wl-1005-Interfaith Dialogue and Cultural Syncretism in Arnos Pathiri’s Puthen Pana

The Jesuit polymath John Ernest Hanxleden (1681–1732), a master of Sanskrit and Malayalam, created works that bridged Indian and Western tradThe Jesuit polymath John Ernest Hanxleden (1681–1732), a master of Sanskrit and Malayalam, created works that bridged Indian and Western traditions while addressing social inequalities and ushering in cultural integration. Understanding the potential harm in the growing alienation between Kerala Christians and their Hindu neighbours, Hanxleden—popularly known as Arnos Pathiri—proposed cultural integration as a means to address the divisions aggravated by the Synod of Diamper (1599), a colonial ecclesiastical council that sought to Latinize the Malabar Church. Pathiri identified regional literature as the ideal medium to promote cultural renaissance in Kerala and indigenised Christianity through his works. Exemplifying the synthesis of Hindu and Christian cultures, his writings emphasised themes of devotion, equity, and harmony, consciously embedded to contest caste and religious biases. His devotional poetry reflected the societal, religious, and emotional dimensions of that period, inspiring moral consciousness and pioneering Indological studies focusing on the bhakti movement.