Ancient Pandyan Kingdom

In times of yore, Madurai was the capital of the Pandyas. The Pandyan kingdom traded with the West as may be inferred from the Roman coins unearthed by archaeologists. Of the three ancient Tamil kingdoms bounded by Kanyakumari in the south and Tiruvenkatam in the north, surrounded by the ocean in the east, the west and the south, the Chera kingdom was noted for elephants, the Chola for its granary of rice and the Pandya for its grandeur of its pearls and sweet Tamil. K. M. Panikkar writes in his Survey of Indian History: “The three kingdoms (Trairajya) formed already the traditional polity of the Dravidian system and with the control of oceanic commerce and close relations with both the Mediterranean and the islands of the Pacific, the region evolved peacefully and attained a high state of economic prosperity. Megasthenes had heard of the Pandyas. The country was at that time said to have been ruled by a queen whose army was composed of five hundred elephants, four thousand cavalry and 1,30,000 infantry.”

Tamil Academies

That a Tamil Academy known as Sangam – a confluence of poets – existed is borne out by references in the canonical literature of the Nayanmars and Alwars, Kambaramayanam, Iraiyanar Akapporul Urai and learned commentaries. It is traditionally believed that three Sangams functioned from South Madurai, Kapadapuram and modern Madurai of which the first two went under the sea. There is a reference to Kapadapuram in Valmiki Ramayana in which Sugriva tells his monkey hordes that in their search for Sita, they will see Kapadapuram in the south. (Kishkindhakanda, Sargo 47, Sloka 19) The existence of submerged land south of the present day Kanyakumari is confirmed by references in Sangam poetry and the Tamil epic Silappadhikkaram. In the latter is found the passage: The Pahruli river along with the many ranges of the Kumari mountain was devoured by the sea - pahruliarrudan panmalai audkkattu-k-kumari-k-kodum kodum kadal kolla. The Third Tamil Sangam at modern Madurai became extinct perhaps two millennia before with the Pandya hegemony fading. In the words of A. L. Basham, “Tamil can claim one of the longest unbroken literary traditions of any of the world’s living languages.” By the sheer weight of its heritage, Tamil continued to grip the whole-hearted devotion and attention of scholars, thanks to the interest evinced by chieftains, religious institutions and wealthy landlords even during the last centuries of the second millennium after Christ. The national awakening of the people in the Indian sub-continent was also the sine qua non for instilling a sense of pride in the minds of the people in the languages and literatures of the land. Monetary gains and state patronage lured them to the study of English whole-heartedly resulting in the neglect of the literature of the country. A silver lining amidst the dark clouds was noticed in Tamilnadu with the founding of a Tamil Sangam at Madurai by Pandithorai Thevar.

Biographical details

If one opens at random school books in Tamil of the ’Twenties and ’Thirties of this century, one would find invariably two entries–one on George V and the other on Pandithorai Thevar, the former to please the British Government of the day and the latter in grateful remembrance of a savant, scholar and patron of Tamil to instil in the minds of children love for Tamil. His father; Ponnusamy Thevar, was himself a leading luminary in the promotion of the study and development of Tamil language and literature. As he passed away during the early childhood of Pandithorai, born on the 21st March 1867, his upbringing and education was left to the care of Seshadri Iyengar, Agent, Ramnad Estate, father of the illustrious Indian National Congress President, S. Srinivas Iyengar. Equipped with profound knowledge of Tamil, religion and philosophy and music, Pandithorai was an ardent student of Tamil and a connoisseur of arts, with a deep attachment to the philosophy of Saiva Siddhanta.

Founding of the Fourth Tamil Sangam

The Madras Presidency Political Conference was held at Maduari from the 21st to 23rd May 1901 under the presidentship of the Hon’ble P. Anantacharlu. Pandithorai Thevar was the Chairman of the Reception Committee. After the concluding session, Pandithorai Thevar expressed his desire to establish a Tamil Sangam at Madurai and requested the delegates, to lend support and be present at the meeting to be held the next day. He unfolded his scheme before the delegates, the citizens of Madurai and lovers of Tamil of what he proposed to do for founding a Tamil Sangam. Steps were taken thereafter towards the same and invitations were sent to poets, scholars and leading men all over Tamilnadu to attend the founding of the Tamil Sangam, prominent among the invitees being U. Ve. Saminatha Iyer, Ra. Raghava Iyengar, V. K. Suryanarayana Sastriar, Sholavandan Shanmugham Pillai and Tirumayilai Shanmugham Pillai, Bhaskara Setupati, a legendary figure, whom Swami Vivekananda described as Rajarshi, came with his entourage and attended the meet at the Setupati High School at Madurai. The establishment of the Tamil Sangam at Madurai on the 14th September 1901 by Pandithorai Thevar was acclaimed as the Fourth Tamil Sangam by those present. Simultaneously came into being the Setupati Sentamil College, the Pandyan Library and Research Centre. The Tamil Sangam and its adjuncts began to function from the palatial bungalow of Pandithorai Thevar gifted to it. In 1903, the monthly journal “Sentamil” made its debut and carried research articles of it very high order and it can be said without any fear of contradiction that for half a century at least since its inception there has been none to equal or excel it with regard to the quality of the material relating to Tamil literature. Historians of the eminence of K. A. Nilakanta Sastri cited references to articles in Sentamil. Art historian T. A. Gopinatha Rao, author of Hindu Iconography, and others of his stature, eminent scholars hailing from Tamilnadu and Sri Lanka used the Sentamil as the forum for their writings. For printing the publications of the Sangam, a printing press was also added to it. Madurai Tamil Sangam became an examining body and conducted classes for the same. Prescription of the syllabus and the standard for its examinations was a model later for the universities in Tamilnadu. Verily the Madurai Tamil Sangam functioned as a self-contained modern university three quarters of a century before. A first class library was built up as also a collection of palm leaf manuscripts of inestimable value. But alas, the library collection have been denuded to a great extent and valuable material lost. Pandithorai Thevar’s premature death on the 2nd December 1911 was an irreparable loss to the Tamil world but the legacy he left was carried on by his nephew Rajarajeswara Setupati, the Raja of Ramnad, till 1928, when he too passed away.

Patron of Tamil and Patriot

Pandithorai Thevar helped scholars with his financial assistance unasked for. But for him, Singaravelu Mudaliar’s Abhidhana Chintamani, and encyclopaedic work might not have seen the light of day. U. Ve. Saminatha Iyer expresses his gratitude to Pandithorai Thevar in his preface in the Manimekalai edition. Tamil research was put on solid foundation due to the zeal, energy and methodical planning of Pandithorai Thevar. Steeped in scholarship himself, he could have authored many works, but he kept himself in the background by inducting scholars drawn from all parts of the Tamil speaking world to contribute their mite in the field of Tamilology. Promotion of Tamil Studies was his main interest and he had no inhibitions of caste or community. He was a good speaker and star attraction to the elite interested in philosophy, religion and literature. Though closely related to a princely family, who would have to incur the wrath of the Government of the day, he was the chairman of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company sponsored by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai by taking shares to the tune of one lakh of rupees, not a small sum seventy years before in the early ’Tens of this century. Not a pie he got in return. An exhaustive biography of Pandithorai Thevar would reveal the greatness of the man and his generosity not only to the people nearer home, but also to his compatriots in other parts of the country. R. P. Setu Pillai in his reminiscences describes Pandithorai Thevar as an embodiment of Tamil, a rare tribute because of the Tamils’ belief in Tamils’ divinity. U. Ve. Saminatha Iyer, doyen of Tamil scholars of the 20th century who had the great quality of remembering even the humblest and the lowliest for the little help he got, in one of his poems, tells that Pandithorai Thevar is being praised by those immersed in Tamil learning, as Pandian Because of his fostering Tamil, as Chola due to his devotion to Lord Siva and Chera for his quick grasp. It was Manikkavacagar in one of his sacred utterances implores the Koil to sing for the arrival of Siva whom he calls as Tennavan (Pandian), Chera and Chola. A tribute indeed to Pandithorai Thevar!

Shakespeare said: “Some are born great; some achieve greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Pandithorai Thever achieved greatness by his dedicated service to Tamil. Public memory being short, the present generation may forget him, but history will remember him.

Back