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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Human birth, rare to obtain

 

CHENNAI, AUG. 5. A day spent without remembering God and offering

worship to Him amounts to a day wasted in one's life according to

saints. The Azhwars and the Nayanmars who have sung innumerable

hymns in praise of God invariably draw attention to the optimum

use a human being must make of every day at his disposal in

spiritual pursuit. Human birth is meant for realising God which

puts an end to rebirths and hence when one has been fortunate

enough to get one, it should be utilised properly as there is no

guarantee that such an opportunity will be given again.

 

The hymns composed by saints afford an insight into the heights

of devotion attained by them and hence chanting them during daily

worship is a sure method to develop devotion to God. The

Narayaneeyam is one such devotional work which is in the form of

a dialogue with Lord Krishna at Guruvayur composed by Bhattatiri.

 

Tradition relates that he composed the poem in the temple

precincts and the Lord acknowledged every query he put to Him.

One can appreciate the depths of his devotion if it was possible

for him to communicate directly with God. It was only after

getting the Lord's acknowledgment about His exploits depicted in

a canto that the poet proceeded to compose the next one. So the

deeds of the Lord in His incarnations have been certified by God

Himself in this devotional poem.

 

The Narayaneeyam is a condensation of the Bhagavata Purana and

the poem is in the form of 100 decades. This Purana deals with

the incarnation of the Lord as Rama briefly and Bhattatiri has

devoted 20 verses in two decades to relate Lord Rama's life

broadly on the lines of the Purana. What is remarkable is the

manner in which he has condensed the 24000 verses of the Ramayana

in 20 verses without missing out any important detail in the

epic. This attests to his mastery of Sanskrit, poetic skill,

economical use of words and devotion which enabled him to achieve

this remarkable feat.

 

In his discourse, Sri P. R. Venkatachalam said that even

subtleties depicted at length in the Valmiki Ramayana had not

been missed out in the Narayaneeyam. The events in the Bala Kanda

of the Ramayana has been condensed in the first three verses of

the decade and the fourth verse draws attention to Rama's meeting

with Parasurama, another God's incarnation. In this verse

Bhattatiri says that divine power was transferred from Parasurama

to Rama. Another nuance the poet conveys is the happy life Rama

led in Ayodhya after His marriage to Sita. This is of

significance as it precedes the developments leading to Rama's

exile to the forest which is the turning point in the narration.

 

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