The Sarikasandesa by Ramapanivada Sarikasandesa[1] is a beautiful lyric composed by Ramapanivada a famous poet of Kerala. He belonged to the 18th C. AD. The colophon of the kavya gives the identity of the author. The poem contain 122 stanzas, it has not been divided into two parts. The messenger Sarika has to forward from Vrindavan to Ambalapuzha.
A cowherd damsel who was in love with Krishna sat hiddenly in a bower on the banks of Yamuna in Vrndavan due to some conquetish anger. After remaining some time there she came out to join with her lover. But she could not see him in Vrndavan even after her earnest search. No she heard an aerial voice that her Lord had gone to Kerala. He remains in a temple at Amaratateni, a place ruled by Devanarayana. The unearthly voice also suggested that she should send a messenger to her lord in Kerala. The message was sent and the lovers were united again. Devanarayana of Ambalappula The Campekasseri region otherwise known as Purakkat (comprised of the present Ampalappula and Kuttanad Taluks) was ruled by the Brahmin kings known by the title of Devanarayanan. They were great patrons of poets and artists[2]. They ruled the kingdom of the city of Ambalapula, which was the capital. The other king referred to in many works of the author is one Devanarayana of Ambalapula. In Sanskrit Devanarayana of Campakasseri is referred to as the ruler of the country and sharing the responsibility of its protection with lord Krsna.— pāre yācāmapi ca manasāṃ paścimassyāmburāśeḥ tīre tīrthaṃ kimapi kamanīyāṅgi! tat kṣetramāhuḥ | vikhyātaṃ yad vipulamahimā devanārāyaṇākhyākṣoṇīdevakṣitipatiratiprauḍhakīrtiḥ praśasti || (Sarika Sandesa 5) ampannaśrīvibhavasulabhāṃ campakakṣoṇirājyam yo gopayannapi hi bhagavāneṣa gopāyamānaḥ | goptetyuccairnijamapi yaśo devanārāyaṇākhye kṣoṇīdevakṣitibhuji samāveśayan joṣamāste || (Sarika Sandesa 28) The poet eulogises the king as the representative of Lord Krsna. He states that Krsna shouldering himself the responsibility of the protection of the kingdom, simply bestows the credit for the protection upon king Devanarayana and remains silent as an innocent cowboy. Under his protection, the Campakasseri kingdom enjoys the height of prosperity. The region Campakasseri is to be identified with the modern Ambalappula Amaratatini, Ambaradhuni, Devavahini etc, are Sanskritised forms of the vernacular Ambalapuzha. The members of the Brahmin family of Campakasseri were the rulers of the region and the members traditionally assumed the title of Devanarayana. One Devanarayana (1566-1622 AD) founded the Ambalapula Temple dedicated to Lord Krsna and patronized Melpattur Narayana Bhatta, the grammarian poet. He is known by the name Puratam Tirunal Devanarayanan[3]. It is this Ambalapula temple that forms the destination of Sarika in the message poem. The identity of this Puratam Tirunal Devanarayana alone can be established from among the several Devanarayanas of Ambalapula. The history of Ambalapula ends with the annexation of that kingdom by Martandavarma of Travancore in 1746 AD[4]. The description in the Sarika-Sandesa poem about the destination of messenger corresponds exactly to those historical facts. It mentions Kuttarastram (Kuttanad) and Campakasseri alternatively as the kingdoms of Devanarayana[5]. Ambalapula is referred to as the city (Puravaram)[6] where the temple is situated. King Devanarayana referred to by Ramapanivada can be any one of the kings of Ambalapula other than the patron of Melpattur. Most probably the ruler at the time of annexation must have patronised the poet. Concluding verses in S.S. also refer to this Devanarayana. sampatprājye campakaśreṇirājye sampannaśrīssaṃpratītaprabhāvaḥ | devaprakhyo devanārāyaṇākhyo dedīpīti kṣoṇīdevakṣitīśaḥ || (Sarika Sandesa120) The description of the temple and its surroundings met with in the poem still holds good. Krsna is worshipped in the temple in the form of Parthasarathi (the charioteer of Arjuna) with the whip and the coch in his hands, in a pose having completed his mission of helping Arjuna. Krsna is portrayed as such in the work[7]. There are a few stone throughs, though the present removed to nearby places. Since they are out of use now, built for the use of cows to drink water. The reference to a big through near the well in the poem[8]. Supports this, though it cannot be identified, as the present there is no through to be found near the particular well. Traditions say that there were arrangements for fethering herds of cows belonging to the temple. It is interesting to note that the temple in still called by the name gosala and the deity there, ‘gosalakrisna’ as seen in the work[9]. Time has obliterated the marks of this stable and there are no arrangements for feeding cows of the temple now. The other traits of the temple as visualised by the poet in the Sarikasandesa poem[10] are to be found almost as such, even now. The circular pond infront of the temple is found there with its pavements. The reference to the military parades in that pond is called ‘Velakali’, a performance by the warriors exhibiting their talents in using weapons, customary in some temples of South Kerala in connection with the annual festivals[11]. In the Ambalapula temple it is the Nair community which organises this martial exercise during the annual festivals which fall in the month of Mina of Malabar Calender (March -April). These sports are conducted in the temple from the second upto the ninth day of the annual festivals even now. The drum ‘Velathegil’ is used for this as musical accompaniment. The soldiers display their skill in exercise often standing in knee-deep water. To the west of the temple, there is a row of royal mansions and another pond near it. In the south is situated a dancing hall and a royal palace. On the northern side is to be seen the dining halls, standing almost intact even now. The royal palaces are almost deserted now, though some portions are occupied by the employees of the temple. The flag-staff infront of the shrine, the pillar of lamps behind and the beautiful well nearby are also found there. The well is called ‘Manikkinar’ even now, which is referred to and ‘Sudrsat’ and ‘nirmalapah’[12] and is still in good condition. The description of the oblational ceremonies refers[13] to the prevalent customs of the temple, that the idol of Krsna is usually carried on the head by the priest and on special occasions like festival, on the idol of ‘Garuda’ or a top an elephant. The big pipal tree described in the Sarikasandesa poem[14] still stands there as a mute witness to the incidents of history for centuries. Thus the descriptions pertaining to the shrine and its surroundings have some historical bearing. The Cakorasandesa The author of this Cakorasandesa[1] is not known[2]. According to Vatakkumkur and Ullur the author of this kavya can never be a mahakavi. His descriptions of the neighboring places belonging to Cochin, and Malabar are done in details. Considering this aspect one can put the author to be a native of Cochin or North Malabar. The heroine suffering from the seperation such a message to the hero. The message is sent from Nyaghrapura to Vedaranga. The Vedaranga is situated some miles away from Tirunavay. Zamorin of Calicut Cakorasandesam refers to a zamorin of Calicut (Sailapathodhinathah) as the builder of the famous Peruvana temple. Here it is described that the Zamorin became famous by constructing this temple as known, the son of Tapati acquired fame by building Kuruksetra. prekṣyaṃ tasmāt praṇataparitāpāpahāri prakāśaṃ pratyasannaṃ puruvanapatermandiraṃ mandarābhāṃ | yannirmāṇādalabhata varaṃ kauravakṣetrakartā tāvad yaḥ prāk svayamiha yaśaḥ śailapathodhināthaḥ || (I-47) We do not get any historical references regarding the construction of the temple by a Zamorin. But it is certain that the Zamorins had some power over that temple. Towards the close of the 15th C. Peruvanam, and Kodunnallur, lying between Kozhikode and Cochin, virtually belonged to the Zamorin[3]. This refers to a Setu touching both the Western Ghats and the Arabian sea, constructed by a Travancore king (Vancisa) to prevent Pancasirsa sahyaprastāt patimupagatastatra seturnadīnāṃ vañcīśena svayamiha kṛtaḥ pañcaśīrṣaṃ niroddhum || (I-35) It may perhaps be the famous Nedumkotta or ‘Travancore lines’ built in the central Kerala by Kartika Tirunal Ramavarma to protect Travancore from the impending invation of Mysore[4]. The Parasurama legend regarding the creation of Kerala from the sea is mentioned in this poem[5]. Parasurama supposedly threw his battle are across the sea from Gokarna to Kanyakumari and water cleared the way to form a land. This region so thrown up is said to have constituted the land of Kerala. Then he distributed the land to Brahmins after building institutions and shrines. The Cakorasandesa poem refers some well-known temples like Kutalmanikyam[6], Peruvana[7], Vatukkumnatha[8], Uraka temple[9], Guhapura temple[10] etc. Other Sandesa Kavyas describing Kerala history Chapter 4 - Traces of Historical Facts from Sandesha Kavyas and Short poems Sampatisandesa[1] of a Namputiri Brahmin of Puliyannur Tekkeppattu house in Ilavalli near Guruvayur incidently placed like Trippunitura Trichur and Ilavalli are mentioned. Syenasandesa[2] of Aryan Narayana Musatu of Vayaskara. The places on the route from Vayaskara in Kottayam to Ernakulam are described in the available portions. Cakorasandesa(1)[3] of Vasudeva contains 190 stanzas. The poem contain much geographical informations, though its historical value is limited. The places referred to include many important regions of Kerala like Tvm, Quilon, Thiruvalla, Vaikkam etc. Bhrngasandesa published in Sahrdaya[4] speaks of a minister of Kochi, while describing Natavarambu the place about for miles to the north of Irinjalakkuda thus madhye madhye madhukarapati kṣetrapālīranekā darśaṃ darśaṃ sapadi bhavato ḍīyamānasya bhūyaḥ bhūyātbhūbhṛtsacivatilaka pauṭhabījaprarohaḥ kṣetraṃ kṣetre mahati kuhacit seturāmodahetuḥ || He may be Kunhikrishna Menon of Natavarambu. Who was appointed as the chief Minister of Kochi state in 1809[5]. The foregoing survey will go a long way in creating an awareness among historians about the hither to unrecognized magnitude of contribution of Sandesakavyas to the field of Kerala history. K RAJARAM IRS 28925 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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