KOTTAYAM: Listening to Malliyoor Sankaran Nampoothiry reciting the Avatara sloka from Bhagavatham gives the feeling of Unnikrishnan (Lord Krishna when he was a boy) sitting on our lap, Sooryakaladi Sooryan Bhattathirippad, who had shared a brotherly relationship with Malliyoor, had said once. This explains why people love to return to Malliyoor every time. They are energised by the recitals of the lovable scholar.Mar Thoma Senior Metropolitan Philipose Mar Chrysostum, who regularly visited Malliyoor, always makes it a point to refer to the simplicity of the man whenever he is referred to. But the man who is considered as a prominent spiritual guru had come up the hard way.Born as the first child to Parameswaran Nampoothiri and Arya Antharjanam in 1920, Malliyoor had his Upanayanam at the age of nine and completed Samavarthanam at 14. Later, he spent a few years at the Narasimha temple studying and performing temple rituals.He also started learning Sanskrit under Panmana Vasudevan Nampoothiri during this period. The long-hours he spent at the temple combined with the studies affected his health. He was taken to many places for treatment and this affected young Sankaran's psyche.It was at this critical juncture that he turned towards Lord Guruvayurappan following his mother's suggestion. It was at Guruvayur that Sankaran met the scholar Padappa Namboodiri who taught him Bhagavatha. It is an unwritten rule that one should read the Bhagavatha everyday after learning it but the youngster had no money to buy one. However, an old lady helped him to buy a copy.In the next two years, he studied Tharkam, Kavyam, Kaumudi and Vyakaranam. It was at this point that Malliyoor went to the Sun temple in Adityapuram to sing bhajans. His indepth knowledge in Srimad Bhagavatham and its interpretations got several followers there.Later on he stayed at Ilanjhithanam Illam for Bhagavatha recital and also at Kandamaruku Illam. From there he went to Kumaranellur temple.It was during this period that he received an invitation from Chirattaman Illam in Olassa for rendering his lectures and he stayed there for nearly two years as he got an offer to learn Ashtangahridayam.As he stayed there he was very disturbed with the thoughts of illness and one fine day he had a dream which directed him to practise Surya Namaskaram to get relieved of all his illnesses. In 1948, he accepted a Naalukettu donated by Kaithamattom Sankaran Namboodiri and constructed an Illam there. Later, it came to be known as Malliyoor Illam.
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