This work
occupies a very high place
in Sanskrit literature, both
because of the
intense devotional fervour of
the verses,and
because
of their extraordinary literary
merit.
The author
of this work, Melputhur
Narayana Bhattatiri, was born
about the year 1560 in
a village near the
famous temple of Tirunavaya in
Kerala. Even at a very
young age he mastered the
Vedas and the Vedangas. He
learnt Mimamsa and
the other Sastras from his
father, Matrudatta, the Vedas
from one Madhavacharya, the
scienceof Logic
(Tarka) from his elder brother
Damodara, and Sanskrit Grammar
from Achyuta Pisharoti,
a celebrated grammarian.
He composed
the Narayaniyam at the age
of 27.He wrote
a monumental work on Sanskrit
Grammar, entitled Prakriyasarvasva,
a work similar to
theSiddhanta
Kaumudi, but written earlier.
It is said that Bhattoji
Dikshita, the author of the
Siddhanta Kaumudi,on
hearing about Bhattatiri, set
out
for Keral to
meet him, but had to
return disappointed on hearing
on the waythat
Bhattatiri had passed away.
Bhattatiri composed many other
devotional hymns and also a
work onPurva-Mimamsa entitled
Manameyodaya, and panegyrics in
praise of his royal patrons.
It is believed that he
lived
till the ripe
old age of 105, honoured
by all for his great
erudition, his superb literary
creations and above
all, for his supreme devotion.
The circumstances
which led to the composition
of the Narayaniyam by Bhattatiri
in his 27th. year are
asfollows. His
Guru in Sanskrit grammar,
Achyuta Pisharoti, fell victim
to a severe attack of
paralysis andsuffered
unbearable pain. Bhattatiri, the
devoted disciple that he
was, could not
bear the suffering
of the Guru.
He therefore fervently prayed
that the disease may be
transferred to him and his
Guru freed of suffering.
It happened as
he wanted and soon, while
Pisharoti recovered, the
fell disease made
Bhattatiria cripple.
It was the general belief
in those days, as it
is now, that sincere prayers
to the Lord of Guruvayur
would bring immediate relief
from all troubles. Bhattatiri,
who was unable even
to move, got
himself carriedto
the Guruvayur temple and
sat there spending his time
in prayer. He was then advised
by Tunchath Ezhuthachan,
an eminent Malayalam
poet of the time, that
he would be cured of
his disease if he composed
a hymnrecounting
all the incarnations of
the Lord.
Accordingly, he
started composing the Narayaniyam,
at the rate of one dasaka
(canto) consisting generally of
10 verses, every day. On
the 100th. day he had
a vision ofthe
Lord in the form of
Venugopala. The 100th. canto,
composed on that day, gives
a graphic description
of this form from head
to foot. On that day
he became completely cured
of his disease.
In the
100th. canto the poet says
that he has named this
work Narayaniyam for two
reasons :
(1) it is about
Lord Narayana; and (2) the
poet's name is also Narayana.
From the
word "Ayurarogyasaukhyam" appearing
at the end of the
100th. canto, scholars have
worked out the date of
completion of the work
as the 28th. day of
the Malayalam month of Vrischikam
of the Malayalam year 762,
corresponding to the 27th.
November, 1587. (According to
some the year
is 763 and the date
is the 12th. Dec. 1587)
As a
devotional hymn, this work
ranks among the best of
its kind. The superiority
of the pathof
devotion, as compared with
the paths of action
(Karma) and knowledge (Jnana)
is repeatedly stressed
by the poet. He
points out that
Bhakti grows in the heart
of an individual without
any specialeffort
on his part if he
merely listens to the narrations
about the incarnations and
the deeds and excellences
of the Lord. Bhakti is
nothing but intense love for
God. It is natural
for every human being to
love
anything beautiful and
so, to develop love for
the Lord of Guruvayur who
is beauty incarnate,
does not need any special
effort. Unlike the path of
Jnana which is possible only
for those who have
developed a high degree
of detachment, the
path of Bhakti is open
to everyone. But devotion
in the real
sense of the term is
possible only when it is
informed by some knowledge
of therelationship
between the world and God,
between the individual and
God and between the individual
and the world. These matters
are dealt with in the
first 10 cantos and the
last 10 cantos.
These
cantos thus contain the
essence of all the Upanishads.
Every verse is addressed
to the Lord. This
work is considered eminently
suitable for daily Parayanam
(devout reading) by devotees.
In thesedays
when life is full of
tensions and problems, the
reading of at least a
few verses every day is
thesurest way
to preserve one's equanimity
and enjoy inward peace.
From the literary
point of view also this
work can be placed on
par with those of the
greatestSanskrit poets
of all time. Twenty different
metres have been used by
the poet. This variety makes
the reading of this work
a delightful experience.
Bhattatiri is an adept at
choosing words and metres
in such a manner
as to make the narrative
come alive before the mind's
eye. In the 25th. canto,
whiledescribing the
incarnation of the Lord as
Narasimha, he uses words which
bring out the awesomeness
of the situation. In canto
55 describing Krishna dancing
on Kaliya, the Totaka metre
is
very appropriately
employed. Canto 69 describing
the Rasakrida in the Kusumamanjari
metre sends a thrill through
us,bringing the
scene before
us in all its
vividness. Cantos 98 and 100
elevate the reader to the
mostsublime
heights of direct communion
with the Supreme Being. Literary devices
such as Anuprasa,
Yamaka, etc enhance the
poetic quality of the work.
According to
the Sthala purana of the
Guruvayur temple, the image
installed therein was originally
given by Mahavishnu to Brahma.
Brahma
gave it to a
sage named Sutapas; he gave
it to Kasyapa
Prajapati who
in turn, gave
it to Vasudeva, the father
of Krishna. Sri Krishna
got it from his father
andworshipped it
at His capital Dvaraka. Before
the conclusion of His incarnation
as Krishna the Lord told
his devotee and minister
Uddhava that the image would
come floating in the sea
which would soon engulf
Dvaraka. Uddhava was asked
to request Brihaspati,
the Guru of
the gods, to install the
image at a suitable
place. Accordingly, when the image
came floating, Brihaspati took
it and, along with Vayu,
went all over
the world and finally selected
this spot and installed
the
image there. As
the place was selected by
Guruand Vayu,
it came to
be known as
Guruvayur.
I wish
to express here my deep
sense of gratitude to my
good friend, Shri.C.N.Ramachnadran,
F.C.A. but for whose initiative
this book would perhaps not
have seen the light of
day. He collected
substantial donations from individuals
and trusts and thus enabled
me to commence printing
of the book.I
am extremely grateful to
all the donors for their
generous donations.
While the
printing of the book was
in progress, I made a
request to H.H. Swami Chinmayananda
that the book may be
accepted for publication
by the Central
Chinmaya Mission Trust, Bombay.
he verykindly
acceded
to my request.
I am deeply indebted to
him for this.
In preparing
this commentary I have derived
great help from the
excellent commentary in
Sanskritentitled 'Balabodhini'
by Konath Krishna Wariyar.
I have also made use
of the following books :
(1) The
commentary 'Vanamala' in
Malayalam; (2) The commentary
in English by Swami Tapasyananda
ofthe Ramakrishna
Mission , Madras; and (3)
The translation in Tamil
by N.Somasundara Dikshitar. I
amvery much indebted
to the authors
of all these works.