Kuchelavritham Vanchippattu is a famous
Vanchippattu
''Vanchippattu'' is a poetic form in Malayalam composed entirely in the Dravidian metre ''Nathonnata''. It is originated from Kerala, a state in India.
History
This poetic form was created by Ramapurathu Warrier, a poet in Malayalam lived in T ...
written by
Ramapurathu Warrier
Ramapurathu Warrier (1703–1753) is considered to be the pioneer of the "Vanchippattu" or Boat song form of poetry in Malayalam language. ''Vanchippattu'' is a poetic form of folk origin composed entirely in the Dravidian metre ''nathonnata''. H ...
in
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 was des ...
. It has great popularity in
Malayalam literature and culture.
Period
It is not known exactly when the Kuchelavritham was written. The historians noted that it was written during the reign of Marthanda Varma. According to K. R. Krishnapillai, a historian it was written during 1745-1750
AD. There is also an opinion that it was written during 1756 AD.
Structure and content
Kuchelavritham was written in the
metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
''Nathonnatha.'' The poem contains 698 lines. Warrior uses 96 lines for praising Marthanda Varma and
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
The Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala, India. The name of the city of 'Thiruvananthapuram' in Tamil and Malayalam translates to "The City of Lord Ananta" (The City ...
and 132 lines for describing the
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. Others are dealing with the story of Kuchela.9
References
Indian poems
Malayalam-language literature
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