A.R RAJA RAJA VARMA
(എ .ആർ രാജരാജവർമ്മ)
മലയാള ഭാഷയുടെ വ്യാകരണം ചിട്ടപ്പെടുത്തുന്നതിൽ പ്രധാന പങ്കുവഹിച്ച വ്യക്തിയാണ് കേരള പാണിനി എന്ന് അറിയപ്പെട്ടിരുന്ന എ.ആർ. രാജരാജവർമ്മ (ജീവിതകാലം:1863 ഫെബ്രുവരി 2 0 -1918 ജൂണ്‍ 1 8 , മുഴുവൻ പേര്: അനന്തപുരത്തു രാജരാജവർമ്മ രാജരാജവർമ്മ).ചെങ്ങനസ്സേരിയിലാണ് അദ്ദേഹം ജനിച്ചത്. വൈയാകരണകാരൻ എന്നതിനു പുറമേ, നിരൂപകൻ, കവി, ഉപന്യാസകാരൻ, സർവ്വകലാശാലാ അദ്ധ്യാപകൻ, വിദ്യാഭ്യാസപരിഷ്കർത്താവ് എന്നീ നിലകളിലും പ്രശസ്തനായി. ഇരുപതാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ ആദ്യദശകങ്ങളിൽ മലയാളഭാഷയുടെ വ്യാകരണം,അലങ്കാരാദിവ്യവസ്ഥകൾ എന്നിവയ്ക്ക് അദ്ദേഹം നിയതമായ രൂപരേഖകളുണ്ടാക്കി. സംസ്കൃതഭാഷാശാസ്ത്രജ്ഞനായ പാണിനി , അഷ്ടാദ്ധ്യായി ഉൾപ്പെടുന്ന പാണിനീസൂക്തങ്ങളിലൂടെ സംസ്ക്രത വ്യാകരണത്തിനു ശാസ്ത്രീയമായ ചട്ടക്കൂടുകൾ നിർവ്വചിച്ചതിനു സമാനമായി കേരള പാണിനീയം എന്ന മലയാളവ്യാകരണ ഗ്രന്ഥം ഏ.ആർ. രാജരാജവർമ്മയുടെതായിട്ടുണ്ടു്. മലയാളവ്യാകരണം ശാസ്ത്രീയമായി ചിട്ടപ്പെടുത്തുന്നതിൽ ഏ.ആറിന്റെ സംഭാവനകൾ കണക്കിലെടുത്തു് അദ്ദേഹത്തെ കേരള പാണിനി എന്ന് വിശേഷിപ്പിച്ചുപോരുന്നു.
A.R. Rajaraja Varma (1863-1918), the
celebrated poet, critic and grammarian is known as Kerala Panini for his
lasting contributions to Malayalam literature. He wrote books on grammar and
rhetoric which earned him the title of Kerala Panini and eventually prepared
the ground for an enlightened renaissance in Malayalam poetry and literary
criticism. He is said to have inaugurated a new era in modern Malayalam poetry.
Kerala Panineeyam is considered to be an authoritative work on Malayalam
grammar. He was a rare blend of scholarship and creative talent and was the
moving spirit behind the great literary renaissance in Kerala. He wrote widely
in Sanskrit and Malayalam and his poetic works were influenced by the study of
British romantic poets of the 19th century. His essays are fine examples of
excellent prose and his name will be remembered as long as Malayalam survives.
Ulloor S. Parameshwar Iyer, one of the Kavitryas has stated: “While others
embellished the walls of the mansion of Malayalam literature with their
paintings and drawings, A.R. Rajaraja Varma worked both on its foundation and
dome and made it a long enduring and imposing structure for the benefit of the
people of Kerala. His fame rests on this architectural accomplishment and is
bound to last forever”.1850 to 1950 was considered as the Golden period
of Malayalam literature. It was during this period that stalwarts like Kerala
Varma Valia Koyi Thampuran, A.R. Rajaraja Varma, O. Chandu Menon, C.V. Raman
Pillai, Kumaran Asan, Ulloor S. Parameshwar Iyer and Vallathol Narayana Menon
lived and produced great literature. Rajaraja Varma’s important works are Kerala
Panineeyam, Bhashabhooshanam, and Vritha Manjari and Sahitya Sahyam. Sabda
Sodhini, Pradhama Vyakaranam, Madhyama Vyakaranam and Mani Deepika are the
grammar books written by him. English-style punctuation to Malayalam was
introduced through Vritha Manjari. Bhanga Vilapam and Malaya Vilasam are his
poems. Malaya Vilasam can be considered as the forerunner of Bhavageetham
(romantic poem) in Malayalam. He contributed significantly to the growth of
prose through his essays and the preface he wrote for Kumaran Asan's Nalini
brings into focus this trend. Prasadamala, was his last work. His major works
in Sanskrit are Vitavibhavathi, Angala Samrajyam and Laghu Panineeyam. He has
translated some of the titles from Sanskrit into Malayalam which include Bhasha
Meghadooth, Bhasha Kumara Sambhavam, Malayala Sakunthalam, Malavikagnimithram,
Charudatham and Swapna Vasavadatham.
As a professor in the University College, Kerala
he attempted to modernize the process of teaching Malayalam language and
literature. Before the age of 16, he wrote Ganeshashtakam and Devimangalam. He
had contributed a lot to the structure of Malayalam literature. In Malayalam
grammar and structural rules for writing a poetry were first clearly defined
and compiled by A.R. Rajaraja Varma and were brought out in three works, Kerala
Panineeyam, Vrutha Manjari and Bhasha Bhooshanam. These are the authentic texts
which explain everything about the grammar, metres and rhetorics in Malayalam
language. Vritha Manjari is a text for the study of Sankrit and Malayalam
Vritthas (Meters) whereas Sahithya Sahyam is a study on prose writing which
provides guidelines for writing prose.Rajaraja Varma Koyi Thampuran was born in February
1863 at the Changanachery Lakshmipuram Palace. His mother was Kunjikkavu
Thampuratis and father Vasudevan Namboodiri from the Pattial Illam. His mother
and uncle Kerala Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran had to move to family moved to
'Ananthapuram' Palace at Haripad, when he was only two years old and remained
there till he was eight years old. There he was happy playing chess with
friends and rendering Akshara slokas and even writing poems in free time.
Rugmini Varanam and Devi Mangalam are two such works in his early age. Rajaraja
Varma was known in the pet name 'Kochappan' among relatives and friends. It is
said that Rajaraja Varma did not speak at all during his childhood years. He
suffered from stuttering and stammering and incoherent speech. He was made to
worship at Panachhikat Temple and soon he started showing interest in poetry.His early education was under Chunakkara Achutha
Variar and Sankara Variar. By the age of twelve, he learned arithmetic and some
elementary poems in Sanskrit. Then he started learning Kavyas and composing
poems under his uncle Kerala Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran. During the six years
of education, he learned Nyshadham, Manaveda Champu, Sakunthalam, Malathy Madhavam,
Kuvalayanandam, Rasa Gangadharam besides Maha Kavyas, dramas and grammar texts.At the age of twenty he completed matriculation
and joined F.A. (First Examination in Arts) and successfully completed it in
1886. Then he joined for B.A and took Chemistry as his optional subject. Though
failed in his first attempt, he again appeared for the examination in 1890 and
passed. He was the first among the Kerala royals to get a degree from the
Madras University.During this period, he wrote Bhanga Vilapam, Veenashtakam,
Meghopalambham, Pithru Pralapam and Sree Padmanabha Panchakam. Pithru Pralapam,
as the name indicates is the lament of a father. He was appointed as Inspector
of the Sanskrit School in 1980 by the then Maharaja, Sree Moolam Thirunal with
an annual honorarium of Rs.200 thereby becoming the first public servant from a
Royal family.He introduced reforms in the curriculum and
teaching methods in the school following the Western models which gave a new
outlook for the school. He could convert the school into a college during his
tenure. Meanwhile he joined for M.A. in Sanskrit at the Presidency College,
Madras and completed the examination in first rank. He also won the Munnuswamy
Chetty Medal for Sanskrit which was one of the highest educational accolades in
Southern India at that time. He also bagged the Ross Gold Medal. As part of the
M.A course, he had to prepare a dissertation and the subject chosen was
‘Narayana Bhattathiri and His Works’. Rajaraja Varma was appointed as the Principal of
Sanskrit College in 1894. He has contributed a total of 43 titles to the
literature which include 22 Sanskrit and 21 Malayalam works. Later in 1899, he
was made the Superintendent of Oriental Studies at the Maharaja's College,
Trivandrum. In 1912 he was promoted as the Professor of Sanskrit and Dravidian
Languages. Not only as a great planner and visionary, but even as teacher, he
was outstanding. His students like Sahitya Panchananan P.K. Narayana
Pillai and P. Ananthan Pillai have recorded their appreciation of his talent
for teaching. Later he was given the charge of the Principal thereby becoming
the first non-British Principal of the college. In 1889 he married Swati Thirunal Mahaprabha Kochu
Thampuratti, daughter of Mootha Koyi Thampuran of Mavelikkara Palace. The
couple had eight children including five girls and three boys. A biography of
Rajaraja Varma in three volumes was written by Raghava Varmaraja and
Bhageerathy Amma Thampuran, his children. In 1908 there occurred among the Malayalam writers
an issue related to Dwitheeyakshara Prasam (repeating the second letter in all
the four lines in a poem) He was not keen on Dwitheeyakshara Prasam in poems,
instead he insisted on the contents and meaning. It was in fact the rejection
of neo-classicism and the acceptance of a romantic theory of literature. But
his uncle insisted on it and was not even prepared to accept other poems. His
differences of opinion with Kerala Varma were not confined to the continued use
of the second syllable rhyme. behind the controversy lay the basis of a
new poetics: Uddhala Charitam is the condensed version of
Shakespeare’s Othello written for the children. Prabhandha Samgraham is the
compilation of his scholarly speeches. Marmaprakasam and Kanthara Tharakam are
literary commentaries on Mayoora Sandhesam and Nalacharitam. Gairvani Vijayam
and Devi Dandakam are combined and published as Sahithya Kuthuhalam. Kumaran
Asan's Prarodanam and Prof. Joseph Mundasseri's Raja Rajante Mattoli are based
on the life of Rajaraja Varma's life.On 18th June, 1918 Rajaraja Varma passed away at
the age of 55 plunging the state into uncontrollable grief. Rajaraja Varma is
considered to be the most outstanding grammarian Malayalam has ever produced
and his work Kerala Panineeyam has been accepted as a monumental work and his
name will be remembered as long as Malayalam survives.
Prof. John Kurakar
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