Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri

Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri (Nārāyaṇa of Mahiṣamaṅgalṃ) (c. 1540–1610) was an Indian scholar, poet, astrologer 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.

His deep knowledge in astronomy and mathematics is reflected in his works. When Śaṅkara Vāriyar, who was composing an erudite and elaborate commentary on ''Līlāvatī'', had to abandon his work due to some inconveniences while he was half-way through the work the task of completing the commentary was entrusted to Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri. The commentary known as ''Kriyākramakarī'' is of the joint authorship of Śaṅkara Vāriyar and Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri. This commentary has become a very valuable source of information regarding the mathematical achievements of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics.

Initially Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri was staying at his ancestral home at Peruvanam. Later he moved to Thrissur and took up the position of the chief priest of the local Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple. While at Thrissur, he married a Brāhmaṇi, a woman of the Nambeesan caste. There was a custom of these Brāhmaṇi-s performing ritualistic singing of devotional songs on the occasions marriage ceremonies. The songs sung during these rituals are called Brāhmaṇi songs. Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri composed as many as five such songs for the benefit of his wife. (pages 293-301)

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. Two other works on astronomy have been identified as authored by Nārāyaṇan Naṃpūtiri: One of them is a brief commentary called ''Karmadīpikā'' or ''Karmapradīpikā'' on the textual verses in ''Līlāvatī'' and the other is a treatise in five chapters, titled ''Uparāgakriyākrama'', on some new methods for the computation of lunar and solar eclipses.

Literary works in Sanskrit

* ''Vyavahāramālā'': A work on Indian jurisprudence (Full text is available in the Internet Archive at the lin
HERE
)
* ''Mahiṣamaṅgalaṃ Bhāṇaṃ'' (Full text is available in the Internet Archive at the lin
HERE
Full text with translation and detailed explanations in Malayalam is available at the lin
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.

See also

* Mazhamaṅgalaṃ Śaṅkaran Naṃpūtiri
* List of astronomers and mathematicians of the Kerala school

References

Additional reading

* More detailed information about the works of Mazhamaṅgalam Nārāyaṇan Nampūtiri is available in the classic multi-volume Malayalam work "''Kerala Sahithya Charithram''" ("''History of Literature in Kerala''") by Ulloor S. Paramesvara Aiyer: (pages 293–301)
* For a detailed description of the structure of ''pañcāri mēḷaṃ'' see: .

{{Malayalam Literature, state=collapsed

Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics
Indian mathematics
Astronomy in India
History of mathematics
History of Kerala
Medieval Kerala
Sanskrit literature