Who is Poonthanam?

Question

IT IS IN A KERALA TEMPLE

Answer 1

What's his nickname?

Answer 2

Poet Poonthanam (1547-1640), a Namboothiri Brahmin was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. A contemporary of Meppathur Narayana Bhattatiri, the celebrated author of `Narayaneeyam,' Poonthanam was a great devotee and a recipient of the grace of Lord Guruvayoorappan.

Answer 3

Poonthanam Namboodiri is a legendary figure of Kerala
famous for his devotion to the Lord of Guruvayoor and also
for his literary works such as Bhasha Karnamritam,
Kumaraharanam or Santanagopalam Pana and
Jnanappana.

Poet Poonthanam was born in1547 and died in 1640). He was born near Perinthalmanna in the present Malappuram district of Kerala. A contemporary of Meppathur Narayana Bhattatiri, the celebrated author of `Narayaneeyam,' Poonthanam was a great devotee and a recipient of the grace of Lord Guruvayoorappan.

For more information about Poonthanam, please check the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poonthanam

Answer 4

Taken from official website of Guruvayoor Devaswom:
Poonthanam was the family name, his personal name is not known. He married a heiress at 20, but for a long time , they had no children. Poonthanam began to propitiate the Lord of Guruvayur. A son was born to him in 1586. He called for a celebration and everybody known was invited , but the child died an hour before the ceremony. Grief-stricken Poonthanam sought refuge at Guruvayur and started praying with the puranic story of Kumaraharanam . By this time Melpathur had also come to Guruvayur to cure his rheumatism.

Gradually Poonthanam become enlightened and realised - while little Krishna is dancing in our hearts, why do we need little ones of our own?. Poonthanam spent the rest of his life of 90 odd years reading the Bhagavatham and singing the Lord's glories in simple Malayalam. He composed 'Bahsakarnamritham', a devotional work. The Anandakarnamritham (dance of ecstasy) was his last contribution to devotional literature