Thirunizhalmala

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Thirunizhalmala
Aranmula Temple.JPG
Aranmula Temple, Pathanamthitta
Writtenc. 13th century
Country Aranmula
Language Malayalam
Genre(s)"Pattu" genre

Thirunizhalmala ("Garland of the Sacred Shade" or "Grace" [1] ) is a c. 13th century "pattu" genre poem in Malayalam language. [2] [3] Along with "Ramacharitham", it is one of the earliest extant poems in Malayalam. [2] It is generally considered as a work associated with the Vaishnavite bhakti movement in south India. [4] It is sometimes called "the first religious work in the Malayalam". [1] "Thirunizhalmala" was discovered by scholar M. M. Purushothaman Nair in 1980. [5] [1]

"Thirunizhalmala" is composed, most probably by a high caste poet (from certain "Kurumur Palli"), in local meters and with Dravidian orthography. [6] [7] It is assumed that the work predates the famous "Ramacharitham" by around a century. [8] The manuscript of the poem was discovered from northern Kerala. [4] Central topic of the poem is the description of the ritual life of Aranmula Temple in Pathanamthitta. [9] The main rites described are the ancient rituals of the Malayar/Malayarayan or Malayan community (performed to remove the various impurities of the gods). [8] [4] It also describes the temple and its environs, the families of the temple-villages’ owners and the protecting soldiery. [4]

"Thirunizhalmala" is linked to the north Kerala art-form Theyyam and the community of its performers. [10] The poem contains the earliest instance in Malayalam of the legend of Parasurama "founding" Kerala and the sixty-four settlements of Brahmins. [6] It also mentions the medieval Tamil poet Kamban. [6]

Modern editions of "Thirunizhalmala" are by M. M. Purushothaman Nair (1981 & 2016) and R. C. Karippath (2006) [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literature of Hinduism in Malayalam". In Flood, Gavin (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Publishing. p. 163. ISBN   0-631-21535-2.
  2. 1 2 Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 444 and 449.
  3. ↑ Nair, Purushothaman, ed. (1981). Thirunizhal Mala: Prachina Bhashakavyam. Kottayam: Current Books. pp. 35–36.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 460–62.
  5. ↑ Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. p. 458.
  6. 1 2 3 Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 458–59.
  7. ↑ Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. p. 460.
  8. 1 2 Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 458–60.
  9. ↑ Leelavathy, M. (1996). Malyalakavithasahithya Charithram. Trichur: Kerala Sahitya Akademi. pp. 26–30.
  10. 1 2 Galewicz, Cezary (2021). "Editorship and History Making: On Historicizing Modern Editions of Tiruniḻalmāla". Cracow Indological Studies. 23 (1): 9–10. doi: 10.12797/cis.23.2021.01.01 . ISSN   2449-8696.
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