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Middle Malayalam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Middle Malayalam
മധ്യകാലമലയാളം
PronunciationMadhyakālamalayāḷam
RegionKerala
EraDeveloped into Modern Malayalam by the 15th century
Early form
Vatteluttu, then Kolezhuthu, Malayanma, Grantha
Language codes
ISO 639-3
GlottologNone

Middle Malayalam is the period of the Malayalam language spanning from 13th century to 15th century AD.[1][2]

The works including Unniyachi Charitham, Unnichiruthevi Charitham, and Unniyadi Charitham, are written in Middle Malayalam, those date back to 13th and 14th centuries of Common Era.[3][4] The Sandesha Kavyas of 14th century CE written in Manipravalam language include Unnuneeli Sandesam.[3][4] The word Manipravalam literally means Diamond-Coral or Ruby-Coral. The 14th-century Lilatilakam text states Manipravalam to be a Bhashya (language) where "Malayalam and Sanskrit should combine together like ruby and coral, without the least trace of any discord".[5][6] Kannassa Ramayanam and Kannassa Bharatam by Rama Panikkar of the Niranam poets who lived between 1350 and 1450 are representative of this language.[7] The Champu Kavyas written by Punam Nambudiri, one among the Pathinettara Kavikal (Eighteen and a half poets) in the court of the Zamorin of Calicut, also belong to Middle Malayalam.[4][3]

The Old Malayalam language (9th century CE – 13th century CE) was employed in several official records and transactions (at the level of the Chera Perumal kings as well as the upper-caste (Nambudiri) villages).[8] It was an inscriptional language and there was not any literary work of its own, with possible exceptions of Ramacharitam and Thirunizhalmala.[9] However the Malayalam literature completely diverged from the contemporary Tamil literature by the period of Middle Malayalam.[7] The Middle Malayalam period marked the commencement of the unique traits of Malayalam literature.[3][4] The literary works written in Middle Malayalam were heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit, while comparing them with the modern Malayalam literature.[3][4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Menon, T. K. Krishna (1939). A Primer of Malayalam Literature. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120606036 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Lal, Mohan (June 6, 1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 9788126012213 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dr. K. Ayyappa Panicker (2006). A Short History of Malayalam Literature. Thiruvananthapuram: Department of Information and Public Relations, Kerala.
  4. ^ a b c d e Sreedhara Menon, A. (2007). Kerala Charitram (2007 ed.). Kottayam: DC Books. ISBN 978-8126415885.
  5. ^ Sheldon Pollock; Arvind Raghunathan (19 May 2003). Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. University of California Press. pp. 449, 455–472. ISBN 978-0-520-22821-4.
  6. ^ Ke Rāmacandr̲an Nāyar (1971). Early Manipravalam: a study. Anjali. Foreign Language Study. pp. 78
  7. ^ a b Kerala (India), Dept. of Public Relations (2003), District Handbooks of Kerala: Pathanamthitta (Volume 7 of District Handbooks of Kerala, Kerala (India). Dept. of Public Relations
  8. ^ Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013). Perumals of Kerala. Thrissur: CosmoBooks. pp. 380–82. ISBN 9788188765072.
  9. ^ Ayyar, L. V. Ramaswami (1936). The Evolution of Malayalam Morphology (1st ed.). Trichur: Rama Varma Research Institute. p. 3.

Further reading

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