Vaikkath Pachu Moothathu
Encyclopedia
Vaikathu Paramesvara Sivadvija, popularly known as Vaikath Pachu Moothathu, was a versatile scholar of erstwhile princely state of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

. A scholar of Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

, Malayalam and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, pioneered in writing the first autobiography in Malayalam, established the first institution for learning the traditional Indian medicine, which developed to Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvanathapuram in the later era. He was a well known Ayurveda Physician, Poet, Astrologer and writer.

Birth and Early Life

He was born in Vaikom on 25th Edavam 989 Kolla era (1814 AD), present Kottayam district in the erstwhile Travancore state and adopted to the family of Moothathu by name Vattapalli Matom
Vattapalli Matom
Vattappalli Matom is the ancestral homestead and abode of the Thantri of the Thanumalayan Temple, Suchindrum. Matom or Madom literally means abode and normally represented Brahmin houses in South India. The present building was built in 18th century AD and its architecture is a combination of...

 at Suchindrum for doing the rites and rituals of the temple. The family at suchindrum lacked a male child who will be able to perform temple duties as the chief priest. So Pachu Moothathu was adopted there as the male successor to perform the temple duties.Suchindrum and Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari is a town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is also sometimes referred to as Cape Comorin. Located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, it is the geographical end of the Indian mainland. The district in Tamil Nadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari...

 was a part of the erstwhile Travancore state ruled by the Maharaja of Travancore.The main attraction of the place is the Thanumalayan Temple
Thanumalayan temple
The Thanumalayan temple is an important Hindu temple located in Suchindram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.- History :...

 that is important to both Shaivaites and Vaishnavite sects of Hinduism. The family of Vattapalli Matom
Vattapalli Matom
Vattappalli Matom is the ancestral homestead and abode of the Thantri of the Thanumalayan Temple, Suchindrum. Matom or Madom literally means abode and normally represented Brahmin houses in South India. The present building was built in 18th century AD and its architecture is a combination of...

 is the Tantri of the Suchindrum Sri Thanumalayan temple
Thanumalayan temple
The Thanumalayan temple is an important Hindu temple located in Suchindram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.- History :...

 from where one male member(usually the eldest person)must perform the rites and rituals of the temple.

Learning

Pachu Moothathu learned Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

 which is a system of traditional medicine native to India. He was influenced by Vahata's (Vagbhata) Astangahridaya and started learning it.He learned Astangahrdaya in the Kollam Era 1018 (Kanni 2) and completed on the 29th of Thulam 1018 (1843 AD). He wrote Sri Rama Charitram Mahakavyam (1037 KOLLAM ERA), Thiruvitamcore Charitram (narrating the legends and facts up to the 1036 Kollam Era (1861 AD) i.e. up to the period of Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Ayilyam Thirunal
Ayilyam Thirunal
Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma was the ruler of the princely state of Travancore in India from 1860 to 1880. His reign was highly successful with Travancore gaining the appellation of "model state of India"...

).Hradyapriya(1040 Kollam Era) 1865 AD and Sukhasadhakam(1057 Kollam Era) 1882 AD are two important works by Sri Pachu Moothathu on Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

 and can be considered as a pragmatic commentary of Vahata's Astangahridaya. He insisted in transferring the knowledge of Ayurveda to ordinary people and his book sukhasadhagam is an attempt in this direction.
He was the Kottaram vaidyan(Ayurvedic Physician) of erstwhile Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 state and he was awarded with the Veera Sringala by Maharaja His Highness Ayilyam Thirunal which is preserved at his residence even today.

See also

  • Malayalam Literature from Kottayam
  • Moothath
    Moothath
    Moothath is a Hindu caste in Kerala. They belong to the Ambalavasi category as per the Kerala government census but are a closed community that neither belong to the Namboothiri nor adhering to the Pushpaka Brahmin. Thus they have a unique identity and mostly inter marry within the same community...

  • Thanumalayan Temple
    Thanumalayan temple
    The Thanumalayan temple is an important Hindu temple located in Suchindram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.- History :...


External links

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