Madhava Panikkar was born into a Nair family to Puthillathu Parameswaran Namboodiri and Chalayil Kunjikutti Kunjamma[4] in the princely state of Travancore in 1895.During his political career Panikkar continued to publish articles and poems, and also translated several Greek plays into Malayalam verse.Early on Madhava Panikkar had cultivated an interest in Malayalam literature, and was a lifelong friend of the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.Cambridge historian Arthur Hassall wrote that in his "long career as tutor of history at Christ Church" he had "never had a more brilliant student."Madhava Panikkar's interests stretched into diverse fields such as, art, notably novels, poetry and Kathakali and he wrote equally well in both Malayalam and English and published over 50 books and numerous articles.