| Puthen Pana | |
|---|---|
| byArnos Pathiri | |
| Original title | പുതന് പാന |
| Written | Between 1721 and 1732 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Subject | Life of Jesus Christ |
| Genre(s) | Religious poetry,Christian poetry |
| Meter | Nathonatha, Sarpini |
| Lines | 14padams |
Puthen Pana is aMalayalam poem written by the GermanJesuit missionary priestJohann Ernst Hanxleden, famously known asArnos Pathiri, inKerala. The poem, composed between 1721 and 1732, narrates the life ofJesus Christ in a poetic format and is one of the earliest and most well-known Christian-themed works in Malayalam literature.[1]
The poem is recited byKerala Christians during important religious occasions likeHoly Week,Maundy Thursday,Good Friday, andHoly Saturday.
Puthen Pana consists of 14padams (sections), each narrating key events in the life of Jesus Christ:
The 12thpadam is composed in the metre Nathonatha, while the others use the Sarpini metre.[2]
Puthen Pana is one of the first Malayalam poems written onChristianity and remains widely recited by Christian communities in Kerala duringLent andHoly Week. It is considered a masterpiece of early Malayalam Christian literature and is studied for its literary and religious significance. Efforts have been made to preserve the text online.[3]
