MĒLPUTTŪR NĀRĀYANA BHATTATIRI
Mēlputtūr Nārāyana Bhattatiri is one of the most celebrated names in the field of Sanskrit literature in Kerala. It is surprising that a poet of his eminence in Sanskrit is known so little outside. But in the land of his birth few other names are held in greater esteem, and few other literary works enjoy greater popular appreciation than his "Nārāyanīya', the great devotional poem. A poet endowed with literary ability of the highest order, and an author of sāstraic works displaying profound erudition in several subjects, Bhattatiri presented a rare combination of talents seen only in another celebrated son of India, Bhartrhari. The achievements of this eminent son of Kerala deserve for wider recognition among all those who cherish Sanskrit language and its literature.
Bhattatiri was born in the year 1559-60 A. D. in Mēlputtūr Illam, a family of Nampuris, or Malayala Brahmins, at Tirunāvāi on the northern bank of Nila, Bhāratapuzha river, in South Malabar. Some information about his family and his parentage is available in his own works.
भूखण्डे केरलाख्ये सरितमिह निलामुत्तरेणैव नावा
क्षेत्रे गव्यूतिमान्ने पुनरुपरिनवग्रामनाम्नि स्वधान्नि ।
धर्मियाट् भट्टतन्नाधखिलसतपटोमतिदत्तद्विजेन्द्रा
जातो नारायणाख्यो निरवहदतुलां देवनारायणाज्ञाम् ॥
(Prakriyā Sarvasya)
Uparinava grāma is the Sanskritised form of Mēlputtūr. From this statement we also know that his father was Mātrdatta, who was proficient in systems of philosophy such as of Bhātta. It is gathered that Bhattatiri was the eldest son of his father, and that he had a younger brother Mātrdatta who also was a scholar and a poet.
