NIRANAM GRANDHA VARI AND KANIANTHRA KUDUMBAM

NIRANAM GRANDHA VARI AND KANIANTHRA KUDUMBAM

NIRANAM GRANDHA VARI is the First History book of the Mlankara Orthodox Church written in Malayalam. It is a diary or chronicle of the events in the life of Malankara Metropolitan Marthoma VI (1745-1808) and short sketches about early Christian history from Adam & Eve to the Antiochan attempts to supremacy in Malankara church and short references up to 1847.  It is presumed to be written by a Deacon/ secretary of the Metropolitan. Some researchers think that it may have been Rev.Dn. Kanianthra Thommy Chandy ordained by him. He was the main nurse in the last days of the Metropolitan and was ordained a priest in 1808 by Marthoma VII. Rev Fr. Thommy Chandy stayed on in the Niranam church for some years as the vicar and managed the entire Church during the succession periods of Marthoma Metrans VII, VIII and IXth.  His successor in the family was Rev. Nina Chandy Corepiscopa who also was a celibate and stayed in the churh till 1910 when he was called to Mepral as vicar of St. John’s parish church. All his belongings might have included this palm leaf history. Anyway we found it in the 1930s in our Grandhapura (library) of our old house. Late Kanianthra Mr. K J. Ninan took it to Theological Seminary, Chitramezhuth Varghese, Edamaraku, K M Mammen Mapila of Manorama and others. Summaries of it were made by some of them

The  Thaliola Grandham came to my hand from K. J. Ninan’s son. I got it transcripted in readable Malayalam on paper   by experts from the Kerala Uty Manuscript library. I entrusted it to Malankara Sabha editor Fr. T. G Scaria for publication by the Malankara Church. Sri Paul Manalil got it from Scaria Achen and published two books one in Malayalam & another in English. But the real annotated research book on Niranam Grandhavari is the one produced with my permission by Dr. M. Kurien Thomas

The Niranam Grandhavari contains references about Kanianthra  Chandy Nina Tharakan (died .1774), Nina Chandy Tharakan ( 1735-1800), his son Kunju Thommi Tharakan (1765-1822) who played important role in the Coonan Kurisu Sathyam, preserving independence of the Church against Antiocahan incursions etc.

This is the realation between Kanianthras and Niranam Grandha Vari. We still continue on the footsteps of our predecessors in being with The Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan. END