Story behind 'Krishnagatha'

Cherussery is the originator of Gaatha style of poetry. 'Krishnagatha' which was written in 15th century was the first Gaatha style poetry.

Story behind 'Krishnagatha'
One day the king of 'Kolathunadu'

and Cherussery were playing chess in the palace and the queen was putting her child to sleep in the cradle and she was also noticing the game between them. When the queen realised that the king would be defeated in the game,she sung a song to help him for the next move.

"Unthu nthu-
nthu nthu nthu-
nthu nthu nthu-
nthu nthu nthu,
nthu nthu nthu-
nthu nthu nthu- nthaleyunth"
When the king heard this lullaby he realised its meaning and played as heard and succeeded in the game. Then the king ordered Cherussery to compose a poetry in the rhythm of this lullaby. To obey the king's order, Cherussery wrote 'Krishnagatha'.

Krishna Gatha is a long poem of epical dimensions written at the behest of Udaya Varma. It is the first Maha Kavya in Malayalam. Udaya Varma rewarded him with the title Veerasrinkhala and other honours. Cherusseri is the originator of the Gatha style of poetry in Malayalam. Krishna Gatha is the detailed description of the boyhood pranks of Lord Krishna based on the 10th canto ofŚrīmad Bhāgavatam, an early Puranic text. Cherusseri's importance lies in his clear inclination towards native tongue, by which his poetry became popular among the people of Kerala. With the writing of Krishna Gatha, the validity of the use of spoken Malayalam for literary purposes received its ultimate justification. Unlike the language of Cheeraman's Ramacharitam and the works of the Niranam poets, the language of Krishna Gatha marks the culmination of a stage of evolution. This work has been respected by the people of Kerala similar to Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan's Adhyathmaramayanam(Ezhuthachan is known as the father of modern Malayalam literature). The legend is that Cherusseri was inspired by a lullaby and followed the same metrical pattern for the composition of Krishna Gatha. It is written in a melodious metre known as manjari.