मेप्पत्तूर्

{ meppattūr nārāyaṇa bhaṭṭatiri }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

MEPPATTŪR NĀRĀYAṆA BHAṬṬATIRI   A Sanskrit poet who lived in Kerala.
1) General information
It is believed that this poet lived during the period from 1560 to 1648 A.D. He was born in the village of Kurumāttūr in Malabar district The illam (house of nambūtiris) which became famous by his birth was a mile to the east of the Bhagavatī temple, Candanakkāvu, which itself is situated just two furlongs to the north of the well known Tirunāvāya temple. Meppattūr illam became impoverished and was merged with another illam of name Maravañceri Tekkeṭattu. Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri had a brother named Mātṛdatta. He was younger to Nārāyaṇa and his work was to take down the verses which Nārāyaṇa composed. Meppattūr (Nārāyaṇa is more well-known under the name of his illam) studied under different preceptors. His father taught him Mīmāṁsā and such other subjects. He studied Veda under Mādhavācārya and Tarka under Dāmodarācārya. Acyuta Piṣāroṭi taught him Vyākaraṇa. The poet became a rheumatic patient in his old age and he stayed in the Guruvāyūr temple worshipping the deity there. His famous work Nārāyaṇīyam was written sitting in the temple of Guruvāyūr and the maṇḍapa (raised dais) where he sat and wrote is even now preserved for pilgrims to see. He took hundred days to write the Nārāyaṇīyam.
2) His works.
It is not yet known how many books Meppattūr had written but the following have been recognised as definitely written by him:
(1) Nārāyaṇīyam
(2) Śrīpādasaptati
(3) Guruvāyupureśastotram
(4) Gośrīnagaravarṇanam
(5) Māṭamahīśapraśasti
(6) Śailābdhīśvarapraśasti
(7) Sūktaślokas
(8) Āśvalāyanakriyākrama
(9) Prakriyāsarvasvam
(10) Dhātukāvyam
(11) Apāṇinīyaprāmāṇyasādhanam
(12) Mānapariccheda of Mānameyodaya
(13) Tantravārttikanibandhana
(14) Rājasūyam
(15) Dūtavākyam
(16) Pāñcālīsvayaṁvaram
(17) Nālāyanīcaritam
(18) Sundopasundopākhyānam
(19) Subhadrāharaṇam
(20) Kaunteyāṣṭakam
(21) Kirātam
(22) Kailāsavarṇanam
(23) Matsyāvatāram
(24) Nṛgamokṣam
(25) Niranunāsika or Śūrpaṇakhāpralāpa
(26) Rākṣasotpatti
(27) Ahalyāmokṣa
(28) Bālakāṇḍa story
(29) Dakṣayajña
(30) Tripuradahana
(31) Aṣṭamīcampū
(32) Svāhāsudhākaram
(33) Koṭiviraham.