anjali makaram 2011

Naraayana. The contents of the verses are
appealing to both illiterate and the learned
alike. Every Hindu home in Kerala holds
Harinaamakeerthanam sacred and included
the verses in their daily prayers. It is not
incorrect to say that there will not be a
Malayalee irrespective of religion, cast, creed
or any other demarcation who cannot recite
at least a verse from Harinaamakeerthanam.
Ezhuthachan, the father of modern
Malayalam literature is revered by all
Malayalees irrespective of cast or creed. His
other major contributions to Hindu spiritual
literature include translations of the epics
Ramayanam, Mahabharatam and Srimad
Bhagavatham from their Sanskrit originals.
All these translations are renowned for their
literal values, lucidity, profundity and all
embracing spirituality. Born in a non-brahmin
caste and denied access to spiritual
knowledge, Ezhuthahan defied all cast taboos
and nonchalantly took the message of the
spiritual texts to the masses in a simple, but
extremely forceful language, in the form of
Harinamakeerthanam.
By Ezhuthachan’s time, Hinduism had
fallen from the great heights of spiritualism
it had reached earlier, to profane depth of
ritualism. Superstition had displaced faith;
scholarship remained the exclusive preserve
of Brahmins, who formed a miniscule
proportion of the population. The Sanskrit
language considered as devabhasha (the
language of the gods) was guarded
deplorably from the reaches of the masses.
The spiritual pursuit of the society came to a
standstill. Harinaamakeerthanam came into
this stagnant society as a bolt from the blue.
Ezhuthachan, who used Manipravalam,
which is a mixture of Sanskrit and
Malayalam, in his major works considered
it inadequate and incapable of reaching all
the people with little acquaintance with
Sanskrit. Hence he composed Harinama
keerthanam in plain and simple Malayalam
containing profound philosophic contents.
Harnaamakeerthanam proved to be a
vehicle of moral and spiritual uplift for all the
people and particularly those who had been
denied access to spiritual messages such as
non-Brahmins, woman and out casts. An
aspect that made Harinaamakeerthanam the
most popular is its simple and inimitable style
of composition. Written in pure and simple
Malayalam understandable even to the least
educated it has endeared everyone.
Ezhuthachan is therefore hailed as the
architect of Malayalam literature and
Harinaamakeerthanam proved an instant
success and has survived the test of times.
Harinaamakeerthanam blends the diverse
strands of metaphysical thought into a
wholesome harmonious system. Of course it
has beneath its placid surface many a spiritual
idea that would shine in their intrinsic
brilliance only if unraveled. To undertake
such a formidable task one has first to delve
deep into the philosophical systems of
Hinduism, which Ezhuthachan has
systematically presented in Harinaama
keerthanam. All these diverse systems are
paths to the one and only supreme Truth. But
all paths may not suit everyone; each may
suit a different set of seekers, depending on
their psychological, moral and spiritual
proclivities.
Some of these verses praise the Almighty,
KHNA - 2011
Anjali January
7