He was the first to write in Malayalam; till then, Samskrutham was the language of the learned scholars.
When the namboodiri’s wife told him that she missed her period, he was overjoyed, because they were praying for an issue; in those days, some had dozens of children and others had none.
When a boy was born, they knew that Lord Guruvayurappan had blessed them There are any number of rites to be performed, right from the day of conception, the most important function being annaprasham, the first time the baby is given food in the form of rice. Until then, unripe banana is dried, pulverized and cooked with milk, and given as baby food. Completing six month period is the time chosen for annaprasham.
He was a rich namboodiri and elaborate arrangements were made for celebrating the event. No stone remained unturned, as the cliché goes.
For feeding the guests, tons of rice has to be cooked. Bamboo mats are spread in a room and hot food dumped there.
Early in the morning, when the muhurth (auspicious time) for annaprasham arrived, the ritual began and the baby was to be brought. It was in the custody of the maid servant.
Now it so happened that the maid was sleeping in their room, when some one woke her up and told to vacate it, as hot rice had to be dumped there. She was half asleep and forgot to take the baby who was killed, under the hot rice.
A jubilant occasion, thus, turned into the saddest day in the family.
The namboodiri of poonthanam family became a philosopher and wrote Jnanappana. Jnanam is knowledge. Pana is the tune in which the mournful lines are sung.
He was the first poet who used simple Malayalam to convey his feelings; he was ridiculed as half poet. In those days Samskrutham was the language of the literate people.
Some lines, taken at random, are translated crudely here:
“Life is like a soap bubble. We see only the bloated body.
Till yesterday, we knew nothing; still do not know what the morrow will bring.
A king in his palace, He makes him a labourer some day.
When Unnikrishnan plays in my mind, do I need another son?”
He was a contemporary of Melpathur, another namboodiri, who wrote Narayaneeyam, the story of Narayana, in pure, beautiful Samskrutham.
It is said that both heard these words, which came from nowhere:
“I like Poonthanam’s bhakthi (devotion) more than Melpathur’s vibhakthi (knowledge of Samskrutham)”
The ancestral home of Poonthanam is now a shrine by his name.
His jnana pana is pure physophy about birth and death of Man. It propounds the theory of evolution,long before Darwin was born!
Jnana pana is played in all temples in the morning
When a boy was born, they knew that Lord Guruvayurappan had blessed them There are any number of rites to be performed, right from the day of conception, the most important function being annaprasham, the first time the baby is given food in the form of rice. Until then, unripe banana is dried, pulverized and cooked with milk, and given as baby food. Completing six month period is the time chosen for annaprasham.
He was a rich namboodiri and elaborate arrangements were made for celebrating the event. No stone remained unturned, as the cliché goes.
For feeding the guests, tons of rice has to be cooked. Bamboo mats are spread in a room and hot food dumped there.
Early in the morning, when the muhurth (auspicious time) for annaprasham arrived, the ritual began and the baby was to be brought. It was in the custody of the maid servant.
Now it so happened that the maid was sleeping in their room, when some one woke her up and told to vacate it, as hot rice had to be dumped there. She was half asleep and forgot to take the baby who was killed, under the hot rice.
A jubilant occasion, thus, turned into the saddest day in the family.
The namboodiri of poonthanam family became a philosopher and wrote Jnanappana. Jnanam is knowledge. Pana is the tune in which the mournful lines are sung.
He was the first poet who used simple Malayalam to convey his feelings; he was ridiculed as half poet. In those days Samskrutham was the language of the literate people.
Some lines, taken at random, are translated crudely here:
“Life is like a soap bubble. We see only the bloated body.
Till yesterday, we knew nothing; still do not know what the morrow will bring.
A king in his palace, He makes him a labourer some day.
When Unnikrishnan plays in my mind, do I need another son?”
He was a contemporary of Melpathur, another namboodiri, who wrote Narayaneeyam, the story of Narayana, in pure, beautiful Samskrutham.
It is said that both heard these words, which came from nowhere:
“I like Poonthanam’s bhakthi (devotion) more than Melpathur’s vibhakthi (knowledge of Samskrutham)”
The ancestral home of Poonthanam is now a shrine by his name.
His jnana pana is pure physophy about birth and death of Man. It propounds the theory of evolution,long before Darwin was born!
Jnana pana is played in all temples in the morning
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