Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri

Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri (Nārāyaṇa of Mahiṣamaṅgalṃ) (c. 1540–1610) was an Indian scholar, Poet, Astrologer, Composer and Mathematician belonging to the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri hailed from Peruvanam village in present-day Thrissur district in Kerala. His father was Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Śaṅkaran Naṃpūtiri himself a respected scholar and writer who had authored a large number of books on astronomy and astrology in the vernacular Malayalam language in an effort to popularize astronomy among the lay public.

There is a legend to the effect that in the early days of his life Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri was a spendthrift and lived a wayward life. One day, at the place of the performance of a yāga, he was hugely insulted for his ignorance of veda-s and other scriptures, and being deeply humiliated he left to Chola country, spent several years there and returned as a great scholar in veda-s, śrauta-śāstra and smārtta-sāstra to the amazement of those who had insulted him earlier. Thereafter, he used to be given a respectful and prominent place at the performance in all such rituals, and even after his death, his spiritual presence used to be invoked on the occasion of the performance of the rituals. His highly respected work Smārta-prāyaścitta-vimarśinī stands testimony to his deep knowledge of veda-s and other scriptures.

Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri's works

Work on expiatory rituals

Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri's reputation rests mainly on his literary works and on his magnum opus titled Smārta-prāyaścitta-vimarśinī, a work dealing with expiatory rituals. This treatise deals with the expiatory rituals to be carried out in connection with the performance of mega-rituals like Somayajna and is very popular in Kerala.

Astronomy and mathematics

In one of the verses in Smārta-prāyścitta-vimarśinī, the author has described himself as a gaṇitavid (meaning, "scholar in mathematics"). There are not many works authored by him which can be cited in support of this appellation. An important work that can be cited in this context is a part commentary on Bhāskara II's Līlāvatī. The first half of this commentary called Kriyākramakarī (up to verse 199 in Līlāvatī) has been composed by Śaṅkara Vāriyar, a prominent member of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, and the commentary on the remaining verses was composed by Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri. Mahiṣamaṅgalaṃ Bhāṇaṃ (Full text is available in the Internet Archive at the link HERE. Full text with translation and detailed explanations in Malayalam is available at the link HERE.) Uttara Rāmaayaṇa Caṃpu Rāsakrīdā Kāvyaṃ

Literary works in Malayalam

Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri: the inventor of pañcāri mēḷaṃ

Pañcāri mēḷaṃ is a percussion ensemble, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. It is one of the major forms of ceṇṭa mēḷaṃ (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular drum ensemble in the kṣtra-vādyaṃ (temple percussion) genre. Pañcāri mēḷaṃ, comprises the instruments ceṇḍa, ilattāḷaṃ, koṃbu and kuzhal. It was Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri, with the support of Pandarathil Raman Marar, who conceptualized, designed and helped to perform first the percussion ensemble known as pañcāri mēḷaṃ. According to traditions, the first performance took place in the precincts of Peruvanam Mahadeva Temple.