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{{short description|Indian poet}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
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{{Infobox writer
{{more citations needed|date=July 2011}}
| honorific_prefix = Mahakavi
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = N. Kumaran asan
| name = Kumaran Asan
| image = Kumaran Asan 1973 stamp of India.jpg
| image = Kumaran Asan 1973 stamp of India.jpg
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1873|04|12}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1871|04|12}}
| birth_place = Kaayikkara,[[Anchuthengu]],[[Chirayinkeezhu]], [[Travancore]], British India
| birth_place = Kaayikkara [[Kadakkavoor]], [[Chirayinkeezhu]], [[Trivandrum]], [[Travancore]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1924|01|16|1873|4|12}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1924|01|16|1873|4|12}}
| death_place = Pallana river, [[Alappuzha]]
| death_place = [[Alappuzha|Alleppey]], Travancore
| occupation = Poet, writer
| occupation = Poet and writer
| genre =
| nationality = Indian
| movement =
| alma_mater =
| period =
| notableworks = ''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]''
| website =
| genre =
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = {{ubl|''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]''|''Duravastha''|''Chinthavishtayaaya Seetha''|''Nalini''|''Leela''|''Chandala Bhikshuki''|''Prarodanam''}}
| spouse = Bhanumathiamma
| partner =
| children = Prabhakaran and Sudhakaran
| relatives = {{ubl|Narayanan Perungudi (father)|Kochupennu (mother)}}
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards =
}}
}}
{{Renaissance of Kerala}}
'''N. Kumaran Ashan''' (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924), also known as ''Mahakavi Kumaran Ashan'' (the prefix '''Mahakavi''', awarded by Madras University in 1922, means "great poet" and the suffix ''''Aashaan''' means "scholar" or "teacher"), was one of the [[Triumvirate poets of modern Malayalam|triumvirate poets]] of [[Kerala]], [[South India]].<ref name="kanic">http://kanic.kerala.gov.in</ref> He was also a philosopher, a social reformer and a disciple of Sree [[Narayana Guru]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Sisir Kumar |editor-last=Das |title=A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC&pg=PA440 |year=2006 |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-7201-798-9 |pages=306–308 |chapter=The Narratives of Suffering: Caste and the Underprivileged}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Natarajan|first1=Nalini|title=Handbook of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.|isbn=0-313-28778-3|pages=183–185|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref>
'''Mahakavi Kumaran Asan''' (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1871 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of [[Malayalam literature]], Indian social reformer and a philosopher.He is known to have initiated a revolution in [[Malayalam poetry]] during the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical and his poetry is characterised by its moral and spiritual content, poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation. He is one of the [[Triumvirate poets of modern Malayalam|triumvirate poets]] of [[Kerala]] and a disciple of [[Narayana Guru|Sree Narayana Guru]]. He was awarded the prefix "Mahakavi" in 1922 by the Madras university which means "great poet".{{Refn|group=note|Asan was commonly referred to as ''Mahakavi Kumaran Asan'' (the prefix ''Mahakavi'', awarded by [[Madras University]] in 1922, means "great poet" and the suffix ''Asan'' means "scholar" or "teacher")}}


== Biography ==
Kumaran Ashan initiated a revolution in [[Malayalam]] poetry in the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical. Deep moral and spiritual commitment is evident in Ashan's poetry. His works are an eloquent testimony of poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation.
[[Image:Asan with guru.JPG|thumb|250px|left|Kumaran Asan (standing right) with [[Narayana Guru]] (seated middle).]]
Asan{{Refn|group=note|Asan was commonly referred to as ''Mahakavi Kumaran Asan'' (the prefix ''Mahakavi'', awarded by [[Madras University]] in 1922, means "great poet" and the suffix ''Asan'' means "scholar" or "teacher")}} was born on April 12, 1873, in a merchant family belonging to [[Ezhava]] community in Kayikkara village, [[Chirayinkeezhu taluk]], [[Anchuthengu|Anchuthengu Grama Panchaayat]]h in [[Travancore]]{{Refn|group=note|present-day [[Thiruvananthapuram]] district of [[Kerala]], [[South India]]}} to Narayanan Perungudi, a polyglot well versed in [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] and [[Tamil language]]s, and Kochupennu as the second of their nine children.<ref name="Akademi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/Kumaranasan/Html/Kumaranasanngraphy.htm |title=Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal |date=2019-03-02 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> His early schooling was at a local school by a teacher by name, Udayankuzhi Kochuraman Vaidyar, who taught him elementary [[Sanskrit]] after which he continued his studies at the government school in Kayikkara until he was thirteen. Subsequently, he joined the school as a teacher in 1889 but had to quit as he was not old enough to hold a government job. It was during this time, he studied the verses and plays of Sanskrit literature. Later, he started working as an accountant at a local wholesale grocer in 1890, the same year he met [[Shree Narayana Guru]] and became the spiritual leader's disciple.<ref name="Chronicle">{{Cite web |url=http://kanic.kerala.gov.in/index.php/cronicle |title=Chronicle |date=2019-03-02 |website=kanic.kerala.gov.in |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref>


Narayana Guru's influence led Asan to spiritual pursuits and he spent some time at a local temple, in prayers and teaching Sanskrit.<ref name="Akademi" /> Soon, he joined Guru at his [[Aruvippuram]] hermitage where he was known as ''Chinnaswami'' ("young ascetic"). In 1895, he moved to [[Bangalore]] and studied for law, staying with [[Padmanabhan Palpu]]. He stayed there only until 1898 as Palpu went to England and a [[Plague (disease)|plague]] [[epidemic]] spread over Bangalore and Asan spent the next few months in [[Chennai|Madras]] before proceeding to Calcutta to continue his Sanskrit studies.<ref name="Chronicle" /> At [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], he studied at [[Tarka sastra]] at the Central Hindu College, studying English simultaneously and also got involved with the [[Bengali Renaissance|Indian Renaissance]], but his stay was again cut short due to plague epidemic.<ref name="A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC&pg=PA440 |title=A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-7201-798-9 |editor-last=Das |editor-first=Sisir Kumar |edition= Reprinted |pages=306–308 |chapter=The Narratives of Suffering: Caste and the Underprivileged}}</ref><ref name="Handbook of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&pg=PA184 |title=Handbook of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India |last=Natarajan |first=Nalini |year=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. |isbn=0-313-28778-3 |pages=183–185 |access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref> He returned to Aruvippuram in 1900.<ref name="Chronicle" />
==Early life==
Asan was born in a merchant family belonging to the [[Ezhava]] community<ref name="Kumaran Ashan">{{cite book|last=Tharamangalam|first=Joseph|title=Agrarian Class Conflict: The Political Mobilization of Agricultural Labourers in Kuttanad, South India|year=1981|publisher=The University of British Columbia|isbn=0-7748-0126-3|pages=38|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=538cKfVv8ygC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Agrarian+Class+Conflict:+The+Political+Mobilization+of+Agricultural+Labourers+in+Kuttanad,+South+India&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n13XUN60AseY1AWx7YCoBg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA}}</ref> in April 1873 in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, Anchuthengu Grama Panchaayath [[Thiruvananthapuram]] district of [[Kerala]], [[south India]]. Named ''Kumaran'', he was the second son in a family of nine children. His father, ''Narayanan Perungudi'', was well versed in [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]]. His mother was Kaali. Asan inherited his taste for [[Kathakali]] and [[Indian classical music|classical music]]. Kumaru trained in mathematics and [[Sanskrit]] for which he had a passion. Even though through his father's efforts, he got a job as a primary school teacher and an accountant to a wholesaler at the age of 14, he quit the job two years later to pursue higher studies in Sanskrit. He undertook a studentship in poetry under Manamboor Govindan Asan. He wished to learn [[Yoga]] and [[Tantra]] and worked as an apprentice in a [[Muruga]] temple at Vakkom. He composed a few devotional songs for the benefit of regular worshippers at this temple.


Asan was also involved with the activities of the [[Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam]] (SNDP) and became its secretary in 1904.<ref name="SNDP Yogam">{{Cite web |url=http://sndpyogam.in/sndp/ |title=SNDP Yogam |date=2019-03-03 |website=Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam |language=en |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> The same year, he founded [[Vivekodayam]], a literary journal in Malayalam, and assumed its editorship.<ref name="Das2005">{{cite book|author=Sisir Kumar Das|title=History of Indian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHklK65TKQ0C&pg=PA257|year=2005|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-006-5|pages=257–}}</ref><ref name="A Social History of India">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA600 |title=A Social History of India |last=S. N. Sadasivan |publisher=APH Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-81-7648-170-0 |pages=600–}}</ref> Under his leadership, the magazine became a monthly from a bi-monthly.<ref name="Kumaranasan - Kerala Media Academy">{{Cite web |url=http://archive.keralamediaacademy.org/content/kumaranasan |title=Kumaranasan - Kerala Media Academy |website=archive.keralamediaacademy.org |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319041347/http://archive.keralamediaacademy.org/content/kumaranasan |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1913, he was elected to the [[Sree Moolam Popular Assembly]] (Sri Moolam Praja Sabha),<ref name="Chronicle" /> the first popularly elected legislature in the history of India.<ref name="History of legislative bodies in Kerala-- Sri Moolam Praja Sabha">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaassembly.org/history/popular.html |title=History of legislative bodies in Kerala-- Sri Moolam Praja Sabha |date=2019-03-03 |website=keralaassembly.org |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> He relinquished the position at SNDP in 1919 and a year later, took over the editorship of ''Pratibha'', another literary magazine In 1921, he started a [[Roof tiles|clay tile]] factory, ''Union Tile Works'', in [[Aluva]] but when it was found that the factory was polluting the nearby palace pond, he shifted the project to a site near Aluva river and handed over the land to SNDP for building an ''Advaitashramam''.<ref name="Kumaran Asan As A Business Man">{{Cite web |url=https://www.veethi.com/articles/kumaran-asan-as-a-business-man-article-2457.htm |title=Kumaran Asan As A Business Man |website=veethi.com |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> Later, he moved to [[Thonnakkal]], a village in the periphery of [[Thiruvananthapuram]], where he settled with his wife.<ref name="Chronicle" /> In 1923, he contested in assembly election from [[Quilon]] constituency but lost to Sankara Menon.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://localnews.manoramaonline.com/kollam/local-news/2019/03/19/kollam-kumaranasan.html |title=Kumaran Aasan once contested from Kollam |date=2019-03-20 |website=Manorama |access-date=2019-03-20}}</ref>
In 1917 Asan married Bhanumathiamma, the daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran – younger brother of [[Padmanabhan Palpu]]'s father. . Bhanumathiamma, who was an active social worker, later remarried after Asan's death and died in 1975.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}


Asan married Bhanumathiamma, the daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran Writer who was a in 1917.<ref name="Makers of Indian Literature. Kumaran Asan">{{cite book|author=K. M. George|title=Makers of Indian Literature. Kumaran Asan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnpkNQEACAAJ|access-date=3 March 2019|year=1972|publisher=Sahitya Akademi.}}</ref>
[[Image:Asan with guru.JPG|thumb|250px|Kumaran Asan (standing right) with [[Narayana Guru]] (seated middle).]]
Kumaran became a disciple of Narayana Guru.


==Early works==
===Death===
Asan died on 16 January 1924, after a boat named Redeemer carrying capsized in the Pallana river in Alappuzha.<ref name="Kumaranasan Biography Kerala PSC">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pscteacher.com/2018/03/kumaranasan-biography-kerala-psc.html |title=Kumaranasan Biography Kerala PSC |date=2019-03-03 |website=pscteacher.com |language=en |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044006/https://www.pscteacher.com/2018/03/kumaranasan-biography-kerala-psc.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> His body was recovered after two days and the place where his mortal remains were cremated is known as ''Kumarakodi''.<ref name="Kumarakodi - District Alappuzha, Government of Kerala">{{Cite web |url=https://alappuzha.nic.in/tourist-place/kumarakodi/ |title=Kumarakodi - District Alappuzha |date=2019-03-03 |website=Government of Kerala |language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>
Some of the earlier works of the poet were ''Subramanya Sathakam'' and ''Sankara Sathakam'', wherein Asan voiced his devotional aspirations. His short poem ''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]'' (fallen flower) is a literary classic. It paved the way for a new movement in Malayalam literature. His [[elegy]] ''Prarodanam'' mourns the death of his contemporary and friend [[A. R. Raja Raja Varma]], the famous grammarian. His ''Khanda Kavyas'' (poems) like ''Nalini'', ''Leela'', ''Karuna'' and ''Chandaalabhikshuki'' won critical acclaim as well as popularity. In ''Chintaavishtayaaya Seetha'' (The Contemplative Sita) he displays his poetic artistry, while in ''Duravastha'', he patiently and skilfully tears down the barriers created by [[feudalism]], orthodoxy and casteism and consummates the dictum of the Guru, "One Caste, One Religion, One God for man".


== Legacy ==
He wrote the [[epic poem]] ''Buddha Charitha'' for which he got inspiration from [[Edwin Arnold]]'s ''Light of Asia''. While in ''Duravastha'', he revealed his revolutionary zeal for fighting [[caste]] distinctions; a few other poetic works had a distinct Hindu/Buddhist slant.
{{quote box|align = left|width=21em|''Remove the bonds of your effete tradition / Or it will ruin you within your own selves,'' Excerpts from ''Duravastha'' - Kumaran Asan<ref name="Handbook of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India" />}}
[[File:Kumaranasan - handwriting from notebooks kept at Thonnakkal museum (28).jpg|thumb|Handwriting of Kumaran Asan : From the notebooks of Asan kept at Thonnakkal Asan museum]]
Kumaran Asan was one of the [[triumvirate poets of modern Malayalam]], along with [[Vallathol Narayana Menon]] and [[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]].<ref name="When poesy met poise on stage - Times of India">{{Cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/When-poesy-met-poise-on-stage/articleshow/50264186.cms |title=When poesy met poise on stage - Times of India |website=The Times of India |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> Some of the earlier works of the poet were ''Subramanya Sathakam'' and ''Sankara Sathakam'', which were devotional in content but his later poems were marked by social commentary.<ref name="Kumaran Asan - Indian poet">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kumaran-Asan |title=Kumaran Asan - Indian poet |date=2019-03-03 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> He published ''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]'' (the fallen flower) in December 1907 in ''[[Mithavadi]]'' of [[Moorkoth Kumaran]] which went on to become a literary classic in Malayalam; its centenary was celebrated in 2017 when a book, ''Veenapoovinu 100'' was published which carried an introduction by [[M. M. Basheer]] and an English translation of the poem by [[K. Jayakumar]].<ref name="Veena Poovu: still in bloom">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/lsquoVeena-Poovursquo-still-in-bloom/article14898654.ece |title=Veena Poovu: still in bloom |date=2007-12-21 |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> ''Prarodanam'', an [[elegy]], mourning the death of his contemporary, friend and grammarian, [[A. R. Raja Raja Varma]], ''Khanda Kavyas'' (poems) such as ''Nalini'', ''Leela'', ''Karuna'', ''Chandaalabhikshuki'', ''Chinthaavishtayaaya Seetha'', and ''Duravastha'' are some of his other major works.<ref name="Kumaran Asan - A Biography">{{Cite web |url=http://books.sayahna.org/ml/pdf/nalini.pdf |title=Kumaran Asan - A Biography |date=2019-03-03 |website=sayahna.org |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> Besides, he wrote two epics, ''Buddha Charitha'' in 5 volumes and ''Balaramayanam'', a three-volume work.<ref name="Books and Works">{{Cite web |url=http://kanic.kerala.gov.in/index.php/books |title=Books and Works |date=2019-03-03 |website=kanic.kerala.gov.in |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>


== Honours ==
He died aged 51 as a result of a boat accident in January 1924 while travelling to [[Kollam]] from a function in [[Alappuzha]]. The boat capsized at Pallana and all on board drowned, except his friend Ouseph Kurian Mappila Thannikuzhiyil Kanjirathanam . Kumaranasan was the only poet in Malayalam who became ''mahakavi'' without writing a ''mahakavyam''.
In 1958, when [[Joseph Mundassery]] was the Minister of Education, the [[Government of Kerala]] acquired Asan's house in Thonnakkal and established the ''Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture'' (Kanic), as a memorial for the poet,<ref name="Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture">{{Cite web |url=http://kanic.kerala.gov.in/ |title=Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture |date=2019-03-03 |website=kanic.kerala.gov.in |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> the first instance in Kerala history when the government took over a poet's property to convert it into a memorial.<ref name="The Memorial of Asan">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaculture.org/ |title=The Memorial of Asan |date=2019-03-03 |website=www.keralaculture.org |language=en |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> It houses an archives, a museum and a publications division. Asan Memorial Association, a Chennai-based organization, has built a memorial at Kayikkara, the birthplace of the poet.<ref name="Asan Memorial, Kayikkara">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaculture.org/ |title=Asan Memorial, Kayikkara |date=2019-03-03 |website=www.keralaculture.org |language=en |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> They have also instituted an annual award, [[Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram]], for recognising excellence in Malayalam poetry.<ref name="Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram">{{Cite web |url=http://asaneducation.com/asan_association/awards.html |title=Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram |date=2019-03-03 |website=asaneducation.com |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145952/http://asaneducation.com/asan_association/awards.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The award carries a cash prize of {{INR}}30,000 and [[Sugathakumari]], [[O. N. V. Kurup]], [[K. Ayyappa Panicker]] and [[K. Satchidanandan]] are some of the recipients of the award.<ref name="List of Awardees">{{Cite web |url=http://asaneducation.com/asan_association/awards.html#list |title=List of Awardees |date=2019-03-03 |website=asaneducation.com |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145952/http://asaneducation.com/asan_association/awards.html#list |url-status=dead }}</ref> Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School is a CBSE affiliated higher secondary school run by Asan Memorial Association.<ref name="ASAN Memorial Senior Secondary School">{{Cite web |url=http://asancbse.com/our-school.php |title=ASAN Memorial Senior Secondary School |date=2019-03-03 |website=asancbse.com |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> The [[India Post]] issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting Asan's portrait in 1973, in connection with his birth centenary.<ref name="Amrut Philately Gallery - 1973">{{Cite web |url=http://www.amrutphilately.com/gallery/index.php?yer=1973 |title=Amrut Philately Gallery - 1973 |date=2019-03-03 |website=amrutphilately.com |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214071346/http://www.amrutphilately.com/gallery/index.php?yer=1973 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Commemorative and definitive stamps">{{Cite web |url=http://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps_List.aspx |title=Commemorative and definitive stamps |date=2019-03-03 |website=postagestamps.gov.in |access-date=2019-03-03 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121210123/http://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps_List.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|Please check year 1973}}

The Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture at [[Thonnakkal]] was founded in 1958 in his memory, and includes a small house which he had built on his land.<ref name="kanic" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3957&Itemid=3142 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=23 April 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407065701/http://www.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3957&Itemid=3142 |archivedate=7 April 2013 }}</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
[[File:Kumaranasan - handwriting from notebooks kept at Thonnakkal museum (28).jpg|thumb|Handwriting of Kumaran Asan : From the notebooks of Asan kept at Thonnakkal Asan museum]]
[[File:Kumaranasan - Chandalabhikshuki scene at Thonnakkal Asan Smarakam.jpg|thumb|Kumaran Asan - Chandalabhikshuki - a mural at Thonnakkal Asan Smarakam]]
*'''Sthothrakrithikal''' (1901)
:This is a collection of poems. The poems published in this volume are longer than those published in ''Manimaala.''


=== Major works ===
*'''Saundaryalahari (poem)''' (1901)
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width:75%"
*''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]]'' (1907)
! scope="col" style="width:5%" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:30%" | Work
! scope="col" style="width:40%" | Remarks
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1907
! scope="row" | ''[[Veena Poovu (poem)|Veena Poovu]] (The Fallen Flower)''<ref name="Veenapoovu">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=258503&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Veenapoovu |last=Kumaran Asan |first=N. |date=2007 |publisher=D C Books |isbn=9788126417995 |location=Kottayam}}</ref>
|Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in [[Jain Medu]], [[Palakkad]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150380300.htm |title=The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Dance : Visual poetry |last1=Paul |first1=G.S. |date=21 December 2007 |access-date=20 July 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522045820/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150380300.htm |archive-date=22 May 2011}}</ref> A highly philosophical poem, 'Veena Poovu' is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, which is depicted through the description of the varied stages in the life of a flower. Asan describes in such detail about its probable past and the position it held. It is an intense sarcasm on people on high powers/positions finally losing all those. The first word ''Ha'', and the last word ''Kashtam'' of the entire poem is often considered as a symbolism of him calling the world outside ''Ha! kashtam'' (How pitiful).<ref name="Lal1992">{{cite book|author=Mohan Lal|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA4529|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|pages=4529–}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1911
! scope="row" | ''[[(Nalini (poem)|Nalini]]''<ref name="Nalini : Patam, Patanam, Vyakhyanam">{{Cite book |url=https://onlinestore.dcbooks.com/books/nalini-:-patam--patanam--vyakhyanam?t=1 |title=Nalini : Patam, Patanam, Vyakhyanam |last=Kumaran Asan |date=January 2009 |publisher=DC Books |isbn=9788126424108 |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044031/https://onlinestore.dcbooks.com/books/nalini-:-patam--patanam--vyakhyanam?t=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Nalini">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202288&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Nalini |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1970 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Thonnakkal |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624211633/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202288&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| It is a love poem, which details the love between Nalini and Diwakharan.<ref name="George1972">{{cite book|author=K. M. George|title=Western Influence on Malayalam Language and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZqqyxVkufQC&pg=PA123|year=1972|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-0413-3|pages=123–}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1914
! scope="row" | ''[[Leela (poem)|Leela]]''<ref name="Leela">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202274&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Leela |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1970 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Thonnakkal |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306124556/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202274&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| A deep love story in which Leela leaves Madanan, her lover and returns to find him in forest in a pathetic condition. She thus realises the fundamental fact ''Mamsanibhadamalla ragam'' (true love is not carnal)<ref name="ലീലയ്ക്ക് 100 വയസ്">{{Cite web |url=https://www.azhimukham.com/leela-kumaranasan-poetry-love-renaissance-kerala/ |title=ലീലയ്ക്ക് 100 വയസ് |date=2014-10-07 |website=Azhimukham |language=ml |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1919
! scope="row" | ''[[Prarodanam]]'' (Lamentation)<ref name="Prarodanam">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202280&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Prarodanam |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1968 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Thonnakkal |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306110014/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202280&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| An elegy on the death of [[A. R. Rajaraja Varma]], a poet, critic and scholar; similar to [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]'s [[Adonaïs]], with a distinctly Indian philosophical attitude.<ref name="Das2005" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1919
! scope="row" | ''[[Chinthavishtayaaya Sita]]'' (Reflective Sita) <ref name="Chindavishtayaya Seetha">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202297&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Chindavishtayaya Seetha |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1970 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Thonnakkal |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306095952/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202297&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| An exploration of womanhood and sorrow, based on the plight of [[Sita]] of [[Ramayana]].<ref name="Pati2019">{{cite book|author=George Pati|title=Religious Devotion and the Poetics of Reform: Love and Liberation in Malayalam Poetry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wueIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93|date=18 February 2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-10359-6|pages=93–}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1922
! scope="row" | ''[[Duravastha]]'' (The Tragic Plight)<ref name="Duravastha">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221773&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Duravastha |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1969 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306134809/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221773&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| A love story depicting the relationship between Savithri, a [[Namboothiri]] heiress and Chathan, a youth from a lower caste. A political commentary on 19th and early 20th century Kerala.<ref name="Theatrical adaptation brings Kumaran Asan’s poem to life - Times of India">{{Cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/theatrical-adaptation-brings-kumaran-asans-poem-to-life/articleshow/57389965.cms |title=Theatrical adaptation brings Kumaran Asan's poem to life - Times of India |website=The Times of India |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1922
! scope="row" | ''[[Chandaalabhikshuki]]''<ref name="Chandala bhikshuki">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202294&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Chandala bhikshuki |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1970 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Thonnakkal |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306134804/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=202294&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| This poem, divided into four parts and consisting of couplets, describes an untouchable beggar-woman" (also the name of the poem) who approaches Lord [[Ananda]] near [[Sravasti]].<ref name="Sadasivan2000 1">{{cite book|author=S. N. Sadasivan|title=A Social History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA634|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-170-0|pages=634–}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1923
! scope="row" | ''[[Karuna (poem)|Karuna]]'' (compassion)<ref name="Karuna">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221817&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Karuna |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1969 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306121715/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221817&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| The story of Vasavadatta, a [[devadasi]], and Upagupta, a [[Buddhist]] monk.<ref name="Sadasivan2000">{{cite book|author=S. N. Sadasivan|title=A Social History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA681|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-170-0|pages=681–}}</ref><ref name="Raveendran2002">{{cite book|author=P. P. Raveendran|title=Joseph Mundasseri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mU7zHtik0ZoC&pg=PA47|year=2002|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1535-1|pages=47–}}</ref> Tells the story of sensory attraction and its aftermath.<ref name="BoehmerBoehmer2010">{{cite book|author1=Elleke Boehmer|author2=Professor of World Literature in English Elleke Boehmer|author3=Rosinka Chaudhuri|title=The Indian Postcolonial: A Critical Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_SrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA228|date=4 October 2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-81957-5|pages=228–}}</ref>
|}


=== Other works ===
:Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in [[Jain Medu]], [[Palakkad]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150380300.htm |title=The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Dance : Visual poetry |last1=Paul |first1=G.S. |date=21 December 2007 |accessdate=20 July 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522045820/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/12/21/stories/2007122150380300.htm |archivedate=22 May 2011}}</ref> A highly philosophical poem, 'Veena Poovu' is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, which is depicted through the description of the varied stages in the life of a flower. asan describes in such detail about its probable past and the position it held. It is an intense sarcasm on people on high powers/positions finally losing all those. The first word Ha, and the last word Kashtam of the entire poem is often considered as a symbolism of him calling the world outside "Ha! kashtam".
[[File:Kumaran Ashan.jpg|thumb|A statue of Kumaran Asan in front of the [[University of Kerala]].]]


{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width:75%"
*''[[Oru Simhaprasavam]]'' (190Nalini (poem)|Nalini]]'' (Subtitle: ''Allengkil Oru Sneham'') (1911)
! scope="col" style="width:5%" | Year
*''[[Leela (story)|Leela]]'' (1914)
! scope="col" style="width:30%" | Work
:A deep love story in which Leela leaves madanan, her lover and returns to find him in forest in a pathetic condition. She thus realises the fundamental fact 'Mamsanibhadamalla ragam' (Love is not an artefact of flesh)
! scope="col" style="width:40%" | Remarks

|-
*''[[Sribuddhacharitham]]'' (1915)
| style="text-align:center;" |1901
:This is an [[epic poem]] (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in [[couplets]] and divided into five parts.
! scope="row" | ''Sthothrakrithikal''

|Poetry anthology
*''[[Baalaraamaayanam]]'' (1916)
|-
:This is a shorter epic poem consisting of 267 verses. Most of these verses are couplets, with the exception of the last three [[quatrains]]. There are, therefore, 540 lines in all.
| style="text-align:center;" |1901

! scope="row" | ''Saundaryalahari''
*''[[Graamavrikshattile Kuyil]]'' (1918)
|Poetry anthology
*''[[Prarodanam]]'' (1919)
|-
*''[[Chintaavishtayaaya Sita]]'' (1919)
| style="text-align:center;" |1915–29
*''[[Pushpavaadi]]'' (1922)
! scope="row" | ''[[Sree Budhacharitham]]''<ref name="Sree Budhacharitham">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=325268&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Sree Budhacharitham |last=Kumaran Asan |first=N. |date=1915 |publisher=Sarada Book Depot |location=Trivandram |quote=5 volumes}}</ref>
*''[[Duravasthha]]'' (1922)
|This is an [[epic poem]] comprising 5 volumes (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in [[couplets]]
*''[[Chandaalabhikshuki]]'' (1922)
|-
:This poem, divided into four parts and consisting of couplets, describes an untouchable beggar-woman" (also the name of the poem) who approaches Lord [[Ananda]] near [[Sravasti]].
| style="text-align:center;" |1917–21

! scope="row" | ''[[Baalaraamaayanam]]''
*''[[Karuna (poem)|Karuna]]'' (1923)
|This is a shorter epic poem consisting of 267 verses in three volumes. Most of these verses are couplets, with the exception of the last three [[quatrains]] viz. ''Balakandam'' (1917), ''Ayodhyakandam'' (1920) and ''Ayodhyakandam'' (1921). There are, therefore, 540 lines in all
*''[[Manimaala (poem)|Manimaala]]'' (1924)
|-
:This is a collection of short poems.
| style="text-align:center;" |1918

! scope="row" | ''[[Graamavrikshattile Kuyil]]''<ref name="Kuyil">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221808&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Kuyil |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1970 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044320/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221808&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*''[[Vanamaala (poem)|Vanamaala]]'' (1925)
|
:This is a larger collection of poems of varying length.
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1922
! scope="row" | ''[[Pushpavaadi]]''<ref name="Pushpavadi">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221782&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Pushpavadi |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1969 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306053511/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221782&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1924
! scope="row" | ''[[Manimaala (poem)|Manimaala]]''<ref name="Manimala">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221798&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Manimala |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1965 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044314/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221798&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|Poetry anthology
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1925
! scope="row" | ''[[Vanamaala (poem)|Vanamaala]]''<ref name="Vanamala">{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221778&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Vanamala |last=Kumaran Asan |date=1925 |publisher=Sarada book dipo |location=Sarada book dipo |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306123228/https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=221778&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|Poetry anthology
|}


Kumaran Asan also wrote many other poems. Some of these poems are listed in the book ''Asante Padyakrthikal'' under the name "Mattu Krthikal" (Other Works):
Kumaran Asan also wrote many other poems. Some of these poems are listed in the book ''Asante Padyakrthikal'' under the name "Mattu Krthikal" (Other Works):
Line 82: Line 144:
*''Pravaasakaalaththu Naattile Ormakal''
*''Pravaasakaalaththu Naattile Ormakal''
:This is another collection of poems that come from various letters Kumaran Asan wrote over the course of several years. None of the poems were longer than thirty-two lines.
:This is another collection of poems that come from various letters Kumaran Asan wrote over the course of several years. None of the poems were longer than thirty-two lines.

*''Koottu Kavitha''
*''Koottu Kavitha''


Line 91: Line 152:
*''Oru Kathth''
*''Oru Kathth''
:This is another one of Asan's letter-poems.
:This is another one of Asan's letter-poems.

*''Randu Aasamsaapadyangal''
*''Randu Aasamsaapadyangal''

poems or stories which are written by kritikal
1. Leela
2. veenpuv
3. nlene
4. kruna
4. parodnam

=== Prose ===
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=258439&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Brahmasri Sri Narayana Guruvinte Jeevacharithra Samgraham |last=Kumaran Asan |first=N. |date=1991 |publisher=Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee |edition= 3rd.|location=Thonnakkal}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=272568&query_desc=au%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Kumaran Asante Gadyalekhanangal v.1 |last=Kumaran Asasn |first=N. ed |date=1984 |publisher=Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee |location=Thonnakkal, Trivandrum |quote=3 volumes}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=105679&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Aasante kathukal |last1=Kumaranasan |last2=Shaji |first2=S. |date=2010 |publisher=Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society |location=Kottayam}}

=== Translations ===
* {{Cite book |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/12087858 |title=The Tragic plight |last1=Asan |first1=Kumaran |last2=Gangadharan |first2=P. C |date=1978 |publisher=Thonnakkal : Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee; [Madras : distributed by Macmillan] |edition= 1st |language=en}}

== Works on Asan ==
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/br/2002/09/24/stories/2002092400030303.htm |title=Suryathejas — Studies on Asan Poetry |publisher=Asan Memorial Association |year=2002 |editor-last=E. K. Purushothaman}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=194721&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Poetry and Renaissance: Kumaran Asan birth centenary volume |date=1974 |publisher=Sameeksha |editor-last=M. Govindan |location=Madras}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=110690&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Evolution of the poetic life of Kumaran Asan: A psychu-philosiphical enquiry |last=Pavitran P. |date=1994}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=83411&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Kumaranasan |last=Nithyachaithanya Yathi |date=1994 |publisher=Author}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=71136&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Asan vimarsanathinte aadya rasmikal |last1=Kumaran |first1=Murkoth |last2=Madhavan K. G |date=1966 |publisher=Vidhyarthimithram |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=34566&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Kumaran Asan: Profile of a poets vision |last=Sreenivasan |first=K. |date=1981 |publisher=Jayasree Pubs |location=Thiruvananthapuram}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=16979&query_desc=kw%252Cwrdl%253A%2520Kumaran%2520Asan |title=Kumaran Asan |last=George |first=K. M. |date=1972 |publisher=Sahitya Academi |location=New Delhi}}
* {{cite book|author=Sukumar Azhikode|title=Asante Seethakavyam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q7UrQAAACAAJ|publisher=Lipi Publications|isbn=978-81-88011-74-2}}


==See also==
==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}
*[[Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram]]
*[[Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram]]
* [[Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University]]
*[[Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University]]
*[[Vallathol Narayana Menon]]
*[[Vallathol Narayana Menon]]
*[[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]]
*[[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]]
*[[Pandalam Kerala Varma]]
*[[Pandalam Kerala Varma]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
Line 106: Line 196:
==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|Kumaran Asan}}
{{commons category|Kumaran Asan}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/Kumaranasan/Html/Kumaranasanpage.htm |title=Portrait commissioned by Kerala Sahitya Akademi |date=2019-03-02 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi |access-date=2019-03-02}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSKEXQ4zpY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/LDSKEXQ4zpY |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Kumaranasan - (കുമാരനാശാന്‍) - Kerala Renaissance |last=YesLearners Kerala |date=2017-04-18 |website=YouTube |access-date=2019-03-04}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSPhsc27uOk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/wSPhsc27uOk |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Kumaran Asan - A Lecture |last=Audiopedia |date=2014-08-26 |website=YouTube |access-date=2019-03-04}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0abtWwwke-E |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/0abtWwwke-E |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Kumaran Asan's tomb at Alappuzha |last=binbrainvideos |date=2010-04-05 |website=YouTube |access-date=2019-03-04}}{{cbignore}}


{{Triumvirates of Malayalam poetry}}
{{Triumvirates of Malayalam poetry}}
{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}
{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}
{{Narayana Guru}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Asan, Kumaran}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asan, Kumaran}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Malayalam poets]]
[[Category:Malayalam poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]
Line 119: Line 215:
[[Category:Indian Sanskrit scholars]]
[[Category:Indian Sanskrit scholars]]
[[Category:Writers from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Writers from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Sanskrit College alumni]]
[[Category:The Sanskrit College and University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:Deaths by drowning in India]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by drowning]]
[[Category:Deaths due to shipwreck]]
[[Category:Deaths due to shipwreck]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Scholars from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Scholars from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Poets from British India]]

Latest revision as of 20:13, 30 June 2024

Mahakavi

Kumaran Asan
Born(1871-04-12)12 April 1871
Kaayikkara Kadakkavoor, Chirayinkeezhu, Trivandrum, Travancore
Died16 January 1924(1924-01-16) (aged 50)
Alleppey, Travancore
OccupationPoet and writer
NationalityIndian
Notable works
  • Veena Poovu
  • Duravastha
  • Chinthavishtayaaya Seetha
  • Nalini
  • Leela
  • Chandala Bhikshuki
  • Prarodanam
SpouseBhanumathiamma
ChildrenPrabhakaran and Sudhakaran
Relatives
  • Narayanan Perungudi (father)
  • Kochupennu (mother)

Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1871 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher.He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry during the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical and his poetry is characterised by its moral and spiritual content, poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation. He is one of the triumvirate poets of Kerala and a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru. He was awarded the prefix "Mahakavi" in 1922 by the Madras university which means "great poet".[note 1]

Biography

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Kumaran Asan (standing right) with Narayana Guru (seated middle).

Asan[note 2] was born on April 12, 1873, in a merchant family belonging to Ezhava community in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, Anchuthengu Grama Panchaayath in Travancore[note 3] to Narayanan Perungudi, a polyglot well versed in Malayalam and Tamil languages, and Kochupennu as the second of their nine children.[1] His early schooling was at a local school by a teacher by name, Udayankuzhi Kochuraman Vaidyar, who taught him elementary Sanskrit after which he continued his studies at the government school in Kayikkara until he was thirteen. Subsequently, he joined the school as a teacher in 1889 but had to quit as he was not old enough to hold a government job. It was during this time, he studied the verses and plays of Sanskrit literature. Later, he started working as an accountant at a local wholesale grocer in 1890, the same year he met Shree Narayana Guru and became the spiritual leader's disciple.[2]

Narayana Guru's influence led Asan to spiritual pursuits and he spent some time at a local temple, in prayers and teaching Sanskrit.[1] Soon, he joined Guru at his Aruvippuram hermitage where he was known as Chinnaswami ("young ascetic"). In 1895, he moved to Bangalore and studied for law, staying with Padmanabhan Palpu. He stayed there only until 1898 as Palpu went to England and a plague epidemic spread over Bangalore and Asan spent the next few months in Madras before proceeding to Calcutta to continue his Sanskrit studies.[2] At Calcutta, he studied at Tarka sastra at the Central Hindu College, studying English simultaneously and also got involved with the Indian Renaissance, but his stay was again cut short due to plague epidemic.[3][4] He returned to Aruvippuram in 1900.[2]

Asan was also involved with the activities of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) and became its secretary in 1904.[5] The same year, he founded Vivekodayam, a literary journal in Malayalam, and assumed its editorship.[6][7] Under his leadership, the magazine became a monthly from a bi-monthly.[8] In 1913, he was elected to the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly (Sri Moolam Praja Sabha),[2] the first popularly elected legislature in the history of India.[9] He relinquished the position at SNDP in 1919 and a year later, took over the editorship of Pratibha, another literary magazine In 1921, he started a clay tile factory, Union Tile Works, in Aluva but when it was found that the factory was polluting the nearby palace pond, he shifted the project to a site near Aluva river and handed over the land to SNDP for building an Advaitashramam.[10] Later, he moved to Thonnakkal, a village in the periphery of Thiruvananthapuram, where he settled with his wife.[2] In 1923, he contested in assembly election from Quilon constituency but lost to Sankara Menon.[11]

Asan married Bhanumathiamma, the daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran Writer who was a in 1917.[12]

Death

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Asan died on 16 January 1924, after a boat named Redeemer carrying capsized in the Pallana river in Alappuzha.[13] His body was recovered after two days and the place where his mortal remains were cremated is known as Kumarakodi.[14]

Legacy

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Remove the bonds of your effete tradition / Or it will ruin you within your own selves, Excerpts from Duravastha - Kumaran Asan[4]

Handwriting of Kumaran Asan : From the notebooks of Asan kept at Thonnakkal Asan museum

Kumaran Asan was one of the triumvirate poets of modern Malayalam, along with Vallathol Narayana Menon and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer.[15] Some of the earlier works of the poet were Subramanya Sathakam and Sankara Sathakam, which were devotional in content but his later poems were marked by social commentary.[16] He published Veena Poovu (the fallen flower) in December 1907 in Mithavadi of Moorkoth Kumaran which went on to become a literary classic in Malayalam; its centenary was celebrated in 2017 when a book, Veenapoovinu 100 was published which carried an introduction by M. M. Basheer and an English translation of the poem by K. Jayakumar.[17] Prarodanam, an elegy, mourning the death of his contemporary, friend and grammarian, A. R. Raja Raja Varma, Khanda Kavyas (poems) such as Nalini, Leela, Karuna, Chandaalabhikshuki, Chinthaavishtayaaya Seetha, and Duravastha are some of his other major works.[18] Besides, he wrote two epics, Buddha Charitha in 5 volumes and Balaramayanam, a three-volume work.[19]

Honours

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In 1958, when Joseph Mundassery was the Minister of Education, the Government of Kerala acquired Asan's house in Thonnakkal and established the Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture (Kanic), as a memorial for the poet,[20] the first instance in Kerala history when the government took over a poet's property to convert it into a memorial.[21] It houses an archives, a museum and a publications division. Asan Memorial Association, a Chennai-based organization, has built a memorial at Kayikkara, the birthplace of the poet.[22] They have also instituted an annual award, Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram, for recognising excellence in Malayalam poetry.[23] The award carries a cash prize of 30,000 and Sugathakumari, O. N. V. Kurup, K. Ayyappa Panicker and K. Satchidanandan are some of the recipients of the award.[24] Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School is a CBSE affiliated higher secondary school run by Asan Memorial Association.[25] The India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting Asan's portrait in 1973, in connection with his birth centenary.[26][27][note 4]

Works

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Kumaran Asan - Chandalabhikshuki - a mural at Thonnakkal Asan Smarakam

Major works

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Year Work Remarks
1907 Veena Poovu (The Fallen Flower)[28] Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in Jain Medu, Palakkad.[29] A highly philosophical poem, 'Veena Poovu' is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, which is depicted through the description of the varied stages in the life of a flower. Asan describes in such detail about its probable past and the position it held. It is an intense sarcasm on people on high powers/positions finally losing all those. The first word Ha, and the last word Kashtam of the entire poem is often considered as a symbolism of him calling the world outside Ha! kashtam (How pitiful).[30]
1911 Nalini[31][32] It is a love poem, which details the love between Nalini and Diwakharan.[33]
1914 Leela[34] A deep love story in which Leela leaves Madanan, her lover and returns to find him in forest in a pathetic condition. She thus realises the fundamental fact Mamsanibhadamalla ragam (true love is not carnal)[35]
1919 Prarodanam (Lamentation)[36] An elegy on the death of A. R. Rajaraja Varma, a poet, critic and scholar; similar to Percy Bysshe Shelley's Adonaïs, with a distinctly Indian philosophical attitude.[6]
1919 Chinthavishtayaaya Sita (Reflective Sita) [37] An exploration of womanhood and sorrow, based on the plight of Sita of Ramayana.[38]
1922 Duravastha (The Tragic Plight)[39] A love story depicting the relationship between Savithri, a Namboothiri heiress and Chathan, a youth from a lower caste. A political commentary on 19th and early 20th century Kerala.[40]
1922 Chandaalabhikshuki[41] This poem, divided into four parts and consisting of couplets, describes an untouchable beggar-woman" (also the name of the poem) who approaches Lord Ananda near Sravasti.[42]
1923 Karuna (compassion)[43] The story of Vasavadatta, a devadasi, and Upagupta, a Buddhist monk.[44][45] Tells the story of sensory attraction and its aftermath.[46]

Other works

[edit]
A statue of Kumaran Asan in front of the University of Kerala.
Year Work Remarks
1901 Sthothrakrithikal Poetry anthology
1901 Saundaryalahari Poetry anthology
1915–29 Sree Budhacharitham[47] This is an epic poem comprising 5 volumes (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in couplets
1917–21 Baalaraamaayanam This is a shorter epic poem consisting of 267 verses in three volumes. Most of these verses are couplets, with the exception of the last three quatrains viz. Balakandam (1917), Ayodhyakandam (1920) and Ayodhyakandam (1921). There are, therefore, 540 lines in all
1918 Graamavrikshattile Kuyil[48]
1922 Pushpavaadi[49]
1924 Manimaala[50] Poetry anthology
1925 Vanamaala[51] Poetry anthology

Kumaran Asan also wrote many other poems. Some of these poems are listed in the book Asante Padyakrthikal under the name "Mattu Krthikal" (Other Works):

  • Sadaachaarasathakam
  • Sariyaaya Parishkaranam
  • Bhaashaaposhinisabhayodu
  • Saamaanyadharmangal
  • Subrahmanyapanchakam
  • Mrthyanjayam
  • Pravaasakaalaththu Naattile Ormakal
This is another collection of poems that come from various letters Kumaran Asan wrote over the course of several years. None of the poems were longer than thirty-two lines.
  • Koottu Kavitha

The other poems are lesser known. Only a few of them have names:

  • Kavikalkkupadesam
  • Mangalam
  • Oru Kathth
This is another one of Asan's letter-poems.
  • Randu Aasamsaapadyangal

poems or stories which are written by kritikal 1. Leela 2. veenpuv 3. nlene 4. kruna 4. parodnam

Prose

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  • Kumaran Asan, N. (1991). Brahmasri Sri Narayana Guruvinte Jeevacharithra Samgraham (3rd. ed.). Thonnakkal: Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee.
  • Kumaran Asasn, N. ed (1984). Kumaran Asante Gadyalekhanangal v.1. Thonnakkal, Trivandrum: Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee. 3 volumes {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Kumaranasan; Shaji, S. (2010). Aasante kathukal. Kottayam: Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.

Translations

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  • Asan, Kumaran; Gangadharan, P. C (1978). The Tragic plight (1st ed.). Thonnakkal : Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee; [Madras : distributed by Macmillan].

Works on Asan

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See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Asan was commonly referred to as Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (the prefix Mahakavi, awarded by Madras University in 1922, means "great poet" and the suffix Asan means "scholar" or "teacher")
  2. ^ Asan was commonly referred to as Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (the prefix Mahakavi, awarded by Madras University in 1922, means "great poet" and the suffix Asan means "scholar" or "teacher")
  3. ^ present-day Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, South India
  4. ^ Please check year 1973

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal". Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Chronicle". kanic.kerala.gov.in. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. ^ Das, Sisir Kumar, ed. (2006). "The Narratives of Suffering: Caste and the Underprivileged". A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy (Reprinted ed.). Sahitya Akademi. pp. 306–308. ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9.
  4. ^ a b Natarajan, Nalini (1996). Handbook of Twentieth-Century Literatures of India. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. pp. 183–185. ISBN 0-313-28778-3. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  5. ^ "SNDP Yogam". Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b Sisir Kumar Das (2005). History of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-81-7201-006-5.
  7. ^ S. N. Sadasivan (2000). A Social History of India. APH Publishing. pp. 600–. ISBN 978-81-7648-170-0.
  8. ^ "Kumaranasan - Kerala Media Academy". archive.keralamediaacademy.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  9. ^ "History of legislative bodies in Kerala-- Sri Moolam Praja Sabha". keralaassembly.org. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Kumaran Asan As A Business Man". veethi.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Kumaran Aasan once contested from Kollam". Manorama. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  12. ^ K. M. George (1972). Makers of Indian Literature. Kumaran Asan. Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Kumaranasan Biography Kerala PSC". pscteacher.com. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Kumarakodi - District Alappuzha". Government of Kerala. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  15. ^ "When poesy met poise on stage - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Kumaran Asan - Indian poet". Encyclopedia Britannica. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Veena Poovu: still in bloom". The Hindu. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Kumaran Asan - A Biography" (PDF). sayahna.org. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Books and Works". kanic.kerala.gov.in. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture". kanic.kerala.gov.in. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  21. ^ "The Memorial of Asan". www.keralaculture.org. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Asan Memorial, Kayikkara". www.keralaculture.org. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram". asaneducation.com. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  24. ^ "List of Awardees". asaneducation.com. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  25. ^ "ASAN Memorial Senior Secondary School". asancbse.com. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Commemorative and definitive stamps". postagestamps.gov.in. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  27. ^ Kumaran Asan, N. (2007). Veenapoovu. Kottayam: D C Books. ISBN 9788126417995.
  28. ^ Paul, G.S. (21 December 2007). "The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Dance : Visual poetry". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  29. ^ Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 4529–. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
  30. ^ Kumaran Asan (January 2009). Nalini : Patam, Patanam, Vyakhyanam. DC Books. ISBN 9788126424108. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  31. ^ Kumaran Asan (1970). Nalini. Thonnakkal: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  32. ^ K. M. George (1972). Western Influence on Malayalam Language and Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-81-260-0413-3.
  33. ^ Kumaran Asan (1970). Leela. Thonnakkal: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  34. ^ "ലീലയ്ക്ക് 100 വയസ്". Azhimukham (in Malayalam). 7 October 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  35. ^ Kumaran Asan (1968). Prarodanam. Thonnakkal: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  36. ^ Kumaran Asan (1970). Chindavishtayaya Seetha. Thonnakkal: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  37. ^ George Pati (18 February 2019). Religious Devotion and the Poetics of Reform: Love and Liberation in Malayalam Poetry. Taylor & Francis. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-1-351-10359-6.
  38. ^ Kumaran Asan (1969). Duravastha. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  39. ^ "Theatrical adaptation brings Kumaran Asan's poem to life - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  40. ^ Kumaran Asan (1970). Chandala bhikshuki. Thonnakkal: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  41. ^ S. N. Sadasivan (2000). A Social History of India. APH Publishing. pp. 634–. ISBN 978-81-7648-170-0.
  42. ^ Kumaran Asan (1969). Karuna. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  43. ^ S. N. Sadasivan (2000). A Social History of India. APH Publishing. pp. 681–. ISBN 978-81-7648-170-0.
  44. ^ P. P. Raveendran (2002). Joseph Mundasseri. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-81-260-1535-1.
  45. ^ Elleke Boehmer; Professor of World Literature in English Elleke Boehmer; Rosinka Chaudhuri (4 October 2010). The Indian Postcolonial: A Critical Reader. Routledge. pp. 228–. ISBN 978-1-136-81957-5.
  46. ^ Kumaran Asan, N. (1915). Sree Budhacharitham. Trivandram: Sarada Book Depot. 5 volumes
  47. ^ Kumaran Asan (1970). Kuyil. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  48. ^ Kumaran Asan (1969). Pushpavadi. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  49. ^ Kumaran Asan (1965). Manimala. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  50. ^ Kumaran Asan (1925). Vanamala. Sarada book dipo: Sarada book dipo. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
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