Narayaneeyam

These pictures were captured by wife, Saumya Parameswaran in Guruvayur in the 1990s. These pictures are precious and rare due to the fact that photography is no longer allowed inside the temple.

Narayaneeyam is an elegant collection of poems in Sanskrit written by Shri. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri in 1560. Shri. Bhattathiri wrote this stunning set of verses, at the age of 27, in the famous Guruvayur Temple in Kerala, India, inspired by Lord Guruvayurappan. This stunning literature condenses the Bhagavatam, a Hindu scripture, of 18000 verses into 1034 cantos. In addition, Shri. Bhattathiri explains the Vedanta philosophy and Upanishads in the last 10 dasakams. Narayaneeyam has 100 dasakams or cantos averaging around 10 slokams per dasakam. In addition to being a poet, Sri. Bhattathiri was also an expert on Vyakarana (grammar) and Mathematics. This background is abundantly evident in his work where he uses around 26 different Chandas (meters) to capture the mood of each dasakam. The most widely used Chandas are Vasantathilakaa and Sragdharaa. I highly recommend the Narayaneeyam book by Sri. S.N.Sastri, which has detailed descriptions of the words and verses. The purpose of this blog is to give a layman's interpretation of this great work and highlight some of the challenges I have encountered while studying this great literature.

I was introduced to Narayaneeyam by my mother about 10 years ago. She used to recite the verses every day, and she suggested that I should also try to learn this literature. I purchased a book from the Guruvayur Devaswom bookstore written in Malayalam and started to read the chapters silently. I used to travel abroad on business at that time and I always made it a habit to pack this book in my suitcase. I used to read this book during weekends during my business trips. I did this for a few years and came to the realization that I need some coaching to master this work. I found a pre-recorded class online. I continued reading silently realizing I needed more help with the pronunciation and rendering of the slokas. In 2022, after working in the energy industry for 35 years, I retired. I started taking interest in Sanskrit and took courses at Madras Sanskrit College remote program focusing on grammar. At that time, I discovered an organization in Bangalore called Vyoma Lingusitic Labs Foundation offering classes on Sanskrit language and literature like Sahasranamam, Bhagavad Gita, Narayaneeyam etc. I enrolled in three Sahasranamam classes as well as Narayaneeyam. The Narayaneeyam course is taught by Shri Shankararama Sharma who is pursuing Ph.D.in Computer Science at the Indian Institute of Science. Shri. Sharma has been teaching Narayaneeyam since 2020 and the second session started from Dasakam 61 with recordings available for all the sessions taught earlier. I was very impressed with his focus on clear pronunciation and diction. He insists on the Vedic method of learning and reading as well as encourages students to read Sanskrit literature in the original Devanagari script instead of transliterations in other languages, He encourages his students to read the verses loudly so that one can correct the mistakes. Enrolling in Vyoma and learning Sanskrit from Madras Sanskrit College were some of my best decisions post-retirement.

Before diving into the individual Dasakams, it is worth noting the concept of Chhandas and the importance it plays in Sanskrit Literature. In order better appreciate Sanskrit literature, whether it be Vedas or Classics, one must have a basic understanding of Chhandas and how the syllables are arranged in the poetry. Poetry is a combination of words in a sentence and words are broken into syllables. The structured assembly of syllables, words and sentences constitutes a Chhandas. The cadence and diction for the poetry is derived from this arrangement . Chhandas has been used widely in Vedic literature, and Valmiki was the first poet to implement this concept in the Classic Literature. Valmiki derived the first sloka sitting on the banks of Tamasa River watching the two birds fly by and the hunter killing one of the birds. This sloka was developed to rhythm of what is now called the Anushtup Chhandas, and the origin of the creation of Ramayanam. Valmiki was able to express the Nava Rasas (nine emotions) through the first slokams. The Chhandas concept was further refined by Shri. Pingala, and this is a sub-branch of Sanskrit Vyakarana. For the scope of this discussion, it is sufficient to understand the number of syllables each Chhandas represents, in Narayaneeyam recitation, to ensure that the integrity of the poetry is retained. The meaning of the poems would change if this rule were not followed, and the rhythm would be lost.

The first Dasakam is written in the Sragdharaa Chhandas. This Chhandas has 21 syllables in each Paada (section) of the verse and there is a pause or vriti after 7 syllables. This is one of the longest Chhandas employed in Sanskrit poetry. Shri. Bhattathiri has used this Chhandas extensively in Narayaneeyam.

Dasakam #1 – भगवन्महिमनुवर्ननम् – Description of the greatness of Lord Krishna (Bhagavanmahimanuvarnanam)

First line of the Dasakam #1 –

सान्द्रानन्दावबोधात्मकमनुपमितं कालदेशावधिभ्यां

This line represents 21 syllables, broken into 3 – 7 syllable sections. In some cases, the pause can occur in 7-14 or 14-7 combinations and two lines can be combined where there may not be a pause on the first line, and a pause occurs on the 7th syllable of the next line.

During chanting, the sentence should be split into the appropriate vriti, to achieve proper pronunciation of the words.

In this Dasakam, the poet simplifies the concept of Brahman, which is explained in detail in Tattvabodha by Shankaracharya, which is very difficult to comprehend. Here the poet is implying that the mere sight of Lord Krishna in the Guruvayur Temple is in fact the experience of actual Brahman. The poet also feels sorry for the people who have been distracted by other indulgences, when in fact this great temple gives them what they need to reach the Brahman state. It would be interesting to note what the poet would have thought about the distractions in the 21st Century! Shri. Bhattathiri describes Lord Krishna as Suddha Sattva, which means pure goodness and he is the Nirguna Brahman. Lord Krishna did not come to earth by choice unlike other living things – there is no beginning or end to Brahman. In Hinduism, we offer prayers to individual Gods and Goddesses (we call them Ishta devata), and one must understand that all those forms eventually lead to Brahman. We are unable to grasp the concept of Brahman and therefore we resort to worshipping pictures of Gods. We do not know how Gods and Goddesses appeared in earth; someone has created a picture so that we can connect with them. The poet states that, praying in Guruvayur is as good as reaching out to Brahman. Some people perform Lakshmi pooja to gain wealth and the poet implies that praying to Lord Guruvayurappan achieves the same result since Goddess Lakshmi is on his bosom. Similarly, the poet also highlights the fact that the benefit one would derive from Kalapavriksha in Indra’s Garden in heaven and praying to Lord Krishna in Guruvayur is the same. This dasakam describes the state of Brahman, and how one can achieve it very simply.

I am attaching the audio of the first Dasakam chanted by my teacher at Vyoma, Shri Shankarama Sharma as well as the Devanagari script highlighting the sandhi rules for chanting. Vyoma has given me permission to include this link. Please note: Downloading and modifying the audio is not allowed.

Sriman Narayaneeyam Dashakam 1 Recitation | Sri Shankararama Sharma - YouTube