A POOR MAN'S LOVE FOR TAMIL
PART I
DR.S.JAYABARATHI
JayBee
MAHAVIDVAN
MEENATCHISUNDARAM PILLAI
1815 - 1876
Preamble
The Tamils have a very rich literature and culture and a long history. Tamil is a fascinating language. It has many singular, unique, and individual qualities.
The Tamils were ruled by three kings - Cera, Cholza,and Pandya who ruled over different parts of the country.
The Tamils were so attached to their language, literatureand culture that they cultivated them for thousands of years. This was done through an organisation which was known as the Sangam. The Sangams have a very long history. The hereditaory patrons of the Sangams were the Pandyas. Scholars took part in debates, creations of poetic works dealing with all branches of knowledge, etc. All the studies took place under the presidency of a chief scholar.
There were three Sangams. The last Sangam lasted until 300 A.D. After that there were a spate of catastrophes. The population became decimated. Large tracts of land became barren, arid, and depolpulated. For ten generations people wandered around. There were also foreign invasions and colonisations.
The Sangam Age came to end with its style of literature and unique culture.
But there ws a resurgence of a different sort.
The Tamils reached new heights under the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholzas and Ceras.
New classes of literature developed.
This Age also came to an end with the invasion by the Turks.
They destroyed the culture, richness, individuality, independance, and literary heritage of the Tamils together with all their instiutions and temples.
The Turks were supplanted by the Kannadigas and Andras.
Though they were Hindus, they were equally alien and did not foster Tamil culture or literature. For them, the Tamiland was the richest and most stable source of revenue and man power. It was more of a network of warlords with their military camps. Under the alien war lords, the Tamils suffered and the Tamil language was relegated to an almost near oblivion.
In due course, the Tamils lost their heritage and forgot totally about their glorious past. They did not even have the dimmest knowledge of the Sangams and their glories. When the country passed under the rule of the British, they brought in a condition of a long lost stability. Under the safe and stable aegis of the British, there came around a newer breed of scholars.
When the country passed under the rule of the British, they brought in a condition of long lost stability.
There came around a newer breed of scholars.
Among them UVSwaminatha Aiyar was a scholar of much renown.
He searched for the long lost literature of the Tamils, collected manuscripts and published them.
Only then, the Tamils came to be reminded of their long-lost glory.
Swaminatha Aiyar had a master scholar/poet as his preceptor. He stayed with him and studied under his tutorship for four years. The four years under him made UVS a great scholar laid the firm foundation for his scholarship and research.
The teacher was MeenatchiSundaram PiLLai.
He was a native of Madurai. But he settled at one stage in Tiruchi. Hence he is known as Thirusirapuram Meenatchisundaram PiLLai. Out of his great respect for his teacher, UVS would always address him as PiLLai avargaL.
We would also address him thus.
Very briefly......
He was one of the greatest Tamil poets who has ever lived.
In his life time, he has composed more than 100,000 verses. His compositions which are available at the moment exceed 40 in number. He had taught several hundred students in his lifetime.
He was patronised by Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam.
His speciality was the composition of Sthala Puranams.
His speciality was the composition of Sthala Puranams. Sthala Puranams are a literary genre by themselves. They are a class of puranas.
A purana is a compendium of stories, histories, legends, literature, rituals, philosophy, geography, worships, mythology, pantheon, dynasties, etc. They were encyclopaedic in nature.
There are 18 major puranas and 18 minor puranas.
The largest purana is the Skanda Purana which has more than 100000 verses called granthas. The sthala puranas are more or less similar.
But they differ in the sense that they are more specific to a certain place. This place would have a ranking as a shtala. A sthala is a holy place. It would have a presiding diety or deities. There would
be legends and stories associated with that place. The places would be associated with certain events in which gods would have taken part.
All these facts are collected together.
All the stories are compiled.
Then they are sung in various poetic metres.
The sthala is given a glorified and elaborate description. All the gods are praised. The land, the town, the sthala, the river, the temple, the holy tree, the thirtha, etc., are all praised in order.
Then the cosmos and its creation are described. The gods and their deeds; the particular events that took place form the major part of the sthala purana. In the course of singing the purana, many events, historical details are described and explanation of doctrines, etc., are also given.
A normal sthala purana would range between 2000 to 12000 verses.
A very much renowned poet would be paid handsomely for the composition of one purana.
Sometimes a certain sum is paid for each verse that is composed. A good composition by an eminent author would be paid at the rate of one silver rupee per song. If the purana contains 5000 verses, the author would be paid 5000 rupees.
In those days one gold sovereign cost three and a half silver rupees.
Although PiLLaiyavargaL used to earn substantial sums through these means, he was always subjected to poverty.
He supported a large retinue of students. He would keep them with him; feed them; give them dress; and also teach them. With his vast knowledge he could have earned a lot more than what he did. But he never invested in anything. He never kept accounts even though he was an accountant by profession and heritage.
Even though Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam supported him,
it would do so, only when he was in Thiruvavaduthurai.
He never had any savings.
Whatever he earned, he would immediately spend. And he would borrow very heavily. As soon as he received any payment for his puranas, he would repay old debts and borrow anew.
In his later days, he was undergoing grinding poverty.
One day, PiLLaiyavargaL went to Mayuram. The KattaLai Thambiran or monk who was in charge of the monastry there wanted to get himself lectured in Periya Puranam.
So he made arrangements and PiLLaiyavargaL started giving special coaching to the KattaLai Thambiran.
On one of the days, the lectures took a long time.
It was late in the night and PiLLaiyavargaL was asked to take his dinner in the monastry. During the first course of the dinner, ghee was poured liberally onto his rice.
After the meals, PiLLaiyavargaL came out of the monastry.
He was very happy and exclaimed gleefully again and again.....
"Because we had our dinner in the monastry today, we were lucky to have had ghee with our food".
He said this repeatedly.
The students who heard this were overcome with pity at the helplessness, hopelesseness complex that had engulfed the life of that eminent and unequaled scholar who had no peer nor par.
They suppressed their tears with great effort and difficulty and desisted from weeping.
At that point of his life, ghee had become such a luxury! Such was the plight of truely great scholars.
Still is.
Even though he was well-known, everyone took him and his service for granted.
Nobody cared about his true condition and his family.
One of the students of PiLLaiyavargaL was Narayanan Chettiyar of Devakottai. He was an incredible personality. He was totally blind. But he learned how ro write. He had a phenomenal memory. He would ask somebody to read out passages for him. While it was being read, he would memorise every single word. He would also learn the meaning. He would do
analytical thinking and grasp the essence of the literary work.
I have written a series of postings about him in Agathiyar.
It is in Tamil.
You have to search the subject line - VanRoNdar Chettiyar.
On and off, he would go to see PiLLaiyavargaL and learn from him. He would also get his doubts clarified.
When he was in Devakottai, he would ask people to read and do a large amount of self-taught work. Whatever doubts that he had, he would write them down. On the next occassion that he met PiLLaiyavargaL, he would get those doubts clarified.
VanRoNdar wanted to help out PiLLaiyavargaL.
So he invited him to come to Chettinadu. PiLLaiyavargaL was to compose sthala puranams for the towns of Kandadevi, Suraikkudi, Koyilur, and Thiruvanam.
Since he feared that PiLLaiyavargaL would spend away whatever he payment that got, the Chettiyar made arrangements so that all expenses would be paid by the parties involved for his travels and stay. The puranams will be paid at the rate of one silver rupee per son. The sum will not be paid to PiLLaiyavargaL then and there at the launching ceremony of the purana - pUrana aranggERRam. For the sum of money that has been collected, they will issue a special payment chit. The money would be payable in PiLLaiyavargaL's hometown.
That was the only time in his life that PiLLaiyavargaL received any payment in full in his hands.
So, on an auspicious day, PiLLaiyavargaL started for Chettinadu with his helpers, cook, and his students in 1866.