2A00:20:5010:A784:C7FE:ED13:80C1:F4F0 at 12:21, 8 September 2020

2020-09-08T12:21:57Z

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{{Portal|Poetry|Biography}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
'''Mahakavi Kunnampurathu Varghese Simon''' (7 February 1883 – 1944) was a
[[Malayalam]] Christian poet from [[Kerala]], [[India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/district_handbook/Pathanam.pdf|title=Pathanamthitta district handbook|year=2006|publisher=Government of Kerala|accessdate=24 September 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916040609/http://www.kerala.gov.in/district_handbook/Pathanam.pdf|archivedate=16 September 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He was also a musician, a teacher, a reformer, a writer, a Bible scholar and [[apologist]]. Simon authored around three hundred hymns or poems and some thirty books. K. V. Simon was given the title Mahakavi (Dean of Poets) by the [[Sahitya Parishad]] (Academy of Literature).<ref name="SakshiBio">{{cite web|url=http://www.sakshitimes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=304&Itemid=43|title=Mahakavi K V Simon: Brief Biography of an Apologist and Excerpts of a Debate|last=Thomas|first=Jerry|publisher=Sakshi|accessdate=24 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727232207/http://www.sakshitimes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=304&Itemid=43|archive-date=27 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> His major work was ''Veda Viharam'', based on the [[Bible|biblical]] [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]. It was this work, published in 1931, that earned his name among the noted [[Malayalam]] poets.<ref name="EncycloBio">{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Mohan|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian literature, Volume 5|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1993|volume=5|pages=4101|isbn=8126012218|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA4101 |accessdate=24 September 2009}}</ref> Simon was a prominent leader of the [[Kerala Brethren]] movement.

==Early life==
Simon was born in 1883 to Varghese, a scholar of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Puranas]], and Kandama, a poet. In 1900, he married Ayroor Pandalapedika Rahelamma (later known as Ayroor Amma). They had one daughter.

Mentored by his brother [[K. V. Cherian]], Simon began writing poetry at the age of eight. In 1896, he became a teacher at the age of thirteen at [[MarThoma]] School, [[Edayaranmula]].

Simon was a [[polyglot]]. He was a scholar in his native [[Malayalam]], as well as in [[Sanskrit]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]], and also mastered [[English language|English]], [[Hindi]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Kannada]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], [[Hebrew]], and [[Syriac language|Syriac]].

==Simon as a religious leader==
{{main|Kerala Brethren}}

Although brought up in a Christian family, Simon claimed that he did not really understand the Christian message until he listened to evangelist Tamil David in 1895. He went on to become one of the pioneers of the [[Kerala Brethren]] movement, and a leading figure in the wider [[Indian Brethren]] movement. Many prominent Christian leaders in India, both Brethren and non-Brethren, were mentored by Simon. These included Pandit M. M. John, K. E. Abraham (the founder of the [[India Pentecostal Church]]), and K. G. Kurien and K. G. Thomas.

Simon was known as a debater. In the 1920s, he took on Krishan Namboodri (who later became known as Swami Agamanda), Rishiram, and R. C. Das, who were promoting [[Hindutva]] and opposing conversion. Some of his books covered areas of Christian [[apologetics]] such as ''Prathiyukthi'', and ''Satyaprakashini'' and ''Krushil Maricha Kristhu (Christ who died on the Cross)'', — which were compiled from notes prepared from his rebuttals to anti-Christian critics. He also wrote ''Satyaprakashini'', an apologetics book attempting to refute Hindu critics by quoting from [[Hindu scriptures]].

Simon also spoke out against [[Russia]]n traveller [[Nicolas Notovitch]]'s controversial claims that [[Jesus]] had visited India between the ages of twelve and thirty, studying under [[Hindu]], [[Buddhist]], and [[Jain]] teachers. Notovitch claimed to have been shown ancient literature confirming these claims when he visited [[Ladakh]]. In ''Krushil Maricha Kristhu (Christ who died on the Cross)'', Simon cited research by [[Germany|German]] scholar [[Max Muller]], which he said exposed Notovitch's claims as a hoax.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090826003306/http://pages.prodigy.net/sathi/ourhistory.html pages.prodigy.net]
* [http://gracefullife.net/kvsimon.htm K. V. Simon – History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071021135515/http://www.marthomaparishsharjah.com/downloads/ce_feb.pdf marthomaparishsharjah.com]
* [http://www.keralabrethren.net/history_eng.asp Kerala Brethren History]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, K. V.}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Plymouth Brethren]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Malayalam poets]]
[[Category:People from Pathanamthitta]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

K. V. Simon - Revision history

2A00:20:5010:A784:C7FE:ED13:80C1:F4F0 at 12:21, 8 September 2020