Thirunizhalmala Explained

Thirunizhalmala
Written:c. 13th century
Language:Malayalam
Genre:"Pattu" genre
Country:Aranmula

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. 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". "Thirunizhalmala" was discovered by scholar M. M. Purushothaman Nair in 1980.[5]

"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. The manuscript of the poem was discovered from northern Kerala. Central topic of the poem is the description of the ritual life of Aranmula Temple in Pathanamthitta.[8] The main rites described are the ancient rituals of the Malayar/Malayarayan or Malayan community (performed to remove the various impurities of the gods).[9] It also describes the temple and its environs, the families of the temple-villages’ owners and the protecting soldiery.

"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. It also mentions the medieval Tamil poet Kamban.

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

Notes and References

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

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