- Keralolpathi
The Keralolpathi (literally creation of
Kerala ) is aMalayalam work that deals with the origin of the land ofKerala . Shungunny Menon ascribes the authorship of this work toThunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan , a 17th century scholar of theMalabar region ofIndia [History of Travancore by Shungunny Menon, page 28] . The Keralolpathi is mostly an expansion from an earlierSanskrit work known as the "Kerala Mahatmayam". That work which is classed among theHindu Purana s as an "Upa Purana" (or sub Purana) of the "Bhoogola Purana". This is widely believed to be inaccurate account and an ill conceived attempt by Namboodiri's to downplay the importance of Nairs in Kerala history.The Keralolpathi covers the ancestry of the
Namboodiri Brahmins and other castes ofKerala and is sometimes called the "Kerala Ulpathy". While the "Kerala Mahatmayam" deals with the origin ofKerala and its people alone, the Keralolpathi gives a history ofKerala down to the modern age, including reference to the British inKerala [History of Travancore by Shungunny Menon, page 37] .Criticisms
Historians doubt the reliability of this collection of legends as it contains many discrepancies. For instance it states that a certain
Viceroy ofKerala went toMecca and met theIslamic prophet Mohammed there. However the corresponding date mentioned is such that the prophet was not even born till more than a century later [History of Travancore by Shungunny Menon, page 63] . It also mentions that the KingKrishnadevaraya of theVijayanagara empire appointed a Viceroy overKerala in 428 AD. However the said king reigned between 1509 and 1529 AD [Travancore State Manual by V.Nagam Aiya, Volume I, page 223] . Besides, the mention of the English, Dutch and Portuguese factors also prove that the work is certainly not dated before the 17th century AD.Likewise even the origins of most of the
caste s and clans ofKerala varies from the ancient Sanskrit Kerala Mahatmayam. Besides, by the 18th century modified versions of the work started appearing, varying from kingdom to kingdom and region to region inKerala . Therefore, according to Shungunny Menon (a native historian ofTravancore ,Kerala ) one cannot place, in the Keralolpathi, the value of a historical source. Shungunny Menon, stated that:William Logan, who was the author of the
Malabar Manual also refutes the validity of the Keralolpathi and describes it as:K.P. Padmanabha Menon, another native historian calls the Keralolpathi:
References
ee also
*
Namboodiri
*Parasurama
*Kerala
*Nair
*Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan
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