Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad

Last updated

Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad (1891-1981) was a Nambudiri Brahmin in the State of Kerala in India who helped rejuvenate interest in the Indian traditional architectural styles known collectively as Vastu shastra [ citation needed ]. He was a consultant for the renovation of many temples in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and also the Royal Architect for the three royal families of Travancore, Cochin and Kozhikode (Calicut)[ citation needed ]. He was a prolific writer authoring more than a hundred books on a variety of books relating to traditional knowledge areas like vastu shastra (architecture), [1] jyothisha (astrology and astronomy), ayurveda (Indian system of medicine), and also books on history. [2] He compiled a Sanskrit-Malayalam Dictionary and a Dictionary of Indigenous Medicines. [3]

Contents

Sankaran Namboodiripad was born as the ninth child of Kanippayyur Subramanian Namboothiripad, who himself was a great scholar in vasthu vidya, and Kanippayyur Kali Antharjanam. [4] (According to some legends, after Parasurama created Kerala from the sea, the practice of various professions essential for the society were distributed among different families. In this process, Kanippayyur was a Namboothiri family to which was assigned the profession of architecture and construction of temples. [5] ) He had his traditional primary education and Rig Vedic studies at home. He took higher lessons in Rigveda at the famous Vedic School at Thrissur and became well versed in Sthapathya Veda and Astrology under the tutelage of his elders. He also studied Ayurveda. He rejuvenated Vaastu Shastra and popularized it further[ citation needed ]. He also started work centers for making icons and other ancillaries connected with temples. [6] Kannippayur Narayanan Namboothiripad is often quoted from this family nowadays as he is a renowned Astrologer appearing in TV Shows, Online etc.

Panchangam Press

In 1929, Shankaran Namboodiripad established a printing press in Kunnamkulam to print mainly the almanacs prepared by him and other members of his family. The press, named Panchangam Press, has developed into an icon of Kunnakulam producing books related to Hindu religious practices. The press has brought out works on many knowledge systems like Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Vedangas, Upavedas, Epics and Puranas, Tantra, Mantra, classical Sanskrit literature, etc.

Research Library

The descendants of Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad have established a research library in memory of Shankaran Namboodiripad at Kunnamkulam to continue the scholarly traditions of learning and research established by him. The Library founded in 1990 aims to be a repository of palm leaf manuscripts and books related to traditional Indian systems of knowledge, and to be a center for the propagation of such knowledge by bringing out translations of works in these knowledge areas. The Library also aims to be a pioneer in the popularization of Sanskrit language among the younger generation. The Library has procured large collections of manuscripts and books held in many Namboothiri houses.

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geomancy</span> Method of divination that interprets markings on the ground

Geomancy translates literally to "earth divination," and the term was originally used to mean methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. Its definition has expanded over time, to include any spiritual, metaphysical, or pseudoscientific practice that is related to the Earth. In recent times the term has been applied to a wide range of other occult and fringe activities, including Earth mysteries and the introduction of ley lines and Bau-Biologie.

Bandhu (1), Sanskrit for friend, connected with bandhana or ties, which are the connections that, according to the Vedas, link the outer and the inner worlds. Vedic texts speak, for example, of the 360 bones of the fetus that fuse into the 206 bones of the adult.

<i>Vastu shastra</i> Architecture and design-related texts of India

Originating in ancient India, Vastu Shastra is a traditional Hindu system of architecture based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement, and spatial geometry. The designs aim to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilising geometric patterns (yantra), symmetry, and directional alignments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsha Vidya Gurukulam</span> Vedic teaching institutions

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is a set of Vedic teaching institutions founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. A gurukulam is a center for residential learning that evolved from the Vedic tradition. Arsha Vidya translates to knowledge of rishis (sages).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunnamkulam</span> Municipality in Kerala, India

Kunnamkulam is a municipal town situated in the Thrissur District of Kerala in India. Spread over an area of 34.18 km2, it is an old commercial town, with an ancient history. It is famous for its printing and book-binding industry. In the past, the town was called Kunnankulangara and references can be seen many British Archives about a neat and prosperous town which was predominantly Christian. Over the years Kunnamkulam has become a meeting point for all religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shukra</span> Deity of the planet Venus

Shukra is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of a sage who counselled the asuras in Vedic mythology. In medieval mythology and Hindu astrology, the word refers to the planet Venus, one of the Navagrahas.

O M C Narayanan Nambudiripad, an eminent Sanskrit scholar was born to the famous Nambudiri family of Olappamanna Mana on 24 June 1910 in Vellinezhi. He is known for his translation into Malayalam of the Rigveda. This work titled Rigveda Bhasha Bhashyam is an exhaustive interpretative analysis of the Rigveda alternatively known as Deviprasadam. After his death on 4 April 1989 aged 79, a trust was constituted in his memory. The Deviprasadam Trust at Olappamanna Mana hands out awards annually to honour masters in Sanskrit, Vedas, Malayalam literature and Kathakali.

<i>Shilpa Shastras</i> Ancient umbrella term for numerous Hindu texts

Shilpa Shastras literally means the Science of Shilpa. It is an ancient umbrella term for numerous Hindu texts that describe arts, crafts, and their design rules, principles and standards. In the context of Hindu temple architecture and sculpture, Shilpa Shastras were manuals for sculpture and Hindu iconography, prescribing among other things, the proportions of a sculptured figure, composition, principles, meaning, as well as rules of architecture.

Moothiringode Bhavathrāthan Namboothiripad was a Malayalam author who is known for his work Aphante Makal which had great social relevance in pre-independent Kerala society.

Thantri or Tantri is the Vedic head who stands in a top room in religion of Hindu. Thantri is person who set rule in temples, they are the authority in the temples of Kerala and temples in coastal Karnataka in southern India. It is a position held hereditarily. It is the thantri who installs the murti of the deity called prana pratishtha, and from that moment he assumes the position of the guru of the deity. The thantri is the authority on the rites and rituals of the temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu architecture</span> Traditional system of Indian architecture as described in Hindu texts

Hindu architecture is the traditional system of Indian architecture for structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, market places, gardens and town planning as described in Hindu texts. The architectural guidelines survive in Sanskrit manuscripts and in some cases also in other regional languages. These texts include the Vastu shastras, Shilpa Shastras, the Brihat Samhita, architectural portions of the Puranas and the Agamas, and regional texts such as the Manasara among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. Ganapati Sthapati</span> Indian temple architect (1927–2011)

Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati was a Sthapati and head of the College of Architecture and Sculpture in the Vastu Shastra tradition ascribed to the sage Mamuni Mayan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Kerala</span> Overview of Hinduism n Kerala

Hinduism is the largest religion in Kerala and Hindu lineages together make up 54.8% of the population of the state according to the 2011 census.

Kanippayyur is a village, near Kunnamkulam in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India.

Irumkulangara Durga Bhagavathi Temple is a Hindu temple in Thottam, Manacaud P.O, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It is about 1.8 kilometres to the southwest of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram city.

Shree Somnath Sanskrit University (SSSU) is a public university located in Gujarat, India. It was created by the Gujarat State government through the Shree Somnath Sanskrit University Act in 2005 for the research and teaching of Sanskrit literature, with objectives to preserve India’s cultural and linguistic heritage. The main campus in Veraval is home to seven departments, or faculties, which, together with 110 affiliated colleges, research institutes, and centers across Gujarat, award nine different degrees, including B.A., M.A., and PhD, in a variety of fields. Shree Somnath Sanskrit University publishes a quarterly research publication, Somajyoti, and organize regular workshops and conferences to promote discourse and research in Sanskrit language and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. A. Ravi Varma</span>

Dr. L. A. Ravi Varma, was a historian, ophthalmologist and philosopher of the 20th century in Kerala, India. He was a critical figure who enriched the Ayurvedic literature contributing to its renaissance. In January 1940, he was appointed as Director of the joint Oriental Manuscripts Libraries of the Government of Kerala and the Kerala University. He was conferred the Honorary Title of Vaidyashastra Nipunan and Gaveshana Thillakan by Chithira Thirunal Maharaja, the King of Travancore, Kerala, India.

An Ashtavaidya is a practitioner of the Ayurveda system of medicine belonging to a group of families of Namboothiri in the Indian state of Kerala. Among the Ayurvedic healers of Kerala, the Ashtavaidyas are the physicians who are masters of the eight branches of Ayurveda mentioned in classical texts. It was this expertise in the eight branches that earned them the epithet of ashtavaidya. These branches are dealt with in detail in the treatise Ashtānga Hridayam one of the primary texts of Ayurveda. The eight branches of Ayurveda are Kaya, Bala, Graha, Urdhvanga, Shalya, Damshtra (toxicology, Jara and Vrisha.

Religious education in Kerala was historically influenced by traditional Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism through the ancient education system of Gurukula. Abrahamic religions were practiced in Kerala through the early days of maritime trade. Buddhism added educational vocabulary, including Namostu Jinatam, Ezhuthu Palli, and Pallikoodam to the Malayalam language. Madrasa institutions, coordinated by various Madarasa education boards referred to as Othupalli or Palli Dar since the independence of India. Modern Christian education began in the early 19th century.

Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Śaṅkaran Naṃpūtiri (1494-1570) was an Indian astronomer-astrologer-mathematician belonging to the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics who wrote a large number of books on astronomy and astrology in the vernacular language Malayalam in an effort to popularize these subjects among the common Malayalam speaking laypersons. He hailed from Peruvanam village in present-day Thrissur district. He spent most of his active life at Chengannur with his teacher Parameśvaran Pōtti of Vāzha-māveli house.

References

  1. Kanippayyur Shankaran naboodiripad (1965). Manuṣyālaya candṟika. Kunnamkulam, Kerala: Pañcāṃgaṃ Pustakaśāla.
  2. Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad (1966). Āryanmāruṭe kuṭiyēṯṯaṃ, Kēraḷattil.
  3. Kanippayyur Sankaran Nambudiripad (1965). Vaidyarantnam ausadhanighantu. Kunnamkulam, Kerala: Pañcaṅgam Pustakaśāla.
  4. K Raman Bhattathiripad. "Contributions of Namboothiris in "Vaasthu Vidya"". Namboothiri websites. Namboothiri websites Trusst. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  5. "Kanippayyur Krishnan Namboothiripad". Kerala tourism. Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  6. "Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad". Kanippayur Nurturing Tradition. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  7. "Results for 'au:Sankaran Nambudiripad, Kanippayyur,' [WorldCat.org]". 2018-05-20. Archived from the original on 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-05-20.