While Tamil Nadu knows Arumuga Navalar of Jaffna, Sabapathi Navalar, Navalar Somasundara Bharathiar and Navalar V.R. Nedunchezhian, very few are aware of the scholarship of Ramasubramania Navalar of Nagercoil. The reason: he shunned limelight and was self-effacing to a fault.
The spacious house just behind the South Travancore Hindu College in Nagercoil, bearing the title Navalar, reminds old-timers of the scholar who penned over 70 books including the biography of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and a Tamil lexicon, Tamil Urisol Panuval . The title Navalar was conferred on him by Madurai Tamizh Sangam, where he learnt Sanskrit from legendary Tamil scholar Ra. Raghava Iyengar.
“Madurai Tamizh Sangam was instrumental in reviving serious studies about Tamil literature and language.
“It would not confer the title Navalar unless a person exhibited extraordinary talent,” said V. Arasu, former head of the Department of Tamil of the Madras University.
Ramasubramaniam was born in Rajakkamangalam in Kanniyakumari district and had his education in Malayalam and became a pundit in the language.
“When it comes to Tamil he was a self-taught man and decided to become a student of Raghva Iyengar because he strongly believed Sanskrit knowledge was important for a deeper understanding of Tamil,” said his son and film director R.S. Mohanarajan.
Dabbled in medicine too
He ran a publishing house Senthamizh Nilayam and a monthly magazine Tamizh Vilakku. He obtained considerable knowledge in Siddha and Homoeopathy medicine and even wrote books in English on homeopathy, biochemistry, Indian drugs in homeopathy and diseases and treatment.
“He worked as a Tamil teacher in the government high school in Thuckalay and spent most of the time reading and writing.
“When there was a debate over the merit of Vallalar’s Thiruvarutpa, he supported Vallalar and participated in many meeting with Sadhavadhani Seiku Thampi Pavalar,” said Mr. Mohanarajan.
He used to write regularly for Ramakrishna Vijayam run by the Ramakrishna Mutt.
“Subsequently the mutt commissioned him to write the biography of Ramakrishna in verse form. It was released in 1958.
It amazes me to think that how such a great scholar decided to remain a recluse,” said Sheila Srinivasan, lecturer of Rajeswari Vedachlam College and biographer of Ramasubramania Navalar. The mutt conferred on him the title Kaviraja pandithar
His Tamil Urisol Panuval was published after his demise in 1981. He had listed words under different subjects.
“The book has fulfilled the need for a Panuval in pure Tamil. The author has delved deep into the subject and the uniqueness of the book lies in the fact that he had compiled it without Sanskrit words,” said M. Shanmugam Pillai, the student of Vaiyapuri Pillai in his preface.
