Ramapanchayan, Raja Ravi Varma (Lithograph)

''Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu'' is the most popular

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

version of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

''. It is believed to have been written by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in the early 17th century, and is considered to be a classic of

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six Languages of India, Classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises ...

and an important text in the history of Malayalam language. It is a retelling of the Sanskrit work ''

Adhyatma Ramayana ''Adhyatma Ramayana'' (Devanāgarī: अध्यात्म रामायण, IAST: ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'', ) is a 13th- to 15th-century Sanskrit text that allegorically interprets the story of Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' in the Advaita Vedan ...

'' in kilippattu (bird song) format. Ezhuthachan used the Grantha-based Malayalam script to write his ''Ramayana'', although the

Vatteluttu ''Vatteluttu,'' popularly romanised as ''Vattezhuthu'' ( ta, வட்டெழுத்து, ' and ml, വട്ടെഴുത്ത്, ', ), was a syllabic alphabet of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka used for writing t ...

writing system was the traditional writing system of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

then. Recitation of Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu is very important in Hindu families in Kerala. The month of Karkitakam in the

Malayalam calendar The Malayalam Calendar is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, the beginning of the Kollam Era. There are many theories regarding the origin of the era, but according to recent scholar ...

is celebrated as the Ramayana recitation month and Ramayana is recited in Hindu houses and temples across Kerala.

Date and authorship

Tradition ascribes the authorship of the Sanskrit ''Adhyathma Ramayana'' to

Ramananda Sri Ramanandacharya ( IAST: Rāmānanda) was a 14th-century Vaishnava devotional poet saint, who lived in the Gangetic basin of northern India. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest mon ...

since it is said to be an integral part of the ''

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The tex ...

''. However, some scholars attribute it to the period 14th - 15th century CE and the author as unknown. The ''Adhyathma Ramayana'' is the portrayal of a conversation between the god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

and his wife

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi ...

, as reported by the god

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

to the sage

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

. It is this work that provided Tulasidas with the inspiration to compose his immortal work, the ''

Ramacharitamanasa ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the '' Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). T ...

''. This is the same work which was translated by Thunchathu Ezhuthachan into

in the form of ''kilippattu,'' a South Indian genre in which a parrot recites the text to the poet.

Deviation from Valmiki Ramayana

# In Adhyatma Ramayana everyone praises and chants the hymn on Rama starting from Vamadeva,

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributi ...

Bharadwaja Bharadvaja ( sa, भरद्वाज, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages ( maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven gre ...

, Viradha, Sarabanga River, Sutikshna,

Agasthya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

Viswamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri ...

, Vasishta,

Jatayu Jatayu ( sa, जटायुः, IAST: ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', who has the form of either an eagle or a vulture. He is the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni, the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garud ...

, Kabhanda, Sabari, Swayamprabha,

Parasurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will appear ...

Vibhishana Vibhishana () is the younger brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka, in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana turned his back on Ravana, and defected to Rama's side, owing to his dharma. After Rama defeated R ...

, and

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and ...

. This is absent in Valmiki's.

References

External links

Audio of the Adhyathma Ramayanam - Rendering by Dr. A. P. Sukumar

Adhyatma Ramayana in Devanagari, Malayalam and other Indian Scripts as webpages and PDF

Adhyatma Raramayanam - Malayalam - Tunchathu Ezhuthachan
{{Ramayana Malayalam language Works based on the Ramayana