Once the Malayalam month of Karkkidakaom comes, most of the
houses in Kerala will get filled with the verses of Ramayana. Most of the
Hindus of Kerala consider it serene to read “Adhyathma Ramayanam”, preferably the
Malayalam version was written by Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan. He is being
considered the father of modern Malayalam literature. Here is a legend behind
his birth.
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| Ramayanam reading in Karkkidakom Month |
As all are aware there are many different versions of
Ramayana, the great Hindu epic written by different people. Although the
original version has been written by Sage Valmiki, other versions are also
revered as equally as Valmiki Ramayana. Once, a Brahmin who was a devotee of
Lord Rama too wrote a different version of Ramayana. Being a staunch devotee of
Rama, his version was expressing the “Bhakti Bhava” or the devotional aspect
rather than narrating the story. Hence it is called “Adhyathma Ramayana”.
Brahmin thought that people will aspect his version of the epic more than any
other version as it has a more devotional aspect in it, but unfortunately the
book got ignored by the public as well as by the scholars. Adding more insult
to injury, people of his village started calling him as a mad man who dared to
write the epic when there are many versions of the same written by eminent
people are available. As he could not suffer the insults, he left his village
and wandered without any aim. On the way, he reached inside a forest. Being
hungry and tired, and since it was dark, he decided to take rest under a huge
tree. He fell asleep fast.
After some time he woke up as he felt somebody is trying to
wake him up. He saw a handsome guy in front of him. He asked the Brahmin how he
happened to be in this forest in the night. The innocent Brahmin told him the entire story. Then the young handsome guy asked the Brahmin to start his
journey and to be at Mookambika temple on the Maha Shivarathri day. There he
will come across a sage accompanied by four dogs. The young man insisted
the Brahmin give his book to that sage and everything will be alright. He
also told the Brahmin that the sage will ask him who asked to do so. He
insisted that the Brahmin should not reveal the same.
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| Thunchath Ezhuthachan |
Brahmin started his journey and reached at Mookambika temple
on Shivarathri day. As the sun started setting, he saw a sage accompanied by
four dogs coming to the temple. He managed through the crowd and reached the
sage. As insisted by the young man he submitted his book to the sage and
requested him to bless him. Then the sage asked him who guided him to do so.
Poor Brahmin expressed his inability to reveal the same as he has promised not
to reveal it. He begged the pardon from the sage with folded hands.
Then the sage told him that he knows who has guided him.
That young man is a Gandharva a celestial creature who is good at different
arts. The sage told the Brahmin that he will curse that Gandharva to take
birth as a man in the earth for doing so. Then he took some holy water from his
water jug and sprayed it over the book. Then he told the Brahmin that soon this
book will get wide acceptance and will be read by more people than any other
version.
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| Thunchath Ezhuthachan Memorial |
Being happy on this the Brahmin went back to his village and
on the way, he met the Gandharva and narrated the entire incident. He told that
he knew everything and ready to take birth as a human being. This sage was none other than Veda Vyasa and the four dogs were the four Vedas.
It is believed that Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan is the
human incarnation of this Gandharva. That is the reason why he preferred the
Adhyathma Ramayana to translate to Malayalam and not any other versions. Being
a Gandharva in original, he was very fond of music and was an expert in it.
Hence he wrote the story of Ramayana as Kilippaattu, or as a song sung by a
bird.
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