The month of Karkitakam in the Malayalam calendar is celebrated as the Ramayana recitation month and Ramayana is recited in Hindu houses and temples across Kerala.
Karkidakam is the last month of the Malayalam calendar (followed in Kerala), which falls during the month of July or August. With the coming of Karkidakam the monsoon rainfall enters its final phase in Kerala.
Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu is the most popular Malayalam version of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. It is believed to have been written by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in the early 17th century,[1] and is considered to be a classic of Malayalam literature and an important text in the history of Malayalam language. It is a retelling of the Sanskrit work Adhyatma Ramayana in kilippattu (bird song) format.[2][3] Ezhuthachan used the Grantha-based Malayalam script to write his Ramayana, although the Vatteluttu writing system was the traditional writing system of Kerala then.[4] Recitation of Adhyathmaramayanam Kilippattu is very important in Hindu families in Kerala.
This is the same work which was translated by Thunchathu Ezhuthachan into Malayalam in the form of kilippattu, a South Indian genre in which a parrot recites the text to the poet.
Kilippattu or parrot song is a genre of Malayalam poems in which the narrator is a parrot, a bee, a swan, and so on. Kiḷippaṭṭu was popularized by the 16th-century poet Ezhuthachan (The Father Of The Malayalam language). Traditionally in Kerala, this Karkidagam month of the year is considered most ideal for undergoing Ayurveda based body rejuvenation therapies. The body is considered highly receptive to Ayurveda treatments during this period. There are various types of Ayurveda therapies that people undergo during the Malayalam month of Karkidakam. And these therapies help an individual to go through the rest of the year by having a recharged and energized body and mind.