Mallinātha Sūri

Mallinātha Sūri was an eminent critic, known for his commentaries on five mahakavyas (great compositions) of Sanskrit. During his times, he is said to have received the titles of Mahamahopadyaya and Vyakhyana Cakravarti. He lived during the reigns of Racakonda king Singabhupala and Vijayanagara king Deva Raya I. Based on the evidence from the inscriptions, it is estimated that he lived between 1350-1450 CE.

Place of residence

Mallinātha's surname was Kolachala, Kolachela, Kolichala or Kolichelama. The village Kolichelama (currently known as Kolchāram) is near Kowdipally, a small village in the Medak District of Andhra Pradesh. When Kākatīya rule ended, the scholars of Kolachelama family migrated to Rāchakonḍa, the capital of Singabhūpāla. From the colophons of Sanjīvani, it is known that Singabhūpāla honoured Mallinātha with the title of Mahāmahopādyāya, and Mallinātha's son with the title of Mahopādyāya.

Works of Mallinātha

Mallinātha is well-known as a commentator who has written glosses on Classical epics of Sanskrit, besides his commentaries on Śātric works. He is also known as a poet, the fact which is rather unknown, though the names of his creative compositions are known to the scholars of Sanskrit literature.

Commentaries

The following is the list of his commentaries on Classical Epics of Sanskrit-

1. Sanjīvanī - Commentary on Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa, Kumarasambhava and Meghaduta
2. Ghaṇṭāpatha - Commentary on Bharavi's Kiratarjuniya
3. Sarvaṅkaṣa - Commentary on Magha's Sisupalavadha
4. Jivātu - Commentary on Sriharsa's Naisadhiyacarita
5. Sarvapathīnā - Commentary on Bhaṭṭikāvya

The following is the list of his commentaries on Śāstric works-

1. Tarala - commentary on Vidyadhara's Ekavali - alamkara Sastra
2. Niskaṇṭakā - commentary on Varadaraja's Tarkikaraksa tika

Creative works

1. Raghuvīracaritā
2. Vaiśyavamśa Sudhākara
3. Udara Kavya

Interestingly, in Marathi Language, there is a word 'Mallinathi', which means 'a comment or criticism' done by somebody. For example, Mr. Jadhav doing "Mallinathi" on statement issued by Mr. Pawar said that, Mr. Pawar is misguiding the people.

Bibliography

1. Mallināthamanīṣā : a collection of papers presented at the Seminar on Mallinatha, edited by P. G. Lalye, Published 1981, Dept. of Sanskrit, Osmania University
2. Mallinātha by P. G. Lalye, Sahitya Akademi
3. Mallinātha's Ghaṇṭāpatha on the Kirātārjunīya I-VI: Part one: Introduction, Translation and Notes by Roodbergen JAF, Lieden: E. J. Brill, 1984

Persondata
Name	Mallinatha Suri
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death