Manipravalam

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Manipravalam (maṇi-pravāḷa - 'ruby coral') was a literary style used in medieval liturgical texts in South India, in which a dravidian language is mixed with sanskrit. This was prevalent in Vaishnavite religious literature in Tamil Nadu and literary works in general in Kerala. Manipravalam literally means 'gem and coral', meaning a mixture of two languages. In Tamil Nadu the manipravalam was a combination of Tamil and Sanskrit, while in Kerala it was the mixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit.

Various hagiographies on the life of the Vaishnava saint Ramanuja were in manipravalam. Lilathilakam, a work on grammar and rhetoric, written in the last quarter of the 14th century in Kerala discusses the relationship between Manipravalam and Pattu as poetic forms. It lays special emphasis on the types of words that blend harmoniously. It points out that the rules of Sanskrit prosody should be followed in Manipravalam poetry. This particular school of poetry was patronized by the upper classes, especially the Namboodiris.

Dramatic performances given in Koothampalams, known by the names of Koothu and Koodiyattom, often used Sanskrit and Malayalam. In Koodiyattom, the clown (vidooshaka) is allowed to use Malayalam while the hero recites slokas in Sanskrit. Tholan, a legendary court poet in the period of the Kulasekhara kings, is believed to have started this practice. The language of Kramadeepikas and Attaprakarams, which lay down the rules and regulations for these dramatic performances, is considerably influenced by the composite literary dialect of Manipravalam.