Thirunizhalmala

Thirunizhalmala ("Garland of the Sacred Shade" or "Grace"^[1]) is a c. 13th century "pattu" genre poem in Malayalam language.^[2][3] Along with "Ramacharitham", it is one of the earliest extant poems in Malayalam.^[2] It is generally considered as a work associated with the Vaishnavite bhakti movement in south India.^[4] It is sometimes called "the first religious work in the Malayalam".^[1] "Thirunizhalmala" was discovered by scholar M. M. Purushothaman Nair in 1980.^[5][1]

Thirunizhalmala
Aranmula Temple, Pathanamthitta
Written	c. 13th century
Country	Aranmula
Language	Malayalam
Genre(s)	"Pattu" genre

"Thirunizhalmala" is composed, most probably by a high caste poet (from certain "Kurumur Palli"), in local meters and with 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 from northern Kerala.^[4] Central topic of the poem is the description of the ritual life of Aranmula Temple in Pathanamthitta.^[9] The main rites described are the ancient rituals of the Malayar/Malayarayan or Malayan community (performed to remove the various impurities of the gods).^[8][4] It also describes the temple and its environs, 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 the sixty-four settlements of Brahmins.^[6] It also mentions the medieval Tamil poet Kamban.^[6]

Modern editions of "Thirunizhalmala" are by M. M. Purushothaman Nair (1981 & 2016) and R. C. Karippath (2006)^[10]