The Beginning of Prose

The evolution of prose was comparatively later than that of poetry. Its evolution also is of the same pattern as that of poetry. As the spoken language form blended with the classical form, and gave rise to a new hybrid form of poetry, the prose too developed after such hybridization.

The imperial and royal decrees on stone, copper plate, etc. from the 9th century to the 13th century reveal the infiltration of the spoken language into Tamil. This is revealed in Kautiyam the translation of Kautilya's treatise on political tactics. This translation appeared by the end of the 12th century.

The early prose renderings were instruction manuals associated with Koodiyaattam. The most important among them is Doota Vaakyam (14th century). The structure is Sanskritic although there are a few Tamil words here and there. In addition to this, there are other instruction manuals which are known as Krama Deepika or Aattaprakaaram. The prose employed in these manuals is very close to the spoken language. The sentences are simple and close to that employed in the present day.

The Brahmaanda Puraanam belonging to the 14th century was meant for the common man. Hence it did not contain too much of Sanskrit. During the same time there appeared prose works dealing with the story of King Ambarisha, the story of Nala and a Devi Mahatmyam. In the early 15th century there was a prose Raamayana, which was a heavily Sanskritized work. In contrast there was a Bhaagavatha during the same time which had very simple style. The Uttara Raamayana of the 16th century is another prose rendering of the story of Rama.

Although prose is closer to the spoken form of language, its early developments was not as dynamic or vibrant as that of poetry. Still it has its streaks of growth and acceleration.

The eighteenth century witnessed the work of the Christian missionaries in Kerala. Along with this there developed a form of prose which catered to the common man.

During the end of the 19th century, Pachu Moothath wrote his autobiography. Romance prose had its beginnings with the works of Ayilyam Tirunal (1831-1880), the ruler of Travancore. A.R. Rajaraja Varma (1863-1918) was a great scholar who wrote his famous treatise Kerala Paanineeyam, a work on grammar. Kerala Paanineeyam is still considered to be the most authoritive work on Malayalam grammer. His other important contributions are Bhashaa Bhuushanam and the Saahitya Saahyam.

By the middle of the 19th century, there was the rise of periodicals like jnaana niksepam (1840) and Paschima Taaraka (1864), which were propagators of the doctrine of Chirtianity. In 1881, there appeared the first secular periodical, called Kerala mitram. The famous Malayala Manorama, still very popular, had its origin in 1890. Kandattil Varghese Mappila was its editor. In 1896, the journal Bhashaa Poshini had its birth. K. Ramakrishna Pilla's newspaper 'Svadesaabhimaani' was very important among newspapers because of its exposition of radical views.