Thirunizhalmala
13th century "pattu" genre poem in the Malayalam language
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Thirunizhalmala ("Garland of the Sacred Shade" or "Grace"[1]) is a c. 13th century "pattu" genre poem in the Malayalam language.[2][3] Along with "Ramacharitham", it is one of the earliest extant poems in Malayalam.[2] It is generally considered to be a work associated with the Vaishnavite bhakti movement in south India.[4] It is sometimes referred to as "the first religious work in the Malayalam".[1] "Thirunizhalmala" was discovered by the scholar M. M. Purushothaman Nair in 1980.[5][1]
The poem was most probably composed by a high-caste poet (from a certain "Kurumur Palli"), using local meters and Dravidian orthography.[6][7] It is assumed that the work predates the famous "Ramacharitham" by around a century.[8] The manuscript of the poem was discovered in northern Kerala.[4] The central theme of the poem is the description of the ritual life of the Aranmula Temple in Pathanamthitta.[9] The main rites described are the ancient rituals of the Malayar or Malayan community, performed to remove the various impurities of the gods.[8][4] It also describes the temple and its surroundings, the families of the temple-villages' owners, and the protecting soldiery.[4]
"Thirunizhalmala" is linked to the north Kerala art form Theyyam and the community of its performers.[10] The poem contains the earliest instance in Malayalam of the legend of Parasurama "founding" Kerala and establishing the sixty-four Brahmin settlements.[6] It also mentions the medieval Tamil poet Kamban.[6]
Modern editions of "Thirunizhalmala" have been published by M. M. Purushothaman Nair (1981 and 2016) and R. C. Karippath (2006).[10]