U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
Encyclopedia
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
scholar and researcher who was instrumental in bringing many long-forgotten works of classical Tamil literature to light. His singular effort over five decades brought to light major literary works in Tamil and contributed vastly to the enrichment of its literary heritage. Iyer published over 91 books in his lifetime, on a variety of matters connected to classical Tamil literature, and collected 3067 paper manuscripts, palm-leaf manuscripts and notes of various kinds. He is affectionately called Tamil Thatha (Grandfather of Tamil).
Early life
Utthamadhanapuraam Venkatasubramanian Swaminathan was born on February 19, 1855 C.E. in the village of Suriaymoolai in thehouse of his maternal grandfather, near Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
in present-day [tamil nadu]. He belonged to the Ashtasahasram
Ashtasahasram
Ashtasahasram is a sub-sect of the Iyer community of Tamil Brahmins from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are believed to have been one of the earliest Brahmin communities to inhabit the Tamil country...
sub-sect of Iyers.
Academic career
Tyagaraja Chettiar was the head of the Tamil Department at the Government Arts College, KumbakonamGovernment Arts College, Kumbakonam
The Government Arts College, previously known as the Government Arts College for Men, is an arts college based in the town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest and prestigious educational institutions in the Madras Presidency of British India.- History :The Government Arts...
. A student of Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, he was a man of great erudition and was held in high esteem alike by his pupils and by the public. When Chettiar retired, he recommended that Swaminatha Iyer be invited to take his place. Swaminatha Iyer was duly appointed to that post on February 16, 1880. During his tenure at the College, Swaminatha Iyer met Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar, a civil munsif who had been recently transferred to Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
. The friendship between them proved to be a turning point in Swaminatha Iyer's life. Mudaliar was responsible for persuading Iyer to edit and publish the ancient Tamil classics. Swaminatha Iyer had till then confined his enjoyment of Tamil literature to medieval works. Mudaliar also gave him a handwritten copy of Seevaga Sindhamani for publication.
Manuscript recovery
As the Civaka Cintamani was a Jain classic, Swaminatha Iyer went to the homes of learned member of the Jain community 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 Cevaka Cintamani was published in 1887. From that time onwards, he began to search for Sangam classics with a view to editing and publishing them. After the Cevaka Cintamani, the PattupattuPattupattu
PathuPattu – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mid length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. This collection is considered part of the Sangam Literature and dated approximately between 300 BCE and 200 CE...
was published.
Thus began Swaminatha Iyer's long search for the original texts of ancient literary works during which he regularly worked with S. V. Damodaram Pillai. 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, storerooms, boxes and cupboards saw the light of day. Of them, the Cilappatikaram
Cilappatikaram
Silappatikaram Silappatikaram has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of Christian era, although the author might have built upon a pre-existing folklore to spin this tale. The story involves the three Tamil kingdoms of the ancient era, the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera...
, Manimekalai
Manimekalai
Manimekalai or Maṇimekalai , written by the Tamil Buddhist poet Seethalai Saathanar is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature. It is considered to be one of the five great epics of Tamil literature. Manimekalai is a poem in 30 cantos...
and Purananuru
Purananuru
Purananuru is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 200 BCE – 100 CE. Purananuru is part of the Ettuthokai anthology which is the oldest available collection of poems of Sangam literature in Tamil....
were received by Tamil lovers with a lot of enthusiasm. Purananuru
Purananuru
Purananuru is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 200 BCE – 100 CE. Purananuru is part of the Ettuthokai anthology which is the oldest available collection of poems of Sangam literature in Tamil....
, which mirrored the lives of Tamils during the Sangam
Sangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as 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.
Swaminatha Iyer retired from active teaching in 1919. 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
Annamalai University
Annamalai University is a Public University located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The university offers courses of higher education in arts, sciences and engineering.The university also provides around 380 courses under distance mode...
, Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
. On health grounds, he resigned the post, came to Madras and continued his research.
Contributions to Tamil music
Another significant contribution made by Swaminatha Iyer is in the realm of Tamil musicCarnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
. Until Swaminatha Iyer published the Cilappatikaram
Cilappatikaram
Silappatikaram Silappatikaram has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of Christian era, although the author might have built upon a pre-existing folklore to spin this tale. The story involves the three Tamil kingdoms of the ancient era, the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera...
, Pattupattu
Pattupattu
PathuPattu – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mid length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. This collection is considered part of the Sangam Literature and dated approximately between 300 BCE and 200 CE...
and Ettuthokai
Ettuthokai
Ettuthokai– 'The Eight Anthologies' - Classical Tamil poetic work - form part of the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology series of the Sangam Literature...
, music was a grey area in Tamil research. During the previous four centuries, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
dominated the music scene in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
in the absence of any valuable information on Tamil music. Swaminatha Iyer's publications threw light on the presence of Tamil music in the earlier centuries and paved the way for serious research on the subject. As the son of a famous musician of his time, Swaminatha Iyer learnt music from Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharati was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He wrote a katAkALatcEpam , NantanAr Carittiram , two other works in this genre, and many independent kritis....
, a musical exponent and the author of Nandan Sarithiram.
His autobiography
Swaminatha Iyer published his autobiography, En Sarithiram, serialised in the Tamil weekly Ananda VikatanAnanda Vikatan
Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which also publishes Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த...
, from January 1940 to May 1942. It was later published as a book in 1950.
Legacy and honours
It was due to his efforts that the world came to know the literary output of the ancient Tamils and their past. Tamil poet and nationalist Subramania Bharati, who inspired the freedom movement with his songs, admired Swaminatha Iyer. Paying tribute to Swaminatha Iyer in one of his poems, Bharati equated Iyer with Saint Agasthya when he called him "Kumbamuni" (Saint Agasthiar- Who was among the first exponents of Tamil - was supposed to have born in a "Kumbha" - a kind of vessel- hence the name Kumbamuni) and said: "So long as Tamil lives, poets will venerate you and pay obeisance to you. You will ever shine as an immortal."Iyer was conferred the honorary doctoral degree (D.Litt.) by the University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
in 1906. In recognition of his outstanding literary accomplishments and contributions, he was also honoured with the title, Mahamahopathiyaya, literally: "Greatest of great teachers". In the same year, when the Prince
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Princess of Wales
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
visited Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, a function was arranged where Swaminatha Iyer was honoured. Iyer was awarded the title of Dakshina Kalanidhi in 1925. In 1932, the Madras University
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
awarded an honorary PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
to him in recognition of his services in the cause of Tamil. Indian Postal department issued a commemorative postage stamp on 18 February 2006.His house in Uthamadhanapuram has been converted as a Memorial.