| Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar |
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Information About ™Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MAHAVIDWAN R. RAGHAVA IYENGAR | |
| tamil scholars | |
| dravidologists | |
| tamil-language writers | |
| tamil poets | |
| 1870 births | |
| hindu poets | |
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Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar.If there is a renaissance of Tamil today, patronised by the people and Government, it is due in no small measure to the rediscovery and interpretation of the old Tamil classics by great scholars of an earlier generation. Among these pioneers Dr. Swaminatha Iyer takes pride of place by virtue of his bringing out in print almost all important Tamil works. The Bhasha Kavisekhara Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar (born Sept. 20 1870) carried the palm for critical scholarship and creative interpretation of literature. In fact it was the first fruit of the labours of Dr. Swaminatha Iyer: the classics, edited by him were commented resulting in a general wave of enquiry and sustained research in Tamil Nadu. Raghava Iyengar's lectures attracted large elite audiences and he had teh unique gift of literary exposition of making you listen to enraptured to his picture of any subject. The Rt. Hon'ble V.S. Srinivasa Sastri who was his friend and admirer finding his parallel in argument admitted that Raghava Iyengar's rich musical voice rose like "a stream of distilled perfumes" in irrestible argument. He was born in Ramnad, Tamil Nadu and having studied upto matriculation devoted his entire tiem to the mastery of Tamil literature. He attracted the attention of Prof. R. Ranganadam and Dewan Venkata Ranga Iyer who introduced him to Raja Bhaskara Sethupathi of Ramnad. At the age of 21 he was appointed Poet Laureate of the Sethu Samasthanam, a post he held for 42 years. Raghava Iyengar became the editor of Sen Tamil and along with his distinguished cousin edited this journal for 3 years. He was the first to set the right norms for Tamil research which had a scientific basis. He wrote articles on Kamban, Valluvar and the female bards of Sangam literature. He wrote the biography of these poets, identified the cities mentioned in the Sangam works and established the correct authorship of many works of the Sangam age. He transalated Kalidasa's Sakuntalam and the Bhagavad Gita. He was conferred the titles of Bhasha Kavisekhara and Mahavidwan and received a presentation of Rs 1,000 for his monumental poem "Pari kathai". At the age of 65, he was appointed Head of the Tamil Research Dept. of Annamalai Univ. He showed for the first time that Karur was the capital of the Cheras in the Sangam age. Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar's Works 1. Edited Works a) Ahananooru b) Kurunthogai Villakam, an erudite commentary on all 400 songs of Sangam classic literature c) Perumpanarruppadai, Pattinappalai In R Ragahva Iyengar's commentaries on the two Sangam classics, he identifies Thirumavalavan as the hero in Pattinappalai and Karikalan in Porunar arrupadai, another Sangam classic. They are two different Chola kings. In Perumpanarrupadai, he traces the origin of the Thiraiyans and the Pallavas and concludes that they canme to Tamilnadu from Dwaraka long long back. d) Tolkappiyam e) Athichoodi uraai An elaborate commentary of poetess Avvaiyar's one line moral sayings (Tanjore University publication) f) Muthollayiram 2. Research Books a) Sethunadum thamizhum b) Vanjimanagar This book describes the capital of Cheras which has been identified as Karur on the banks of the river Amaravati and is known in literature as Vanji. Later epigraphical and archeological evidences have confirmed the finding. c) Andakola meyporul d) Nallisaipulamai melliyalar Biographical sketches of women Sangam poetesses like Avvaiyar, Parimahalir and several others e) Tamil varalaru Classic essays on the origin of tamil, its people and customs, Tolkappiyar, Agastiyar, Sangams, literature before Tolkappiyam, Udiyan cheral and the connection of tamil to other ancient languages. f) Kocar An ancient tribe like the Velirs who migrated from Kashmir and took part in tamil politics by switching sides between the Cheras, Cholas and the Pandyas. They were always at war with the Velirs, another clan that came from the north g) Thithan velir Velir chief aligned with Chola kings whose coin was found near Karur, the Chera capital of Sangam age. h) Kambar A monograph with the complete survey of the great poet of 12th century. Kurunila vendar This essay traces the origin of tamil clans like the Velirs, Kocars, Pallavas and Sethupathi i) Araichi Katturaihal, Iniya Ilakkiyangal & Sentamil Inbam : These are essays that deal with all aspects of tamil and tamil literature 3. Poems a) Parikathai Poems with notes on Pari chieftain of Sangam fame in venba metre, presented at the Annamalai university , reminiscent of similar Sangam arangerram b) Puvi ezhupathu Poem in praise of mother earth on the lines of Kamban's Aer ezhupathu c) Thozhil chirappu d) Oru thurai kovai A poem that is basically a great exercise of a difficult tamil poetic form in praise of Sethupathi e) Thiruvadimalai This poem deals with his love for Lord Rama f) Inkavi thirattu Poems sung in praise of Gods at Sethu, Thiruppullani and Thirupathi g) Githa thazhisai Translation in poetic form of the Bhagavat Geetha, with Subramania Bharathi's prose translation in tamil of each sanskrit verse. h) Andakola Meyyporul A very rare song of vaishnavaite saint Nammalwar to Sangam poets in ahaval metre. Its meaning was bothering scholars for a long time. R Raghava Iyengar wrote an exquisite commentary on the philosophical meaning of this poem. Incidentally it proves that "Sangam" existed in some form till the 8th century Puvi ezhupathu Poem in praise of mother earth on the lines of Kamban's Aer ezhupathu 4. Translations a) Abigna Sakuntalam Kalidasa's Sakuntalam translated in sandam style. b) Bhagavat Gita References: http://sathyans.com/R_Raghava_Iyengar/ |
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