P. C. Devassia

P. C. Devassia Biography

Plakkiyil Chacko Devassia, shortly called P. C. Devassia was a Sanskrit scholar and poet from Kerala. He hailed fromKottayam. He is often called as Mahakavi P. C. Devassia. In 1980 he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit for his epic poem (known as Mahakavyam in Malayalam), Kristubhagavatam. Also Kerala Sahitya Akademi honoured him with Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for his overall contributions to Malayalam literature. He passed away in 2006.

P. C. Devassia was born in Nalanchira, Thiruvananthapuram. He was born into a Catholic Syrian Christian family on 24 March 1906. Kudamaloor in Kottayam District is his hometown. His early education was done from Government Primary School, Kudamaloor, followed by his high school studies at St. Ephrem's H.S. Mannanam and Intermediate Course at C.M.S. College, Kottayam. He graduated from Government arts college, Thiruvananthapuram, followed by his Master’s degree in two subjects - Sanskrit and Malayalam from University of Madras in 1937.  

Despite born as a Christian, he was interested in Sanskrit language and he learnt the language in traditional gurukula style from different gurus. After studies, he chose teaching as a profession and taught at different colleges. He was a scholar, who was fully active in his literal career too, along with his teaching profession.

He was a member of various advisory boards, related to language subjects in Kerala, and has chaired many conferences and committees held in Kerala and Chennai. He was a Member, Academic Council, University of Madras in 1947. His first published book was Bharata Shilpikal in 1952, followed by Balanagaram, Pathimoonnu Kathakal, Kala Sourabham etc. He has published books both in Malayalam and Sanskrit. He spent his later years at Nalanchira, outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram city.

Published: November 29, 2018

Updated: November 29, 2018