Revathi Pattathanam

Revathi Pattathanam is an annual assembly of scholars held at the Tali temple in Calicut, Kerala. The word pattathanam itself means bhatt sthanam or position of Bhatt, the title that was conferred on the winners. The event originally lasted seven days starting on the day of the star Revathi in the month of Thulam (October-November). The event dates back to almost the 14th century when the then Samoothiri or Zamorin (title of the ruler of Calicut) instituted an award to scholars who win in a competition in the four fields of knowledge – tarka, vyakarana, mimamsa and vedanta. In earlier times, the competitions would be held in different venues with the Samoothiri presiding. The judges were usually drawn from earlier awardees.

The tradition has been continuing to this day though the focus is now on preserving Sanskrit scholarship, with other fields of knowledge having been added like poetry and contributions to temple art. A chosen Vedic scholar is awarded the title of Bhatt and a panakizhi (purse of money) of 101 panams. The event itself is now limited to a single day. As part of the celebration, various competitions related to Sanskrit are held for schools and colleges and the winners are felicitated on the occasion. Various cultural programmes are also held on the day and eminent speakers are invited to deliver speeches.