Sriman Narayaneeyam is a Sanskrit devotional hymn depicting the story of Lord Sriman Narayana. It consists of 1,036 shlokas or verses divided into 100 Dashakams or chapters. Each Dashakam has ten or more verses.
It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattatiri of Kerala, India, in adoration of the presiding deity Sri Guruvayoorappan (namely Krishna, an avatar of Narayana) enshrined in Guruvayur Temple, Kerala.
It is a condensed version or the quintessence of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuram (Bhagavata-artha-sangraha) that consists of 18,000 verses composed by the great sage Veda Vyasa.
As the story goes, the author, Melpathur Narayana Bhattatiri, voluntarily transferred onto himself his guru’s paralysis in order to save his guru's life. In the process, he himself became paralytic. He then was carried to the shrine at Guruvayoor to shelter at the feet of the Lord, where, with ardent devotion, he composed this work at the rate of a Dashakam a day. On completing the hundredth Dashakam at the end of the hundredth day, he had the most glorious vision of the Lord and was cured of paralysis.
Narayaneeyam, an exquisite poetic work of epic proportions, is suffused with Vedanta. The work is in praise of Lord Krishna and glorifies with utmost devotion his form and attributes (saguna) and formless (nirguna) nature. It is recited by devotees as a general prayer and as a panacea for ills.