Kanippayyur_Shankaran_Namboodiripad
Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad (1891-1981) was a Nambudiri Brahmin in the State of Kerala in India who helped rejuvenate interest in the Indian traditional architectural styles known collectively as Vastu shastra[citation needed]. He was a consultant for the renovation of many temples in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and also the Royal Architect for the three royal families of Travancore, Cochin and Kozhikode (Calicut)[citation needed]. He was a prolific writer authoring more than a hundred books on a variety of books relating to traditional knowledge areas like vastu shastra (architecture),[1] jyothisha (astrology and astronomy), ayurveda (Indian system of medicine), and also books on history.[2] He compiled a Sanskrit-Malayalam Dictionary and a Dictionary of Indigenous Medicines.[3]
Sankaran Namboodiripad was born as the ninth child of Kanippayyur Subramanian Namboothiripad, who himself was a great scholar in vasthu vidya, and Kanippayyur Kali Antharjanam.[4] (According to some legends, after Parasurama created Kerala from the sea, the practice of various professions essential for the society were distributed among different families. In this process, Kanippayyur was a Namboothiri family to which was assigned the profession of architecture and construction of temples.[5]) He had his traditional primary education and Rig Vedic studies at home. He took higher lessons in Rigveda at the famous Vedic School at Thrissur and became well versed in Sthapathya Veda and Astrology under the tutelage of his elders. He also studied Ayurveda. He rejuvenated Vaastu Shastra and popularized it further[citation needed]. He also started work centers for making icons and other ancillaries connected with temples.[6] Kannippayur Narayanan Namboothiripad is often quoted from this family nowadays as he is a renowned Astrologer appearing in TV Shows, Online etc.