Sooranad Payikkattu Neelakanta Kunjan Pillai (24 June 1911 – 8 March 1995) was an Indian researcher, lexicographer, poet, essayist, literary critic, orator, grammarian, educationist, and scholar of the Malayalam language, best remembered for his contributions in compiling Malayala Maha Nighantu, a lexicon.

The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padmashri in 1984 for his contribution to Malayalam literature and education.

[1] Pillai started his professional career as an English teacher in St. Joseph School, Thiruvananthapuram and retired from government service in 1971 as the Chief Editor of Malayalam Lexicon, University of Kerala, a position he held from 1953.

[6] Kunjan Pillai was married to C. Bhagavathi Amma (of the Panniyarathala family in Jagathy, d. 2007), the marriage taking place in 1935.

[1] Kunjan Pillai was known to have written books in Malayalam, English and Sanskrit his oeuvre covered such genres as novels, short stories, poems, biographies, history, essays, lexicon and grammar.