Melputhur Narayana Bhattathiri (Mēlputtūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student ofAchyuta Pisharati, was a member ofMadhava of Sangamagrama'sKerala school of astronomy and mathematics.
He was a mathematicallinguist (vyakarana). His most important scholarly work,Prakriya-sarvasvam, sets forth an axiomatic system elaborating on the classical system ofPanini. However, he is most famous for his masterpiece,Narayaneeyam, a devotional composition in praise ofGuruvayurappan (Krishna) that is still sung atGuruvayur Temple.
Bhattathri was from a village named Melputhur atKurumbathur inAthavanad Panchayat near theTirur River in 1560 in aBrahmin family, the son of Mathrudattan Bhattathiri, a pandit himself. Bhattathiri studied from his father as a child. He learned theRig Veda from Madhava, Tarka śāstra (science of debate in Sanskrit) fromDamodara andVyākaraṇa (Sanskrit grammar) from Achyuta Pisharati. He became a pandit by the age of 16. He married his guru Achuta Pisharati's niece and settled atThrikkandiyur inTirur.One of the manuscripts of Narayaneeyam says that it was copied by the author's younger brother Matrdatta. The Melpathur family is extinct and it is said that it was merged into the Maravancheri Thekkedathu family.[1]
He wrote on diverse subjects including scientific ones. His works are:[1]
Under the patronage of Cochin Vira Keralavarman (1601-1615 A.D) Melputtur wrote the Gosrinagaravarnana and Virakeralaprasasti.[1]: 164
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