Kilippattu- Significance of Adhyatma Ramayana

“We can say that Ramayana is one of the first instances which question the Brahminical orthodoxy.” I know that this statement will invite much criticism if it gets the attention of the so-called progressive thinkers. I would reaffirm this statement because till the time of Ezhuthachan, the Vedic teachings and knowledge system were controlled by upper caste people only. They indulged in “tharka, vitharka, kutharka” and always concentrated on the Sringara aspect of life. The life and culture of the society were of licentiousness in character. Ezhuthachan’s writing has significance not just because he redirected the society in the “Bhakthi Marga”, but he himself was a question to the orthodox society. Ezhuthachan is believed to have born in a lower caste family, according to most critics though there is controversy over this subject. If this argument is correct, his very assertion of religiosity is an attack on the orthodox mentality. Even now, the upper caste people could not digest this fact and are constantly trying to reinterpret the fact about his life, with each dominant caste groups trying to add him in their caste group. Prominent novelist Rashakrishnan’s literary biography on Ezhuthachan “Theekkadal Kadanju Thiru Madhuram” is one such instance.

There is an interesting explanation for calling “Kilippattu (parrot song)” along with the epic poem.

The concept is similar with the way Vyasa wrote Mahabharatha. The story behind Mahabharatha is that after conceiving the epic, Vyasa asked Lord Brahma to help him compose or write it down the lyrics, but Brahma declined it and suggested Lord Vinayaka in turn. At last, Lord Vinayaka wrote down the lines composed by Vyasa. The reason for this according to critics is that Vyasa was the son of a lower-class woman (Malsya Gandhi). In the same way, the story is told in the Adhyathma Ramayana by a parrot, as Ezhuthachan is also from a lower class family. However, it has larger implications than this. The movement called “Kilippattu” is not started by Ezhuthachan, nor is he the first to introduce the same in Malayalam literature. It is an influence from Tamil literature and it has been identified that “Ramacharitham” composed in the 12th Century by Chiramon used the same style.