Poonthanam

Poonthanam

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Category: Literature

Poonthanam Profile

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Poonthanam Biography

Poonthanam was a religious poet who lived in Kerala during 16th and early 17th century. He is best known for his masterpiece work, Jnanappana giving very good messages in simple language. Poonthanam’s Jnanappana is familiar to every Malayali family and deeply linked to Kerala culture too. When he wrote this magnum opus, it got a distinct place in Malayalam for its simple language that can be easily understood by common man. It was a time when Malayalam works were deeply influenced byy Sanskrit and not an easy task for common man to decode the meanings. For the same reason, Jnanappana gained popularity among the people in quick time. Dedicated to Guruvayoorappan (Lord Krishna), this work is recited at all Krishna temples during auspicious occasions.

 

Poonthanam was born in 1547 at Keezhattoor, near Perinthalamanna in Malapuram district. He got married at the age of 20 and didn’t get any children for many years. He recited Santhana Gopalam at Guruvayur temple for a long time and a son was born to him, whom Poonthanam believed to be Lord Krishna himself. But the child died soon after Annaprasanam ceremony and Poonthanam was completely broken. It is believed that Poonthanam was comforted by none other than Lord Krishna himself who lay down on his lap as an infant.

 

Later he spent the rest of his life reading the Bhagavatham and chanting devotional songs of Krishna. It was during this time when he authored Jnanapana, which literally means 'the song of wisdom’ which propagated Bhakti belief. He was a contemporary of Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri who was a scholar and author of celebrated work Narayaneeyam. It’s believed that Lord Krishna too preferred Jnanappana over Narayaneeyam.  

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Updated: June 16, 2014

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