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Guruvayur Temple -3

Connected anecdotes (Contd.)

Melpathur Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (1560–1646/1666) was an erudite Sanskrit scholar having learnt Rig Veda, Tarka shastra and Vyakarana. His most important scholarly work, Prakriya-sarvasvam, sets forth an axiomatic system elaborating on the classical system of Panini. He was one of the last mathematicians of the Sangamagrama school of astronomy and mathematics, which had been founded by Madhava in Kerala. However, he is more famous for his masterpiece, Narayaneeyam, a devotional Sanskrit composition in praise of Guruvayoorappan consisting of 1036 slokas which give a summary of 18,000 verses of the Bhagavata Purana. Melpathur’s guru Achutha Pisharadi had been affected by rheumatism. Unable to see his pain, by yogic strength, he is said to have taken the disease upon himself and relieved his guru, as a form of Gurdakshina . Melpathur’s friend, Ezhuthachan, a great Malayalam poet and Sanskrit scholar advised him "meen thottu koottuka" (start with the fish) to get relief from the disease. On the face of it, the suggestion would seem offensive to an orthodox strict vegetarian Brahmin. However, Bhattathiri, understanding the hidden meaning, decided to present the various avatharas of Vishnu starting with the matsya( fish), as narrated in the Bhagavata Purana in a series of Dashakas (groups of ten slokas). He went to Guruvayur and started composing one dashaka a day in the presence of the Lord. The refrain in the last sloka of every dashaka is a prayer to Him to remove his ailments and sufferings. In 100 days he finished his compositions, and his condition gradually improved day by day. On 27 November 1587 when he finished the last dashakam ("Ayuraarogya Sowkhyam") he was completely cured. The 100th canto composed on that day gives a graphic description of this form of the Lord from the head to the foot. On that day he had a vision of the Lord in the form of Venugopala. He was 27 then. The Chakorasandesa which was earlier than Narayaneeyam also refers to rheumatic patients worshipping at the Guruvayur Temple. It may be because of this belief that Bhattathiri went to Guruvayur. There is another story saying that when Bhattathiri was about to finish his masterpiece Narayaneeyam. Bhattathiri pleaded to Lord Guruvayurappan for the relief of his disease. The Lord appeared before him and asked him to choose one of His two hands and told him that one of His hands had the power to cure his disease while the other had Karunyam. Bhattathiri chose the hand which had Karunyam: he later explained that if we have Karunyam we will automatically get all the prosperity and well-being. Lord gave the Karunyam and it is said that Bhattathiri's disease was cured.

Poonthanam
Poonthanam Nambudiri (1547–1640AD) was a famous poet and a devotee of Guruvayurappan. He is remembered for his masterpiece Jnanappana which means “the song of divine wisdom” This poem written as a devotional prayer to Guruvayurappan is considered as an important work in Malayalam literature. Written in simple Malayalam, the Jnanappana was Poonthanam’s magnum opus and is an important work of Bhakti literature and is revered for its poetic merit and intensity of devotion.
Poonthanam married at 20, but for a long time had no children. He began to propitiate the Lord of Guruvayur by reciting the ‘Santhana Gopalam’. A son was born but the child died an hour before the Annaprasanam ceremony. Grief-stricken, Poonthanam sought refuge at Guruvayur and started praying with the puranic story of Kumaraharanam. The heartbroken Poonthanam, it is said, was consoled by Guruvayurappan himself, who lay down on his lap, for a moment, as a child. He considered Lord Krishna as his son and achieved enlightenment. In the Jnanappana he writes: “While little Krishna is dancing in our hearts, do we need little ones of our own?” Poonthanam spent the rest of his life reading the Bhagavatham and singing the Lord’s glories in simple Malayalam.
Poonthanam preached Namasmaranam, or the constant remembrance of the Lord’s name, as the only way to reach Him. He emphasized the futility of material existence and advocated instead service to the Lord through the Nama japa, or recitation of the names of the Lord, as the path to moksha. At the end of each verse of the Jnanappana, the nama japa of ‘Krishna Krishna Mukunda Janardhana,’ stresses Poonthanam’s emphasis on nama sankeerthanam
Poonthanam and Melpathur
While Narayana Bhattathiri was composing Narayaneeyam in Guruvayur temple, Poonthanam, was also there to worship Lord Guruvayurappan: the Jnanappana, was being composed during this period. One day he took some of his poems to Bhattathiri and requested him to correct them and improve them, but this was dismissed by Bhattathiri with a haughty remark that Poonthanam didn’t know the correct meaning of words and he didn’t want to waste his time on such silly works.
. Poonthanam went home and wept bitterly before the Lord. That night a boy appeared at Bhattathiri’s house as he was preparing to recite Narayaneeyam. Seating the boy at his side, he started to recite. The boy pointed out an error in the very first verse. The poet admitted it and proceeded with the next verse, and the boy pointed out two mistakes. In the third verse, he pointed out three mistakes and so on. After the tenth verse, Bhattathiri realised that the boy was the Lord himself, and understood that Poonthanam’s bhakti was more pleasing to the Lord than his own superior knowledge of Vibhakti (Sanskrit grammar) and learning. He rushed to Poonthanam and sought his forgiveness. When he read the Jnanappana, he found that it was flawless.
To be continued…