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  • vibiesh
    Jun 15 8:21 AM
    Reply
    Poonthanam was born about four hundred years ago in a village called Angadippuram in Kerala. Near by is the Thirumandan Kunnu Bagavathy temple which is the family goddess of the Zamorins who ruled over a part of Kerala now called Malabar.

    Poonthanam is not his name but the name of the Namboodiri family he belonged to. His name seems to have been forgotten in antiquity. At a very young age Poonthanam started visiting the temple at Guruvayoor and became a staunch devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan-the presiding deity. He got married and had a son. On the child’s first birthday when a great feast was being arranged the child fell in the boiling rice and died. From then on Poontanam became a perennial visitor of Guruvayur. Poonthanam did not know Sanskrit and so decided to express his innate feelings in chaste Malayalam. One of the greatest poets of the time was Melpattur Narayanan Bhattathippad who later wrote one of the greatest books of that era named ”Narayaneeyam” Melpattur was also a great devotee of Guruvayurappan. It is told that initially when Poontanam requested help in editing his poetic work “ Sri Krishna Karnamrutham” from Melpattur he refused saying that he never read works in Malayalam. Melpathur started suffering from rheumatism immediately and that night the Lord appeared in his dream and told how the lowly Malayalam works of Poonthanam were more dear to him than the Sanskrit works of Melpathur. There are several tales of Poontanam the great devotee and his Lord Guruvayrappan.

    Poonthanam was possibly one of the greatest fore runners of Bhakthi cult in Kerala and his greatest work was Jnana Pana, Loosely it can be translated as “Pot of Knowledge” But “pana” here is not pot but a style of folk poem. This is written in a common man’s language and in a common man’s verse. It preaches the greatness of repetition (singing) of the Holy God’s names. In between Poonthanam wrote about the world he saw and the world he wanted to see. Some people term it as the “Bhagavad Geetha of Malayalam”

    JNANAPANA

    Request I, for the grace from my Guru without fail,
    So that Lord’s holy names are always on my tongue,
    And continue to be there forever without change,
    So that this our, human birth becomes most fruitful.

    Comment:All great Indian religious work either start with salutations to the teacher or to the God.

    Till yesterday we did not know it,
    Even tomorrow, we may not know it,
    The death to this trunk which is the body that we see today,
    Know we not when it is.
    (We do not know what we were in the last birth,
    We do not know what we will be in the next birth,
    Even in this birth in this human body,
    Know we not when all this is going to end.)*

    Comment:The poet brings out the ignorance filled life of the so called intelligent human being in this verse.

    The people who is seen by all of us now ,.
    You are the one who makes them
    Not to be seen in this world.
    In a matter of day or two
    You are He, who makes them ride on the royal chair.
    On the shoulder of the king who climbs to the top of palace.
    You are He , who places the tattered heap.

    Comment: The poet brings out how our life is “God controlled” and how temporary are the happiness and sorrow that we go through.

    Some people are able to know when they see,
    But others do not know even if they see it.
    Some people know that all what we see is not the truth,
    For they have seen it earlier and experienced.

    Comment:The poet tells us that in our capacity to understand the real truth about God and salvation we are very much different among our selves.
    Even in these assembly of man,
    Remember there are many special kinds of minds.

    Comment: He further says that though all human beings are rational, there is difference among themselves.

    With an aim that lot many a people should realize,
    Our religious science has made many paths to follow

    Comment: It is with view to make the various types of people understand that our religion tells us about varying paths.

    For those who can choose the path,
    Many a paths of action exist,
    Like those that make one realize the veil covering the truth,
    Or the methods of yoga depending on ones own limits,
    But of limited use they are all because they are intricate...

    Comment: But most of these methods are difficult and obtrusive except for the very intelligent human beings.

    In this rotating wheel of life of births an rebirths,
    To teach us who get caught and toil in this wheel,
    Those great ones who have realized,
    Have showered on us many a truth with grace,
    To attain salvation with ease,
    And so all of you please listen with care

    Comment:The poet tells us that easy methods to attain salvation has also been given by our sages.

    Please know first that the thing which ties us all,
    Is the Karma that we have done earlier.

    Comment:The poet introduces the theory of past birth’s Karma that results in our present day actions.

    Each part of all this world that we knew earlier,
    Became only one form of an ethereal light during deluge,.
    With nothing attaching to it,
    With it not attaching to anything,.
    And for those seekers who search minutely one by one,
    It becomes the one thing through which every thing is known.
    And for those whose mind flits and wanders,
    It becomes something, which is the great unknown.
    Similar but dissimilar to each other,
    But all together the spirit of the soul.
    And it seems was made by God,
    Again with all the three worlds as its parts.

    Comment:The concept of Brhmam-the eternal truth is introduced. It is one thing for those who realized it and another for who are not able to know it.

    This world which is made by one veil of ignorance,
    Has three differing types of actions,
    Sins, good deeds and mixture of these,
    Which when we think deep,
    Ties the soul firmly to this world.

    Comment:The Concept of Maya, the eternal veil of Hinduism is introduced.How by Maya we are tied to this world is mentioned.

    Chain of gold* we think we are tied,
    But it is no different from an iron chain**,
    And this chain of Karma that ties us to this world,
    Is no different but a mixture of these two.

    Comment:How rewards , recognition , punishment etc are only illusions has been brought out by the poet.

    Though taking the side of eternal truth,
    All are bound to this world by Karma.
    For the worlds would continue to be made,
    Till the end marked by the deluge.
    And to go against these ties of Karma,
    Is definitely not easy even for Brahma.
    And even those divine eight, who guard the directions,
    Are chained strongly in their respective places.

    Comment: The chain of illusion ties us to this world and the poet tells us that it is difficult to break it even for Gods and demi Gods,

    We who have done but little Karma,
    In a small span of time,
    Enter and leave the wombs of different animals,
    And play thus with the karma that we have earned.

    Comment: The theory of Karma and the cycle of births and rebirths is introduced by the poet
    ..
    Those souls who lie in the hell,
    After suffering all the punishments there,
    And after getting a reformed mind over time,
    Are born as Men,
    If good deeds are done, they go above,
    And enjoy their life in heaven.

    Comment: The concept of Karma, the concept of punishment in hell and concept of reward in heavens and the consequent theory of births and rebirths is introduced by the poet.

    When all the rewards for good deeds done end,
    Those who do not have an iota of reformed mind,
    After some time are born in the earth,
    And then those dying after doing bad deeds,
    Due to the result of them ,
    Do go and fall in different hells.

    Comment: The impermanence of rewards for good deeds is brought out by the poet.

    A soul from the land of Gods,
    Is born as man in this earth,
    People who do cruel acts in this birth,
    Are born as outcastes in this earth,
    The Anti gods are born as demigods,
    The deathless ones are born as trees,
    The goat dies and is born as elephant,
    The elephant becomes a goat after death,
    The tiger dies and is born as a man,
    A lady dies and is born as a fox,
    The king who troubles without mercy,
    After death is born as a worm,
    The fly dies and becomes a cat,
    And all these are but the divine sport.

    Comment: The concept of rebirth according to rewards earned and punishment given for bad deeds as different type of beings is brought out by the poet.

    These souls who run between the top and the bottom,
    It seems do get the Karmas done only in this earth,
    And without limits these different Karmas,
    Are done by the souls only in this earth,
    After doing which after their death,
    They go to various worlds of heaven and hell,
    And enjoy the rewards for these Karmas,
    And those rewards would end before long,
    And they come again here and start earning Karmas,
    Which is like taking money from ones own house,
    And using it in some other place,
    Selling what we have till it lasts.

    Comment: The poet tells here that action can be done only in earth and rewards and punishments for these actions can be had in other worlds.He tells that this is true even for beings living in other worlds.. Thus the wealth is here and to get it for spending you have to come here.

    Please know that this our motherland,
    Is the land to do Karmas,
    And it is definitely impossible,
    To destroy the residual karmas any where else.

    Comment : The poet tells us that though the rewards for the Karma done here is elsewhere, Those Karmas which do not merit us heaven and do not merit punishment in hell are to be only spent here,

    To the devotees great,
    To those who seek salvation,
    And to those who pine for ordinary things,
    This mother land of ours,
    Would grant whatever they want, God, Oh God.

    Comment: The poet tells here that in no other world can Karmas be done and an ordinary man can transform himself in to great souls.

    The innate qualities of our Lord of the world,
    Obviously thrives as this world.

    Comment: In this the poet feels that this our earth is God Himself.

    To save and upkeep this earth of ours,
    Incarnations took place it seems,
    And because of this the earth specially,
    Is greatest among the fourteen worlds,
    So tell those who are experts in Vedas,
    And so praise the Vedas about this earth.

    Comment: Since all incarnations are for protection of this our earth, The poet says that it is the greatest among fourteen worlds.

    In the huge sea of salt,
    Exists the Jambu islands,
    Ten lakh miles long,
    Within it are the seven islands,
    Praised by scriptures as most holy.

    Comment: From this verse the poet describes the earth. It is supposed to be divided in to seven islands and our country is in an island called Jambu Island,
    .
    In the peak and center of the lotus of this earth,
    Stands the mountain of Maha Meru,
    And there are nine major parts of this earth,
    And the most sacred is the Bharatha country.

    Comment: This island has in its center the Maha Meru mountain and has 9 countries including our mother land, the Bharatha country.

    The great recognized sages,
    Tell this as the temple of sacred duty.

    Comment: The poet says that the sages call our motherland as Karma Bhumi.

    The source of all Karma is this land,
    Even for those great souls in Brahma Loka,
    And it is here only that Karma is destroyed.
    If one desires salvation,
    And though it is for sure that these can’t easily be done,
    Anywhere else other than in Bharatha Ganda.

    Comment: The poet talks about the superiority of our land.

    Please do remember that this land of Bharatha,
    Is the most sacred land known,
    And in the vast time periods this Kali time period,
    Leads to salvation most easily.

    Comment: From the creation of earth to the grand deluge, the Hindus have divided the time in to four large time periods(Yugas). The last of these is Kali. Though more suffering is there in this time period , just by repeating the name of the Lord it is possible to attain salvation only in this time period.And so it is great.

    Please know that there is no effort,
    Except singing for the holy names,
    Krishna, Krishna, Mukunda Janardhana,
    Krishna, Govinda and Rama.

    Comment:The poet tells that no other effort is needed during this kali time than calling holy names of our Lord.

    Thinking about this,
    Those living in the other thirteen worlds,
    Those living in the six other islands,
    Those living in the other eight countries,
    And those living in the other three time periods,
    Realizing that they would not get salvation easily.
    With folded hands do salutations,
    To the Country of Bhratha and the time period of Kali.

    Comment: Because of this all other beings who do not live in Kali time period in our country, salute the beings who live here in this time period.

    To be at least a grass in that country,
    And be born now in this time period ,
    We were not lucky enough oh,God,
    And so our salutations to the men,
    Of Bharatha country and Kali time period.

    Comment: They repent that they are not lucky enough to be born at least as a grass here in this time period so that eventually they can very easily attain salvation.

    Why do we tell that,
    All those who are not here, sing our praise thus?
    Is not this the time period Kali,
    Are we not living in the country of Bharatha,
    And are we not born as human beings?
    All of you please think about this,
    Should we go without the names of Hari,
    Should we be less afraid of going to hell,
    Should we live without a tongue?
    Alas! Alas ! without proper thought,
    We destroy our lives in vain.
    What an effort we put to be born now,
    Because of the good deeds that we did?
    Many lives have we spent in shit,
    Many lives have we spent in water,
    Many lives have we spend in mud,
    Many lives have we spent as trees,
    Many lives have we moved around afraid of death,
    Many lives have we spent as birds,
    And many lives have we spent as beasts and cow,
    Before we were born as men.

    Comment: To get this reward we all must have spent lots of time as other beings.

    Please know that it is with lots of effort,
    That we fall in the womb of our mother,
    Spend we ten months in her stomach.
    Ten to twelve years we spend as playfull kids,
    And after this, thinking that we only do everything,
    We spend our time without knowing ourselves.

    Comment: Most part of the initial life is wasted in the womb and as children. And it is crime to waste it further.

    There is nothing truthfully known,
    As to how long we will live.

    Comment: The poet tells us how unsure we are about our span of life.

    In the body which is like a water bubble,
    We see it filled up always,
    And when we put efforts without thought,
    We can tell that this bubble will only burst.
    In this very limited time,
    We do not sing the holy names.

    Comment: He is sad that we waste this temporary , unsure life of ours without singing the holy names of God.

    Boasting about their positions and posts,
    Some people walk in the world ever ashamed,
    Thinking about their abilities and disabilities of others,
    Some people walk in the world with a diseased brain,
    Entering the houses of pretty damsels with flitting eyes.,
    Some people walk in the world like the circus monkey,
    Employed by the king and the government,
    Some people walk in the world heavily made up,
    Employed for worshipping Gods,
    Some people walk in the world with thoughts of their time after dusk,
    For mother and for father and wives,
    There are some who do not care to look after,
    The wife married with fire as witness,
    Is not even seen in dream by some,
    When good people think and advise,
    There are some who look them as enemies,
    When people worthy of salutations are seen,
    There are some who berate and curse them,
    This world stands thus,
    Boast some people because of their talk
    Raising and raising by the acts of Brahmana,
    Some people claim they are better than Lord Brahma,
    To earn money and get titles,
    Some people do yagas in the fire,
    And some people sell gold and jewels .
    To earn money without limit.

    Comment: The poet details how we are wasting the God given gift by not doing what we should do.

    Using elephants for trade,
    Using thorough bred horses,
    And not only that by use of ships,
    How much money is earned Alas! Alas!
    Disregarding the family jobs and becoming boors and rascals,
    How much we destroy ourselves with avarice for money,
    Never will we get satiated,
    By earning more and more money.

    Comment: The mindless chasing of money disregarding our duties of men is focused in this stanza by the poet.

    When we get ten , we say hundred is sufficient,
    When we get hundred we say thousand is sufficient,
    When we save thousand coins,
    We say more will be wonderful,
    And like this the rope of desire,
    Without roots reaches more and more heights.

    Comment: This chase the poet is an endless and perennial one writes the poet.

    When pious people beg for doing good deeds,
    Some bad people will not even give a little.

    Comment: Even this money earned will not be spared for good causes.

    At the time of death, even the cloths that they wear,
    Cannot be taken with them by any one.

    Comment: The poet points out that at death this result of our efforts does us no good.

    Without feeling an iota of remorse,
    They consider deceiving of those who trust,
    Because of the attachment for money,
    Alas! Some people even forget the truth.

    Comment:Nothing seems greater than money earned and for preserving any action including forsaking of truth is OK.

    Since truth is Brahmam definitely,
    The learned consider this as the only truth.

    Comment: Compare the modern saying “Truth is God”

    Gaining knowledge and not knowing what should be known,
    Some people act as if they are learned ones,
    It is like the donkey carrying Kumkumam*,
    Without even knowing the smell of it.

    Comment : Even knowledge gained seems to be without purpose.The learned ones we see many times are but actors.

    Krishna! Krishna! When we think about it,
    People get always wonderstruck with avarice.
    Comment: When we really muse about it, it seems it is purposeless avarice.
    Slowly and slowly, reduces this span of life,
    And with speed and more speed climb our desire,
    The Onam has come and the Vishu is over,
    And the Thiruvadira has not come,
    And our birthday falls,
    On Aswini in the month of February-march,
    And there is death anniversary in the month of October-november,
    It is not easy to hold feasts from now on,
    After the marriage of our son,
    We would like to see a son born to him,
    In the land which came under our control,
    We should not stop receiving the rent.

    Comment: The poet clearly brings out the net of desires that ties us to this world.

    When thinking like this and that,
    Alas some people die and go.

    Comment:With these unfulfilled perennial desires some people die.

    Why was all these special things told,
    All of you think as much as possible,
    About the largeness of Karma done,
    About how we have taken many births already,
    About how the present is the Kali time period,
    About the largeness of the country of Bharatha,
    About how all these days we were born there,
    About how all the past period was spent without meaning,
    About how we do not have much life span left,
    About how we were healthy all along,
    And how by singing of holy names of God,
    All fortunes would come about,
    About how the fear of future hell,
    Has to be thought about today.

    Comment: Instead the poet requests us to think of getting salvation easily by singing the holy names of God.

    Why are you wasting time unnecessarily,
    All of you please go to Vaikunta*.

    Comment: Instead of wasting time in useless pursuits, the poet requests us to do things that will take us to heaven.

    We were not born together,
    Nor are we going to die together,
    In between when we meet each other,
    Why should we compete with each other unnecessarily?

    Comment: This useless competition among ourselves with absoulutely no need is to be avaoided.

    When we should really long for salvation,
    Why de we e madly pursue the gain of wealth,
    When the sun shines bright in the noon,
    Should we long for the fire fly?

    Comment: The chase for wealth instead of salvation appears to be like a chase for the fire fly when there is Sun.

    When the little babe Krishna is playing in the mind,
    Do we need other babies as our sons,
    WE do have large bevy of friends Shiva Shiva,
    For are there not devotees of Vishnu in this world.

    Commentoonthanam lost his babe in a tragically and does not have any body to depend on.He feels when Lord Guruvayurappan is there, where is the need for a child and when devotees of Vishnu are there where is the need for relatives,

    When we see the attractive play of this enchanting veil,
    The play of love of our wife is but a child’s play.

    Comment:Maya the veil shows us unwanted things as enchanting.

    All the wealth in this world,
    Is this house of earth for us.

    Comment: The poet says the whole world is our wealth.

    Lord Viswanatha is our father,
    And the mother of us all is this moving whole earth,
    We have thus both the father and mother,
    And these parents would look after us for ever.

    Comment: Gods are our parents and they will look after us.

    We have good food as alms,
    And only eating remains to be done.

    Commentor the devoteethe very little that he gets as alms is sufecient.

    Always without attachment and always,
    With extreme devotion we should chant the names of God
    Till the life span allotted to us is over,
    And like this all of us should live.
    We should praise all the beings that we see,
    Leaving the sense of shame.
    Filled with tears of joy,
    And leaving out insults heaped,
    We should fall at the feet,
    When we see holy people around.
    And then drowning in the sense of devotion,
    Like a drunkard we should dance.
    If we travel in this world thus,
    All problems would run away from us.

    Comment:The ecstasic state of Bhakthi and how it solves all problems is well brought out in this verse.

    When the Karma as per fate is over,
    The body falls in one place,
    And Seeing the Brhmam which was ever longed for,
    Immediately the soul jumps towards it.

    Comment:After death the body remains here and the soul longs for salvation.

    When wandering after desires have left,
    Thinking that we are not yet ready for salvation,
    Please do not develop self pity,
    And hear the greatness of God’s holy name.
    Even if one belongs to the lowest caste,
    Or a learned higher caste who is expert in Vedas,
    Except those who are born without tongue,
    And who are made dumb by nature,
    Out of the uncountable holy names of God,
    At least one, once in any one day,
    At least when are happy and contended,
    Or at least in dreams without our control,
    Or at least teasing Him as some other,
    Or at least for the sake of some one else,
    Wherever we are,
    If we tell with our tongue,
    Or atleast if else,
    Hear the name with our ear,
    We will get salvation then and there,
    And would become one with God,
    And so say Sreedhara* the great scholar,
    And sage Vyasa** who wrote the puranas.

    Comment:This is the conclusion.Without care in ecstacy if we sing the name of God or hear it, whatever circumstance it may be , we would get salvation.

    Even Bagavad Geetha says the same,
    And also so say the Vedas with respect.
    So sing God’s holy names easily
    And with joy become one with God.
    For those aiming at salvation this book is sufficient,
    For it sings about greatness of God’s holy names.
    With errors or without errors.
    Please grant me your grace , Oh my God!


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