Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India.^[1] Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785.^[2][3] Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.^[4][5]

The Sangam literature can be considered as the ancient predecessor of Malayalam.^[6] The origin of Malayalam calendar dates back to year 825 CE.^[7][8][9] It is generally agreed that the Quilon Syrian copper plates of 849/850 CE is the available oldest inscription written in Old Malayalam. The earliest known literary works in Malayalam are Ramacharitam (late 12th or early 13th century)^[10] and Thirunizhalmala, two epic poems written in Old Malayalam. In the subsequent centuries, besides a popular Pattu ("song") literature, the manipravalam poetry also flourished. Manipravalam (translates "ruby coral") style consisted of poetry in an admixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit.^[11] Then came works such as champus and sandeshakavyas in which prose and poetry were interspersed. Later, poets like Cherusseri introduced poems on devotional themes.

Designated a "Classical Language in India" in 2013,^[12] Malayalam literature developed into the current form mainly by the influence of the poets Cherusseri Namboothiri,^[13][14] Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan,^[14] and Poonthanam Nambudiri,^[14][15] in the 15th and the 16th centuries of Common Era.^[14][16] Thunchathu Ezhuthachchan is also known as The father of modern Malayalam literature.^[14] Kunchan Nambiar, a poet of 18th century CE, also has contributed much to Malayalam literature in its early form.^[14] The Bharathappuzha river, also known as River Ponnani, and its tributaries, have played a major role in the development of modern Malayalam Literature.^[17] There were also other important works, in Arabi Malayalam like Muhyadheen Mala, which was also produced in 16th-17th centuries of Common Era. The growth of Arabi Malayalam literature eventually lead to Mappila Songs. The words used in many of the Arabi Malayalam works those date back to 16th-17th centuries of Common Era are also very closer to the modern Malayalam language.^[14][18] Ezhuthachan, a strong proponent of Bhakti movement, is known as the father of Malayalam. His poems are classified under the genre of kilippattu.^[19]

The prose literature, criticism, and Malayalam journalism began after the latter half of the 18th century CE. Contemporary Malayalam literature deals with social, political, and economic life context. Modern literary movements in Malayalam literature began in the late 19th century with the rise of the famous Modern Triumvirate consisting of Kumaran Asan,^[20] Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer^[21] and Vallathol Narayana Menon.^[22] Kumaran Asan was temperamentally a pessimist—a disposition reinforced by his metaphysics—yet all his life was active in promoting his downtrodden Hindu-Ezhava community. Ullor wrote in the classical tradition, appealing for universal love, while Vallathol responded to the human significance of social progress. Contemporary Malayalam poetry deals with social, political, and economic life context. The tendency of the modern poetry is often towards political radicalism.^[23] In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith winning poets and writers like G. Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottekkatt, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Edasseri Govindan Nair, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. N. V. Kurup, and Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, had made valuable contributions to the modern Malayalam literature.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} Later, writers like O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, Arundhati Roy, and Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, have gained international recognition.^{[29][30][31][32]} The modern Malayalam grammar is based on the book Kerala Panineeyam written by A. R. Raja Raja Varma in the late 19th century CE.^[33]

The western dialect of Old Tamil spoken in the southwestern Malabar Coast of India was known as Malanaattu Tamil/Malabar Tamil (Meaning the Tamil of the hilly region/the Tamil of Malabar) since the ancient Sangam period (300 BCE - 300 CE).^[36] Due to the geographical separation of the Malabar Coast from Tamil Nadu, and the presence of Western Ghats mountain ranges in between these two geographical regions, the dialect of Tamil spoken in the territory of the western Malabar Coast of the ancient Chera kingdom was different from that spoken in the Tamil-mainland.^[36] The generally held view is that Malayalam was the western coastal dialect Middle Tamil^[37] and started separation from Proto-Tamil-Malayalam sometime in the 8th century CE.^[38][39] The renowned poets of Classical Tamil such as Paranar (1st century CE), Ilango Adigal (2nd-3rd century CE), and Kulasekhara Alvar (9th century CE) were Keralites.^[36] The Sangam literature can be considered as the ancient predecessor of Malayalam.^[6]

Some scholars however believe that both Tamil and Malayalam developed during the prehistoric period from a common ancestor, 'Proto-Tamil-Malayalam', and that the notion of Malayalam being a 'daughter' of Tamil is misplaced.^[40] This is based on the fact that Malayalam and several Dravidian languages on the western coast have common archaic features which are not found even in the oldest historical forms of literary Tamil. However they share few striking innovations with Middle Tamil thus making independent descent impossible.^[41]

Old Malayalam (Pazhaya Malayalam), an inscriptional language found in Kerala from c. 9th to c. 13th century CE,^[42] is the earliest attested form of Malayalam.^[43][44] The start of the development of Old Malayalam from a western coastal dialect of contemporary Tamil (Middle Tamil) can be dated to c. 7th - 8th century CE.^[45][46][47] It remained a west coast dialect until c. 9th century CE or a little later.^[48][45] The origin of Malayalam calendar dates back to year 825 CE.^[49][8][9] The formation of the language is mainly attributed to geographical separation of Kerala from the Tamil country^[48] and the influence of immigrant Tulu-Canarese Brahmins in Kerala (who also knew Sanskrit and Prakrit).^[43] It is generally agreed that the western coastal dialect of Tamil began to separate, diverge, and grow as a distinct language, mainly due to the heavy influence of Sanskrit and Prakrit, those became common prominent languages on Malabar Coast, when the caste system became strong in Kerala under Nambudiri Brahmins.^[36]

The Old Malayalam language was employed in several official records and transactions (at the level of the Chera Perumal kings as well as the upper-caste (Nambudiri) village temples).^[43] Most of the inscriptions in Old Malayalam were found from the northern districts of Kerala, those lie adjacent to Tulu Nadu.^[43] Old Malayalam was mostly written in Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters).^[43] Old Malayalam had several features distinct from the contemporary Tamil, which include the Nasalisation of adjoining sounds, Substitution of palatal sounds for dental sounds, Contraction of vowels, and the Rejection of gender verbs.^[43][50][51]

The Old Malayalam got gradually developed into Middle Malayalam (Madhyakaala Malayalam) by the 13th century CE.^[52] The Malayalam literature also completely got diverged from Tamil literature by this period. Kannassa Ramayanam and Kannassa Bharatham by Rama Panikkar of the Niranam poets who lived between 1350 and 1450, are representative of this language.^[53] The Champu Kavyas written by Punam Nambudiri, one among the Pathinettara Kavikal (Eighteen and a half poets) in the court of the Zamorin of Calicut, also belong to Middle Malayalam.^[36][14] The literary works of this period were heavily influenced by Manipravalam, which was a combination of contemporary Malayalam and Sanskrit.^[36] The scripts of Kolezhuthu and Malayanma were also used to write Middle Malayalam, in addition to Vatteluthu and Grantha script those were used to write Old Malayalam.^[36]

The Middle Malayalam was succeeded by Modern Malayalam (Aadhunika Malayalam) by the 15th century CE.^[36] The poem Krishnagatha written by Cherusseri Namboothiri, who was the court poet of the king Udaya Varman Kolathiri (1446 – 1475) of Kolathunadu, is written in modern Malayalam.^[14] The language used in Krishnagatha is the modern spoken form of Malayalam.^[14] During the 16th century CE, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan from the Kingdom of Tanur and Poonthanam Nambudiri from the Kingdom of Valluvanad followed the new trend initiated by Cherussery in their poems. The Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu and Mahabharatham Kilippattu written by Ezhuthachan and Jnanappana written by Poonthanam are also included in the earliest form of Modern Malayalam.^[14]

It is Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan who is also credited with the development of Malayalam script into the current form through the intermixing and modification of the erstwhile scripts of Vatteluttu, Kolezhuthu, and Grantha script, which were used to write the inscriptions and literary works of Old and Middle Malayalam.^[14] He further eliminated excess and unnecessary letters from the modified script.^[14] Hence, Ezhuthachan is also known as The Father of modern Malayalam.^[14] The development of modern Malayalam script was also heavily influenced by the Tigalari script, which was used to write the Tulu language, due to the influence of Tuluva Brahmins in Kerala.^[14] The currently adopted Malayalam script is the only script in India that can be used to write any other language of India as it contain letters to denote both of the Voiced retroflex approximant (/ɻ/) (which is unique to Tamil and Malayalam in India) and the letters unique to Sanskrit (those are not there in the Tamil script). The language used in the Arabi Malayalam works of 16th-17th century CE is a mixture of Modern Malayalam and Arabic.^[14] They follow the syntax of modern Malayalam, though written in a modified form of Arabic script, which is known as Arabi Malayalam script.^[14]

Kunchan Nambiar introduced a new literary form called Thullal, and Unnayi Variyar introduced reforms in Attakkatha literature.^[14] Modern literary movements in Malayalam literature began in the late 19th century with the rise of the famous Modern Triumvirate consisting of Kumaran Asan,^[20] Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer^[21] and Vallathol Narayana Menon.^[22] The printing, prose literature, and Malayalam journalism, developed after the latter-half of the 18th century CE.^[14] In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith winning poets and writers like G. Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottekkatt, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Edasseri Govindan Nair, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. N. V. Kurup, and Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, had made valuable contributions to the modern Malayalam literature.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} Later, writers like O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, Arundhati Roy, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, have gained international recognition.^[29][30][31] Malayalam has also borrowed a lot of its words from various foreign languages, mainly from the Semitic languages including Arabic, and the European languages including Dutch and Portuguese, due to the long heritage of Indian Ocean trade and the Portuguese-Dutch colonisation in the Malabar Coast.

The Middle Malayalam (Madhyakaala Malayalam) was succeeded by Modern Malayalam (Aadhunika Malayalam) by the 15th century CE.^[36] The poem Krishnagatha written by Cherusseri Namboothiri, who was the court poet of the king Udaya Varman Kolathiri (1446 – 1475) of Kolathunadu, is written in modern Malayalam.^[14] The language used in Krishnagatha is the modern spoken form of Malayalam.^[14] During the 16th century CE, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan from the Kingdom of Tanur and Poonthanam Nambudiri from the Kingdom of Valluvanad followed the new trend initiated by Cherussery in their poems. The Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu and Mahabharatham Kilippattu written by Ezhuthachan and Jnanappana written by Poonthanam are also included in the earliest form of Modern Malayalam.^[14]

It is Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan who is also credited with the development of Malayalam script into the current form through the intermixing and modification of the erstwhile scripts of Vatteluttu, Kolezhuthu, and Grantha script, which were used to write the inscriptions and literary works of Old and Middle Malayalam.^[14] He further eliminated excess and unnecessary letters from the modified script.^[14] Hence, Ezhuthachan is also known as The Father of modern Malayalam.^[14] The development of modern Malayalam script was also heavily influenced by the Tigalari script, which was used to write the Tulu language, due to the influence of Tuluva Brahmins in Kerala.^[14] The language used in the Arabi Malayalam works of 16th-17th century CE is a mixture of Modern Malayalam and Arabic.^[14] They follow the syntax of modern Malayalam, though written in a modified form of Arabic script, which is known as Arabi Malayalam script.^[14]

P. Shangunny Menon ascribes the authorship of the medieval work Keralolpathi, which describes the Parashurama legend and the departure of the final Cheraman Perumal king to Mecca, to Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan.^[73] The currently adopted Malayalam script, adopted by Ezhuthachan can be used to write any other language of India as it contain letters to denote both of the Voiced retroflex approximant (/ɻ/) (which is unique to Dravidian languages in India) and the letters unique to Sanskrit (those are not there in the Tamil script).

Contemporary Malayalam poetry deals with social, political, and economic life context. The tendency of the modern poetry is often towards political radicalism.^[23] Nineteenth century was not a very creative period for Malayalam literature (except towards the end) from the point of view of imaginative writing. The modern Malayalam grammar is based on the book Kerala Panineeyam written by A. R. Raja Raja Varma in the late 19th century CE.^[33] But the foundations for the great renaissance that began at the end of the century were laid during this period. The establishment of colleges for imparting English education, the translation of the Bible and other religious works, the compilation of dictionaries and grammars, the formation of the text book committee, the growth of printing presses, the starting of newspapers and periodicals, the introduction of science and technology, the beginning of industrialisation and the awakening of social and political consciousness: these constitute the giant strides towards modernisation. Like his predecessors Swathi Thirunal and Uthram Thirunal, Ayilyam Thirunal (1832–1880) and Visakham Thirunal (1837–1885) were great patrons of letters and were themselves talented writers. Christian missionaries Benjamin Bailey (1805–1871), Joseph Peet, Richard Collins and George Mathen (1819–1870) were responsible for many works on Malayalam language based on western models. Perhaps the most important of these missionaries was Herman Gundert (1814–1893). Born in Stuttgart in Germany and educated at Tübingen and Switzerland, Gundert came to India in 1836. He wrote over twenty books in Malayalam, the most important of which are A Malayalam-English Dictionary, A Grammar of Malayalam, Keralappazhama and Pazhamcholmala. The first authoritative grammar of Malayalam was also Gundert's contribution (1851). This led to the production of a number of grammatical works in Malayalam. Vaikkam Patchu Moothathu (1814–1883) published his Grammar of Malayalam in 1876, Kerala Kaumudi by Kovunni Nedungadi (1831–1889) came out in 1878. This was soon followed by the first history of the language by P. Govinda Pillai (1849–1897) published in 1881. The first work on rhetoric in Malayalam on the European model was brought out by Father Gerad under the title Alankara Sastram in the same year. By the end of the 19th century two different traditions could be clearly distinguished in Malayalam literature: the western school and the oriental or traditionalist school. Writers such as Kerala Varma Valiya Koyithampuran represent the confluence of these two major traditions. His major works include Mayurasandesam (Peacock Message) and the translations of Kalidasa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam (which got him the title of Kerala Kalidasa), and of Von Limburg Brower's Akbar. Meanwhile, many literary magazines were established to encourage all kinds of writers and writings, such as C. P. Achutha Menon's Vidyavinodini, Kandathil Varghese Mappillai's Bhashaposhini and Appan Thampuran's Rasikaranjini.^[14]

In the wake of Kerala Varma's translation of Abhijñānaśākuntalam, several attempts were made to translate numerous plays from Sanskrit and English into Malayalam. These plays were seldom acted. The stage conditions of those days were crude and unfit to project a performance. As if irritated by this imitation plays of low quality, P. Rama Kurup wrote Chakki Chankaram (1893). Kerala Varma's nephew A. R. Raja Raja Varma went a step further than his uncle in the promotion of a synthesis between the different trends current in the literature of his time. A professor in the His Highness Maharaja's University College, Thiruvananthapuram, he had to modernise the process of teaching Malayalam language and literature; this made him write books on grammar and rhetoric (which earned him the title of Kerala Panini) and eventually prepare the ground for an enlightened renaissance in Malayalam poetry and literary criticism. A close associate of both Kerala Varma and Raja Raja Varma, K. C. Kesava Pillai wrote Kesaviyam (a mahakavya) and a number of attakkathas. Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup (1869–1932: author of Ramachandravilasam), Pandalam Kerala Varma (1879–1919: author of Rukmangatha Charitam), Kattakkayam Cherian Mappila (1859 – 1937: author of Sri Yesu Vijayam), Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer (1877–1949 : author of Umakeralam) and Vallathol Narayana Menon (1879–1958: author of Chitrayogam), all paid their obeisance to this neoclassicist trend.^[14]

The developments in prose at this time were very significant, Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1861–1895), more famous under his pseudonym Kesari, was one of the first to explore the essay form in Malayalam. He was closely associated with periodicals like Kerala Chandrika (started in 1879 at Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala Patrika (started in 1884 by C. Kunhiraman Menon (1854–1936) and Appu Nedungadi (1866–1934) at Kozhikode), Kerala Sanchari (after 1898 under the editorship of Murkoth Kumaran) and the English Journal Malabar Spectator. His Vasanavikriti is considered by historians and literary experts as the first short story in Malayalam literature. It was published in Vidyavinodini in 1891. Along with Nayanar, the pioneers of short stories in Malayalam were Oduvil Kunhikrishna Menon, C. S. Gopala Panicker, Ambadi Narayana Poduval, Chenkulath Cheriya Kunhirama Menon (M. R. K. C.) and Moorkoth Kumaran.^[74] Fulmoni Ennum Koruna Ennum Peraya Randu Sthreekalude Katha (Phulmōni ennuṁ kōruṇa ennuṁ pērāya ranṭu strīkaḷuṭe katha), a translation of Hana Catherine Mullens's Bengali novel Fulmoni O Korunar Biboron by Rev. Joseph Peet, is believed to be the first novel printed and released in Malayalam (1858). Ghathakawadham (Ghātakavadhaṁ, 1877) by Rev. Richard Collins was the first novel printed and published in Malayalam with a story based in Kerala and around Malayalis.^[14]

The first novel conceived and published in Malayalam was Appu Nedungadi's Kundalatha (1887).^[75] Though Kundalatha is not considered a major novel, it gets the pride of place as the first work in the language having the basic characteristics of a novel. O. Chandhu Menon's Indulekha was the first major novel in Malayalam language. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature and initiated the novel as a new flourishing genre.^[76] The title refers to the main character in this novel, a beautiful, well educated Nair lady of 18 years. C. V. Raman Pillai's Marthandavarma (1891) had many distinctions: it was the first historical novel in any South Indian languages, first novel from Travancore, first Malayalam novel to be a part of a trilogy and the first Malayalam novel to have a masculine title. Marthandavarma was completed even before Indulekha but could not be published until 1891 owing to lack of finance. The novel recounted the history of Venad (Travancore) during the final period of Rajah Rama Varma's reign and subsequently to the accession of Marthanda Varma. The novel had a film adaptation of the same name in 1933 and was the first Malayalam novel to be adapted into film. During the early 20th century, Malayalam received outstanding novels, either as translations or adaptations of Western literature. The post-independence period saw a fresh start in the history of longer fiction in Malayalam as in many other Indian languages, parallel to the evolution of post-world war fiction in other parts of the world. It was both a break and a continuation. P. Kesava Dev, who was a Communist in the thirties and forties turned away from diehard ideologies and wrote a symbolic novel called Arku Vendi? (For Whose Sake?) in 1950, challenging the philosophy of Stalinist liquidation of political enemies. It had a special significance in the context of the 'Calcutta thesis'. After portraying the class struggle of farm labourers in Randidangazhi (Two Measures) in 1949, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai turned away from party politics and produced a moving romance in Chemmeen (Shrimps) in 1956. For S. K. Pottekkatt and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, who had not dabbled in politics, the continuity is marked in the former's Vishakanyaka (Poison Maid, 1948) and the latter's Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu (My Grandpa had an Elephant, 1951). The non-political social or domestic novel was championed by P. C. Kuttikrishnan (Uroob) with his Ummachu (1955) and Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum (Men and Women of Charm, 1958). In 1957 Basheer's Pathummayude Aadu (Pathumma's Goat) brought in a new kind of prose tale, which perhaps only Basheer could handle with dexterity. The fifties thus mark the evolution of a new kind of fiction, which had its impact on the short stories as well. This was the auspicious moment for the entry of M. T. Vasudevan Nair and T. Padmanabhan upon the scene. Front runners in the post-modern trend include Kakkanadan, O. V. Vijayan, E. Harikumar, M. Mukundan and Anand.^[14] The travelogues written by S. K. Pottekkatt were turning point in the travelogue literature.^[14] Prominent literary critics of twentieth century include Kuttikrishna Marar.^[14]

In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith winning poets and writers like G. Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottekkatt, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Edasseri Govindan Nair, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. N. V. Kurup, and Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, had made valuable contributions to the modern Malayalam literature.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} Later, writers like O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, Arundhati Roy, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, have gained international recognition.^[29][30][31] Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.^[77][78]

List of early prose literature in the 19th century.^[79]

• Indian literature
• List of Malayalam poets
• List of fiction writers in Malayalam
• Malayalam Literary Awards
• Arabi Malayalam
• Bible translations into Malayalam
• Malayalam (Unicode block)
• Malayalam Braille
• Women in Malayalam literature