Mazhamaá¹ galaá¹ NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri (NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa of Mahiá¹£amaá¹ galá¹Â) (c. 1540âÂÂ1610) was an Indian scholar, Poet, Astrologer, Composer and Mathematician belonging to the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri hailed from Peruvanam village in present-day Thrissur district in Kerala. His father was Mazhamaá¹ galaá¹ à Âaá¹ karan Naá¹Âpà «tiri himself a respected scholar and writer who had authored a large number of books on astronomy and astrology in the vernacular Malayalam language in an effort to popularize astronomy among the lay public.
There is a legend to the effect that in the early days of his life NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri was a spendthrift and lived a wayward life. One day, at the place of the performance of a yÃÂga, he was hugely insulted for his ignorance of veda-s and other scriptures, and being deeply humiliated he left to Chola country, spent several years there and returned as a great scholar in veda-s, à Ârauta-à ÂÃÂstra and smÃÂrtta-sÃÂstra to the amazement of those who had insulted him earlier. Thereafter, he used to be given a respectful and prominent place at the performance in all such rituals, and even after his death, his spiritual presence used to be invoked on the occasion of the performance of the rituals. His highly respected work SmÃÂrta-prÃÂyaà Âcitta-vimarà Âinë stands testimony to his deep knowledge of veda-s and other scriptures.
His deep knowledge in astronomy and mathematics is reflected in his works. When à Âaá¹ kara VÃÂriyar, who was composing an erudite and elaborate commentary on LëlÃÂvatë, had to abandon his work due to some inconveniences while he was half-way through the work the task of completing the commentary was entrusted to Mazhamaá¹ galaá¹ NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri. The commentary known as KriyÃÂkramakarë is of the joint authorship of à Âaá¹ kara VÃÂriyar and Mazhamaá¹ galaá¹ NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri. This commentary has become a very valuable source of information regarding the mathematical achievements of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics.
Initially NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri was staying at his ancestral home at Peruvanam. Later he moved to Thrissur and took up the position of the chief priest of the local Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple. While at Thrissur, he married a BrÃÂhmaá¹Âi, a woman of the Nambeesan caste. There was a custom of these BrÃÂhmaá¹Âi-s performing ritualistic singing of devotional songs on the occasions marriage ceremonies. The songs sung during these rituals are called BrÃÂhmaá¹Âi songs. NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri composed as many as five such songs for the benefit of his wife.
NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri's reputation rests mainly on his literary works and on his magnum opus titled SmÃÂrta-prÃÂyaà Âcitta-vimarà Âinë, a work dealing with expiatory rituals. This treatise deals with the expiatory rituals to be carried out in connection with the performance of mega-rituals like Somayajna and is very popular in Kerala.
In one of the verses in SmÃÂrta-prÃÂyà Âcitta-vimarà Âinë, the author has described himself as a gaá¹Âitavid (meaning, "scholar in mathematics"). There are not many works authored by him which can be cited in support of this appellation. An important work that can be cited in this context is a part commentary on BhÃÂskara II's LëlÃÂvatë. The first half of this commentary called KriyÃÂkramakarë (up to verse 199 in LëlÃÂvatë) has been composed by à Âaá¹ kara VÃÂriyar, a prominent member of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, and the commentary on the remaining verses was composed by NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri. Two other works on astronomy have been identified as authored by NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri: One of them is a brief commentary called Karmadëpikàor Karmapradëpikàon the textual verses in LëlÃÂvatë and the other is a treatise in five chapters, titled UparÃÂgakriyÃÂkrama, on some new methods for the computation of lunar and solar eclipses.
PañcÃÂri mÃÂḷaá¹ is a percussion ensemble, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. It is one of the major forms of ceá¹Âá¹Âa mÃÂḷaá¹ (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular drum ensemble in the ká¹£tra-vÃÂdyaá¹ (temple percussion) genre. PañcÃÂri mÃÂḷaá¹Â, comprises the instruments ceá¹Âá¸Âa, ilattÃÂḷaá¹Â, koá¹Âbu and kuzhal. It was Mazhamaá¹ galaá¹ NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âan Naá¹Âpà «tiri, with the support of Pandarathil Raman Marar, who conceptualized, designed and helped to perform first the percussion ensemble known as pañcÃÂri mÃÂḷaá¹Â. According to traditions, the first performance took place in the precincts of Peruvanam Mahadeva Temple.