OM
Srimad Narayaneeyam
SRIMAD NARAYANEEYAM is the story of Lord
Narayana. It is a work consisting of
1036 slokas or verses, divided into 100 dasakams or chapters, each dasakam
consisting of approximately 10 slokas. Composed by Melpathur Narayana
Bhattatiri, it is a condensed version of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam, which
consists of 18,000 slokas authored by Veda Vyasa (Bhagavata-artha-sangraha). It
is said that the work has the blessings
of Lord Krishna or Guruvayoorappan, the presiding Deity of the
shrine of Guruvayoor.
As the story goes, the author, Melpathur Narayana
Bhattatiri voluntarily transferred onto himself, the ailment of
paralysis from his Guru and relative, Trikandiyur Achuta Pisharoti
ritualistically, in order to save him.
In the process, he himself became a paralytic. He then got himself carried to the shrine at Guruvayoor where he
could take shelter at the feet of Lord Krishna and get divine
intervention.
As he was continuing to suffer from
excruciating pain due to his malady, he sought advice from the celebrated
contemporary poet, Thunjath Ezhuthatchan, who suggested that Bhattatiri should
“start with the fish”. Bhattatiri,
being quick to understand the implication of this suggestion, viz., that he
should compose a hymn in praise of Lord Guruvayoorappan giving an account of
all His sportive incarnations beginning with the incarnation as fish
(Matsya-avatara), he sat at the feet of the Lord and composed this great work,
a dasakam a day, with ardent devotion.
At the end of the hundredth day, when he had completed all the one
hundred dasakams, it is said that he had a glorious vision of the Lord and he
was completely cured of his ailment. Bhattatiri composed Narayaneeyam when he
was twenty-seven, completing it on November 27, 1587.
This work, composed in praise of Lord Krishna, and
which is said to have received divine intervention at different stages, is
considered to be a short and sweet substitute for Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam
and is recited by devotees all over the world as a general prayer and also as a
panacea for all ailments causing impairment or loss of motor function of
nerves. Innumerable devotees flock to
the Guruvayoor temple and offer worship to the Lord, reciting this hymn of
prayer in the firm hope, belief and trust that they would be cured of their
ailments.