Introduction to Narayaneeyam
The Narayaneeyam,
a great Sanskrit epic, is a brilliant condensation in 1036
shlokams (stanzas) of the great epic Bhaagavatham composed by
Sage Vyaasa. The Bhaagavatham describes the entire Hindu
beliefs and philosophy of the origin of the Universe and the purpose of human
existence. It also describes the various incarnations of the Supreme Being to
re-establish righteousness and order in the Universe from time to time.
According to Hindu thought, all beings are subject to continual cycles of
birth-life-death-rebirth. Bhaagavatham contains advice and instructions
for human beings to achieve Moksha (Salvation) to break out of this eternal
cycle and attain Union with the Supreme Being at His Lotus-Feet
The central theme of
Narayaneeyam is Bhakti (devotion). In literary merit,
the Narayaneeyam holds pride of place in Sanskrit poetry, at par with
the works of Kalidasa and other eminent poets. It is divided into 100 Dasakams,
most of which comprise ten shlokams each.
This devotional epic was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattapada (also referred to as
Bhattathiri) in the ninth decade of the 16th century A.D. Scholars have
reckoned, with the aid of internal evidence in the epic itself, that the
Narayaneeyam was completed on the 28th day of Vrischigam month
of the Malayalam (Kollam) Era 763 (approximately November-December,
1587 A.D.).
According to legend, Bhattathiri acquired the dreaded condition of
paralysis, voluntarily, by praying to the Lord Krishna, for
transferring the disease to him from his teacher of Sanskrit grammar, Achyuta
Pisharoty, who had been suffering from it, thereby relieving his Guru from the
ailment. Subsequently, Bhattathiri had himself carried to the temple of Lord
Krishna at Guruvayur, and lying prostrate before the Lord, he sought
shelter and relief at the Lord's Lotus-Feet.
Every day, Bhattathiri composed one Dasakam
(generallly consisting of ten shlokams). The final verse of every Dasakam concludes with an invocation
to the Lord of Guruvayur to cure him of all his illnesses and protect
him from all afflictions and sorrows.
On the hundredth day, he is believed to have had a dazzling
Darshan (Vision) of the Lord himself in Saakara (material )
form and was cured of his ailment. In the final (100th)Dasakam,
Bhattathiri has given a graphic head-to-foot description (in picturesque
language) of the Lord's form as Venugopala , and of his wonderful,
soul-stirring and ecstatic experience.