Narayaneeyam is the master piece of
Melpathur and it is the most widely read of all his works. As the poet
himself has pointed, it is a
poetic work of hymn dealing with the story of Narayana, written by
Narayana (Melpathur Narayana Bhatathiri). The poet depicts the image of
Lord Guruvayurappan, in exemplary terms - "Sammohanam Mohanal Kantham
Kanthinidhanathopi, Madhuram Madhurya Dhuryadapi, Soundaryotharathopi
Sundaratharam?, and these become doubly meaningful and apt when
applied to this exquisite work also. The theme of Narayaneeyam is based on
the stories in Bhagavatham; it is, almost, an epitome of the great Purana.
But unlike Vyasa, who has introduced in the first 'Skandha' itself, the
speaker (Sree Suka Brahmarshi) and the listener (Emperor Pareekshith), the
poet himself is the speaker in Narayaneeyam, who sings before the Lord
Guruvayurappan, in a sublime tune about His glories and prays to Him to
bless him to be cured of his disease
The ?Parayana?
of Narayaneeyam is believed to possess the wonderful power of healing
afflictions, both mental and physical, of the devotees. The personal
experiences of the poet himself have proved this beyond doubt. The
?Nithyaparayana? of Narayaneeyam will enable the devotees to attain ?
Ayurarogyasoukhyam?.
In the realm of
the hymns in Sanskrit, Narayaneeyam occupies an exalted position. As a
pure literary piece, it is pre-eminent. And, as a unique hymn saturated
with divine ?Bhakthi?, it is unparalleled. Dr. B. Ramakrishna Rao, who was
the Governor of Kerala happened to hear Narayaneeyam read out, and
attracted by the greatness of it, got it translated into Telugu and published in Andhra.
Narayaneeyam has been translated into Tamil also.
Narayaneeyam
begins worshipping Lord Guruvayurappan in His divine form which is
?Sandranandavabodhatmakam? and ends depicting Sree Krishna as if he sees
Him before his mortal eyes.
Narayaneeya Sapthaham ( the
recitation of Narayaneeyam and explaining the meaning to the public) is
conducted in Guruvayur temple by Devaswom on the Narayaneeya Dinam and by
others as offerings. It is done for seven consecutive days from early
morning till 6.10 pm in the evening. Narayaneeya Sapthaham has started in
Guruvayur in the early 50's. It takes about 5 hours to read the slokas and
about 45 hours for explaining the
slokas.