The Malayali Polymath of Lahore

Off National Highway 66, near Karivellur in Kannur district, Kerala, lies Vangatt Madom, a two-century-old Naalukettu (a traditional Kerala mansion), amidst towering coconut trees and thick foliage. As you enter the mansion’s courtyard, wind wafts through it, circulating the smell of decay worsened by the sight of cobwebs draping the wooden roof and the dust accumulated on the walls. Once bustling with life, this now-uninhabited Naalukettu, with its central courtyard, rooms, alleys, still cluttered with family heirlooms, Theyyam paraphernalia, and photographs of ancestors, stands as a silent witness to the glory brought to the family by a remarkable member in the 19th century. Among the photographs adorning the walls around the nadumuttam (central courtyard), there’s a framed portrait in black and white with “Sankaranatha Jyothsyer” written in Malayalam. Located beside the family-run Kamakshi Temple, and a nāga kaavu (serpent grove), this Naalukettu remains a testament to the family’s rich heritage, a slice in history almost forgotten by the world, except a few descendants and historians.

Behind the black and white framed portrait that we saw lies a story filled with erudition, diplomacy, scholarship and to top it, bloody battles. The latter part of the 18th Century, marked by Mysorean invasions, was a tumultuous period in the history of Malabar. This era ended with the British East India Company taking over Malabar in 1792. During Tipu Sultan’s invasion, many people migrated southward fearing persecution and death. Among them was Parvati Amma, a learned Unithiri (a Samanthan/Kshatriya caste) woman from Vangatt Madom, and her husband, Agni Sarman, an erudite Sanskrit scholar from Pattodath Illam in the nearby Perinchelloor (Taliparamba). Pregnant at that time, Parvati Amma gave birth to Shankaranathan in a temple outhouse in 1789. The family continued their journey with the child, returning home only after the situation back home improved.

In Kerala Sahitya Charitram (1953)^[1], poet Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer writes that while Shankaranathan learned Malayalam and Sanskrit as per tradition, he was more inclined towards kayikabhyasa, referring to the martial art of Kalaripayattu. This unconventional interest displeased his mother, who once exclaimed, “How could a donkey be born of a horse?” Vanidas Elayavoor in his Vadakkan Aithihyamala (1996) writes that after this incident Shankaranathan changed for good. Under Paliyeri Ezhuthachan’s tutelage, he learned tarka, vyakarana, kavyalankara, vaidya and jyothisha. Shankaranathan, who by now had turned into a stellar student, wished to go beyond and explore the country to gain real life experiences. Getting his mother’s permission wasn’t easy. It is said that Shankaranathan left for Kashi to perform sacred rituals in Varanasi and Gaya for the betterment of his family, with his mother’s blessings.

“How could a donkey be born of a horse?”His mother’s remark, after which, writes Vanidas Elayavoor, Shankaranathan changed for good.

Irrespective of the nuances, we know that he left home for Kashi, embracing the scholar-magnet that the city was. Leaving behind his home and family in the verdant, pristine Malabar, Shankaranathan was destined to continue his scholarly pursuits in Kashi.

Kashi and Gaya

Soon, he became the student of a learned man by name, Varahacharya. Under him, Shankaranathan learned astrology, pakṣi-śāstra, advaita-vedanta. In Kerala Bhashasahitya Charitram (Vol. V)^[2], RN Panicker traces the route he took. The young man travelled through Kodagu and Mysore to reach Kanchipuram. While bathing in river Palaar there, he stumbled upon goddess Kamakshi’s idol to which he started praying daily; it was this idol that was later consecrated near his house back in Karivellur, the Kamakshi Temple as we know the place today. In Kashi, he performed Ganga-snanam (bathing in the river Ganga), and in Gaya, Gaya-shradhdham (a sacred Hindu ritual performed to pay homage to departed ancestors), two things that he had promised his mother to undertake.

During his stay in Kashi, he became the favourite of many rulers around. It is said that kings would consult him on astrology, remunerating him copiously for his work. The young man, now wealthier than he could even dream of when he left home, started giving back to the society: with this wealth, he built Joshi Ghat, an inn for pilgrims at Manikarnika Ghat in Kashi.

The Raja of Kangra

One of the kings who was impressed by his knowledge and ability to predict was Raja Sansar Chand (c. 1765–1824) of Kangra who took him to court. Shankaranathan wrote the garbha-jatakam for the childless Raja and spouse. The couple followed his religious and spiritual advice, and was soon bestowed with a son. Not surprisingly, the Raja made him his Spiritual Advisor circa 1816.

Shankaranathan’s ability went beyond what he learned: astrology and advaita-vedanta; his soft skills and practical sense made him favourable to resolve conflicts.

A couple of years prior to this period, the expansionist Maharaja of Punjab, Ranjit Singh had helped Sansar Chand fight the Gurkhas, events that culminated with the Treaty of Jwalamukhi signed between the former two in 1809, bringing Kangra Fort under Ranjit Singh and making Sansar Chand an “obsequious tributary of Lahore”, per the Gazetteer of the Kangra District Vol. 1 (Kangra Proper 1883-84)^[3].

Panicker writes that Maharaja Ranjit Singh wanted to do everything to disallow the entry of the British into his country and William Moorcroft, an ‘explorer’ did not get permission to go from Kangra to Lahore. Moorcroft was a Veterinary Surgeon, in charge of the EIC’s Stud Farm in Calcutta, who later left the company and became an explorer, and by some accounts, a spy in the “Great Game”, the struggle between England and Russia for control in Central Asia.

Moorcroft was detained while trying to enter the country. Kangra ruler Raja Sansar Chand got information that the British planned to attack Punjab in retaliation. He dispatched the twenty nine year old Shankaranathan to Lahore to apprise the Maharaja of the imminent conquest.

The Lahore Durbar

Panicker goes on to write that Shankaranathan convinced the Maharaja to free Moorcroft, a claim that surprisingly does not find a mention in Moorcroft’s own account, Travels In The Himalayan Provinces Of Hindustan And The Panjab. Panicker then writes that impressed by his diplomatic and negotiation skills, the Maharaja appointed Shankaranathan to his court. Vanidas’s version about Shankaranathan’s appointment in Lahore is less hagiographical: it says that the Maharaja met Shankaranathan first at Kangra and that’s when he was invited to join his Lahore court. We can safely conclude that Ranjit Singh heard about Shankaranathan circa 1818; he was invited to Lahore and appointed “first as his Spiritual Advisor and later as a member of his council of ministers in Lahore”, writes Sreedhara Menon in Kerala District Gazetteers: Cannanore (1972)^[4].

Though the finer details of Shankaranathan’s career in Lahore are sketchy, we know for sure that he had grown to be an influential statesman in the court of Ranjit Singh. In 1827, Ranjit Singh sent a delegation led by Sirdar Hari Singh to meet Governor General William Pitt Amherst. Sree Narayan Bysakh, Dewan of the Governor General’s household in an autobiographical manuscript^[5] (page 166) writes that this delegation from Punjab was escorted by 500 infantry, 200 cavalry, two guns and accompanied by Ranjit Singh’s astrologer Shankaranathan. For his profound astrological ability and a personality that can impress, it’s not surprising that Shankaranathan received gifts not just from the durbars of many princely states, but even native elites like Sheth Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, writes P. Thankappan Nair in his South Indians in Kolkata^[6]. Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, as we know, was a Parsi businessman and philanthropist from Bombay, amongst the richest Indians of the 19th century.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh granted Shankaranath Joshi or more honorifically, Joshi Kalan Shankarnath, now known by the Punjabi version of his Malayali name Shankaranatha Jyothsyer (Jyothsyer meaning astrologer), and his heirs two villages yielding Rs. 3600 annually, writes his grandson S. Pramesvaran Pillai, in Kerala Studies (1955). A snippet from the Asiatic Journal (1838)^[7] which quotes Durpan newspaper reveals Shankaranathan’s stature: “He has been honoured with an interview with the Governor, the members of Council” while highlighting his influence. Shankaranathan was a philanthropist too. Among other efforts, he used his wealth to build Joshi Ghat (an inn in Benares), a Kamakshi Temple and inn in Kizhakkanchery, Palakkad.

Travancore Durbar

Around 1835, the Maharaja of Travancore, Swati Tirunal Rama Varma heard about a Malayali gentleman of extraordinary calibre shining in the court of Ranjit Singh. By now, he had been awarded the title of “Ootum Swuroop Nirmoulbodhee Shunkernauth Joshee” by the British, in recognition of his intelligence and statesmanship. Swati Tirunal requested Shankaranathan to join Travancore and a reluctant Ranjit Singh agreed. Soon, Shankaranathan joined Travancore as a judge (later the chief judge) of the Sadr Court of Travancore. His journey from Lahore to Trivandrum had the ‘blessings’ of Lord W. Bentinck, no less, going by a later report in Durpan newspaper.

Shankaranathan presented Swati Tirunal with many rare manuscripts like Jnana Vasistham, Devi Bhashyam, Nama Bhashyam, Kashi Khandam, Devi Bhagavatam and Gauri Tantram, sowing the seeds of what is now Oriental Research Institute and Manuscript Library.^[8] While in Trivandrum, at the insistence of Swati Tirunal, Shankaranathan undertook the translation of Devi Bhagavatham (originally Sanskrit). He could complete only eight cantos and the rest was completed by son Attukal Sankara Pillai after his father’s death, writes Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon in the Survey of Kerala History. Unfortunately, things did not work in Shankaranathan’s favour in Travancore due to his differences with a few in the Travancore Government.

Back to Lahore

The Asiatic Journal (Sep-Dec 1838) writes this about his return to Lahore:

“About three years ago, he procured the permission of Runjeet Sing to visit his family, and, at the request of the Maharaja, obtained an audience of Lord W. Bentinck, who provided him with a pass, recommending him to the protection of all the British officers. Shunkurnauth Joshee now returns to Lahore”.The Asiatic Journal, Sep–Dec 1838

Here was a man from Malabar rejoining his workplace, to work with a Maharaja respected and dreaded by many as powerful, creating news everywhere.

Astrologer, and statesman, Shankaranathan was involved not just in civil affairs of the state, but also in military affairs. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism published by Punjabi University talks about Shankaranathan accompanying the Maharaja’s armies during an intrusion in the frontier area, led by Muhammed Akbar Khan. The profile also states that he was wounded in one of the battles.^[9] The wound scar on the left side of his face, that happened during a battle with the Afghans, is a testimony to the fact that he was not just a strategist who sat behind the curtains. His grandson S. Pramesvaran Pillai writes that when Shankaranathan was wounded during this battle, Maharaja Ranjit Singh snatched the sword from the enemy, killed him and later gifted it to Shankaranathan.