Thirunizhalmala

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thirunizhalmala
Writtenc. 13th century
CountryAranmula
LanguageMalayalam
Genre(s)"Pattu" genre

Thirunizhalmala ("Garland of the Sacred Shade" or "Grace"

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

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]

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^
    ISSN 2449-8696
    .