The Christian missionaries also

converted backward people and propagated their

culture among them. In this context Swamikal wrote

this work for promoting the downtrodden people.

He worked for several years for writing this

book. “In course of his travels, when he found it

convenient, he would write a few pages at a time

at one place. These pages he would leave to his

disciples there to copy out and preserve. It was in

this way that he wrote at several places and

several periods the three parts of

Pr¡c¢namalay¡lam.’’ The first part was published in

the year1913.

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This was intended to examine historically

the position and rights of the inhabitants of Kerala.

“They belonged to a noble lineage, and were

hardworking and just. They were rulers of the land

and were Dravidians. But gradually they fell into the

trap of Aryan Br¡hmins and were ousted from their

land and got separated in to different groups not

respecting each other and had to give in

subjugation rejects the legend of Para¿ur¡ma who

created the land for the Br¡hmin.’’

The second part, was published in 2009 by

Vaikkom Vivekanandan. In this part, mentioned the

various names of Br¡hmins ie Embr¡n ,Namp£ri,and

Potti. “In the third part he intended to give to the

public all the ancient granthas which he could

collect’’. He also introduced a new concept ie

C¡turvar¸y¡bh¡sa’.

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2.Ved¡dhik¡ranir£pa¸am

Among Swamikal’s work it is the best one.

Among his works mainly based upon his own

experience in life. Long before, the education

system was under the hands of Br¡hma¸a. No others

except Br¡hma¸a were proficient for education. The

book consists of 5 chapters. They are Vedasvar£pa,

Vedapr¡m¡¸ya, Adhik¡ranir£pa¸a, Pram¡¸¡ntaravic¡r¡,

Yuktivic¡ra. It consists of only 50 pages. It was

writen with pencil in Malayalam. At the age of 40

Swamikal wrote V.N. It was published in 1921. The

main subject of this work is what is Veda and whose

authorities are all of us. He doesn’t believe that

Vedas are ApauruÀeya. Though he was an Advaita

v¡di he did’nt give consideration to De¿a and K¡la in

the Advaitav¡da. He was also against the sexual

101

offences and violence that was mentioned in the

Vedas.

In the grantha, the debate was on the topic,

who are eligible for studying Veda. In those days,

Br¡hma¸a was only able to study and teach Veda.

KÀatriya, Vai¿ya, can also study but, they cannot

teach. á£dra cannot study and teach Veda. For the

study of Vedas, there is a universal concept that

the Br¡hmins only can learn and study the Vedas

and the KÀatriyas, and Vai¿yas are not to study

Vedas. But the á£dras were kept away from the

Vedas. There are many examples in the Vedic

literature that show the right of studying Veda in all

caste. But there is no discrimination. These

prohibitions began during the rigid caste system.

Swamikal proves with examples from Vedas and

Sm¤tis that everyone can study and teach Vedas

102

because of their interest and capacity. Food is

essential for living likewise knowledge is essential

for human beings to fulfill their empirical duties and

for eternal bliss. His Advaitic concept is clearly

shown in this work.

3. Nij¡nandavil¡sam

From Tamil Nadu the most respected person

Kodakanallur Brahma¿ri Sundaraswamikal is the

author of this literacy work. It was published in

1980 by N¡r¡ya¸agurukulam Varkala. He was well

versed in Vedas and á¡stra. He was the friend of

Swamikal. It was translated into Malayalam by

Swamikal. The secrets in UpaniÀads are revealed,

in this work. There are nine Prakara¸as. It was

described as the conversation between teacher and

student. In the 1st Prakara¸a- Avast¡traya

áodhan¡samprad¡ya Prakara¸a. This Prakara¸a

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mainly discuss about three types of Avasthas

–J¡grat Swapna and SuÀupti. In the second

Gun¡dhikyajany¡ropa S£kÀmanir£pa¸a Prakara¸a

deals with three types of qualities. In the third

Brahme¿aj¢va-jagatvi¿eÀa¸a Nir£pa¸a Prakara¸a

mentions about the principles of J¢va, Jagat and

Brahma. In fourth M¡yalakÀa¸a Nir£pa¸a Prakara¸a

explains the definitions and Bhedas of M¡ya. In the

fifth prakara¸a- S¡dhananubhava Nir£pa¸a

Prakara¸a shows the feelings of reality. In the sixth

Citanubhava Nir£pa¸a Prakara¸a shows the

experience of Cetana. In the seventh

Ënand¡nubhava Nir£pa¸a Prakara¸a, there is a

discussion about the happiness of eternal Bliss. In

the eight Manona¿am¡rga Nirupa¸a Prakara¸a deals

with the destruction of mind and the last Prakara¸a

104

ie Ëvara¸a -VikÀepa niv¤itti Prakara¸a he explains

two powers of M¡ya and its non-existence .

4. Cid¡ka¿alayam

As per Ved¡nta, the Brahman is the only truth.

Thus universe is false. It mentions unity of

omnipotent soul ie the way to attain MokÀa. The

way to attain ‘Citpada’ is simply mentioned in this

book which is easily understood by a common

man. It is a literary work in Tamil.

5. Advaitacint¡paddhati

“It was written in very simple language for

common people who has no knowledge of

Sanskrit’’ . Among Swamikal’s literacy works it is a

great philosophical contribution. Among his

linguistic works it gives prime importance to Advaita

, which is treated concisely in this work. The book

mainly explains Adhy¡ropa and Apav¡da, Manon¡¿a,

105

áudh¡dvaitabh¡vana, Mah¡bh£ta, Jaganmithy¡tva,

Trigu¸as, Prapaµcotpatti, J¢v¡tma, Param¡tma,

Tatvamasi and Sthula-S£kÀma¿ar¢rotpati etc. This

was published in1946.

6. J¢vak¡ru¸yanir£pa¸am

This work mainly explains the concept of non-

violence. After Sri Buddha, Swamikal was one who

gave great importance to non-violence. In this non

violence is considered as Paramodharma and killing

of other animal is considered as neglecting God.

The Caitanya of Param¡tma is the source of life in

all individuals. In this work Swamikal says that

“there is a lot of difference between herbivorous

and carnivorous animals. The animals are created

for the use of man. Fish, meat and egg are tastes

good and people eat them for nourishment. They

are also used for cerement for many diseases. For

106

practicing rituals like áaktip£ja, Ugram£rti etc and

many other devotions, man is killing millions and

millions of loving creatures. No one is criticizing

each other for this, nor are they keeping away from

following their rituals.’’

If man tries to get rid of these cruel deeds, he

will reach the level of AhiÆsa. But he will not!

Because Man is not Carnivores but we behave as

if creatures, plants have no life, so we must be in

path of AhiÆsa. God or Nature itself is enjoying

the all HiÆsa or sin under this world done by his

creatures. So we can see that none can be kept

away from all this cruel deeds and so we cannot

decide to take a decision that we will be away from

HiÆsa. So be a part of it. “There are two aspects

of HiÆsa. One is giving pain to a creature and the

other is preventing it from escaping from the pain.

107

Paining a creature occurs mainly on moving objects

preventing a creature from escaping occurs equally

in moving and non moving objects. Paining is

comparatively less in moving objects because of

their knowledge’’.

About ‘MokÀa’ Swamikal has following to say

“ if a creature is been killed by other creature, they

cannot complete their life cycle and so they cannot

attain MokÀa. So they have to wait in their nutshell

to attaining MokÀa. Killing a creature is like

preventing them from attaining MokÀa. So it is also

a kind of ‘HiÆsa’. There is no right to kill any

creature in this world. Creating a different power is

a challenging thing. Man can identify mother; sister,

wife, other women separately. But animals cannot

have their identifying character.’’ . So this identifying

108

we should follow that. It was published in

september1978.

7. Ved¡ntas¡ram

It is written for the common people to know in

a simple way about áankara’s Advaita Ved¡nta. It

helps the people to follow monistic way of life. In

this work he explains about Prapaµcasvar£pam.

The meaning of the V¡kya Prapaµcasvar£pam’ is

that the world is Brahma itself. Because without

Brahman the world will not be there. This work is

based on Advaita Cint¡paddhati. This work also

explains the four Avasth¡s, Adhy¡ropa, Apav¡da etc.

8. Advaitap¡rij¡tam:-

The aim of this work is also to give the reader a

general idea regarding Advaita Ved¡nta,based on

Advaita Cint¡padhati. It explains simply J¢va, Jagat

109

and Brahman and also highlights importance of

Verbal testimony .

9 . Brahmatatvanirbh¡Àam

This book also explains about Advaita

Ved¡nta with the help of Advaita Cind¡paddhati.It

clearly shows the concept of Brahma, J¢va and

Jagat, M¡ya etc. It was clearly explains the book,

“Intellectual Biography of Chattampi Swamikal’’ by

R.Ramana Nair and L.Sulochanadevi.

10.Ëdibh¡Àa

The main theme of this work was the origin of

Malayalam from Tamil literature. Swamikal

establishes that the land was now under sea that

lay to the west of the Ceylon was the first home of

man and his first original language was Dravidian

language. Ëdibh¡Àa is developed as a result of

researches done by Swamikal regarding languages.

110

It was written in Tamil language. Pannisseri

Nanupillai translated it into Malayalam.

According to Swamikal, Malayalam originated

from Tamil. At first, the term T¡ymozhi was used

that later becomes Tamil. T¡ymozhi means

mother's language. Dravidian and Aryan

civilizations are the two civilizations existed in India.

Muttamizh is exactly the M£lattamizh, and they are

called so as they are used by the Chera, Chola, and

Pandya Kingdoms. Agastyamuni transformed Tamil

into Centamizh. The language used by local people

are known by name ‘Ko¶umtamizh’. Thus,

Muttamizh is divided into two Centamizh and

Ko¶amtamizh. Malayalam is derived from

Ko¶umtamizh. Tamil is originated from Dravidian

language. By adopting varying concepts of ancient

Tamil literature, Swami constructed Swasidh¡nta.

111

From the history of language we learn that

people used Specific languages. It is essential to

know if these languages originated from the mother

and then progressed continuously and took birth in

different regions. It is the time to think that where

the origin of human being is somewhere and

separated from the rest. The first human being

developed their own natural languages for their

usage and they developed them by using their

own language. Later on such a family scattered in

different groups and began to use different

languages.

By consolidating these languages historians

developed two languages. These are known as

Ëryabh¡Àa and Dr¡vidabhaÀa. Ëryabh¡Àa is

Sanskrit and Dr¡vidabh¡Àa is Tamil. Today South

Indian territories like Sinhalam developed

112

languages which are called old Dravidian

languages. So this Dravidian language is

considered as Ëdibh¡Àa and is considered as

mother of languages. It was published in the year

1998.

11. Christumatanir£pa¸am

This is the first book written by Swamikal. It is

also called as Christumatas¡ra and

Christumatacedhana. The book is written by

Swamikal in another name as âa¸mukhad¡san.

“This work was evidently written to inspire the

practice of the Christian missionaries who tried to

covert Hindus to Christianity by spreading malicious

propaganda against San¡tanadharma’’ . Some

Christian Missionaries interpret Hindu religion and

Hindu concept of God, such as áruti, Sm¤ti and

Ëptav¡kyas in a wrong way, without the proper

113

understanding Hindu religion. They also published

books on Hindu religion in bad manners. The book

was written in the background of insecurity felt by

the Hindus in the face of lower castes and the

propaganda by the Christains, and the passive

attitude of Hindus. Besides the content of

Christianity, Ancient Indian Mythology saying that

Christ was an Indian ÎÀis is also added in this

book.

The content of Christumatacedanam are

Krity¡nimittam, Up¡d¡nam, Ëdyas¤Àti, Durgu¸a,

Christucaritam, P¡¿uprakara¸am, Janmap¡pam,

Gatiprakara¸am and Mukti s¡dhanam.

12. Sricakrap£j¡kalpam

It is the translation of an old Tamil work which

speaks about some rituals and techniques coming

under Tantras¡ra. It explains worshipping Goddess

114

in the ár¢cakra. The book was written mainly

againsts á¡kteya P£ja which give importance to

Madya, M¡msa, Matsyam, Mudra and sexual

contact. This book gives prime importance to

Devip£ja and explains how this is conducted in a

right way. The basis of construction of temple and

installation of Vigraha in Kerala temples are

based on T¡ntricvidya. Br¡hma¸as are the Tantries

and co-workers from the beginning. No other people

were allowed to do such duties. The details

regarding the rules such as P£ja and such

ceremonials in temple are described in this book. It

was published in 1928.It was also written for

common people so that he may learn and practice

T¡ntricvidya.

13. MokÀaprad¢pakhandanam

115

‘MokÀaprad¢pam’ is a work of Alathur

Brahmananda swami. The author stated that

Karma, Jµ¡na, Bhakti, and Yogas are superstitions.

Sivayogi was against the concept of Ved¡nta and

worshipping temples and accepted atheism.

According to him when the mind is right, the man is

right and Sivayogi is pertinent in nothing superior to

R¡jayoga. Swamikal gives an introduction of

MokÀaprad¢pa that “MokÀa is superior among

PuruÀ¡rtas and practice of yoga is best method to

attain MokÀa. Yogas are not the way to

MokÀa. Pa¸dita says that without proper knowledge

nobody can attain salvation for getting salvation one

can go into forest or carve and should practice

S¡dhana some says that to get better life by way of

starving, some says that by pilgrimage’’ .

116

Swamikal wrote the book to keep away from of

Brahmananda Swami and propagate idol worship.

At that time the followers of Ananda Swami were

against idol worship and they tried to destroy the

idols installed by Sri Narayana Guru and this

provoked. The common people want to worship

God and chant mantras in their own way for their

existence. The word ViÀ¸u originated from the root

‘Vis’ , which means all pervading. It indicates that

God spread all over the world. The word Brahma

originated from the root ‘B¤h’, means increasing.

The word ‘áivam’ means happiness and ‘áiva’ is

the auspicious incarnation of god. God is only one

but people worshipping god in different names. An

idol is the way to worship realization of god. Human

beings are not worshipping statue, stone, sand, tree

117

but the omnipotent, all pervading source of God. It

was published in 1905.

14. Punarjanmanir£pa¸am

The book deals with the details of rebirth in

Hindu religion. By rejecting opinion of N¡stika,

atheist and other religious philosophers and

western philosophers, the book confirms and

argues about rebirth. Just like one changes one`s

old dress to put on new one, the soul vacates the

body for entering in to a new one. When one lives

out one`s life and leaves the body one can

recognize all one`s previous births.

15. Sarvamatas¡mara¿yam

In this work Swamikal accepts the ideas of

other religions which he considered good to be

followed by all. “The work deals with the main

principles of religions and reconciles them in their

118

main features’’. This work demonstrates that

though the description of reality and practice of

rituals are seemingly different, yet ultimate

realization of Brahman is essentially the same. In

this Swamikal said that all religious principles are

one, and people followed different ways and which

is responsible for the manifestations of different

religions.

16. Tarkarahasyaratnam

In this Swamikal says about Tarka. He has a

deep knowledge in Tarka, Vy¡kara¸a, Ved¡nta,

M¢m¡msa and Ny¡ya. He defeated arrogant

scholars in Tarka and they accepted Swamikal’s

excellence. “In criticism and discussion none could

not get the better of him .He was a master of

Tarka¿¡stra. His lucid and facile exposition in

Malayalam entitled ‘Tarkarahasyaratnam’ was well

119

known to many of his disciples, but it is

unfortunately not traceable’’.

17. Tamizhakam

In this work, Swamikal says that Dravidian

culture is more ancient than Ëryan culture. The

southern kingdoms of India together known as

Tamizhakam. Tamizh + akam = Tamizhakam

means beautiful region. This treatise was written by

Swamikal by the name Agastya. Historical secrecy

mentioned in ancient Malayalam treaties and those

said to be mentioned in the second part are

confined in this.

18. áar¢ratattvasa´graham

Swamikal was written this in his first, fourth

part. In thiswork he mentioned that M£laprak¤ti

originated from the activities of power of M¡ya or

illusion. áabda, Spar¿a, R£pa, Rasa, Gandha, the

120

five objects of the senses shown the properties of

five Bh£tas, and these five Bh£tas in different

combinations resulted in living beings with different

proportion of Bh£ta constitution. The reason behind

this is the body with Paµcabhoutika constitution and

solid form. The Pr¡¸a is responsible for protecting

the body. It moves from Mul¡dh¡racakra and one

part reaches Kap¡la, and other part goes outside

through nostrils and mouth. The Pr¡¸a reached

Kap¡la the remaining part of expelled air to

M£l¡dh¡ra. This phenomenon is occurring without

lag of time in upward and downward direction within

SuÀumna or spinal cord, which makes the body

highly strong. In Jagrat state, the obstruction for

áv¡sa should be the least, if not so it results in body

weakness and looseness in the Mul¡dhara. It

indicates the last period of an individual. áakti

121

(Strength), Karma (order) and Parimiti (limitations)

are three facts, the effort to cross the limit is not

worth.

19. Prapancatil str¢-puruÀanm¡rkulla st¡nam

TC. Kalyanikutty Amma, the wife of writer TK.

Krishna Menon was a member of Str¢ Samaj. By

her request, Swamkal made the speech

“PrapancattilStr¢-PuruÀanm¡rkulla St¡nam” in a

meeting of Str¢ Samaj, M£laprak¤ti and Cetana are

the parents of all creatures with the presence of

Brahma, the M£laprak¤ti divided and the subtle

from which are Nitya again united or separated is

the basis for creation and destruction. The creation

of universe is by the union of Brahman and Nature,

that can be understood through Ak¡rap£ra¸am. Ak¡ra

M£laprak¤ti is formed through the combination of

áiva¿akti . Because, the spells, terms, language

122

used in day today life originated from Ëk¡ra itself. In

almost all languages; the principles of Ëk¡ra being

used. Symbol used for writing the letter 'a' includes

two parts. They are Melpank and Kizhpank. The

Melpank is used to denote ‘Pulli´ga’ and Kizhpank

denotes ‘Str¢li´ga’. When both exists

simultaneously distinguishing can’t be possible,

and not having the power to make sentence and

terms. The union of these two parts is only capable

of making complete words and other meaningful

sentences.

According to Swami, the role of women in

family as well as in society is very important. The

male has to administer physical effort to protect and

sustain the family and society. Women with their

will power and capabilities and right actions have to

control the family, the society and the world. She

123

has the talents, powers and rights for that joining

with the man. She is free and the leader of the three

worlds’’ .

20 Pra¸avavum S¡´khya Dar¿anavum

Pra¸ava is the soul of Advaita Ved¡nta Dar¿ana.

The importance of Pra¸ava in Ved¡nta is

inexplainable. Complete form of S¡´khya Dar¿ana is

contributed by Swamikal alone. The word` S¡´khya’

means number, Yukti, etc. In S¡´khya Dar¿ana

union of Prak¤ti and PuruÀa are regarded as the

cause for the creation. Prak¤ti is Up¡d¡nak¡ra¸a and

PuruÀa is the Nimittak¡ra¸a. This literary work is

composed as a collection of S£tras. Each á¡stra

having secretes concerned with Sa´khya. The

calana or motion of the entire universe is in

accordance with Sa´khya. Swamikal mentioned

that, Omk¡ra being Brahma Vac¡ka and an

124

Ek¡kÀara (single alphabet) formed by the union of

Ak¡ra ‘U’ k¡ra and they are Satva, Rajas, Tamas

itself, and there were a total of nine Gu¸avik¤uti.

Pra¸ava is one, and its constituents are there,

Gu¸avik¤ti is nine. When there three numbers are

the base for the origin of a S¡´khya and when a

S¡´khya is multiplied with the same, then the result

is called V¡ga (or) K¤ti, likewise, the ‘Muzhukol’

formed by all powers, all M£rtis, all Kala, all Loka as

a base for origin is not simply the Gayatr¢r£pa but

also the M£rtitrayatmaka itself. In this literary work,

Swamikal made a detailed description regarding the

formation of G¡yatr¢mantra.

21. Manon¡¿am (áudh¡dvaitabh¡vana)

In this book proved that pure Advaitic condition

can be reached only through the cessation of the

mental functions. He has stated that when the three

125

kinds of bodies, three kinds of consciousness and

the two powers of illusion and veiling are destroyed

by true knowledge, the manifest universe which is

existent only with reference to the above and the

mind has to be transparent for completely release

or Mukti thus be attained only through the total

annihilation of the mind.

Destruction of mind or áuddh¡dvaitah¡vana is a

highly efficient D¡r¿anika work. In this work,

Swamikal mentioned how one can attain salvation

by overcoming illusion through simple spiritual

principles. The attainment of the supreme aim of

life through Avast¡traya, áar¢ratraya, K¡rya-

k¡ra¸abheda, VikÀep¡vara¸a áirastha M¡yagha¸tana -

is mentioned by Swamikal in simple words. Manas

is derived from Ëtma. Manas being have the

characteristics of ‘A¸utva’. It includes many cores of

126

universe with living and non-living things, as part in

the minuteness in a doubtful state of presence or

absence, as there is resemblance of rope with the

snake, existed in Ëtma.

22. Ozhivilotukkam

This Ved¡nta work is written by Kannuda Vallar

Swami, who is a disciple of Sr¢ Jµ¡na áamsanda

Swami. It is considered to be the first Vedanta

literature in Tamizh. Ozhivilotukkam means

destruction of vacuum. It means merging in

Cid¡k¡¿a without any universal diversity is the real

meaning. It is divided in to 10 parts.

1.Potuvilupade¿a, 2.Chitinipatattutamarozhivu,

3.Yogakkazhatti,

4.Kiriyaikkazhatti, 5.Chiriyaikkazhatti,

6.Virattivilakkam, 7.Turavu., 8.Avataitanmai,

9.Patanaimanandarutanmai,10. Nilaiyalpu.

127

23. De¿an¡ma´gal

At the time when there is no researches

regarding De¿an¡ma. “It was Swamikal by the

name Agastya in the name of his Sadguru made

this work.’’ Origin of the De¿an¡ma can be divided

in three ways. Situation and quality of earth, Based

on location or dignity of Lord, or KÀetra and praise

of lord, some examples-Ujµ¡ru-Uyar

[Uyarunnastalam] + Jµ¡r [jµ¡yar or sun]

Marutvamala-Adhikam Kattulla Mala etc

24. Bh¡À¡padmapur¡¸¡bhipr¡yam

He wrote this work based on Mahakavi

Vallthol’s ‘Bh¡À¡patmapur¡¸a’. The main sloka,

quoted from Ëpastambhapa Sm¤ti for this Lekhana

as

“Yadad¤iÀtam hi vedeÀu taddraÀ¶avyam

sm¤taukila

128

Ubh¡bhy¡myadad¤aÀ¶amhi tatpur¡¸eÀu

padhyate

árutism¤iti pura¸eÀu viruddheÀu parasparam

P£rvamp£rvambal¢y¡asyadetiny¡yavidoviduÅ’’

25. Pi½½ath¡lolip

In this work Swamikal clearly shows the lovely

affection of mother and child. It was written in a

T¡r¡¶¶u style of song.

The important teaching of this song is that God

is the only one entity in the universe that created

everything .Parents were the only one God in this

universe of a son. He emphasizes the greatness of

education.

“Appa, n¢ vidya padhichillenkil

Kuppaykku tullyam n¢ kuµcje

Kuppayam, toppiyum onnum-alla

Ipp¡ril bh£Àa¸am;vidya’’

129

Mah¡sam¡dhi

Sam¡dhi is a Sanskrit term from the practice

which produces complete meditation Normal

Mah¡sam¡dhi is the final conscious abandoning of

physical body. To achieve Mah¡sam¡dhi all karma

needs to be completely dissolved requiring that

the individual has at least achieved self - realization

or soul realization before being able to realize

Mah¡sam¡dhi. All and even the smallest pieces of

attachment or Karma are surrendered to God and

dissolved in divine love. Merging in an ocean of

love and ascending into worlds beyond Karma

he become one with God.

Swamikal did not settle down at any particular

place. Towards the end of his life he revisited

places like Thiruvanantapuram for bidding fare well

to them. He settled down in his own house at

130

Panmana, a village 18 km north of Kollam, enjoying

the services rendered by his disciple Kumpalattu

SankuPillai, a young and spirited freedom fighter.

Swamikal sat himself in Padm¡sana and meditated

on Brahman. In that state, in a few seconds,

Swamikal entered into eternal Sam¡dhi at 4 pm on 5

th may 1924. His mortal body was laid to rest at

the place he had already selected. At the Samadhi

P¢·hom a áivali´ga was installed as per his last

instruction.

Nanayana Guru wrote a poem for hearing the

Sam¡dhi of his beloved teacher Chattampi

Swamikal-

“ SarvajµaÅ ¤Àirutkr¡ntaÅ

sadguruÅ¿ukhavartman¡

Ëbh¡ti paramavyomni parip£r¸akal¡nidhiÅ

L¢lay¡k¡lamadhikam n¢tv¡nte sa mah¡prabhum

131

Niswamvapussamuts¤jya sw¡m

brahmavapur¡sthitaÅ’’.

RESUME

Chattampi Swamikal`s life and works greatly

influenced the people of Kerala. He was considered

as the messenger of goodness. He practiced

Advaita in day to day life and showed equality and

humanism in his life. The most important work of

Swami was V.N This work occupies a prominent

position in the history of Kerala as it is

instrumental in rejecting caste system. Early Hindu

once believed that Kerala was a land gifted to

Brahmins by Para¿ur¡ma. Swamikal disapproved

this superstitious belief and tried to give a new

interpretation to the ancient history of Kerala

through his work ‘Pr¡c¢namalay¡lam’. He was well

132

versed in Advaita Ved¡nta. He wrote Advaita

Cind¡paddhati for the common people to understand

the basic principles of Vedanta philosophy in a

simple way. The concept of monism was

thoroughly explained in this work. He was also a

great follower of non-violence. He gave women

equal position with men in society. The foundation

of the philosophy of Advaita he built affected the

re-union of the existing social life of Kerala. He

paved the way for the awakening of our society

through the work of V.N. This was the most

illustrious work of Swamikal. The main content of

the work is discussed in the third chapter.

133

NOTES AND REFERENCES