Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri

Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri Mēlpattūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student of Achyuta Pisharati, was a member of Madhava of Sangamagrama's Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. He was a mathematical linguist (vyakarana). His most important scholarly work, Prakriya sarvasvam, sets forth an axiomatic system elaborating on the classical system of Panini. However, he is most famous for his masterpiece, Narayaneeyam, a devotional composition in praise of Guruvayurappan (Krishna) that is still sung at Guruvayur Temple.

Bhattathri was from a village named Melpathur at Kurumbathur in Athavanad Panchayat near Kadampuzha, very close to the Tirur River, as well as near to the holy town of Thirunavaya and Bharathappuzha, that was famed as the theatre of the Mamankam festival, in Malappuram district. He was born in 1560 in a pious Brahmin family, as the son of Mathrudattan Bhattathiri, a pandit himself. Bhattathiri studied from his father as a child. He learned the Rig Veda from Madhava, Tharka sastra (science of debate in Sanskrit) from Damodara and Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar) from Achyuta Pisharati. He became a pandit by the age of 16. He married his guru Achuta Pisharati's niece and settled at Thrikkandiyur in Tirur. He was one of the last mathematicians of the Sangamagrama school, which had been founded by Madhava in Kerala, South India and included among its members: Parameshvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri and Achyuta Panikkar. It flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries and the original discoveries of the school seems to have ended with Bhattathiri. It seems that he had a younger brother named after his father (Mathrudattan Jr.,). One of the manuscripts of Narayaneeyam says that it was copied by the author's younger brother Matrdatta. The Melpathur family is now extinct and it is said that it was merged into the Maravancheri Thekkedathu family.

While Narayana Bhattathiri was composing Narayaneeyam in Guruvayur temple, Poonthanam, another great devotee of Lord Guruvayoorapa and also a poet who wrote many great works about Lord Guruvayoorapa including the njanappana in Malayalam, had also come there to worship Lord Guruvayoorapan. One day he took some of his poems of the njanappana to Bhattathiri in order to correct them and improve them, but this was dismissed by Bhattathiri with a haughty remark that Poonthanam didn't know the correct meaning of words and he didn't want to waste his time on such silly works. Later that night lord Guruvayoorapan himself appeared in Bhattathiri's dream and criticized him by saying that he preferred Poonthanam's bhakthi than Bhattathiri 's knowledge. And then the next day itself Bhattathiri apologized to poonthanam and corrected mistakes then they became friends.

It is said that Bhattathiri lived at least for 86 years, since his wish was to have a happy, healthy, long life as seen at the end of Narayaneeyam. One poem says that he lived for 106 years, and accordingly he should have died in 1666. But, 86 is considered more reliable. Accordingly, he lived in many places after his cure of rheumatism, like Kochi, Ambalapuzha, Kozhikode and finally he settled in Mookkola near Changaramkulam in the present day Malappuram district. He stayed in the Devi temple there for around 20 years, and he wrote his last work there. One day, after returning from Mookkola Temple, he collapsed and died instantly. Thus, he had a peaceful end as he wished. There is a monument in the name of Melpathur Bhattathiripad still in the village where he was born and is known as Melpathur illaparambu.