Narayaneeyam, the devotional masterpiece
of Meppathur Narayana Bhattatiri
is a jewel in the bhakti literature
in Sanskrit. As he himself says
in the last verse'dvedhaa naaraayaneeyam'
the work is in praise of Lord Narayana
and by the author of the same name.
Bhattatiri was a poet of undisputed
merit and a renowned grammarian.
This excellent work of the author
is at the same time a devotional
dissertation, work of great poetic
beauty and a philosophical treatise.
The author has condensed the entire
Bhagavata Mahapurana of 18000 verses
of sage Vedavyasa into a mere 1036
verses spread into 100 cantos or
dashakas . The purpose of the original
work namely salvation of humanity
has been eminently achieved. He
has devoted 52 of the 100 dashakas
for depiction of Krishnavatara which
is supposed to be the Purnavatara.
Bhattatiri's narration of the theme
by dwelling in detail on the excellences
of Sriman Narayana and His various
Divine incarnations is scholarly
, highly ennobling and sublime.
Narayaneeyam as well as Bhagavata
depict Krishna who is none other
than Lord Vishnu as the Supreme
Being and all other deities as only
His manifestations. Bhattatiri's
mastery over Sanskrit poetics is
admirable as evidenced by several
cantos though discernible throughout
his work. All these have made Narayaneeyam
a work to be recited daily with
devotion by many on par with Vishnusahasranama,
Bhagavadgita, Durga Saptasati, etc.
Topics such as Nrisimha incarnation,
Rasa Lila, and Kaliya episode are
examples of his mastery in poetry
where sound effect of the words
are amply brought out. Kapila-Devahuti
upaakhyana is an instance of philosophic
merit. Other pholosophic points
are given in excellent poetry by
Bhattatiri in the initial and the
concluding cantos of the Narayaneeyam.
On the whole, the author has made
use of 18 of the 20 popular metres
of Sanskrit poetics. The uniqueness
of Narayaneeyam lies in its being
perhaps the longest hymn in Sanskrit
extolling the form , excellences
and the Divine Incarnations of the
Lord. Devotion is the predominant
sentiment depicted in the Narayaneeyam.
The oft-spoken of human sentiments
such as sublime, heroic, romantic,
fearful and the pathetic are all
given due importance in the work.
Bhattatiri pleads with the all-merciful
Lord at the end of almost every
canto to eradicate his suffering
which was crippling him. Eventhough
the sentiment of pity is expressed
apparently on equal terms with the
sentiment of devotion , in the ultimate
analysis Bhattatiri's devotion is
found to surpass his pleas for relief
from suffering.
Bhattatiri, opening his work says
that the Unmanifest Non-dual Brahman
(brahmatattvam), the culmination
of all human endeavours, incomparable
and beyond the limitations of time
and space has manifested Itself
in all Its Divinity at Guruvayur
.It is indeed the good fortune of
humanity (hanta bhaagyam janaanaam)
that such a manifestation exists
in its midst.
Many of the narratives in the
Bhagavata are given in the Narayaneeyam
in a condensed way. Two significant
departures from the Bhagavata text
are worthy of mention. In the Parasurama
incarnation , Bhattatiri makes mention
of the land of Kerala reclaimed
by Parasurama from the sea ( known
therefore as Parasuramakshetram)
whereas there is no such mention
in the Bhagavata. This can be understood
since we know that Bhattathiri is
a Kerala Nampudiri brahmin . However,
this episode finds a place in Brahmandapurana.
Another deviation is in the context
of Rasakrida when the Lord suddenly
disappeared with one Gopika from
the midst of the others who felt
great pride and self-importance
due to the nearness of Krishna.
Bhagavata makes no mention of this
particular Gopika as Radha but states
in the words of others (who were
envious) that because the former
Gopika worshipped the Lord with
devotion, He had gone with her.
On the other hand, Narayaneeyam
gives the name of this Gopika as
Radha .
During composing the Narayaneeyam,
Bhattatiri seeks the Lord's confirmation
for specific events after narrating
them and receives God's nod every
time. In canto 25 , describing the
man-lion form of the Lord in the
Prahlada episode Bhattatiri addressing
Him waxes eloquent as evidenced
by the following shloka :
taptasvarna-savarnaghoorna-datirookshaaksham
sataakesara
protkampa-pranikumbitaambara-maho
jeeyaattavedam vapuh vyaatta-vyaapta-mahaadareesakhamukham
khadgogravalganmahaa
jihvaanirgama-drishyamaanasumahaa-damshtraayugoddaamaram
(Narayaneeyam 25-3)
"All victory to Your man-lion
form with rolling fearful eyes which
shone like molten gold; overcasting
the skies with your flying mane
and matted locks; huge cave-like
wide open mouth; terribly quivering
tongue resembling a sword, which
while lolling out, displayed Your
two fierce molars on either side
." In the last verse of the
same Canto when Bhattatiri addresses
the Lord as ' prahlaadapriya', He
intervenes by declaring that He
is not only 'Prahladapriya' but
bhaktapriya (lover of devotees in
general ). A parallel can be found
in the Bhagavata ( 9-4-63) when
the Lord declares that He is ' bhaktajanapriya
' Such was the interaction of the
Lord with His poet-devotee.
The Kaliya episode is another
example of the sound echoing the
sense when the Lord deciding to
end the menace of the serpent Kaliya
made his hoods His dancing theatre
and performed the universally acclaimed
Kaliya-narthana.
adhiruhya tatah phaniraajaphanaa-nnanrute
bhavataa mridupaadaruchaa
kalashinjita-noopuramanjumila-tkarakankana-sankula-sankvanitam
(Narayaneeyam 55-9)
"You mounted on the hoods
of the serpent and started dancing
; the beauty of Your tender feet
blended exquisitely with the dazzle
of the serpent's crown jems. The
sweet sounds of Your anklets and
those of your bangles mingled in
unison as You swang thy arms to
keep time for the dance."
The rasa dance is another brilliant
example of the poetic beauty with
the sound effects of the scene unfolding
before us. Bhattatiri says:
venunaadakrita-taanadaanakala-gaanaraaga-gatiyojanaa-
lobhaneeya-mridupaadapaatakrita-taalamelana-manoharam
paanisankvanita-kankanancha muhuramsalambita-karaambujam
shronibimba-chaladambaram bhajata
raasakeli-rasadambaram
( Narayaneeyam 69-4)
"The sweet-singing of the
Gopikas in unison with the enchanting
music of Your flute , the rhythmic
placement of the feet also in consonance
with the musical note, the clapping
sound of their hand mixing with
the tinkling sound of their bangles
, the dancers placing their hands
on each other's shoulders and also
the fluttering noise of the cloths:
these enthralling aspects of the
rasa dance are very much worthy
of meditation."
High philosophic import is contained
in the Kapilopakhyana when the Lord
in His incarnation as Kapila spoke
of the fickleness of human mind
as the cause of bondage of the Spirit
and its control, the practice of
meditation on the Divine Form as
well as practising devotional disciplines
like shravanam and kirtanam of His
glory.
mama gunagana-leelaakarnanaihi
keertanaadyai-
rmayi surasaridogha-prakhyachittaanuvrittih
bhavati paramabhaktih saa hi mrityorvijetree
kapilatanuriti tvam devahootyai
nyagaadeeh
(Narayaneeyam 15-5)
"The devotee reaches the stage
of supreme devotion by constant
practice of devotional disciplines
such as hearing and hymning on My
attributes, sportive activities
and glory whereby the mind flows
naturally and incessantly towards
Me unmindful of the obstacles as
does the Ganges towards the ocean.
The birth-death cycle of samsara
is conquered only by such devotion.
Thus You taught Devahuti assuming
the human form of Kapila."
Devotion is considered not only
the means of liberation but an end
in itself. Looking upon the Personal-Impersonal
God in different relationships as
master , parent , child, friend,
and as one's beloved and rendering
eternal service is the important
aspect of devotion. Indeed loving
devotion is considered as the fifth
purushartha as against liberation
as the fourth one. Bhattatiri's
poignant feelings reach their zenith
when he says that because he could
not be present personally with at
least some flowers and in salutation
to Krishna at the time of His entry
into Mathura, he is suffering from
the afflictions, while others more
fortunate could welcome Him with
various offerings.
taavannishchitavaibhavaastava
vibho naatyantapaapaa janaa
yatkinchiddadate sma shaktyanugunam
taamboolamaalyaadikam
grihnaanah kusumaadi-kinchana tadaa
maarge nibaddaanjali-
rnaatishtham bata haa yato adya
vipulaa-maartim vrajaami prabho
( Narayaneeyam 74-6 )
In the concluding cantos, Bhattatiri
deals with subjects such as bhagavata
dharma, role of bhakti in the Kali
age, supremacy of the path of devotion,
mystery of Divine maya and glories
of both the Impersonal Absolute
and the manifested Divine Person.
Indeed the entire work of Bhattatiri
is directly addressed to the Lord
, the only refuge for humanity.
As a result, Bhattatiri is blessed
with the Divine vision of the Lord
seeing which he feels as one bathed
in the nectar of that vision both
within and without.
In the final canto Bhattatiri
glorifies the Lord's various parts
vividly and in the penultimate shloka,
he dwells upon the sweetness of
His lotus feet as the most sought
after ; he prays to the all-merciful
Lord for the emancipation of his
life removing thoroughly his sufferings
and afflictions resulting in the
attainment of Supreme Bliss. Bhattatiri
says the Lord's feet are veritably
the celestial wish yielding tree
for His devotees.
yogeendraanaam tvadangeshvadhikasumadhuram
muktibhaajaam nivaaso
bhaktaanaam kaamavarsha-dyutarukisalayam
naatha te paadamoolam
nityam chittasthitam me pavanapurapate
krishna kaarunyasindho
hritvaa nishsheshataapaan pradishatu
paramaanandasandohalakshmeem
(Narayaneeyam 100-10)
On the whole Narayaneeyam is a
work of unsurpassed beauty, grandeur,
grace and scholarship and of exceptional
devotional merit.
