The study of a literary work is rendered more interesting, instructive and purposeful by acquiring some knowledge about the work itself and its author. To start with, then, a few words about the author of Narayaneeyam will be appropriate.

This mini-epic is a masterly abridgement of Sage Veda Vyasa's magnum opus, Shrimad Bhagavatam. As in the larger epic, the central theme of Narayaneeyam is Bhakti or devotion to the Supreme Power, personified by Bhagavan Shree Mahavishnu. At the same time, adhering to the schema of the Bhagavatham, Narayaneeyam expounds the essence of other systems of Indian philosophy, mainly, Jnyanayoga, Karmayoga and Sankhya, at the appropriate places while laying special emphasis on the over-riding supremacy of Bhaktiyoga, or the path of devotion, over all other means to attain Moksha (Nirvana, or Salvation), which means unification, integration and dissolution of the individual soul or jeeva in the Brahman, the Cosmic Unity, the One without a second.

With his vast background of learning of the Scriptures, and his profound grasp of their different systems and aspects, besides Sanskrit grammar and prosody, Bhattathiri has produced a compendium of the larger epic, which faithfully adumbrates all the vital constituents of the original in a lucid style, easy for lay people to understand the abstruse concepts of philosophy, while, at the same time, highlighting those incidents and episodes that help to strengthen and deepen the reader's faith in the basic theme of Bhakti, and practice its essential steps in daily life.

Some idea of Bhattathiri's dexterity in condensing vast material into a small compass can be gleaned from the following examples:

1. Dasakam 15 : This dasakam sets out in ten verses the essence of Kapila's (an incarnation of the Lord Himself) advice to his mother, Devahuti, on the Sankhya, which, in the Bhagavatham, spans ten chapters (Nos. 24 to 33) of the third Skanda (or Canto).
2. Dasakams 34 and 35 : The whole of the Ramayana epic of Valmiki is covered in twenty verses, as against two chapters of the 9^th Canto in the Bhagavatham, and 24000 lines in Valmiki Ramayanam.
3. Dasakam 86, verse 6 : This sets out in a single verse, the essence of the Lord's teaching to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, which spans 18 chapters of the Bhagavadgeeta.
4. Dasakam 93 : This dasakam briefly deals with the 25 teachers or preceptors, all found in nature, and the lessons to be learned from each one of them, for either emulation or avoidance in daily life by a devotee.
5. Dasakam 95, Verse 8 : In this verse, Bhattathiri gives an graphic, encapsulated head-to-foot description of the Lord, in an easy-flowing cascade of phrases, that are simple and easy to memorise and also recall for constant chanting and meditation.

In literary merit, the Narayaneeyam holds pride of place in Sanskrit poetry, at par with the works of Kalidasa and other eminent poets. It is divided into 100 Dasakams, most of which comprise ten shlokams (verses) each - with a few of them running into 11, 12 or 13 verses; the maximum number being 15 verses in Dasakam 4, and a solitary Dasakam (Dasakam 65) comprising 9 verses. The final verse of every Dasakam concludes with an invocation to the Lord of Guruvayur to cure him of all his illnesses and protect him from all afflictions and sorrows. In all, the Narayaneeyam consists of 1034 verses. Some versions include two extra verses at the end of Dasakam 45, making a total of 1036 verses.

A noteworthy feature of this work is the copious and judicious employment of literary embellishments or Alankarams and Vrittams or metres to suit the context, besides devices like yamakam and anuprasam. These heighten the impact of the scenes or events described, on the reader, and make them come alive before his mind's eye. As many as 26 different metres have been used, some of them extensively and others sparingly. Some of the more notable instances are set out below:

1. The majestic "Sardulavikriditam" (meaning gambolling of tigers/leopards) brings out the awesome grandeur of the Lord's incarnation as Narasimha (half-man, half-lion) in Dasakam 25; Krishna's entry into Mathura in Dasakam 74 (with its earth-shakingly ominous import to the Lord's enemies), and many other scenes and events.
2. The superbly balanced and serene "Sragdhara", to depict the events leading up to the Mahabharata war and the war itself (Dasakam 86); expounding the path of Devotion (Bhaktimarga) from Dasakam 91 onwards. This metre has also been used in Dasakam 34 and 35, giving a highly condensed account of the Lord's incarnation as Shri Rama, and in many other places (mostly selected verses) in conformity with the context.
3. The dancing "Totaka" and the lilting "Drutavilambita" metres in Dasakams 55 and 56, respectively to describe Krishna's dance on the hood of the serpent Kaliya. In these dasakams, the reader gets a graphic picture of the dance, unsurpassed in poetic beauty and grandeur, with a fascinating, onomatopaeic harmony between sound and sense. The Drutavilambita metre is employed also in many other dasakams, notably Dasakams 78 and 79, describing Rukmini's yearning for union with her Lord, and her wedding.
4. Last, but not least, the "Kusumamanjari" metre, with its charmingly billowing pace of alternating long and short syllables, used in the one and only Dasakam 69, to depict the Rasakrida. Every one of the eleven verses in this dasakam, is outstanding for its magnificent resonance through the blending of sound and sense, between the words and the action. Verse 4 is especially so, where the poet creates a marvellous word-picture before the reader's eyes, of the harmonious intertwining and blending of the notes flowing from Krishna's flute with the lyrics and music, the rhythmic beat of the percussion instruments, the tender footfalls and handclaps of the dancers and the jingling of the bracelets worn by the Gopis.

The Narayaneeyam in unique in the conversational mode employed by the poet, of addressing the Lord in the second person from start to finish. According to legend, after setting out certain important incidents, or making bold assumptions of the reason for them, Bhattathiri waited for confirmation of the accuracy by a gesture from the Lord, as an 'asariri' (disembodied voice) or nod of the head, before proceeding further. Two such incidents may be seen in Dasakam 35, Verse 3, and Dasakam 45, Verse 9.

In Dasakam 35, Verse 3, while narrating the successful mission of Anjaneya to Lanka and his return with the crest-jewel of Shree Seetha, the poet concludes by saying "Mouliratnam dadau te" (Gave Thee the crest-jewel). Immediately, a doubt arose in his mind whether he had not erred in saying "Thee" instead of "Rama", and he looked up at the Lord's image. Legend has it that the Lord nodded His head, confirming that it was indeed HE in the outward form of "Rama", to whom Anjaneya handed over the crest-jewel.

In Dasakam 45, Verse 9, Bhattathiri makes a bold assertion that the Lord resorted to taking the curd or butter and ghee by stealth from the homes of the Gopis (cowherd women), instead of begging them for these, after his humiliating experience of begging for paces of land from Bali in the Vamana incarnation. It is said that through the voice of an "asariri" (disembodied voice) emanating from the garbhagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum), the Lord approved of the poet's assumption.

(Similar instances of direct communication with, and confirmation by the Lord, have been cited in relation to the composition of "Geetagovindam" by Jayadeva.)

Yet another attractive feature of this mini-epic is the depiction of "Rasam" (flavour, essence, sentiment or mood), usually eight or nine in number, which heighten the impact of narration. A few examples are given below:

• Raudram - Fierce, terrible, wrathful or awesome aspect or mood.
  • The Varaha Incarnation, Dasakam 12, 13
  • The Narasimha Incarnation, Dasakam 25
• Sringaram - Love, amorousness, eroticism
• The Mohini Episode, Dasakam 29
• Rasakrida (build up to the Rasaleela and the Rasaleela),  Dasakams 65 to 69
• Veeram - Heroism, Valour, Prowess
• Slaying of Kumbhakarna and Ravana, Dasakam 35
• Parasurama's decimation of Kshatriyas, Dasakam 36
• Slaying of Kamsa and his henchmen, Dasakam 75
• Slaying of Narakasura, Dasakam 81
• Conquest of Bana (and fight with Siva and his Bhoota hordes), Dasakam 82
• Slaying of Shishupala, Dasakam 85
• Slaying of Salwa and Dantavaktra, Dasakam 86
• Krishna's rushing at Bheeshma with the Sudarshana Chakra in hand, as if enraged, during the Mahabharata war, Dasakam 86
• also, the Lord entering the womb of Uttara (assuming the size of a big toe), in order to protect the embryo from the Brahmashirsha missile released by Ashvatthama to exterminate the Pandava clan, Dasakam 86.
• Hasyam - Mirth, amusement, jest, derision, ridicule
  • Duryodhana's perplexity and confusion between firm floor and water, while traversing the audience hall full of illusions, built by Maya for the Pandavas, and the derisive laughter of Draupadi and Bheema at Duryodhana's discomfiture, Dasakam 85
  • The account of Lord Siva taking to his heels to escape from Vrikasura who was pursuing him to test the efficacy of the boon granted to him by Siva, and the derisive words spoken by the Lord (in the guise of a clever Brahmachari), while accosting Vrikasura and bringing about the latter's (self-)destruction, Dasakam 89
• Karuna - Compassion, pathos, tenderness
  • Krishna's departure from Brindavan for Mathura, leaving the Gopis forlorn, Dasakam 73
  • Uddhava's errand to Gokulam to console the Gopis, Dasakam 76
  • The wailing of the brahmin over the repeated loss of his sons immediately after birth, in the Santanagopalan episode, Dasakam 88.
• Adbhutam - Wonder, astonishment, miraculousness
  • The Lord's growth from the form of a dwarf to His gigantic Cosmic form encompassing all the worlds with two steps of His feet, in the Vamana incarnation, Dasakam 31
• Bhayam - Fear, alarm, fright, terror
  • Kamsa's panic reaction to the divine voice ("asariri") foretelling his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth son, and his manifold acts seeking to avert his doom, enventually proving futile and ending in his death, Dasakam 37 onwards up to Dasakam 75.

The Narayaneeyam adheres closely to the Bhaagavatham in its structure and sequence of narration. Like the larger epic, this is also subdivided into Skandams (Cantos). The first nine skandams of the Bhagavatham are reflected in the same number of skandams in the shorter work, spanning Dasakams 1 to 36. The tenth skandam, spanning Dasakams 37 to 90, corresponds to the tenth skandam of the Bhagavatham. The eleventh skandam, Dasakams 91 to 97 (Verse 4) covers the entire matter contained in the eleventh skandam of the Bhagavatham. Verses 5 to 10 of Dasakam 97 contain an account of Sage Markandeya and his vision of the Lord in the form of a child of indescribable beauty and charm lying on a banyan leaf, with its toe placed in its mouth, floating on the waters of the deluge. Dasakam 98 incorporates the poet's meditation on the Lord's abstract, incorporeal (Nishkala or Nirguna) form and his supplications to the Lord. Dasakam 99 incorporates the mantras of the Rig Veda in praise of the glory of the Lord. Dasakam 100 is the climax of the whole Narayaneeyam, wherein the poet gives a glowing and graphic description of the dazzling vision of the Lord which was vouchsafed to him on the 100^th day. The head-to-foot picturisation of the Lord in this Dasakam is unrivalled for its beauty, grandeur and vividness. Its perusal uplifts the reader to heights of devotional ecstasy. In the eleventh (and final) stanza of this Dasakam, the poet explains the rationale of the title, Narayaneeyam, by saying that it is apt in two senses, namely, the central theme which is Lord Narayana, and the narrator whose name is also Narayana. The concluding words of this stanza "ayurarogyasaukhyam" constitute a code, which has been decoded by scholars to indicate the date of the work.

 Conclusion