Pandithurai Thevar: A Poet, A Patron and A Protector

Today, March 21, marks the birthday of a noted poet and patron of Tamil literature, Pandithurai Thevar. He was born in 1867 and hailed from a Zamindari family.

Patron

That was the period our native languages were suffering due to 150 years of foreign rule and the eroded powers of our kings and landlords on account of successive manmade famine. In Tamil Nadu (then Madras Presidency), you can find a standing example in the Ramanathapuram district where the traditional Tamil scholars perished without support.  The palm leaf manuscripts maintained by them were also disappearing. Christian Missionaries had printing machines as part of their proselytising agenda. To face their onslaught, we also had to move our literature and dharmic texts to print, which in turn required funding. This is where we recall the services of Thevar with gratitude. Below are the following samples of sponsorship support of Thevar:

1. He honoured U.V. Swaminatha Iyer by inviting him to Ramanathapuram and providing material support for printing Manimekalai (one of the five great epics of Tamil language), Purapporul venbaamaalai etc.
2. Thevar helped him to publish Chunnakam Kumaraswamy Pulavar’s books like Dandiyalankaram.
3. He assisted in the editing efforts of Arumuga Navalar.
4. Assisted in the study of Swami Vipulananda’s poetical–musical works.
5. Thevar compiled and published books including Collection of Tamil poetry and Saiva Manjari.
6. The ‘Somasundara Vilasa Mansion’ built by him near his father’s house, became an art and literary centre, hosting Tamil poets and scholars.

Fourth Tamil Sangam

Above all, he played a major role in establishing a modern version of the Tamil Sangam which is known as the fourth Tamil Sangam. The first three Tamil Sangams, known as Sangam Era, are celebrated for the original works of Tamil literature such as Puranaanooru and Aganaanooru which provide us with a glimpse of the values adhered to by and ethos of Tamil-speaking Indians. One such quoted line is ‘Yaadum Oore Yaavarum Kelir’, which is equivalent to the ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ principle. The works of Tamil scholars including U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Raghavayangar, Arasan Sanmuganar, Ramasamy Pulavar, Sabapati Navalar, Subramaniak Kavirayar were published in the Senthamil magazine published by the Tamil Sangam.

Protector

Thevar had an uncompromising attitude towards cherishing Tamil language and he would go to any extent to ward off the evil attempts of enemies of our native culture, art and language.

Once, a Scottish priest came to Thevar and told him that in many places in Thirukkural, there were no Edugai or Monai (equivalent of Chandas in Sanskrit literature) and he had corrected all of them and printed the correct Thirukkural. Realizing the priest’s ignorance about the spirit of Thirukkural, Thevar bought all the printed books and manuscripts from him and burnt them so that the trash of the Scottish priest does not see the light of day.

Around 1901, attempts were made to remove the Tamil subject from the syllabus of Chennai University. To stop this, Surya Narayana Shastri and Pooranalingam Pillai met Thevar in person and asked for help. Thevar immediately convened the Madurai Tamil Sangam and passed a resolution to show his opposition. Madras University understood the popular mood and announced that it would abandon the decision to remove Tamil.

Poet

Thevar was himself a poet and the following is a list of his contributions to Tamil literature-

• Sivagnanapuram Murugan Kavadich Sindhu
• Rettai Manimalai
• Raja Rajeshwari Padhikam

There is one more reason why we should salute Thevar. As a patriot, he donated Rs 1.5 lakh to Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC), one of the first indigenous Indian shipping companies set up during the Indian independence movement. It was started by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (V.O.C). Thus, in just 44 years, Pandithurai Thevar made huge contributions to the Tamil language. Thevar died on December 2, 1911.

The author is a retired bank officer, soft skills developer and divine activist. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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