Knowledge Preservation and Dissemination Practices in the Theerthapada Tradition: The Contributions of Vidyananda Theerthapada

Abstract

This paper analyses the methods employed by Vidyananda Theerthapada Swamikal for the preservation and dissemination of knowledge within the Theerthapada tradition, situating his work at the intersection of intellectual history and indigenous knowledge management. Drawing on historical and textual analysis of manuscripts, printed works, institutional records, and biographical sources, the study examines his efforts to locate, preserve, and publish rare manuscripts; to compose biographical, philosophical, and pedagogical texts; and to disseminate knowledge through teaching, public discourses, and the training of disciples. It argues that Vidyananda Swamikal’s initiatives - particularly his promotion of women’s education, advocacy of open access to scriptural learning, and the institutionalisation of asrams, schools, and colleges - constitute an early, practice-based model of inclusive knowledge governance in colonial and early postcolonial Kerala. By framing these activities in terms of preservation, accessibility, and ethical responsibility, the paper demonstrates how a regional monastic lineage contributed to broader processes of cultural continuity, social reform, and the articulation of indigenous paradigms of knowledge and information management that speak to contemporary debates on open access and knowledge equity.