Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (Mēlpattūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student of

Achyuta Pisharati In Hinduism, Achyuta (, ) is an epithet of Vishnu and appears as the 100th and 318th names in the Vishnu sahasranama, Vishnu Sahasranama. It is also often used in the Bhagavad Gita as a personal name of Krishna. According to Adi Shankara's comm ...

, was a member of

Madhava of Sangamagrama Mādhava of Sangamagrāma (Mādhavan) Availabl/ref> () was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who is considered to be the founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics in the Late Middle Ages. Madhava made pioneering contributio ...

Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics or the Kerala school was a school of Indian mathematics, mathematics and Indian astronomy, astronomy founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Kingdom of Tanur, Tirur, Malappuram district, Malappuram, K ...

. He was a mathematical

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

(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 The ''Narayaniyam'' () is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhagavata Purana''. It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, a celebrated Sanskrit poet of Kerala. Even though the ''Narayaniyam'' ...

'', a devotional composition in praise of

Guruvayurappan Guruvayurappan (; ) (lit. Lord / Father of Guruvayoor) also rendered as Guruvayoorappan, is a form of Vishnu worshipped mainly in Kerala, India. He is the presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple, who is worshipped as Krishna in his child for ...

(

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

) that is still sung at

Guruvayur Temple Guruvayur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Guruvayurappan (four-armed form of the Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. Administrated by the Guruvayur Devaswom Board, it is one of the most important places of wors ...

Birth and education

Bhattathri was from a village named Melpathur at

Kurumbathur Vettichira, Chandanakkavu is a town in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics India census, Vettichira had a population of 19414 with 9586 males and 9828 females. Chandanakkavu Chandanakkavu is located 13 km. Nor ...

Athavanad Athavanad is a village and Gram Panchayath in the Tirur Taluk, in the Malappuram District of the state of Kerala, India. The town lies on the National Highway 66, between Puthanathani and Valanchery. Puthanathani is the main town of the Ath ...

Panchayat near the

Tirur River The Tirur River or Tirur-Ponnani River begins in the Tirur taluk village of Athavanad in the Malappuram district of the state of Kerala in south India and flows south-west to Thirunavaya and then north-west to Elamkulam, Malappuram, Elamkulam wher ...

in 1560 in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family, the son of Mathrudattan Bhattathiri, a pandit himself. Bhattathiri studied from his father as a child. He learned the ''

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

'' from Madhava, Tarka śāstra (science of debate in Sanskrit) from

Damodara Vatasseri Damodara Nambudiri was an astronomer-mathematician of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics who flourished during the fifteenth century CE. He was a son of Paramesvara (1360–1425) who developed the ''drigganita'' system of a ...

and

Vyākaraṇa ''Vyākaraṇa'' (, ) refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, ancillary science connected with the Vedas, which are scriptures in Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vyakarana" in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen ...

(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 Tirur is a major municipal town in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of . It is one of the major business centers in Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozh ...

.One of the manuscripts of Narayaneeyam says that it was copied by the author's younger brother Matrdatta. The Melpathur family is extinct and it is said that it was merged into the Maravancheri Thekkedathu family. K. Kunjunni Raja (1980) "Narayana Bhatta of Melputtur", in
The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature
pages 119 to 152, Madras University Sanskrit series # 23

Works

He wrote on diverse subjects including scientific ones. His works are: *

Narayaniyam The ''Narayaniyam'' () is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhagavata Purana''. It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, a celebrated Sanskrit poet of Kerala. Even though the ''Narayaniyam' ...

* Kriyakrama or Asvalayanakriyakrama * Prakriyasarvasva * Sripadasaptati (Supposed to be his last work) * Dhatukavya * Svahasudhakara * Matsyavatara * Rajasuya * Ashtamicampu (fine description of Astami festival celebrated in the month of Krithigai (Nov-Dec) in the Shiva temple at Vaikom in north Travancore. * Dutavakya * Subhadradharana * Pancalisvayamvara Under the patronage of Cochin Vira Keralavarman (1601-1615 A.D) Melputtur wrote the Gosrinagaravarnana and Virakeralaprasasti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattathiri Indian Hindus 1560 births 1646 deaths Scientists from Kerala Malayali people Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics 17th-century Indian mathematicians People from Malappuram district 16th-century Indian mathematicians Poets from Kerala 17th-century Indian poets 16th-century Indian poets Scholars from Kerala People from Guruvayur Sanskrit poets