Poetic and Religious Writings
- The Puththenpaana, a Malayalam epic on the life of Christ, is his most celebrated poem. This is one of the earliest poems written in simple Malayalam. It has been an inalienable part of Christian (not restricted to Catholic) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; its paadhams are sung in a characteristic manner in Christian households on various solemn occasions, the most notable ones being Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and other days of Holy Week and Lent, and evenings preceding funerals. The poem consists of fourteen paadhams; the couplets are written in the sarppini vruththam, except for those in the twelfth paadham, which are in the nathonnatha metre.
The twelfth paadham on the lament of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion and death of Jesus is the heart of the poem. Other important paadhams are concerned with the Fall of Man (second), the Annunciation (fourth), the Nativity (fifth), the Sermon on the Mount (seventh), the Last Supper (tenth), the trial and Crucifixion (eleventh), the Resurrection (thirteenth), and the Ascension (fourteenth). The first paadham has the poet telling us that he is writing the poem at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore; since Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752, the poem was composed some time during the period 1721-1732.
- The Chathuranthyam is a mystic poem on the four ends of man: maranam, vidhi, moksham, and narakam ; parts of the poem are sung on occasions similar to the Puththenpaana recitals.
While his poems are written works, they also have a strong oral tradition; many pious Christians retain his poetical works in their minds and are able to recite it by heart.
Read more about this topic: Johann Ernst Hanxleden
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