Poonthanam , Lord Krishna's Favorite Devotee....( A True Story ) !!!!

October 17, 2007

Dandavat Pranams to Bhagavan Krishna and Vaishanavas ! , " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". This verse is from "Jnanappana" (Song of knowledge), Bhagavan Krishna’s favorite hymn in Malayalam . It was composed by Devotee-Poet Poonthanam Namboothiri . ( See his Picture, attached hereto ) . Poet Poonthanam (AD 1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. His ’illam’ ( house) known as Poonthanam is about 10 KM north of Angadippuram town on Nilambur Road. ( See attached, recent photos of this house) . Bhakthi compensates lack of knowledge

Poonthanam was a loyal devotee of Guruvayoorappan ( Sree Krishna) . Both Poonthanam and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri ( Author of Narayaneeyam) were contemporaries . Melpathur was an erudite scholar and a renowned poet in Sanskrit . However, Poonthanam was not much qualified in Sanskrit and Scriptures and he was just a moderate writer in local language Malayalam . This intellectual limitation, earned him the nick name “ Half-poet ” . Melpathur used to laugh at Poonthanam’s reading and recitation . One day , at a discourse held at Guruvayoor temple, Poonthanam was wrongly reciting "Padmanabho Maraprabhu", (Lord of trees) . Melpathur openly laughed at Poonthanam and corrected saying, “ Padmanabha is not Maraprabhu but “Amaraprabhu ” (Lord of immortals) ” . Immediately, a celestial voice from the inner shrine declared "I am also Maraprabhu" !!! . Death of only Child & Bhagavan’s Consolation " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". There is a sad story behind this verse . Poonthanam did not have any child for a long time. Finally, his prayers were granted and he became the father of a son . He did the Initial vedic rituals for his son like ‘jathakarma’ (done soon after the baby is born) and ‘nama karana’ (naming of the child). When the baby was

six months old, Poonthanam decided to conduct ‘Annaprasanam’ (first feeding of cooked rice). He fixed an auspicious date for the ceremony and invited friends and relatives. The preparations were in full swing. On the day of the ceremony, everybody in the house got up early. Poonthanam’s wife gave a nice bath to the baby and dressed him, well . She breast-fed him and put him to sleep on a mat on the floor . The mother tucked the baby with a nice white sheet . The baby was sleeping peacefully . The invitees started coming in . In

those days, the Brahmin women used to cover their body with a white cloth and keep a palm leaf umbrella when they went out . Poonthanam’s wife greeted the guests. She pointed out the baby’s room to put their covering cloths. The lady who went in first put her cloth on the bed of the baby. The others who followed her did the same . In their hurry they did not even notice the baby on the bed . Then they joined the hostess in preparing food . It was time to bring the baby to the ceremony spot . The mother went into the room to pick up the baby. She saw a heap of cloths

on the bed . She removed all the clothes then she found that the baby was underneath the heap . He had stopped breathing due to suffocation . No need to explain the afterward situation . There is a story in Bhagavatham about Narada whose mother died of snakebite and that incident helped the Rishi to focus all his attention towards Maha-Vishnu . The same happened to Poonthanam whose bhakti-yoga became more intense. By stoically absorbing the tragedy with a sense of reality, Poonthanam submitted himself to the will of Guruvayoorappan . He was at once blessed with a glorious vision of the

divine child Sree Krishna, inspiring him to sing the famous verse " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need another baby of my own" ? . Bhagavan inspired him further to compile ‘Janappana’ , the epitome of Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam's life is a fine illustration of how sufferings (soka) of pure devotee can result in a divine hymn (sloka) . Editing of “Jnappana” “Narayaneeyam” is a master-hymn in sanskrit written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri . He had been suffering from severe paralysis and as a prayer started the composition . By the time he finished “Narayaneeyam”, Melpathur completely recovered by the grace of

Guruvayoorappan . Thus, he became a legend among vedic scholars . Around that time, Poonthanam had written the Malayalam devotional book ‘Jnanappana’. With great humility, he approached Melpathur Bhattathiri to edit the book . But Bhattathiri was too proud about own reputation. It was his habit to treat the writers of lesser languages with contempt . So he suggested Poonthanam to get the book edited by

somebody else . Poonthanam accepted that suggestion with humility. On the same day of this incident, the paralytic disease of Bhattathiri, cured earlier by Krishna's grace, re-emerged in virulence. Bhagavan, appearing before Bhattathiri in dream, declared : "To me the bhakti (devotion) of Poonthanam is far more pleasing than your ‘vibhakti ‘(scholarship)." A thoroughly shaken-up Melpathur rushed to Poonthanam’s house the next morning itself and expressed his willingness to edit “Jnanappana” . And Poonthanam gladly handed over the book . However, a bigger shock was in waiting for Melpathur . “Jnanappana” had been corrected already by Guruvayoorappan in the previous night itself . Melpathur could not find a single mistake in it . He apologized to Poonthanam and praised his Bhakti-yoga . Immediately , his illness disappeared. A Divine Intervention to save Poonthanam from Robbers The pious Poonthanam used to walk to his favorite temple of Guruvayoor which was about 60 to 70 Kilometers away from his home . The route to the temple was very desolate . The passengers felt very unsafe to walk through that way even in the day light

..Traveling at the night time scared them all the more because of the fear of armed looters . Poonthanam was walking fast on that route. His mind was fully immersed in thoughts of Guruvayoorappan. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by robbers who started to hurt him verbally and physically . He gave them everything he had, the money and his gold ring . Still they were at him . They asked for the small packet he was clinging to . Poonthanam said it

was only Bhagavatam . The thieves were not convinced. Poonthanam did not want to part with the Bhagavatham book, which was his whole treasure. So that lonely place filled with the roars of the robbers and the loud “Narayana , Narayana “ chartings of Poonthanam. Suddenly an armed man came on the horseback . He crushed those deceits and got back the money and the ring for Poonthanam . Poonthanam was very happy for not loosing his treasure, Bhagavatham. He thanked the young man and offered him his ring to him as a gift . The youth did not accept the gift . He said that he was Samoothiri’s Minister and it was his duty to protect the passengers. Still Poonthanam forced the ring on the youth’s finger. So he accepted the gift and guided Poonthanam up to Guruvayoor temple and disappeared. Poonthanam was very pleased . He was ready at the Guruvayoor temple for “Nirmalya Darshnam” around 2.30 AM . After the Abhishekam, the Mel-Santi ( Chief Priest) came out to give Prasadam. Then he told Poonthanam , Guruvayoorappan appeared in his dream on the previous night and asked to give Poonthanam the ring Bhagavan’s Deity had on His finger.

Next morning , when the Mel-Santi went to the temple to do ‘Nirmalya pooja’, he saw a ring on Deity’s finger. Mel-Santi handed over the ring to Poonthanam . And Poonthanam was astonished to find that it was the same ring he had gifted to Samoothiri’s Minister. Poonthanam could not believe that Guruvayoorappan Himself came down to save him . Our prayers will be heard and the

great Bhagavan Krishna comes down to protect His faithful devotees. But, we don’t recognize Him . A Helping Hand to the Devatas One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ ( Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam to take him to Vaikuntam . Poonthanam received them properly. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ led him to the plane with due respect . That plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam . The celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane -He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-Vishnu’s abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam did namaskar to the divine place . As soon as he reached the entrance two divine Gatekeepers with a humble bow received him . Poonthanam thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honors from those Devatas . But they said they were two plantain trees growing near the portico in Poonthanam’s house in their previous birth . They got to hear Poonthanam’s Bhagavatham recitation everyday, which elevated them to the level of immortals . So they respected Poonthanam as their Gurudeva . By this Poonthanam woke up from his dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front yard he saw those two plantain trees had fallen on the ground . A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam As Poonthanam grew old, he found it very difficult to travel up to Guruvayoor . Once he set out for Guruvayoor to see his dearest Bhagavan . But, after walking just a little distance, he felt extremely tired and had to abandon the trip . At this point , Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to meet Bhagavan . Immediately, he saw Sri Guruvayurappan standing to his left side (Idathu puram). Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam " You need not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will be personally present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do your worship." Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place , very soon . ( It is very close to the Angadippuram Railway Station on the Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance from the station. There is a shortcut from Poonthanm’s house to this temple ) . Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works as “Vaamapuraadi-naatha” (Vaama = left) . At this temple, there is a marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid his ‘danda namaskaram’ to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily understand that Bhagavan was to his left . The Ultimate Benediction , Vaikuntam !!! . Poonthanam was getting too old . He couldn’t travel anymore . He remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting Bhagavatham and meditation. He used to get visions of Bhagavan very often . But others couldn’t understand what he was talking about . They thought he had

become senile . One day Poonthanam said, “The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ are visiting our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with plantain trees and so on ". Poonthanam’s servants thought he was going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he instructed . Next morning, while Poonthanam was resting after meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately he called his wife and asked her to get ready to go as

the plane had landed. She did not take it serious and said she had to do a few more things in the kitchen . The maid servant who was listening to their conversation asked for his permission to go with him . Poonthanam gladly agreed . After some time, Poonthanam’s wife finished her chores and came out . Poonthanam was missing and she saw the maid servant lying dead. Ever since, nobody has seen Poonthanam !!! . Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the abovementioned events . As desired by Guruvayoorappan , traditions associated with Poonthanam are ritually celebrated at Guruvayoor temple every year . Also his statue was installed in the temple premise . Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!! SreeKrishnaDasa Rajeev Attachments : Picture of Poonthanam . Photos of his house .

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October 18, 2007

An excellent mail, thank you so much rajeev. My father keeps telling me these stories but i seem to forget the names,places etc. now i have a proper record of it which i can pass on to my future generations . I wud luv to hear more of this. Thank you again.SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev <srikrishnadasa_rajeev wrote: Dandavat Pranams to Bhagavan Krishna and Vaishanavas ! , " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". This verse is from "Jnanappana" (Song of knowledge), Bhagavan Krishna’s favorite hymn in Malayalam . It was composed by Devotee-Poet Poonthanam Namboothiri .

( See his Picture, attached hereto ) . Poet Poonthanam (AD 1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. His ’illam’ ( house) known as Poonthanam is about 10 KM north of Angadippuram town on Nilambur Road. ( See attached, recent photos of this house) . Bhakthi compensates lack of knowledge Poonthanam was a loyal devotee of Guruvayoorappan ( Sree Krishna) . Both Poonthanam and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri ( Author of Narayaneeyam) were contemporaries . Melpathur was an erudite scholar and a renowned poet in Sanskrit . However, Poonthanam was not much qualified in Sanskrit and Scriptures and he was just a moderate writer in local language Malayalam . This intellectual limitation, earned him the nick name “ Half-poet ” . Melpathur used to laugh at Poonthanam’s reading and recitation . One day , at a discourse held at Guruvayoor temple, Poonthanam was wrongly reciting "Padmanabho Maraprabhu", (Lord of trees) . Melpathur openly laughed at Poonthanam and corrected saying, “ Padmanabha is not Maraprabhu but

“Amaraprabhu ” (Lord of immortals) ” . Immediately, a celestial voice from the inner shrine declared "I am also Maraprabhu" !!! . Death of only Child & Bhagavan’s Consolation " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". There is

a sad story behind this verse . Poonthanam did not have any child for a long time. Finally, his prayers were granted and he became the father of a son . He did the Initial vedic rituals for his son like ‘jathakarma’ (done soon after the baby is born) and ‘nama karana’ (naming of the child). When the baby was six months old, Poonthanam decided to conduct ‘Annaprasanam’ (first feeding of cooked rice). He fixed an auspicious date for the ceremony and invited friends and relatives. The preparations were in full swing. On the day of the ceremony, everybody in the house got up early. Poonthanam’s wife gave a nice bath to the baby and dressed him, well . She breast-fed him and put him to sleep on a mat on the floor . The mother tucked the baby with a nice white sheet . The baby was sleeping

peacefully . The invitees started coming in . In those days, the Brahmin women used to cover their body with a white cloth and keep a palm leaf umbrella when they went out . Poonthanam’s wife greeted the guests. She pointed out the baby’s room to put their covering cloths. The lady who went in first put her cloth on the bed of the baby. The others who followed her did the same . In their hurry they did not even notice the baby on the bed . Then they joined the hostess in preparing food . It was time to bring the baby to the ceremony spot . The mother went into the room to pick up the baby. She saw a heap of cloths on the bed . She removed all the clothes then she found that the baby was underneath the heap . He had stopped breathing due to suffocation . No need to explain the afterward situation . There is a story in Bhagavatham about Narada whose mother died of snakebite and that incident helped the Rishi to focus all his attention towards Maha-Vishnu . The same happened to Poonthanam whose bhakti-yoga became more intense. By stoically absorbing the tragedy with a

sense of reality, Poonthanam submitted himself to the will of Guruvayoorappan . He was at once blessed with a glorious vision of the divine child Sree Krishna, inspiring him to sing the famous verse " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need another baby of my own" ? . Bhagavan inspired him further to compile ‘Janappana’ , the epitome of Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam's life is a fine illustration of how sufferings (soka) of pure devotee can result in a divine hymn (sloka) . Editing of “Jnappana” “Narayaneeyam” is a master-hymn in sanskrit written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri . He had been suffering from severe paralysis and as a prayer started the composition . By the time he finished “Narayaneeyam”, Melpathur completely recovered by the grace of Guruvayoorappan . Thus, he became a legend among vedic scholars . Around that time, Poonthanam had written the Malayalam devotional book ‘Jnanappana’. With great humility, he approached Melpathur Bhattathiri to edit

the book . But Bhattathiri was too proud about own reputation. It was his habit to treat the writers of lesser languages with contempt . So he suggested Poonthanam to get the book edited by somebody else . Poonthanam accepted that suggestion with humility. On the same day of this incident, the paralytic disease of Bhattathiri, cured earlier by Krishna's grace, re-emerged in virulence. Bhagavan, appearing before Bhattathiri

in dream, declared : "To me the bhakti (devotion) of Poonthanam is far more pleasing than your ‘vibhakti ‘(scholarship)." A thoroughly shaken-up Melpathur rushed to Poonthanam’s house the next morning itself and expressed his willingness to edit “Jnanappana” . And Poonthanam gladly handed over the book . However, a bigger shock was in waiting for Melpathur . “Jnanappana” had been corrected already by Guruvayoorappan in the previous night itself . Melpathur could not find a single mistake in it . He apologized to Poonthanam

and praised his Bhakti-yoga . Immediately , his illness disappeared. A Divine Intervention to save Poonthanam from Robbers The pious Poonthanam used to walk to his favorite temple of Guruvayoor which was about 60 to 70 Kilometers away from his home . The route to the temple was very desolate . The passengers felt very unsafe to walk through that way even in the day light .Traveling at the night time scared them all the more because of

the fear of armed looters . Poonthanam was walking fast on that route. His mind was fully immersed in thoughts of Guruvayoorappan. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by robbers who started to hurt him verbally and physically . He gave them everything he had, the money and his gold ring . Still they were at him . They asked for the small packet he was clinging to . Poonthanam said it was only Bhagavatam . The thieves were not convinced. Poonthanam did not want to part with the Bhagavatham book, which was his whole treasure. So that lonely place filled with the roars of the

robbers and the loud “Narayana , Narayana “ chartings of Poonthanam. Suddenly an armed man came on the horseback . He crushed those deceits and got back the money and the ring for Poonthanam . Poonthanam was very happy for not loosing his treasure, Bhagavatham. He thanked the young man and offered him his ring to him as a gift . The youth did not accept the gift . He said that he was Samoothiri’s Minister and it was his duty to protect the passengers. Still Poonthanam forced the ring on the youth’s finger. So he accepted the gift and guided Poonthanam up to Guruvayoor temple and disappeared. Poonthanam was very pleased . He was ready at the Guruvayoor temple for “Nirmalya Darshnam” around 2.30 AM . After the Abhishekam, the Mel-Santi ( Chief Priest) came out to give Prasadam. Then he told Poonthanam , Guruvayoorappan appeared in his dream on the previous night and asked to give Poonthanam the ring Bhagavan’s Deity had on His finger. Next morning , when the Mel-Santi went to the temple to do ‘Nirmalya pooja’, he saw a ring on Deity’s finger. Mel-Santi handed over the ring to Poonthanam . And Poonthanam was astonished to find that it was

the same ring he had gifted to Samoothiri’s Minister. Poonthanam could not believe that Guruvayoorappan Himself came down to save him . Our prayers will be heard and the great Bhagavan Krishna comes down to protect His faithful devotees. But, we don’t recognize Him . A Helping Hand to the Devatas One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ (

Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam to take him to Vaikuntam . Poonthanam received them properly. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ led him to the plane with due respect . That plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam . The celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane -He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-Vishnu’s abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam did namaskar to the divine place . As soon as he reached the entrance two divine Gatekeepers with a humble bow received him . Poonthanam thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honors from those Devatas . But they said they were two plantain trees growing near the portico in Poonthanam’s house in their previous birth . They got to hear Poonthanam’s Bhagavatham recitation everyday, which

elevated them to the level of immortals . So they respected Poonthanam as their Gurudeva . By this Poonthanam woke up from his dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front yard he saw those two plantain trees had fallen on the ground . A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam As Poonthanam grew old, he found it very difficult to travel up to Guruvayoor . Once he set out for Guruvayoor to see his dearest Bhagavan . But,

after walking just a little distance, he felt extremely tired and had to abandon the trip . At this point , Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to meet Bhagavan . Immediately, he saw Sri Guruvayurappan standing to his left side (Idathu puram). Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam " You need not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will be personally present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do your worship." Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place , very soon . ( It is very close to the Angadippuram Railway Station on the Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance from the station. There is a shortcut from

Poonthanm’s house to this temple ) . Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works as “Vaamapuraadi-naatha” (Vaama = left) . At this temple, there is a marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid his ‘danda namaskaram’ to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily understand that Bhagavan was to his left . The Ultimate Benediction , Vaikuntam !!! . Poonthanam was getting too old . He couldn’t travel anymore . He remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting

Bhagavatham and meditation. He used to get visions of Bhagavan very often . But others couldn’t understand what he was talking about . They thought he had become senile . One day Poonthanam said, “The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ are visiting our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with plantain trees and so on ". Poonthanam’s servants thought he was going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he instructed . Next morning, while Poonthanam was resting after meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately he called his wife

and asked her to get ready to go as the plane had landed. She did not take it serious and said she had to do a few more things in the kitchen . The maid servant who was listening to their conversation asked for his permission to go with him . Poonthanam gladly agreed . After some time, Poonthanam’s wife finished her chores and came out . Poonthanam was missing and she saw the maid servant lying dead. Ever since, nobody has seen Poonthanam !!! . Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the abovementioned events . As desired by Guruvayoorappan , traditions associated with Poonthanam are ritually celebrated at Guruvayoor temple every year . Also his statue was installed in the temple premise . Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!

SreeKrishnaDasa Rajeev Attachments : Picture of Poonthanam . Photos of his house . Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.

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October 18, 2007

My son did not walk,talk, do anything that a normal child would do till he was two and a half years old. One great soul advised me to take him to Guruvayoor, visit SriKrishna Temple and worship HIm. I did that, came back and told this noble soul that I had done what he had advised. The old soul told me that 15th day from now the boy would walk,. He furtther said that it would be towards the evening or during Rahukalam that this event would happen. All of waited patiently for that event. It was past 5 p m. The boy could not stand up even holding a chair or any other support. We were getting anxious since the evening was clearly setting and there was not even an attempt by the boy to turn or roll over. It just passed 5.30.p m . The boy suddenly got up and walked as if he was a pastmaster in the game. It was unbelieveable. But at home all of saw Sri Krishnas Leela.. Lord Krishna had indeed descended in our home. K.Ravitinytinku

tiny <tinytinko wrote: An excellent mail, thank you so much rajeev. My father keeps telling me these stories but i seem to forget the names,places etc. now i have a proper record of it which i can pass on to my future generations . I wud luv to hear more of this. Thank you again.SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev <srikrishnadasa_rajeev (AT) (DOT) co.in> wrote: Dandavat Pranams to Bhagavan Krishna and Vaishanavas ! , " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". This verse is from

"Jnanappana" (Song of knowledge), Bhagavan Krishna’s favorite hymn in Malayalam . It was composed by Devotee-Poet Poonthanam Namboothiri . ( See his Picture, attached hereto ) . Poet Poonthanam (AD 1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. His ’illam’ ( house) known as Poonthanam is about 10 KM north of Angadippuram town on Nilambur Road. ( See attached, recent photos of this house) . Bhakthi compensates lack of knowledge Poonthanam was a loyal devotee of Guruvayoorappan ( Sree Krishna) . Both Poonthanam and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri ( Author of Narayaneeyam) were contemporaries . Melpathur was an erudite scholar and a renowned poet in Sanskrit . However, Poonthanam was not much qualified in Sanskrit and Scriptures and he was just a moderate writer in local language Malayalam . This intellectual limitation, earned him the nick name “ Half-poet ” . Melpathur used to laugh at Poonthanam’s reading and recitation . One day , at a discourse held at Guruvayoor temple,

Poonthanam was wrongly reciting "Padmanabho Maraprabhu", (Lord of trees) . Melpathur openly laughed at Poonthanam and corrected saying, “ Padmanabha is not Maraprabhu but “Amaraprabhu ” (Lord of immortals) ” . Immediately, a celestial voice from the inner shrine declared "I am also Maraprabhu" !!! . Death of only Child & Bhagavan’s Consolation " While baby Krishna is playing in my

mind, do I need a baby of my own??". There is a sad story behind this verse . Poonthanam did not have any child for a long time. Finally, his prayers were granted and he became the father of a son . He did the Initial vedic rituals for his son like ‘jathakarma’ (done soon after the baby is born) and ‘nama karana’ (naming of the child). When the baby was six months old, Poonthanam decided to conduct ‘Annaprasanam’ (first feeding of cooked rice). He fixed an auspicious date for the ceremony and invited friends and relatives. The preparations were in full swing. On the day of the ceremony, everybody in the house got up early. Poonthanam’s wife gave a nice bath to the

baby and dressed him, well . She breast-fed him and put him to sleep on a mat on the floor . The mother tucked the baby with a nice white sheet . The baby was sleeping peacefully . The invitees started coming in . In those days, the Brahmin women used to cover their body with a white cloth and keep a palm leaf umbrella when they went out . Poonthanam’s wife greeted the guests. She pointed out the baby’s room to put their covering cloths. The lady who went in first put her cloth on the bed of the baby. The others who followed her did the same . In their hurry they did not even notice the baby on the bed . Then they joined the hostess in

preparing food . It was time to bring the baby to the ceremony spot . The mother went into the room to pick up the baby. She saw a heap of cloths on the bed . She removed all the clothes then she found that the baby was underneath the heap . He had stopped breathing due to suffocation . No need to explain the afterward situation . There is a story in Bhagavatham about Narada whose mother died of snakebite and that incident helped the Rishi to

focus all his attention towards Maha-Vishnu . The same happened to Poonthanam whose bhakti-yoga became more intense. By stoically absorbing the tragedy with a sense of reality, Poonthanam submitted himself to the will of Guruvayoorappan . He was at once blessed with a glorious vision of the divine child Sree Krishna, inspiring him to sing the famous verse " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need another baby of my own" ? . Bhagavan inspired him further to compile ‘Janappana’ , the epitome of Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam's life is a fine illustration of how sufferings (soka) of pure devotee can result

in a divine hymn (sloka) . Editing of “Jnappana” “Narayaneeyam” is a master-hymn in sanskrit written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri . He had been suffering from severe paralysis and as a prayer started the composition . By the time he finished “Narayaneeyam”, Melpathur completely recovered by the grace of Guruvayoorappan . Thus, he became a legend among vedic scholars . Around that time,

Poonthanam had written the Malayalam devotional book ‘Jnanappana’. With great humility, he approached Melpathur Bhattathiri to edit the book . But Bhattathiri was too proud about own reputation. It was his habit to treat the writers of lesser languages with contempt . So he suggested Poonthanam to get the book edited by somebody else . Poonthanam accepted that suggestion with humility. On

the same day of this incident, the paralytic disease of Bhattathiri, cured earlier by Krishna's grace, re-emerged in virulence. Bhagavan, appearing before Bhattathiri in dream, declared : "To me the bhakti (devotion) of Poonthanam is far more pleasing than your ‘vibhakti ‘(scholarship)." A thoroughly shaken-up Melpathur rushed to Poonthanam’s house the next morning itself and expressed his willingness to edit “Jnanappana” . And Poonthanam gladly handed over the book . However, a bigger shock was in waiting for Melpathur .

“Jnanappana” had been corrected already by Guruvayoorappan in the previous night itself . Melpathur could not find a single mistake in it . He apologized to Poonthanam and praised his Bhakti-yoga . Immediately , his illness disappeared. A Divine Intervention to save Poonthanam from Robbers The pious Poonthanam used to walk to his favorite temple of Guruvayoor which was about 60 to 70 Kilometers away from his home . The route to the

temple was very desolate . The passengers felt very unsafe to walk through that way even in the day light .Traveling at the night time scared them all the more because of the fear of armed looters . Poonthanam was walking fast on that route. His mind was fully immersed in thoughts of Guruvayoorappan. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by robbers who started to hurt him verbally and physically . He gave them everything he had, the money and his gold ring . Still they were at him . They asked for the small packet he was clinging to . Poonthanam said it was only Bhagavatam . The thieves were

not convinced. Poonthanam did not want to part with the Bhagavatham book, which was his whole treasure. So that lonely place filled with the roars of the robbers and the loud “Narayana , Narayana “ chartings of Poonthanam. Suddenly an armed man came on the horseback . He crushed those deceits and got back the money and the ring for Poonthanam . Poonthanam was very happy for not loosing his treasure, Bhagavatham. He thanked the young man and offered him his ring to him as a gift . The youth did not accept the gift . He said that he was Samoothiri’s Minister and it was his duty to protect the passengers. Still Poonthanam forced the ring on the youth’s finger. So he accepted the gift and guided Poonthanam up to Guruvayoor temple and disappeared. Poonthanam was very pleased . He was ready at the Guruvayoor temple for “Nirmalya Darshnam” around 2.30 AM . After the Abhishekam, the Mel-Santi ( Chief Priest) came out to give Prasadam. Then he told Poonthanam , Guruvayoorappan appeared in his dream on the previous night and asked to give Poonthanam the ring Bhagavan’s Deity had on His finger. Next morning , when the Mel-Santi went to the temple to do ‘Nirmalya pooja’, he saw a ring on Deity’s finger. Mel-Santi handed over the ring to Poonthanam . And Poonthanam was astonished to find that it was the same ring he had gifted to Samoothiri’s Minister. Poonthanam could not believe that Guruvayoorappan Himself came down to save him . Our prayers will be heard and the great Bhagavan Krishna comes down to protect His faithful devotees. But, we don’t recognize Him . A Helping Hand to the Devatas One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ ( Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam to take him to Vaikuntam . Poonthanam received them properly. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ led him to the plane with due respect . That plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam . The celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane -He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-Vishnu’s abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam did namaskar to the divine place . As soon as he reached the entrance two divine Gatekeepers with a humble bow received him . Poonthanam thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honors from those Devatas . But they said they were

two plantain trees growing near the portico in Poonthanam’s house in their previous birth . They got to hear Poonthanam’s Bhagavatham recitation everyday, which elevated them to the level of immortals . So they respected Poonthanam as their Gurudeva . By this Poonthanam woke up from his dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front yard he saw those two plantain trees had fallen on the ground . A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam As Poonthanam grew old,

he found it very difficult to travel up to Guruvayoor . Once he set out for Guruvayoor to see his dearest Bhagavan . But, after walking just a little distance, he felt extremely tired and had to abandon the trip . At this point , Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to meet Bhagavan . Immediately, he saw Sri Guruvayurappan standing to his left side (Idathu puram). Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam " You need not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will be personally present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do your worship." Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place , very soon . ( It is very close to the

Angadippuram Railway Station on the Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance from the station. There is a shortcut from Poonthanm’s house to this temple ) . Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works as “Vaamapuraadi-naatha” (Vaama = left) . At this temple, there is a marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid his ‘danda namaskaram’ to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily understand that Bhagavan was to his left . The Ultimate Benediction , Vaikuntam !!! . Poonthanam was getting too old . He couldn’t travel anymore . He remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting Bhagavatham and meditation. He used to get visions of Bhagavan very often . But others couldn’t understand what he was talking about . They thought he had become senile . One day Poonthanam said, “The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ are visiting our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with plantain trees and so on ". Poonthanam’s servants thought he was going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he instructed . Next

morning, while Poonthanam was resting after meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately he called his wife and asked her to get ready to go as the plane had landed. She did not take it serious and said she had to do a few more things in the kitchen . The maid servant who was listening to their conversation asked for his permission to go with him . Poonthanam gladly agreed . After some time, Poonthanam’s wife finished her chores and came out . Poonthanam was missing and she saw the maid servant lying dead. Ever since, nobody has seen Poonthanam

!!! . Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the abovementioned events . As desired by Guruvayoorappan , traditions associated with Poonthanam are ritually celebrated at Guruvayoor temple every year . Also his statue was installed in the temple premise . Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!! SreeKrishnaDasa Rajeev Attachments : Picture of

Poonthanam . Photos of his house . Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it. Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Click here

Forgot the famous last words? Access your message archive online.

October 18, 2007

What a touching incident! Thank you so much for sharing this Leela. All glories

to Lord Sri Krishna! All my best wishes for your child.

--- In

, ravi k <ravik_54 wrote:

>

> My son did not walk,talk, do anything that a normal child would do

till he was two and a half years old. One great soul advised me to

take him to Guruvayoor, visit SriKrishna Temple and worship HIm. I

did that, came back and told this noble soul that I had done what he

had advised. The old soul told me that 15th day from now the boy

would walk,. He furtther said that it would be towards the evening or

during Rahukalam that this event would happen. All of waited

patiently for that event. It was past 5 p m. The boy could not stand

up even holding a chair or any other support. We were getting anxious

since the evening was clearly setting and there was not even an

attempt by the boy to turn or roll over. It just passed 5.30.p m .

The boy suddenly got up and walked as if he was a pastmaster in the

game. It was unbelieveable. But at home all of saw Sri Krishnas

Leela.. Lord Krishna had indeed descended in our home.

>

> K.Ravi

>

> tinytinku tiny <tinytinko wrote:

> An excellent mail, thank you so much rajeev. My father

keeps telling me these stories but i seem to forget the names,places

etc. now i have a proper record of it which i can pass on to my

future generations . I wud luv to hear more of this.

>

> Thank you again.

>

> SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev <srikrishnadasa_rajeev wrote:

> Dandavat Pranams to Bhagavan Krishna and Vaishanavas ! ,

>

> " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of

my own?? " . This verse is from " Jnanappana " (Song of knowledge),

Bhagavan Krishna's favorite hymn in Malayalam . It was composed by

Devotee-Poet Poonthanam Namboothiri . ( See his Picture, attached

hereto ) .

>

> Poet Poonthanam (AD 1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born

near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala.

His 'illam' ( house) known as Poonthanam is about 10 KM north of

Angadippuram town on Nilambur Road. ( See attached, recent photos of

this house) .

>

> Bhakthi compensates lack of knowledge

>

> Poonthanam was a loyal devotee of Guruvayoorappan ( Sree

Krishna) . Both Poonthanam and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (

Author of Narayaneeyam) were contemporaries . Melpathur was an

erudite scholar and a renowned poet in Sanskrit . However, Poonthanam

was not much qualified in Sanskrit and Scriptures and he was just a

moderate writer in local language Malayalam . This intellectual

limitation, earned him the nick name " Half-poet " . Melpathur used

to laugh at Poonthanam's reading and recitation . One day , at a

discourse held at Guruvayoor temple, Poonthanam was wrongly

reciting " Padmanabho Maraprabhu " , (Lord of trees) . Melpathur openly

laughed at Poonthanam and corrected saying, " Padmanabha is not

Maraprabhu but " Amaraprabhu " (Lord of immortals) " . Immediately, a

celestial voice from the inner shrine declared " I am also

Maraprabhu " !!! .

>

> Death of only Child & Bhagavan's Consolation

>

> " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of

my own?? " . There is a sad story behind this verse . Poonthanam did

not have any child for a long time. Finally, his prayers were

granted and he became the father of a son . He did the Initial vedic

rituals for his son like `jathakarma' (done soon after the baby is

born) and `nama karana' (naming of the child). When the baby was six

months old, Poonthanam decided to conduct `Annaprasanam' (first

feeding of cooked rice). He fixed an auspicious date for the ceremony

and invited friends and relatives. The preparations were in full

swing. On the day of the ceremony, everybody in the house got up

early. Poonthanam's wife gave a nice bath to the baby and dressed

him, well . She breast-fed him and put him to sleep on a mat on the

floor . The mother tucked the baby with a nice white sheet . The baby

was sleeping peacefully .

>

> The invitees started coming in . In those days, the Brahmin

women used to cover their body with a white cloth and keep a palm

leaf umbrella when they went out . Poonthanam's wife greeted the

guests. She pointed out the baby's room to put their covering cloths.

The lady who went in first put her cloth on the bed of the baby. The

others who followed her did the same . In their hurry they did not

even notice the baby on the bed . Then they joined the hostess in

preparing food .

>

> It was time to bring the baby to the ceremony spot . The mother

went into the room to pick up the baby. She saw a heap of cloths on

the bed . She removed all the clothes then she found that the baby

was underneath the heap . He had stopped breathing due to

suffocation . No need to explain the afterward situation .

>

> There is a story in Bhagavatham about Narada whose mother died of

snakebite and that incident helped the Rishi to focus all his

attention towards Maha-Vishnu . The same happened to Poonthanam

whose bhakti-yoga became more intense. By stoically absorbing the

tragedy with a sense of reality, Poonthanam submitted himself to the

will of Guruvayoorappan . He was at once blessed with a glorious

vision of the divine child Sree Krishna, inspiring him to sing the

famous verse " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need

another baby of my own " ? . Bhagavan inspired him further to

compile `Janappana' , the epitome of Bhakti-yoga .

>

> Poonthanam's life is a fine illustration of how sufferings

(soka) of pure devotee can result in a divine hymn (sloka) .

>

> Editing of " Jnappana "

>

> " Narayaneeyam " is a master-hymn in sanskrit written by Melpathur

Narayana Bhattathiri . He had been suffering from severe paralysis

and as a prayer started the composition . By the time he

finished " Narayaneeyam " , Melpathur completely recovered by the

grace of Guruvayoorappan . Thus, he became a legend among vedic

scholars . Around that time, Poonthanam had written the Malayalam

devotional book `Jnanappana'. With great humility, he approached

Melpathur Bhattathiri to edit the book .

>

> But Bhattathiri was too proud about own reputation. It was his

habit to treat the writers of lesser languages with contempt . So he

suggested Poonthanam to get the book edited by somebody else .

Poonthanam accepted that suggestion with humility.

>

> On the same day of this incident, the paralytic disease of

Bhattathiri, cured earlier by Krishna's grace, re-emerged in

virulence. Bhagavan, appearing before Bhattathiri in dream,

declared : " To me the bhakti (devotion) of Poonthanam is far more

pleasing than your `vibhakti `(scholarship). "

>

> A thoroughly shaken-up Melpathur rushed to Poonthanam's house

the next morning itself and expressed his willingness to

edit " Jnanappana " . And Poonthanam gladly handed over the book .

However, a bigger shock was in waiting for Melpathur . " Jnanappana "

had been corrected already by Guruvayoorappan in the previous night

itself . Melpathur could not find a single mistake in it . He

apologized to Poonthanam and praised his Bhakti-yoga . Immediately ,

his illness disappeared.

>

> A Divine Intervention to save Poonthanam from Robbers

>

> The pious Poonthanam used to walk to his favorite temple of

Guruvayoor which was about 60 to 70 Kilometers away from his home .

The route to the temple was very desolate . The passengers felt very

unsafe to walk through that way even in the day light .Traveling at

the night time scared them all the more because of the fear of armed

looters .

>

> Poonthanam was walking fast on that route. His mind was fully

immersed in thoughts of Guruvayoorappan. Suddenly he found himself

surrounded by robbers who started to hurt him verbally and

physically . He gave them everything he had, the money and his gold

ring . Still they were at him . They asked for the small packet he

was clinging to . Poonthanam said it was only Bhagavatam . The

thieves were not convinced. Poonthanam did not want to part with the

Bhagavatham book, which was his whole treasure. So that lonely place

filled with the roars of the robbers and the loud " Narayana ,

Narayana " chartings of Poonthanam. Suddenly an armed man came on

the horseback . He crushed those deceits and got back the money and

the ring for Poonthanam . Poonthanam was very happy for not loosing

his treasure, Bhagavatham. He thanked the young man and offered him

his ring to him as a gift . The youth did not accept the gift . He

said that he was Samoothiri's Minister and it was his

> duty to protect the passengers. Still Poonthanam forced the ring

on the youth's finger. So he accepted the gift and guided

Poonthanam up to Guruvayoor temple and disappeared.

>

> Poonthanam was very pleased . He was ready at the Guruvayoor

temple for " Nirmalya Darshnam " around 2.30 AM . After the Abhishekam,

the Mel-Santi ( Chief Priest) came out to give Prasadam. Then he

told Poonthanam , Guruvayoorappan appeared in his dream on the

previous night and asked to give Poonthanam the ring Bhagavan's Deity

had on His finger. Next morning , when the Mel-Santi went to the

temple to do `Nirmalya pooja', he saw a ring on Deity's finger.

>

> Mel-Santi handed over the ring to Poonthanam . And Poonthanam

was astonished to find that it was the same ring he had gifted to

Samoothiri's Minister. Poonthanam could not believe that

Guruvayoorappan Himself came down to save him . Our prayers will be

heard and the great Bhagavan Krishna comes down to protect His

faithful devotees. But, we don't recognize Him .

>

> A Helping Hand to the Devatas

>

> One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful

airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The `Vishnu-Parshadas'

( Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam

to take him to Vaikuntam . Poonthanam received them properly.

The `Vishnu-Parshadas' led him to the plane with due respect . That

plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam . The

celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane -

He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-

Vishnu's abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam did

namaskar to the divine place . As soon as he reached the entrance two

divine Gatekeepers with a humble bow received him . Poonthanam

thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honors from those

Devatas . But they said they were two plantain trees growing near the

portico in Poonthanam's house in their previous birth . They got to

hear Poonthanam's Bhagavatham recitation everyday, which

> elevated them to the level of immortals . So they respected

Poonthanam as their Gurudeva . By this Poonthanam woke up from his

dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front

yard he saw those two plantain trees had fallen on the ground .

>

> A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam

>

> As Poonthanam grew old, he found it very difficult to travel up

to Guruvayoor . Once he set out for Guruvayoor to see his dearest

Bhagavan . But, after walking just a little distance, he felt

extremely tired and had to abandon the trip . At this point ,

Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to

meet Bhagavan . Immediately, he saw Sri Guruvayurappan standing to

his left side (Idathu puram). Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam " You need

not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will be personally

present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do

your worship. "

>

> Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place , very soon .

( It is very close to the Angadippuram Railway Station on the

Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance

from the station. There is a shortcut from Poonthanm's house to this

temple ) . Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works

as " Vaamapuraadi-naatha " (Vaama = left) . At this temple, there is a

marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid

his `danda namaskaram' to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily

understand that Bhagavan was to his left .

>

> The Ultimate Benediction , Vaikuntam !!! .

>

> Poonthanam was getting too old . He couldn't travel anymore . He

remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting Bhagavatham

and meditation. He used to get visions of Bhagavan very often . But

others couldn't understand what he was talking about . They thought

he had become senile .

>

> One day Poonthanam said, " The `Vishnu-Parshadas' are visiting

our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with

plantain trees and so on " . Poonthanam's servants thought he was

going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he

instructed . Next morning, while Poonthanam was resting after

meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately

he called his wife and asked her to get ready to go as the plane had

landed. She did not take it serious and said she had to do a few more

things in the kitchen . The maid servant who was listening to their

conversation asked for his permission to go with him . Poonthanam

gladly agreed .

>

> After some time, Poonthanam's wife finished her chores and came

out . Poonthanam was missing and she saw the maid servant lying

dead. Ever since, nobody has seen Poonthanam !!! .

>

> Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the abovementioned events .

As desired by Guruvayoorappan , traditions associated with Poonthanam

are ritually celebrated at Guruvayoor temple every year . Also his

statue was installed in the temple premise .

>

> Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!

>

> SreeKrishnaDasa Rajeev

>

> Attachments :

>

> Picture of Poonthanam .

> Photos of his house .

>

> Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have

it.

>

> Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Click

here

>

> Forgot the famous last words? Access your message archive online.

>

October 19, 2007

I must add to my earlier write up that all that is necessary is implicit faith in the LORD. My wife who after marriage did pursue astudy in Law came University First with the highest marks in all the subjects followed by the successful completion of The Chartered Accountancy examination has devoted her full time to this boy. Today she is a source of inspiration to the parents of such children. She does on an absolutre charitable basis parent empowerment classes. She herself is a cancer survivor, Thanks to his LORDSHIP she is carrying on her life with full of enthusiasm for the sake of these children and their parents. She recently as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association took 50 children for an overnight stay at a resort so that these children and parents know that they are not alone in this world. Ravi Ksanjeev <punjsanjeev wrote: What a touching incident! Thank you so much for sharing this Leela. All glories to Lord Sri Krishna! All my best wishes for your child. , ravi k <ravik_54 wrote:>> My son did not walk,talk, do anything that a normal child would do till he was two and a half years old. One great soul advised me to take him to Guruvayoor, visit SriKrishna Temple and worship HIm. I did that, came back and told this noble soul that I had done what he had advised. The old soul told me that

15th day from now the boy would walk,. He furtther said that it would be towards the evening or during Rahukalam that this event would happen. All of waited patiently for that event. It was past 5 p m. The boy could not stand up even holding a chair or any other support. We were getting anxious since the evening was clearly setting and there was not even an attempt by the boy to turn or roll over. It just passed 5.30.p m . The boy suddenly got up and walked as if he was a pastmaster in the game. It was unbelieveable. But at home all of saw Sri Krishnas Leela.. Lord Krishna had indeed descended in our home.> > K.Ravi> > tinytinku tiny <tinytinko wrote:> An excellent mail, thank you so much rajeev. My father keeps telling me these stories but i seem to forget the names,places etc. now i have a proper record of it which i can pass on to my future generations . I wud luv to hear

more of this. > > Thank you again.> > SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev <srikrishnadasa_rajeev wrote:> Dandavat Pranams to Bhagavan Krishna and Vaishanavas ! ,> > " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". This verse is from "Jnanappana" (Song of knowledge), Bhagavan Krishna's favorite hymn in Malayalam . It was composed by Devotee-Poet Poonthanam Namboothiri . ( See his Picture, attached hereto ) . > > Poet Poonthanam (AD 1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. His 'illam' ( house) known as Poonthanam is about 10 KM north of Angadippuram town on Nilambur Road. ( See attached, recent photos of this house) . > > Bhakthi compensates lack of knowledge > > Poonthanam was a loyal devotee of Guruvayoorappan ( Sree Krishna) . Both Poonthanam and

Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri ( Author of Narayaneeyam) were contemporaries . Melpathur was an erudite scholar and a renowned poet in Sanskrit . However, Poonthanam was not much qualified in Sanskrit and Scriptures and he was just a moderate writer in local language Malayalam . This intellectual limitation, earned him the nick name " Half-poet " . Melpathur used to laugh at Poonthanam's reading and recitation . One day , at a discourse held at Guruvayoor temple, Poonthanam was wrongly reciting "Padmanabho Maraprabhu", (Lord of trees) . Melpathur openly laughed at Poonthanam and corrected saying, " Padmanabha is not Maraprabhu but "Amaraprabhu " (Lord of immortals) " . Immediately, a celestial voice from the inner shrine declared "I am also Maraprabhu" !!! . > > Death of only Child & Bhagavan's Consolation> > " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need a baby of my own??". There

is a sad story behind this verse . Poonthanam did not have any child for a long time. Finally, his prayers were granted and he became the father of a son . He did the Initial vedic rituals for his son like `jathakarma' (done soon after the baby is born) and `nama karana' (naming of the child). When the baby was six months old, Poonthanam decided to conduct `Annaprasanam' (first feeding of cooked rice). He fixed an auspicious date for the ceremony and invited friends and relatives. The preparations were in full swing. On the day of the ceremony, everybody in the house got up early. Poonthanam's wife gave a nice bath to the baby and dressed him, well . She breast-fed him and put him to sleep on a mat on the floor . The mother tucked the baby with a nice white sheet . The baby was sleeping peacefully . > > The invitees started coming in . In those days, the Brahmin women used to cover their body with a white

cloth and keep a palm leaf umbrella when they went out . Poonthanam's wife greeted the guests. She pointed out the baby's room to put their covering cloths. The lady who went in first put her cloth on the bed of the baby. The others who followed her did the same . In their hurry they did not even notice the baby on the bed . Then they joined the hostess in preparing food . > > It was time to bring the baby to the ceremony spot . The mother went into the room to pick up the baby. She saw a heap of cloths on the bed . She removed all the clothes then she found that the baby was underneath the heap . He had stopped breathing due to suffocation . No need to explain the afterward situation .> > There is a story in Bhagavatham about Narada whose mother died of snakebite and that incident helped the Rishi to focus all his attention towards Maha-Vishnu . The same happened to Poonthanam whose

bhakti-yoga became more intense. By stoically absorbing the tragedy with a sense of reality, Poonthanam submitted himself to the will of Guruvayoorappan . He was at once blessed with a glorious vision of the divine child Sree Krishna, inspiring him to sing the famous verse " While baby Krishna is playing in my mind, do I need another baby of my own" ? . Bhagavan inspired him further to compile `Janappana' , the epitome of Bhakti-yoga . > > Poonthanam's life is a fine illustration of how sufferings (soka) of pure devotee can result in a divine hymn (sloka) .> > Editing of "Jnappana" > > "Narayaneeyam" is a master-hymn in sanskrit written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri . He had been suffering from severe paralysis and as a prayer started the composition . By the time he finished "Narayaneeyam", Melpathur completely recovered by the grace of Guruvayoorappan . Thus, he became a legend

among vedic scholars . Around that time, Poonthanam had written the Malayalam devotional book `Jnanappana'. With great humility, he approached Melpathur Bhattathiri to edit the book . > > But Bhattathiri was too proud about own reputation. It was his habit to treat the writers of lesser languages with contempt . So he suggested Poonthanam to get the book edited by somebody else . Poonthanam accepted that suggestion with humility.> > On the same day of this incident, the paralytic disease of Bhattathiri, cured earlier by Krishna's grace, re-emerged in virulence. Bhagavan, appearing before Bhattathiri in dream, declared : "To me the bhakti (devotion) of Poonthanam is far more pleasing than your `vibhakti `(scholarship)." > > A thoroughly shaken-up Melpathur rushed to Poonthanam's house the next morning itself and expressed his willingness to edit "Jnanappana" . And Poonthanam

gladly handed over the book . However, a bigger shock was in waiting for Melpathur . "Jnanappana" had been corrected already by Guruvayoorappan in the previous night itself . Melpathur could not find a single mistake in it . He apologized to Poonthanam and praised his Bhakti-yoga . Immediately , his illness disappeared. > > A Divine Intervention to save Poonthanam from Robbers > > The pious Poonthanam used to walk to his favorite temple of Guruvayoor which was about 60 to 70 Kilometers away from his home . The route to the temple was very desolate . The passengers felt very unsafe to walk through that way even in the day light .Traveling at the night time scared them all the more because of the fear of armed looters . > > Poonthanam was walking fast on that route. His mind was fully immersed in thoughts of Guruvayoorappan. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by robbers who started to

hurt him verbally and physically . He gave them everything he had, the money and his gold ring . Still they were at him . They asked for the small packet he was clinging to . Poonthanam said it was only Bhagavatam . The thieves were not convinced. Poonthanam did not want to part with the Bhagavatham book, which was his whole treasure. So that lonely place filled with the roars of the robbers and the loud "Narayana , Narayana " chartings of Poonthanam. Suddenly an armed man came on the horseback . He crushed those deceits and got back the money and the ring for Poonthanam . Poonthanam was very happy for not loosing his treasure, Bhagavatham. He thanked the young man and offered him his ring to him as a gift . The youth did not accept the gift . He said that he was Samoothiri's Minister and it was his> duty to protect the passengers. Still Poonthanam forced the ring on the youth's finger. So he accepted the gift and

guided Poonthanam up to Guruvayoor temple and disappeared. > > Poonthanam was very pleased . He was ready at the Guruvayoor temple for "Nirmalya Darshnam" around 2.30 AM . After the Abhishekam, the Mel-Santi ( Chief Priest) came out to give Prasadam. Then he told Poonthanam , Guruvayoorappan appeared in his dream on the previous night and asked to give Poonthanam the ring Bhagavan's Deity had on His finger. Next morning , when the Mel-Santi went to the temple to do `Nirmalya pooja', he saw a ring on Deity's finger. > > Mel-Santi handed over the ring to Poonthanam . And Poonthanam was astonished to find that it was the same ring he had gifted to Samoothiri's Minister. Poonthanam could not believe that Guruvayoorappan Himself came down to save him . Our prayers will be heard and the great Bhagavan Krishna comes down to protect His faithful devotees. But, we don't recognize Him .> > A

Helping Hand to the Devatas > > One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The `Vishnu-Parshadas' ( Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam to take him to Vaikuntam . Poonthanam received them properly. The `Vishnu-Parshadas' led him to the plane with due respect . That plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam . The celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane -He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-Vishnu's abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga . Poonthanam did namaskar to the divine place . As soon as he reached the entrance two divine Gatekeepers with a humble bow received him . Poonthanam thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honors from those Devatas . But they said they were two plantain trees growing near the portico in Poonthanam's house in

their previous birth . They got to hear Poonthanam's Bhagavatham recitation everyday, which> elevated them to the level of immortals . So they respected Poonthanam as their Gurudeva . By this Poonthanam woke up from his dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front yard he saw those two plantain trees had fallen on the ground . > > A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam > > As Poonthanam grew old, he found it very difficult to travel up to Guruvayoor . Once he set out for Guruvayoor to see his dearest Bhagavan . But, after walking just a little distance, he felt extremely tired and had to abandon the trip . At this point , Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to meet Bhagavan . Immediately, he saw Sri Guruvayurappan standing to his left side (Idathu puram). Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam " You need not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will

be personally present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do your worship."> > > Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place , very soon . ( It is very close to the Angadippuram Railway Station on the Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance from the station. There is a shortcut from Poonthanm's house to this temple ) . Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works as "Vaamapuraadi-naatha" (Vaama = left) . At this temple, there is a marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid his `danda namaskaram' to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily understand that Bhagavan was to his left .> > The Ultimate Benediction , Vaikuntam !!! .> > > Poonthanam was getting too old . He couldn't travel anymore . He remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting Bhagavatham and meditation. He used to

get visions of Bhagavan very often . But others couldn't understand what he was talking about . They thought he had become senile . > > One day Poonthanam said, "The `Vishnu-Parshadas' are visiting our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with plantain trees and so on ". Poonthanam's servants thought he was going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he instructed . Next morning, while Poonthanam was resting after meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately he called his wife and asked her to get ready to go as the plane had landed. She did not take it serious and said she had to do a few more things in the kitchen . The maid servant who was listening to their conversation asked for his permission to go with him . Poonthanam gladly agreed . > > After some time, Poonthanam's wife finished her chores and came out . Poonthanam was missing and

she saw the maid servant lying dead. Ever since, nobody has seen Poonthanam !!! . > > Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the abovementioned events . As desired by Guruvayoorappan , traditions associated with Poonthanam are ritually celebrated at Guruvayoor temple every year . Also his statue was installed in the temple premise . > > Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!! > > SreeKrishnaDasa Rajeev> > Attachments : > > Picture of Poonthanam . > Photos of his house . > > > Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it. > > > > > > > Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Click here > > > > >

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