Poonthanam Namboodiri

The Poonthanam Namboodiri got married very late when compare with his fellow folk. The couple waited for a long period to get blessed with a baby. At last, the Antharjanam (wife of Namboodiri) gave birth to a baby boy. This made the whole village happy. Poonthanam Namboodiri being a devotee of Guruvayurappan, used to pray that when he gets a baby, he can give the lord’s name to his baby.


They invited all their relatives to the naming ceremony. The house is full of relatives, Namboodiri’s wife fed the baby full and made him sleep in the corner of the room and busy with the guests . Due to non availability of light in the room, whoever comes in, left their *angavastram in the same corner. After sometime, every one searching for the baby, found that he died of suffocation in the corner.

After the tragedy, Poonthanam become more and more devotee of his lord, Guruvayurappan. He thought when lord himself is playing in my mind, why should I need a baby! Thus he consoled himself and started giving **Sri Bhagavatham lectures in and around the village temples. People used to gather in huge numbers to hear his lecture because he used to explain Sri Bhagavatham in a simple language so that everybody can understand.



*in olden days, ladies of upper caste use to wear one Shawl that cover their chest is called the angavastra.

** The holy book of the Hindu