KUMARAN ASAN

N. Kumaran Ashan (18731924), also known 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 one of the triumvirate poets of
Kerala, South India.[1] He was also a philosopher, a social reformer and a disciple
of Sree Narayana Guru.[2][3]
Kumaran Asan 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 Asan's poetry. His works are an eloquent
testimony of poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation.
Early life
Asan was born in a merchant family belonging to the Ezhava community[4] in April
1873 in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, north of 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
and Tamil.His mother, Kaali. Asan inherited his taste for Kathakali and 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.
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.
Early works
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 (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 (Seetha Lost
in Thought or The Meditations of 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".
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.
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 a priest. Kumaranasan was the only poet in Malayalam who
became mahakavi without writing a mahakavyam.
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.[1][5]
Works

Sthothrakrithikal (1901)
This is a collection of poems. The poems published in this volume are longer
than those published in Manimaala.

Saundaryalahari (1901)

Veenapoovu''(1907)
Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in Jain
Medu, Palakkad.[6] 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".

Oru Simhaprasavam (1909)

Nalini (Subtitle: Allengkil Oru Sneham) (1911)

Leela (1914)

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)

Sribuddhacharitham (1915)
This is an epic poem (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in
couplets and divided into five parts.

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.

Graamavrikshattile Kuyil (1918)

Prarodanam (1919)
Chintaavishtayaaya Sita (1919)
Pushpavaadi (1922)
Duravasthha (1922)
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.

Karuna (1923)

Manimaala (1924)
This is a collection of short poems.

Vanamaala (1925)
This is a larger collection of poems of varying length.

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