Puthen Pana is a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

poem written by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Jesuit missionary priest

Johann Ernst Hanxleden Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1732), better identified as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his contributions as a Malayalam and Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. He lived in Indi ...

famously known as Arnos Pathiri in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The poem is believed to have been composed between 1721 and 1732. The poem deals with life of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. It is one of the better known and widely read poems in modern Indian literature.

Poem

The poem consists of 14 ''padams''. The first padam has the poet telling readers that he is writing the poem at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore, since Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752. The second padam tells Centre on Fall of Man, fourth padam ( Annunciation), fifth padam ( Nativity), seventh padam ( Sermon on the Mount), tenth padam (

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

), eleventh padam (Trial and

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

), 12th padam, portraying the lament of

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

at the Crucifixion and

Death of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...

, 13th (Resurrection) and 14th (Ascension). The 12th padam is considered the most important in the poem. But for the 12th 'padam' that is written in the metre, Nathonatha, the rest of the couplets are written in the metre, Sarpini. He also authored ''Chathuranthyam'', ''Genevieva Punyacharithram'' and ''Ummaadaey Dhukhkham''. There is an ongoing effort to make the whole poem available online. Puthen Pana Padams 10 to 14 can be viewe
here

Legacy

Puthenpana is one of the first Malayalam poems written on Christian themes in simple Malayalam. Even today Kerala Christians recite this song on

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

, Good Friday and

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...

Bibliography

*Joseph Palackal: ''Puthen pana, a musical study'', New York, City of New York University, 1995.

References

{{Malayalam Literature , state=collapsed Malayalam-language poems History of Thrissur Indian poems 18th-century poems

Poem

Legacy

Bibliography

See also

References