Sanskrit works of K Ramakrishna warrier a critical study

Abstract

K. Ramakrishna Wartier (KRW) occupics a distinctive position in the modern Sanskrit literary tradition of Kerala. Commencing his formal cengagement with Sanskrit composition after the age of sixty, KRW authored nine Sanskrit kiivyas and produced a notable Sanskrit translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitdiijali. His literary output reflects a rare synthesis of devotion, linguistic creativity, and cultural consciousness, marking a significant contribution to the twentieth-century revival of Sanskrit in Kerala, The present study undertakes a critical and | comprehensive examination of KRW’s literary oeuvre, focusing on its linguistic, stylistic, thematic, and philosophical dimensions. Particular attention is paid to his accessible Sanskrit diction, innovative use of dhatu-prayoga, intentional deviations from Paninian grammatical norms, and the subtle incorporation of Malayalam linguistic influences. KRW’s biographical kavyas, centred on the lives of eminent spiritual personalities, are analysed as texts that mediate between poetry and hagiography, blending historical authenticity with poetic imagination. An important component of the research is the comparative analysis of Sanskrit translations of Tagore’s Gitanjali by KRW and his contemporaries N Gopala Pilla (NGP),and Mangattusseri Krishnan Nambutiripad (MKN), undertaken within the framework of comparative translation studies. This analysis examines linguistic strategies, philosophical interpretations, aesthetic sensibilities, and cultural adaptations involved in rendering a modern mystical Bengali text into classical Sanskrit idiom. Employing an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates literary criticism, linguistics, translation studies, philosophy, and cultural history, the study situates KRW within Kerala’s Sanskrit literary heritage and the broader intellectual context of the modern Sanskrit revival movement. In the absence of sustained critical scholarship on KRW, the thesis emerges as a pioneering academic contribution. The study demonstrates that KRW’s writings effectively bridge classical Sanskrit aesthetics with modern literary sensibilities, thereby reaffirming the adaptability, vitality, and continuing relevance of Sanskrit literature in Kerala’s contemporary cultural and intellectual milieu.