Biographical
Sketch Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer
Swaminatha Iyer
born: 19 Feb 1855 at Curiyamulai, Tanjore Dt.
1868: Marriage
1871 Began Tamil Studies with Meenakshisundaram
Pillai
1880 Tamil Pandit, Govt. College, Kumbakonam
1903 Professor of Tamil, Presidency College,
Madras
1924: Principal, Sree Meenakshi College,
Chidambaram
Awarded title "mahAmahOpAthyAya (1906); D. Litt,
Univ. of Madras (1932)
died 28 April 1942
Dr. SAmin^Atha iyer
((Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer
Tamil: உத்தமதனபுரம்
வேங்கடசுப்பையர்
சுவாமிநாத
ஐயர்), was one of
the illustrious students of MahA VidwAn MInAtchi
sun^tharam PiLLai. He lived to the ripe age of 87
and was affectionately referred to as the 'Grand
Father of Thamizh' .
He held senior academic positions in Thamizh at
the Madras Presidency College. This was the time
when the British were at the peak of their power
and it was rare, if not impossible, for a native
son with expertise in the vernacular language to be
elevated to these high positions. He was conferred
the honorary doctoral degree (D.Litt.) by the
University of Madras. In recognition of his
outstanding literary accomplishments and
contributions, he was also honoured with the title,
"MahAmahOpAthiyAya' -
greatest of the great teachers.
He has written 91 published works including the
editing of several Sangam texts, epics and
grammatical works. He will be remembered for his
style of prose including two biographies, one on
his mentor, MInAtchi sun^tharam PiLLai and the
other on the musician, GAnam KrishNa iyer and a
long list of essays and reminiscences. His famous
Autobiography is regarded as a legacy he bequeathed
to posterity providing a liaison between older
schools of thought and modern Thamizh literary
trends. His other works include the following:
நான்
கண்டதும்
கேட்டதும்,
பழையதும்
புதியதும்,
நல்லுரைக்கோவை,
நினைவு
மஞ்சரி
Dr. U.
V. Swaminatha Iyer, Tamil scholar and literatus ,
whose 141st birth anniversary fell on February 19,
showed a keen interest in Tamil literature, even
when he was young.
His father, Venkatasubbiar, a musician,
observing the child's aptitude, made all efforts to
educate the boy, putting him in the care and
tutelage of Tamil scholars. Venkatasubbiar earned
his living by giving discourses on the Ramayana,
and by the nature of his profession, travelled a
lot. Although he wanted his son to follow in his
footsteps, he realised that the boy should not be
forced into anything.
In Ariyalur on the support of the Zamindar, his
son was taught by Satagopa Aiyangar, a scholar in
Tamil who was equally proficient in music. As the
Zamindar was running into debt, his support to
Venkatasubbiar's family dwindled. At that time, his
friend Kunnam Chidambaram Pillai, revenue
accountant and Tamil scholar, came to his rescue.
Chidambaram Pillai persuaded them to move to
Kunnam, where Venkatasubbiar gave discourses at
Chidambaram Pillai's house Chidambaram Pillai's
friendship was valuable in more ways than one.
A Tamil scholar, he specialised in
``Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam'' and such other works;
Iyer started learning from him. He also trained
under Pillai as an assistant to a revenue
accountant so that he could get a job. Iyer also
came under the influence of Kasturi Aiyangar, who
specialised in the Kamba Ramayanam.
Iyer learnt Tamil grammar, known as Nannool from
him. It was after his marriage that Iyer was
introduced to Chinnappannai Vridhachalam Reddiar, a
rich and eminent scholar. From him Iyer learnt the
prosody, the rules and laws relating to the art of
poetry. On the advice of Senganam Chinnappannai
Vridhachalam Reddiar and others, Iyer's father took
him to Meenakshisundaram Pillai of Mayavaram to
gain more knowledge of Tamil literature.
In Mayawaram, Iyer was assigned to a senior
student of the Mahavidwan Saverinatha Pillai. Iyer
was taught Naidadam by him. Though Saverinatha
Pillai was a good scholar and taught well, Iyer
hankered for direct lessons from the Master. Pillai
taught him Tirukkudanthai Tirupandadi, the poem he
composed in honour of Sri Kumbeswara. Iyer studied
several works under the Mahavidwan. These include a
number of antadi and Pillai-t-tamil poems.
After some months, Iyer accompanied Pillai to
Tiruvavadurai. Melakaram Subramania Desikar was
then Head of the famous math in that place. Widely
respected for his scholarship. Desikar asked Pillai
to stay on at the math for some time as many of his
tampirans wished to have advance lessons in
Tamil.
When Pillai introduced Iyer to him, Desikar made
the usual enquiries and asked the boy to recite a
verse. He was delighted when Iyer recited the verse
musically and gave a word-for-word explanation as
well. He was gratified to know from Pillai that the
new student was deeply attached to Tamil literature
at a time when love for English learning was
sweeping the education scene.
Tyagaraja Chettiar was the head of the Tamil
Department in the Government College, Kumbakonam.
He was a man of great erudition and was held in
high esteem by the pupils as well as the public. He
was a student of Meenakshisundaram Pillai. When
Chettiar retired, he recommended Iyer in his place.
Iyer was appointed to that post on February 16,
1880. During that time one Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar
joined as District Munsiff at Kumbakonam on
transfer from Ariyalur. On the advice of Desikar,
Iyer met Mudaliar.
The friendship between them proved to be a
turning point in Iyer's life. Mudaliar was
responsible for persuading Iyer to edit and publish
the ancient Tamil classics. Iyer had till then
confined his enjoyment of Tamil literature to
medieval works. Mudaliar also gave a handwritten
copy of Jeevaka Chintamani for publication.
As Chintamani was a Jain classic, Iyer went to
the homes of Jains in Kumbakonam to get some doubts
cleared. He also read the Jain epics and collated
several manuscript versions and arrived at a
correct conclusion. It was due to his efforts that
the Jeevaka Chintamani was published in 1887. From
that time onwards he began to search for Sangam
classics with a view to editing and publishing
them. After Chintamani, Pattu-P-Pattu was
published.
Often it was difficult to make out what was
inscribed on the palm leaf. He was able to bring
out the publications with his thorough knowledge of
the literature. During his life time, Iyer edited
and published a hundred books Sangam works, Kavyas,
Prabhandhas, Sthalapuranas, etc., with
introductions, critical notes, glossaries and
indices valued for their thoroughness and depth of
research. When Srinivasachariar, Tamil Pandit at
the Madras Presidency College retired, Iyer was
transferred to Madras from Kumbakonam in 1903. He
retired in 1919 at the age of 64.
His research work increased several times after
retirement. He travelled from place to place in
search of palm leaf manuscripts so as to edit and
publish them. From 1924 to 1927, Iyer was the
Principal of the Meenakshi Tamil College in
Annamalai University, Chidambaram. On health
grounds, he resigned the post, came to Madras and
continued his research.
The title Mahamahopadhya was conferred on him by
the Madras Government in recognition of his
services, in the year 1906. The same year when the
Prince and Princess of Wales visited Madras, a
function was arranged where several scholars were
given titles and awards.
Iyer was honoured with a golden bracelet. In
1925, the title ``Dakshina Kalanidhi'' was awarded
to him by Kamakoti Pitathipathi Sri Sankara
Swamigal. In 1932, the Madras University awarded
the title ``Doctor'' to him in recognition of his
services in the cause of Tamil. Dr. Iyer died on
April 28, 1942. It was due to his efforts, that the
world came to know the wonderful literary output of
the ancient Tamils and their glorious past.
Thamizh Thaathaa U.Ve. SAA. (Tamil):
Bharati Kaavalar Dr. K. Ramamurthy, Gangai
Puthaka Nilayam, 13, Deenadayalu Street, T.Nagar,
Chennai-600017. - Book Review by T. A.
Srinivasan, 12 March 2002
U. Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, affectionately called as
"Tamizh Thaathaa" for his untiring efforts to trace
ancient Tamil literary works, spent all his years
in the service of Tamil language and literature. It
was given to him to visit every nook and corner of
the Tamil country by all modes of transport and
also by foot in the earlier part of the last
century and rescue and resurrect Tamil classics
right from those belonging to the Sangam age to
later day works like Ula, Kalambakam and
Pillaithamizh.
Ancient Tamil works, in palm leaf manuscripts,
were kept in far corners of many village houses in
those days and due to long years of neglect they
were mutilated. He went after these works and gave
them anew to the world through his scholarly,
precise and exact editions.
The book under review, in about 100 pages, gives
the life history of the great scholar, right from
his childhood to his education under the late
Tirisirapuram (Tiruchi) Mahavidwan
Meenakshisundaram Pillai, his contemporaries, his
publication of numerous works, the titles earned by
him, his meeting with Gandhiji, and Subramania
Bharati's tributes to him. But for him the Tamil
country would have lost many works. Though there
were five great epics known as
"Aimperumkappiyangal", only three of them
� Jeevaka Chinthamani, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai � could
be retrieved by him. Even he, despite his best
efforts, could not obtain the other two works,
Valaiyapati and Kundalakesi.
Besides his publication of rare works,
Swaminatha Iyer gave to the Tamil world two new
forms of literature � a biography
and an autobiography. The former, titled Meenakshi
Sundaram Pillai Charitharam, presented the
life-history of his mentor.
He also wrote En Charitharam which was
serialised in the Kalaimagal and it presented an
account of his life and also the men and matters
during his time.
The book is in easy-to-read Tamil. It makes only
a passing reference to the honour conferred on him
by the Madurai Tamil Sangam, whose founder,
Pandithurai Thevar, helped Iyer monetarily
to publish many ancient classics and also gave him
numerous palm leaf manuscripts and also published
the works edited by him through the Sangam's
literary journal, Senthamizh. These facts need to
be included at least in the future edition.
"This biographical article was written as a
tribute to one of the greatest Tamilians of all
time - The Grand Master of Tamil - Thamilzh
Thaathaa U.VE.Saaminatha Aiyer.
It was first published in the Mayil magazine of
Malaysia. The occasion was the birthday of the
Grand Master on the 19th of February, 1992. It was
serialised and came out in weekly segments over a
period of 10 weeks.
The series came to a finish on the 24th April,
1992 - which by a coincidence happened to be the
50th memorial anniversary of the Grand Master.
The article has been written in a very simple
and lucid language for the consumption of the
average Tamil-educated Malaysian Tamilian. I have
taken the pains to explain many terms,
personalities, traditions, etc, which the average
Malaysian Tamilian would be unaware of. The section
on the prevailing circumstances during the times of
UVS was descriptively written by me. So was the
section covering the Sanggam Literature -
especially PuRa nAnURU.
I considered this endeavour as a thoNdu - humble
service to Tamil and the Grand Master of Tamil. The
more than 10 weeks that I took to write and send
the segments were done in all reverance - as a
penance - tapas.
The crowning glory paid to that endeavour were
the letters of praise given by the grandson of UVS
- Mr.Subramania Aiyer, the presiding SannidhAnam of
ThirupananthAL, and the KalaimagaL literary
magazine.
I followed up by celebrating the 100th year
anniversary of the publishing of the 'PuRanAnURu'
book by U.VE.Saminatha Aiyer, in 1994. It was a
grand occasion in a town called Sitiawan and it was
marked by my marathon speech which lasted 6 hours
on Tamil Literature. One of the high lights of the
occsion was drama on SEran Sengguttuvan.
This is a very comprehensive biography of the
Thamilzh Thaathaa.
The patriarch of Tamil - A tribute,
on his 150th birth anniversary. S. Viswanathan,
Frontline 26 February 2005
TAMILS across the globe recently celebrated the
government's decision to confer the `classical
language' status on their mother tongue. This
recognition, which puts the ancient language on a
par with Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, is not only
owing to its antiquity but also its rich
literature. What has happened now, say Tamil
scholars is only the "official reiteration" of the
international academic community's recognition of
Tamil literature as `classical', particularly the
works such as Paththuppaattu (ten idylls) and
Ettuththogai (Eight anthologies) of the Sangam era
(from the first and second centuries of the
Christian era), besides the better known
Thirukkural and Tholkappiam.
Interestingly, the original texts of a
significant number of the much-acclaimed literary
works of the Sangam period came to public notice
only towards the end of the 19th century, when they
appeared in print with commentaries. Until then,
works such as the Aymperum Kaappiangal (the five
great epics) - Silappathikaram, Manimekalai,
Kundalakesi, Jeevaka Chintamani and Valaiyapathi,
were in the form of palm leaf manuscripts in the
possession of scores of families living in various
parts of Tamil Nadu.
They did not have the skill to read them, and,
therefore, did not realise their literary worth.
Tamil scholars were aware of the existence of such
texts as references in the available works.
All that the people knew until then as Tamil
literature comprised Bhakti literature, historical
works and minor poems. Although very few literary
works were available for studies, they did draw the
attention of European scholars such as Bishop
Robert Caldwell (1814-1891) and Constantine Joseph
Beschi (known in Tamil as Veeramamunivar). However,
during the same period, Sanskrit literary works
attracted more Western attention because of their
availability and easy access.
IT was under these circumstances that the need
to hunt for the missing palm leaf manuscripts and
bring to light the hidden treasure of Tamil
literature was felt. Foremost among those who
undertook this formidable task was Mahamahopadhyaya
Dakshinathya Kalanidhi Uthamadhanapuram
Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer (1855-1942),
popularly known as "Tamizh thaththaa" (the grand
old man of Tamil). A Tamil professor and literary
scholar, Swaminatha Iyer's 150th birth anniversary
was celebrated on February 19.
He took upon himself the arduous task of
collecting the palm leaf manuscripts of great
literary works that lay scattered not only in Tamil
Nadu but even outside. As part of this mission he
undertook long journeys, interesting and fruitful
sometimes and unrewarding at others. Ultimately, he
succeeded in gathering palm leaf manuscripts of
many immortal Tamil works.
With the objectivity and detachment of a
scientist and the imagination of an artist and
critic, he made comparative studies of various
manuscripts. Starting with Jeevaka Chintamani in
1887, he printed and published Manimekalai (1898),
Silappathikaram (1889), Paththuppaattu (1889) and
Purananooru (1894), all appended with scholarly
commentaries. Although he brought out about 100
works in all, including minor poems, many of the
manuscripts that he gathered remain
unpublished.
BORN in 1855 into a poor family at
Uthamadhanapuram, near Kumbakonam in the old
Thanjavur district, Swaminatha Iyer had his early
education in Tamil under some teachers in his
village. Although his father Venkatasubbaiyer, a
musician, wanted his son to learn music, Swaminatha
Iyer was inclined to concentrate on Tamil.
When he was 17, he became a disciple of
Mahavidwan Meenakshisundaram Pillai, a Tamil
scholar, who was in the service of the
Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam in the old Thanjavur
district. It was one of the wealthy Saiva mutts in
Tamil Nadu, which patronised Tamil teachers and men
of letters and propagated its religious philosophy
through them. Swaminatha Iyer learnt Tamil under
the guidance of Meenakshisundaram Pillai for five
years. During this period, he earned the goodwill
of the mutt head, himself a Tamil scholar.
After Meenakshisundaram Pillai's death,
Swaminatha Iyer was retained in the mutt as a
vidvan (scholar). In 1880, he joined the Government
Arts College at Kumbakonam as a Tamil teacher, at
the instance of the outgoing teacher Thiagaraja
Chettiar, also a former student of
Meenakshisundaram Pillai. In his autobiography, En
Sarithiram, first serialised in the Tamil weekly
Ananda Vikatan, from January 1940 to May 1942 and
later published as a book in 1950, he gives a
graphic account of the rigid selection process he
had to undergo before being appointed a Tamil
teacher.
"Thanks to his erudition in Tamil, skill to
explain anything in an interesting manner, training
in music and profound love for others, he could
easily attract the students," said K.V.
Jagannathan, one of his students, in his short
biographical note published in En Sarithiram. He
was loved and venerated by the students. This was
no mean achievement, considering the fact that
Swaminatha Iyer had little grounding in English at
a time when the craze for English was at its peak,
and Tamil teachers did not enjoy the same status as
teachers of English and other subjects. After 23
years of service at the Kumbakonam college, he
joined the Presidency College, Chennai, in 1903.
Even after his retirement in 1919, he continued to
teach Tamil. From 1924 to 1927, he was the
principal of the Meenakshi Tamil College. He spent
the rest of his life as a publisher, which
immortalised his name. He died on April 28, 1942,
after a brief period of illness, at
Thirukkazhukundram, now in Kancheepuram
district.
SWAMINATHA IYER's search for Tamil manuscripts
began even as he joined the Kumbakonam college as a
teacher. Many influential persons who took keen
interest in Tamil studies were in touch with him.
His meeting with Ramasami Mudaliar, District
Munsiff of Salem, proved a turning point in his
life. Swaminatha Iyer readily responded to the
Munsiff's request to read the palm leaf in his
possession and explain it to him.
When he knew that the manuscripts were that of
Jeevaka Chintamani, which he had been looking for,
he was overjoyed. He transcripted the palm leaf
manuscripts, a Buddhist work, into paper and edited
it with utmost care. He printed and published the
epic with notes and commentaries in 1887. It was an
instant success. He mobilised funds from all
available sources to continue the task of
publishing the other invaluable literary works.
Donations from Tamil lovers poured in. He also
launched a `pre-publication sale' campaign with
success.
Then began Swaminatha Iyer's long search for the
original texts of ancient literary works. It was a
search that lasted until his death. Many people
voluntarily parted with the manuscripts in their
possession. Swaminatha Iyer visited almost every
hamlet and knocked at every door. He employed all
the resources at his command to get at the
works.
As a result, a large number of literary works
which were gathering dust as palm leaf manuscripts
in lofts, store-rooms, boxes and cupboards saw the
light of day. Of them, Silappathikaram, Purananooru
and Manimekalai were received by Tamil lovers with
a lot of enthusiasm. Purananooru, which mirrored
the lives of Tamils during the Sangam period,
prompted scholarly research on the subject. In a
span of about five decades, Swaminatha Iyer
published about 100 books, including minor poems,
lyrics, puranas and bhakti (devotional) works.
Referring to the high quality of Swaminatha
Iyer's publications, Jagannathan wrote in his
biographical note: "What he published was not a
mere transcription of the manuscripts in palm
leaves. If publication is so simple as that, many
others could have done it with success long ago.
What Swaminatha Iyer did was to edit and publish
these works with detailed footnotes, commentaries
and indices, besides biographical notes on the
authors. This was very useful and many readers
desired to preserve these books for posterity. All
this is evidence of not only the scholarship of the
editor but also the hard work he had put in."
ANOTHER significant contribution made by
Swaminatha Iyer is in the realm of Tamil music,
wrote Dr. Arimalam S. Padmanabhan, a researcher and
academic, in a paper on the Tamil scholar. Until
Swaminatha Iyer came out with his publications of
Silappaathikaram, Paththuppaattu and Ettuththogai,
music was a grey area in Tamil research.
During the previous four centuries, Telugu and
Sanskrit dominated the music scene in Tamil Nadu in
the absence of any valuable information on Tamil
music. Swaminatha Iyer's publications threw light
on the glorious presence of Tamil music in the
earlier centuries and paved the way for serious
research on the subject.
Abraham Pandithar's Karunamirda Sagaram was the
first major research work and it was followed by
Vibulaanda Adigal's Yaazh Nool. Both these authors
acknowledged the fact that it was Swaminatha Iyer's
publications that inspired them to do further
research.
"Silappathikaram is the best among the ancient
Tamil literary works that provide vast information
on Tamil music," observes Prof. V.P.K. Sundaram,
another noted Tamil music researcher. "Without
Swaminatha Iyer's publication there could have been
no Karunamirda Sagaram," he observes. As the son of
a famous musician of his time, Swaminatha Iyer
learnt music from Gopalakrishna Bharathi, an
outstanding musical exponent and the author of
Nandan Sarithiram, an immortal work on a Dalit
saint.
FOR his invaluable service to Tamil literature,
Swaminatha Iyer was honoured with several awards
and titles. The government honoured him in 1906
with the title "Mahamahopadhyaya" (Great Teacher).
While the Bharatha Dharma Mandal awarded him the
title of "Dravida Vidya Bhooshan", Sri
Sankaracharya of Kamakoti Peetam honoured him with
the title "Dakshinadya Kalanidhi". A doctorate was
awarded to him by the University of Madras in
1932.
Tamil poet and nationalist Subramania Bharati, who inspired the
freedom movement with his powerful songs, was a
distinguished contemporary of Swaminatha Iyer.
Paying glowing tributes to Swaminatha Iyer in one
of his poems, Bharati called him "Kumbamuni" (the
saint from Kumbakonam) and said: "So long as Tamil
lives, poets will venerate you and pay obeisance to
you. You will ever shine as an immortal."
Edited version of many Tamil works of Sangam
period
civakacinthAmaNi (1887); pattuppAttu (1889);
purananUru (1894); maNimEkalai (1899); aingurunUru
(1903); pathiRRuppathu (1904); paripAdal (1918);
perunkathai (1924); kurungthokai (1937)
Dr. SAmin^Atha iyer
((Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer
Dr. U.
V. Swaminatha Iyer, Tamil scholar and literatus ,
whose 141st birth anniversary fell on February 19,
showed a keen interest in Tamil literature, even
when he was young.