Malayalam literature (മലയാള സാഹിത്യം) comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The earliest known extant literary work in Malayalam is Ramacharitam, an epic poem written in the late 13th or early 13th century. In the subsequent centuries, besides a popular pattu ("song") literature, the manipravalam poetry also flourished. Manipravalam (translates "ruby coral") style mainly consisted of poetry in an admixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit. Then came works such as champus and sandeshakavyas in which prose and poetry were interspersed. Later, poets like Cherusseri introduced poems on devotional themes. There were also other important works, similar to manipravalam, in Arabi Malayalam like Muhyadheen Mala. Ezhuthachan, a