AGAINST

19.

LIMGUISTIC

T.P.M.'S

CWeUVIMISMe

COMPARATIVE S T U D I E S

L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m , a s i t is u n d e r s t o o d i n t h e West,
was

in

state

T.P.Meenakshisundaran

of

infancy

in

Tamil

appeared on t h e s c e n e . G i f t e d a s

was w i t h a c a p a c i o u s mind, and a wide range of

covering

many

Linguistics,
besides

b r a n c h e s of

Philosophy

Tamil,

Sanskrit,

as

before

knowledge

varied

as

scholarship

including

and R e l i g i o n and
English,

he

History,

many

languages

French,

H i n d i , Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam,

German,
he

b r i n g about a sea-change and t h r o u g h h i s numerous

could

articles

and books on d i v e r s e t o p i c s r a n g i n g from Caljkam

literature

to

the

modern

Tamil

f i c t i o n opened t h e

eyes

of

Tamil

c r i t i c s of h i s t i m e who were f a n a t i c s of d i f f e r e n t t y p e s t o
the
to

r e a l g r e a t n e s s of t h e i r l i t e r a t u r e . I t was mainly
his

Tamil
free,

Herculean e f f o r t s t h a t contemporary

champions

l i t e r a t u r e l e a r n t t h e v a l u e of a c r i t i c i s m
fair

and

dispassionate

and

not

that

divorced

due
of
is
from

s c h o l a r s h i p . With m i s s i o n a r y z e a l , he undertook t h e o n e r o u s
t a s k of i n t r o d u c i n g t h e w e a l t h of a n c i e n t Tamil c l a s s i c s t o
t h e d i s c e r n i n g Western r e a d e r s . His w r i t i n g s on t h e f i c t i o n
and

poetry

of

his

own t i m e were

nighty

attempt

at

c o r r e c t i n g t h e t a s t e s of t h e Tamil p u b l i c whose
were

largely

various

swayed

kinds.

committed

to

were

extra-linguistic

nationalist

appreciatively
Dravidian

by

Even t h o u g h he was a

of

judgements

prejudices

staunch

ideals,

he

could

write

Bharatidasan, t h e p o e t i c voice

of

the

Movement. When t h e t h e i s t i c c r i t i c s o f h i s

hopelessly

divided i n t o

Saivites

of

Congressman

and

tine

Vaishnavites

c h o o s i n g t o i d o l i z e e i t h e r t h e N Z y a p i i r s o r t h e X ~ v X r s , he
c o u l d s p e a k w i t h e q u a l g u s t o and c o n v i c t i o n of
and

TiruvZcakaa

T i r u v T y m o ~ i .H i s p i o n e e r i n g s t u d i e s on T a m i l

culminating

i n a h i s t o r y of T a m i l l a n g u a g e

language

comparable

to

S u n i t i Kumar C h a t t e r j i ' s h i s t o r y of B e n g a l i l a n g u a g e p r o v e d
t o b e p a t h - b r e a k i n g and a h o s t o f T a m i l l i n g u i s t s d i d a l o t
of

fruitful

critical

output

assessment
taking

work

of

on

the areas

suggested

i s s o v a s t and v a r i e d t h a t

i t may i n d r r e c t l y l e a d t o a

His

by

him.

an

impartial

worthy

stock-

of what t h e c r i t i c s i n T a m i l have s o f a r a c h i e v e d .
I f a s a T a m i l t e a c h e r and c r i t i c he d i d n o t h a v e t h e

officially

prescribed

b a s i c q u a l i f i c a t i o n t o begin

for

h i s f i r s t d e g r e e was i n h i s t o r y , a s a

was

not

French

formally introduced t o t h e

with,

comparatist

writings

of

he

eminent

and American t h e o r e t i c i a n s . I n h i s w r i t i n g s

there

is no s i g n of h i s a c q u a i n t a n c e w i t h t h e m e t h o d o l o g y o f

the

d i s c i p l i n e c a l l e d C o m p a r a t i v e L i t e r a t u r e . H i s knowledge

of

t h e u o r k s of T . S . E l i o t , o n e of whose e s s a y s on c r i t i c i s m h e
has

t r a n s l a t e d i n t o T a m i l , must h a v e c o n v i n c e d him o f

need

t o u s e c o m p a r i s o n and a n a l y s i s a s t h e two

tools

of

the

legitimate

criticism.

To a man of

wide

reading

in

languages,

literary

sensitivity

and

humane

concern,

Comparative

Literature

discipline
as

daily

must

have

appealed

less

many

as

w i t h i t s own c i r c u m s c r i b e d s u b j e c t - m a t t e r
practice,

inside

as

well

as

outside

a
than
the

c l a s s r o o m . At a t i m e when l i n g u i s t i c c h a u v i n i s m r e a c h e d i t s
n a d i r i n T a m i l n a d u , h e had t h e o o u r a g e t o e x h o r t t h e T a m i l s
t o l e a r n a s many l a n g u a g e s a s p o s s i b l e :
We must undo t h e m e n t a l i t y t o f r o w n a t o t h e r
l a n g u a g e s b y w h i c h a l o n e c o u l d we s e e T a m i l
d e v e l o p i n o t h e r p a r t s of t h e w o r l d . Nothing
c o u l d be more u n d o i n g t h a n t h e a t t ' t u d e t h a t we
n e e d no l a n g u a g e o t h e r t h a n T a m i l .

need t h e v a r i e t y of c u r r i e s ( o f
other
l a n g u a g e s ) added t o t h e sumptuous f e a s t [of
T a m i l ] , d o n ' t we?2

We

Very o f t e n h e condemned t h e b l i n d n e s s o f t h e T a m i l s t o

the

g r e a t n e s s of t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g D r a v i d i a n l a n g u a g e s and

even

pleaded

f o r an i n t e r e s t i n H i n d i , when t h e v e r y

name

had

t h e v a l u e of E n g l i s h a s t h e e y e o f

the

become a n a t h e m a t o t h e T a m i l - l o v i n g m a j ~ r i t y . ~
Emphasizing

h e a p p e a l e d t o t h e T a m i l s a v a n t s t o t r e a t it a s t h e
true

voice

o f s c i e n c e and n o t a s t h e

tyrannical

cry

of

imperialism.

Undaunted by t h e w r a t h o f T a m i l s c h o l a r s

who

t h u n d e r e d a g a i n s t E n g l i s h and H i n d i d a y i n and d a y o u t ,

he

tried

be

t o d e m o n s t r a t e how a knowledge o f E n g l i s h

could

f r u i t f u l l y employed f o r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f T a m i l l i t e r a t u r e
and i m p l o r e d t h e m t o t a k e t o C o m p a r a t i v e L i t e r a t u r e :
The T a m i l s s h o u l d s e e k t o s t u d y t h e w o r k s i n
t h e i r language n comparison w i t h t h o s e i n t h e
o t h e r languages.

He p o i n t e d o u t t h a t c o n t a c t w i t h a n o t h e r c u l t u r e a n d
c i v i l i z a t i o n is o f t e n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r v i g o r o u s g r o w t h of
civilization

and c u l t u r e , d r a w i n g t h e i r a t t e n t i o n

to

a
the

fact that
'the c o n t a c t w i t h Northern I n d i a , e s p e c i a l l y t h e
two g r e a t m i s s i o n a r y r e l i g i o n s o f J a i n i s m and
Buddhism,
t h e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e West t h r o u g h
t r a d e and t h e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e E a s t e r n I s l a n d s
through
t r a d e and c o l o n i z a t i o n ,
were
all
r e s p o n s i b l e f o r s t i m u l a t i n g a new g r o w t h i n
CeAkam
Tamil
l a n d which i s found i n its
literature,
w h i c h r e p r e s e n t s a new h i s t o r i c a l
d e v e l o p m e t and a new t r e n d i n o i v i l i z a t i o n a n d
r!
culture'.
P r o f . T . P . H . had t o f i g h t a g a i n s t a n o t h e r
f r o n t c o n s i s t i n g of s e v e r a l S a n s k r i t s c h o l a r s o f
who

r:hsail;rianarl t.hn cni1~4n of S a n s k r i t a s i f i t

mother
Sanskrit

formidable
Tamilnadu
were

tongue claiming t h a t e v e r y c l a s s i c i n Tamil

source.

Unfortunately,

on

account

their
had

of

a
the

presumptuous i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of S a n s k r i t w i t h B r a h m i n i s n t h e

political

and

s o c i a l c o n f l i c t between Brahmins

Brahmins l e d t o t h e v e r y u n p l e a s a n t l i t e r a r y
witnessed

in

t h e d i s c u s s i o n s of

works

and

non-

controversies

like

Tirukku~a;,

~ a r n p a r & ~ y a ~ a r and
n
o t h e r s . P r c f . T . P . m . had t o

chide

them

f o r t h e i r c h i l d i s h a s s u m p t i o n s c i t i n g numerous i n s t a n c e s of
give

and

take

between

the

two

great

literatures

and

s t r e s s i n g t h e w o n d e r f u l b e a u t y of t h e m o s a i c p a t t e r n o f t h e
great

Indian

contributed

culture
best

its

to

which

helping

each
the

literature

evolution

has

of

the

r e m a r k a b l e u n i t y i n v a r i e t y . I n t h i s c o n t e x t , he e m p h a s i z e d
t h e v a l u e of t h e c o n c e p t i o n of Ubhaya Vedanta - t h e Vedanta
in

S a n s k r i t and T a m i l - which a r o s e a s a

the

pride

of

t h e S a n s k r i t i s t s in order

protest
to

against

establish

harmony of t h e s e two l a n g u a g e s by d e i f y i n g t h e l a n g u a g e
the

common man.

interested
the

i n u n d e r l i n i n g t h e fundamental u n i t y

Aryan c u l t u r e of t h e N o r t h i s i t s e l f a

the

cultures

of

different

groups

of

of
only

found

two g r e a t l i t e r a t u r e s of S a n s k r i t a n d T a m i l .

called
of

The g r e a t V a i s h n a v i t e Acharyas w e r e

The

in
so-

commingling
the

Indians

i n c l u d i n g t h e S o u t h e r n e r s , and a c c o r d i n g t o P r o f . T . P . K . ,

if

one w e r e t o c a l l t h i s s y n t h e t i c c u l t u r e A r y a n i s a t i o n , i t is
c o r r e c t t o c a l l i t ~ r a v i d i a n i s a t i o n . ~B e c a u s e

equally
chose
issues,

to

advocate

t h e v i a media

in

such

he

controversial

he i n c u r r e d t h e d i s p l e a s u r e o f b o t h t h e g r o u p s

of

extremists,

but

truth

was more d e a r t o

his

heart

than

popularity.

In
literary

assay a f t e r essay, Prof.T.P.M. wrote

about

the

r e l a t i o n s between S a n s k r i t and Tamil l i s t i n g

the

v a r i o u s common a s p e c t s of what may b e c a l l e d t h e

literature

without

peculiarities

of

at
each

the
of

same
the

time

two

ur-Indian

ignoring

the

literatures.

The

m y t h o l o g i c a l s t o r i e s o f K r i s h n a , Rama and S i v a , J a i n i s m a n d
Buddhism w e r e some o f t h e c e m e n t i n g f a c t o r s w h i c h q u i c k e n e d
t h e p r o c e s s of I n d i a n i s a t i o n . I n t e l l e c t u a l s f r o m a l l
of

I n d i a w r o t e i n P a l i o r P r a k r i t and l a t e r

in

parts

Sanskrit,

and t h e r e i s e n o u g h e v i d e n c e t o show t h a t e v e n i n t h e

pre-

Sankara p e r i o d , t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s of t h e T a m i l s t o S a n s k r i t
were

highiy

v a l u e d by t h e g r e a t p h i l o s o p h e r s

of

~ n d i a . ~

Even i n t h e u n i q u e T a m i l c u l t u r e of t h e ~aAkama g e ,
of

Sanskrit

allusions

influence

are discernible.

In

traces

addition

to

there

are

p o i n t e d r e f e r e n c e s t o P a t a l i p u t r a , B a n a r a s , t h e Ganges

and

the

yak

cow

of t h e c r y s t a l c l e a r w a t e r s of t h e Himalayas

and

Himalayas.

dreaming
the

t o t h e m y t h s of m a j o r Hindu d e i t i e s ,

rich

protection

One o f t h e p o e t s s p e a k s o f

grasses,

while

sleeping

under

of t h e g r e a t s a g e s k i n d l i n g

f i r e " . l o Even ~ o l k r ~ ~ i y tahre , e a r l i e s t

did

not

rule

out

t h e u s e of

"the

Northern

the

their
Tamil
words

kindly

sacrificial
grammarian,
in

Tanil

literary

compositions.

Prof.T.P.M.'s

analysis

indicates

t h a t t h i s grammarian t o o k A i n t i r a m a t t r i b u t e d t o I n d r a
not

Panini's

work a s h i s model i n a t l e a s t

one

and

respect.

P a n i n i , who had a p a s s i o n f o r p r e c i s i o n , f o r g e d a s t y l e
his

own

f o r h i s grammatical t r e a t i s e p a y i n g heed

minimum

use

whereas

Tolk~ppiyam, like

importance

of

w o r d s t o convey t h e
its

model

rules

of

to

the

language,
giving

Aintiram,

t o a e s t h e t i c considerations, chooses

of

poetic

style.
The

i m p a c t of D a n d i n , a n o t h e r g r e a t g r a m m a r i a n ,

t h e T a m i l t r a d i t i o n is s t u d i e d by P r 0 f . T . P . M .
one e s s a y . ' '
Tafii

and

also

as

on
than

Dandin's ~Iafik&ilrTs ttrnnsiated i n t o Tamil

Alankzraa,

vGacQiyam

i n more

"s1ahk~rappa;alam"

as
in

marked t h e r e j u v e n a t i o n of T a m i l p o e t r y a n d , t o

g i v e o n e example o f i t s u s e , rupaka., upama, s l e s a , u t p r e k s a

and d i p a k a a r e p r o f u s e l y u s e d i n T a m i l B h a k t i l i t e r a t u r e . 1 2
He, i n t u r n , e x p l o i t e d h i s knowledge of t h e T a m i l t r a d i t i o n
i n h i s d i v i s i o n of p o e t r y i n t o two k i n d s i . e . ,

tokai

and t o f a r n i l a i , m e a n i n g a n t h o l o g i e s o f u n c o n n e c t e d
and

narrative

according

poetry

respectively,

which

nilai

verses

distinction,

t o P r o f . T . P . M . , is n a t u r a l t o T a m i l

literature.

I n one o f h i s m a s t e r p i e c e s , P h i l o s o p h y o f T i r u v a l l u v a r ,
evaluates
background

Vatfuvar's

v i e w of l i f e w i t h i n

of purusartha,

the

he

pan-Indian

claiming t h a t t h e exposition

of

purusarthas

as

the

three-fold

trivargas

of

the

T a m i l s a i n t , who

is

does

great

not

moksa

b u t makes i t t h e b a s i s and consummation of

other

t h r e e . P r o f . T . P . H . , i n t h e c o u r s e of t h i s

neglect
all

the

analysis,

takes p a i n s t o prove t h a t t h e conception of p u r u s a r t h a s

not

product

but

of

the

Himalayas

t o Cape Comorin, " a common h e r i t a g e

from

and

h a r v e s t " , l3 s i n c e i t c a n n o t b e t r a c e d b a c k

common

is

common

of t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l w o r l d of I n d i a s p r e a d i n g

efforts
the

of t h e Aryan c u l t u r e

either

t o t h e Indo-European c u l t u r e o r t o t h e p r o t o - D r a v i d i a n .
The e s s a y " I l a k k i y a Marapu" ( L i t e r a r y T r a d i t i o n ) ,
s u c c i n c t a n a l y s i s of T a m i l p r o s o d y by P r o f . T . P . M . ,

common o p i n i o n t h a t V i r u t t a m , a p o p u l a r m e t r i c a l

the
in

owes i t s o r i g i n t o S a n s k r i t . A s t u d y

Tamil,

of

form
Tamil

p u r i i f a s is u n d e r t a k e n i n a n o t h e r s h o r t e s s a y w h i c h g i v e s
brief

historical-critical

Sanskrit
and
long

a c c o u n t of t h e

translations

p u r z ~ a si n t o T a m i l on a l a r g e s c a l e i n

the

f o r more comments on t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e
book d e v o t e d t o t h e s t u d y of t h e

P e r i y a p u r z ~ a m on E r i p a t t a NZya_%r, i n c l u d e s a n

a
of

15th

1 6 t h c e n t u r i e s . I t c o n t a i n s a huge l i s t l e a v i n g u s

A~pumu;i, a

rejects

to

translation.
section

in

insightful

c o m p a r a t i v e s t u d y o f C i i k k i L i r ' s a c c o u n t of t h e l i f e o f t h i s
Saivite

Sivabakta

s a i n t w i t h t h e o n e s f o u n d i n two S a n s k r i t poems

Vila'can a n d U p a m a y a b a k t a V i l z c a m .

Examining

number
the

of s i m i l a r p a s s a g e s i n t h e t h r e e w o r k s , h e

commonly h e l d e a r l i e r n o t i o n t h a t

rejects

PeriyapurZpam

must

have b e e n a t r a n s l a t i o n and c o n v i n c i n g l y a r g u e s t h a t i t was

the

s o u r c e of t h e two S a n s k r i t w o r k s w h i c h w e r e

its

only

imperfect t r a n s l a t i o n s .
Some
the

of P r o f . T . P . H . ' s p r i z e d i s c o v e r i e s p e r t a i n

literary

Dravidian

relations

languages.

between

Tamil

and

He e s t a b l i s h e s t h r o u g h

the
one

to

other
of

his

r e s e a r c h a r t i c l e s t h a t t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e Bhagavad-Gita
in

Halayalam

translation

by o n e o f t h e Kannada p o e t s
or

adaptation

of t h e

is

Tamil

actually

translation

..

B s t . C a r . 1 4 F o r t.llo t r l u r y u P Nn~~l.a;X!i;r, a H a r l j t l r ~ d i a o i y l a
Siva,
20th

a
by

of

w h i c h was v e r y p o p u l a r i n T a m i l n a d u i n t h e 1 9 t h

and

c e n t u r i e s , G o p a l a K r i s n a B h a r a t i was i n d e b t e d t o

the

Kannada

version

which

was t h e

first

to

introduce

the

Brahmin l a n d l o r d who i n s i s t e d on Nantaf!XrCs c o m p l e t i n g

the

h a r v e s t of h i s e n t i r e l a n d i f h e s h o u l d b e a l l o w e d t o g o t o
Chidambaram.15 K r i s h n a d e v a r a y a ' s Zmukta MFllya i n T e l u g u
the

-A?;hl,

s t o r y of n o n e o t h e r t h a n t h e T a m i l
also

known a s ~ r f i k k o ; u t t a

Vaishnava

NiicciyHr.

is

poetess

Prof.T.P.li.

a f t e r e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h c o u l d i d e n t i f y many o f t h e s t o r i e s
of

Tamil

undertake

NiTyafimiTrs
a

i n Kannada, T e l u g u

fascinating

s t u d y of

the

and

Marathi

various

and

versions

a v a i l a b l e i n t h e d i f f e r e n t languages.16 I n a long essay

on

the

T a m i l d r a m a s of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y , he p o i n t s
patyam, and tvipatam a r e d i f f e r e n t

cisa

tohra,

musical

out

compcsit'ions

which

Tamil g o t

from

that

types

of

Harathi

and

T e l u g u . l7
I t i s well-known t h a t a s t u d y o f m i g r a t i o n o f t h e m e s
from

one

literature

to

others

is

domain

in

c o m p a r a t i s t s h a v e f e l t v e r y much a t home. Raymond

emphasising

the

value of examining

this

which

Trousson

phenomenon

i t " a d i f f i c u l t e x e r c i s e a s f a r removed f r o m

called

erudition

a s f r o m t h e s c o p e of b e g i n n e r s i n

has
dusty

criticism,

t a s k o f t e n demanding a n d a r d u o u s s o m e t i m e s u n g r a t e f u l ,

but

ever

the

invigorating

secret,

strong

and

new, r e v e a l i n g

something

l i f e of t h e g r e a t f i g u r e s

we

of

have

made,

c e n t u r y a f t e r c e n t u r y , o u r own g l o r i o u s d o u b l e s " . A c c o r d i n g
to

Trousson,

"the

study

of

recurrent

figures

f i g u r a t i o n s a i m s a t f i n d i n g , a c r o s s many r e i n c a r n a t i o n s
a

in

and
of

s i n g l e h e r o , some c o n s t a n t s , some f u n d a m e n t a l

problems,

a word; s o m e t h i n g e s s e n t i a l t o human n a t u r e ,

something

ceaselessly

m o d i f i e d y e t a l w a y s p r e s e r v e d and

transmitted

b e n e a t h t h i s m y t h i c g u i s e " . l8
What
named

he

s a y s of t h e E u r o p e a n

personages,

applicable

to

the

it

should be

Indian

myths,

evident,

context,

since

legends
is

our

much

and
more

regional

l i t e r a t u r e s have been f e r t i l e i n a t t e m p t s t o p o u r o l d

wine

new b o t t l e s - p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e i r

into
of

reinterpretation

c l a s s i c a l myths and l e g e n d s embodied i n t h e

epics,

Hahabharata

Vyasa's

Prof . T . P . H .

particularly

multitudinous

and

revels

manifestations

of

two

in
the

great

Ranayana.

Valmiki's

analysing
story

of

the

Rana

S a n s k r i t , T a m i l , H i n d i , T e l u g u , Kannada and M a l a y a l a m ,
endless

of e p i s o d e s of t h e Mahabharata

variations

in
the

to

be

Bhakti

found i n T a n ~ i lf o l k - l i t e r a t u r e and t h e m i g r a t i o n of
theme f r o m T a m i l t o o t h e r I n d i a n l a n g u a g e s .
P r 0 f . T . P . M . d e a l s a t l e n g t h w i t h Kampan's
on

Tulasidas,

Rama's

especially

meeting

with

in the

S i t a before

latter's
their

influence

treatment

marriage,18

of
and

r e v e a l s s u r p r i s i n g d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e r e c e p t i o n of Kampan i n
Mysore

and K e r a l a i n c l u d i n g t h e f a c t t h a t i n

legend

Kampan i s r e p r e s e n t e d a s an a v a t a r of

Lord

and

makes

an

interesting

F
Kampar~nTya?app~valkLttu i n
original
Tamil

into

Malayalam

to

in

villages, in

particular

version

its

Tamil
with

opinion,

Mahiravana,

t h e T a m i l l a n d by t h e d i s c i p l e s of

of

popular

Prof.T.P.H.'s

t h e B e n g a l i s t o r y of

sivaZ0

study

and

The f o l k - s t o r y of M a y i l RKvarag

women

indebted

oomparative

Malayalam

is

introduced

~ h a i t a n y a . The
~ ~

of H a r i s h c h a n d r a ' s s t o r y i n

vogue

in

T a m i l i n c l u d i n g A r i c c a n t i r a p u r i i r a m h a s a n i m p o r t a n t Kannada
s o u r c e c a l l e d Ragavanga o f t h e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y . 2 3 He

mentions

how

Ka?naki

became Teyyo i n C e y l o n , as

celebrated

in

number of S i n h a l e s e f o l k s o n g s .
Two
child

that

was b o r n on t h e b a n k s of t h e

Tamaraparani
parts

of

~ u j a r a .t2 4
had

in

South

up

in

India,

an

old

and grew

into

T h i s i s o n l y a s y m b o l i c a c c o u n t of

subcontinent
when

or

lady

I n d i a , from t h e E a s t e r n s e a s

of

t o 950

t h e T a m i l s had c o n t a c t s w i t h t h e o u t s i d e
Northern

and

in

Bhakti

sonps

A l v Z r s and s p r e a d t o v a r i o u s p a r t s

d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d f r o m 650 A . D .

the

different

how

and

female

Cauvery

T a m i l n a d u , was b r o u g h t

i t s o r i g i n i n Tamilnadu i n t h e bone-melting

NZya;mZrs

the

p u r r ~ a sd e s c r i b e Bhakti a s

Sanskrit

of
the

A.D.,

world
from

from
Sri

Lanka i n t h e S o u t h and even A r a b i a i n t h e W e s t .

Prof.T.P.K.
long

enunciates t h i s proposition in his

e s s a y s "TamilccelvZkku-1",

"Tamilccelviikku-2",

two
(The

F o r t u n e s of T a m i l i n I n d i a and A b r o a d ) . T h e r e i s a l w a y s t h e
danger

of s u c h s t u d i e s of r e c e p t i o n d e g e n e r a t i n g , a l l

easily,

into

Prof.T.P.H.'s

mechanical

and

dull

catalogues.

s t u d y of t h e l i t e r a r y f o r t u n e s o f

too
But

Ni;lyapZrs

and H ~ v Z r si n I n d i a and i n t h e F a r E a s t e r n c o u n t r i e s

takes

i n t o a c c o u n t , i n a s e n s i t i v e and w e l l - i n f o r m e d m a n n e r , many
sociological,
of
and

h i s t o r i c a l and p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s . A l l

sources including
belles-lettres

stone-inscriptions,
are

tapped

and

kinds

folk-literature

every

piece

of

information

i s d i l i g e n t l y c o l l e c t e d , p r o p e r l y weighed

objectively

assessed.

Such

thesis

could

and

have

been

s a t i s f a o t o r i l y s u b s t a n t i a t e d o n l y by a c r i t i c who knew
l i t e r a t u r e i n d i f f e r e n t languages i n t h e

Bhakti

Service

to

rejection

the
of

l i f e .and

p o o r , a f f i r m a t i o n of

world-negation,

a c c e p t a n c e of

powerful

medium

concept,

l o v e f o r God e x p r e s s e d i n t e r m s of

of e x p r e s s i o n , b e l i e f

in

the

original.
emphatic

music
the

as

one-world

love

between

man and woman, and emphasis on dharma a r e l i s t e d by him

as

some of t h e a s p e c t s of t h e B h a k t i c u l t . Ramanuja s e r v e d

as

powerful

i n t e r m e d i a r y i n s p r e a d i n g t h e message

-A l v r r s

and h i s d i s c i p l e s c o n t i n u e d t h e t a s k

later.

The

Kannada,
benefit

s o n g s of t h e z i v ~ r swere

Hindi,

Gujarati

literature

communications
also

Bengali

the

mediation
in

scripts

Telugu,
for

the

of t h e V a i s h n a v i t e s of t h o s e r e g i o n s .
Prof.T.P.M.

and

and

of

written

of

sketches t h e t r a v e l routes
while

drawing

the

mag

of
of

thought
literary

between v a r i o u s r e g i o n s of t h e c o u n t r y

analyses the reasons f o r t h e d i s t o r t i o n s the

and

stories

of NXyacmgrs f a c e d a t t h e hands of ~ r r aS a i v i t e s i n Kannada

and t h o s e of X ~ v Z r sand NKyagmirs i n T e l u g u .
Pr0f.T.P.M.

g o e s on t o c o n s i d e r how t h e s e waves

of

t h e B h a k t i movement l a t e r r e a c h e d t h e s h o r e s of some of t h e
far

E a s t e r n c o u n t r i e s f o l l o w i n g t h e r o u t e s of

trade.

The

national

festival

of T h a i l a n d was

~iruvempzvai

providing

overwhelming

impact

~ ~ ? i k k a v ? i c a k a r on
favourite

of

the

subjects

known

unmistakable
the

as

songs

of

Thai culture.2S

One

is t o trace t h e

Tiruppzvai-

evidence

for

the

i?tEl

and

T . P . H . ,s

of

prevalen,ce

of

Tamil

c u l t u r e i n S r i L a n k a , Burma, Malaya, T h a i l a n d , B a l i I s l a n d ,
China,

Arabia,

conclusions

E g y p t , G r e e c e a n d Rome and

he

piles

instances

upon

to

prove

his

instances

from

d i f f e r e n t s o u r c e s including l i t e r a r y works.
C o m p a r a t i v e l i t e r a r y s t u d i e s may v e r y o f t e n l e a d
studies

in

cultural

comparatists

are

philosophical

h i s t o r y and h i s t o r y

h a s g e r m i n a t e d i n t o a work

explores

~ Z t t a ~ L r ' sa t t e m p t

at

to

ideas,

f o n d of a n a l y s i n g how a n i d e o l o g y

system

Pr0f.T.P.H.

of

and
or

of

art.

propagating

Buddhism

in

N a n i m g k a l a i i n more t h a n o n e

essay

presence

of

S a i v i s m i n CaAkam l i t e r a t u r e

in

and

two

the

essays

c a l l e d " ~ a h k aK z l a t t i l Saivam" ( S a i v i s m d u r i n g Cahkam E r a ) ,

making i t c l e a r t h a t u n l i k e C z t t a n z r , t h e ~ a i k a ap o e t s w e r e
not

interested

religious

in

t h e o l o g y o r making a

convictions

case

for

i n t h e i r poetic expression

their
of

the

1 ~ 1 (~d isv i n e s p o r t s ) o f L o r d S i v a .

Though
literature,
through

his

he

was

Prof.T.P.M.
scholarly

not

writer

served a s an
articles

and

of

imaginative

effective

mediator

translations.

He

introduced
Weatern

t h e Tamil r e a d e r s and s c h o l a r s t o a

number

c o n c e p t s , t h e o r l e a , l i t e r a r y movements and

of

terns.

His c o l l e c t i o n of e s s a y s c a l l e d Pz;filPPura;ci ( R e v o l u t i o n
in

P o e t r y ) , f o r example, c o n t a i n s d i s c u s s i o n s i n Tamil

John

Crcwe

Imagist
poetry

of

poetry,

the

movement, t h e s t r e a m - o f - c o n s c i o u s n e s s

novel,

the

of

Ransom's t h e o r y and p r a c t i c e

of

Cummings i n t h e l i g h t of t h e Tamil

concept

of

poru;ka, t h e c o n c e p t of i r o n y and of t h e l a t e s t t r e n d s

in

criticism.
numerous
Tamil

In

many

of

these

rapid

critical

surveys,

s u g g e s t i v e p a r a l l e l s a r e drawn from S a n s k r i t

poetics.

His t r a n s l a t i o n s r a n e e from

Harco

and

Polo's

n o t e s on t h e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y Tamil land t o A l b e r t S c h w e i t z e r ' s

Tirukku~a! and

observations

on

Function

Criticism". A s early as the

present

of

century,

he

serialised

T.S.Eliot's

in

essay

fifties

Ralaikkatir

"The

of

the

essays

expounding f o r t h e f i r s t time t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y t h e o r i e s of
Freud.
As

one of t h e f i r s t r e s e a r c h g u i d e s i n

Prof.T.P.H.
Ph.D.

thesis

chose t o s u p e r v i s e t h e w r i t i n g s of
written s t r i c t l y according t o t h e

Tamilnadu,
the

first

norms

Comparative L i t e r a t u r e , D r . V . S a c h i t h a n a n d a n ' s "Whitman

of
and

B h a r a t i " . The o t h e r e a r l y ones s u c c e s s f u l l y s u p p l i c a t e d f o r

Ph.D. under P r o f . T . P . M . ' s g u i d a n c e a r e : Dr.S.Ramakrishnan's
"Hilton

and

Kamban",

Dr . K . C h e l l a p p a n ' s

"Shakespearean

Tragedy

and

C i l a p p a t i k K r a m " and Mrs.

"Mysticism

in

Tiruviicakam".

T y a g a r a j a n 's

Radha

These

dissertations,

u n d e r s t a n d a b l y , s e t t h e t r e n d of a c t i v i t i e s i n

comparative

l i t e r a t u r e r e s e a r c h i n Tamilnadu.
Because

of h i s knowledge and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of

more

than one l i t e r a t u r e , P r 0 f . T . P . M . c o u l d g a i n a more b a l a n c e d

view

and

t r u e r p e r s p e c t i v e t h a n was

contemporaries

from

literature

a s a c r i t i c , t e a c h e r and

and

the

isolated

possible

analysis

to

of

guide

he

could

s h a r e t h e p l e a s u r e of t h i s achievement w i t h a l a r g e
of

not

come o u t w i t h f u l l - l e n g t h

following

the

methodology

number

I t is u n f o r t u n a t e

r e a d e r s , d i s c i p l e s and s t u d e n t s .

could

his

Tanil

comparative

associated

with

studies

comparative

l i t e r a t u r e , b u t then he had t o do t h e p i o n e e r i n g work i n

number

of

fields

resurgence

answering

immediately

after

the

demands

the

he

of

the

independence

Tanil

of

the

c o u n t r y . When one comes a c r o s s a b r i e f c o m p a r a t i v e s t u d y of

Naz;i?ai

and

Aristotle's

and

Kamasutra

Arthasasthra

portrayal

of

and

ordinary

or

..

V a l l u v a r ' s "Poru;p=l"

T a r a and Kampan's,

of

Vathsayayana's

appraisal^.^^

or

one w i s h e s

of

Kau$ilya's

of

Valmiki's

that

he

had

A l a r g e number of

casual

t e s t i f y i n g t o h i s i n c r e d i b l e sweep and

extra-

g i v e n more d e t a i l e d
comparisons

Ethics

V a l l u v a r ' s "Kiimattupp'iil" o r

insights

a r e found s c a t t e r e d i n

his

countless

essays.

From

comparisons
Spinoza's

AyFtti

profitably

studied
v&ana's

c a n b e made of V a t ; u v a r ' s

that

fruitful

c o n c e p t of l o v e

and of P l a t o ' s R e p u b l i c and Rampan's p i c t u r e

in

'inscape'

h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s it is c l e a r

his

Ramayanam,

studied
and

along

that

~a>kam l y r i c s

i n t h e l i g h t of H o p k i n s ' s

with

the

"Vacanakalus"

i n ~ e l u g u . ~As
' a

in

of
be

Rannada

oomparatist,

he

present

more complex end e l a b o r a t e s t u d i e s

generation

of s c h o l a r s t a k i n g

advantage

and
has

permit

an e x t r e m e l y u s e f u l f i r s t o r i e n t a t i o n . And t h e y h a v e t o
into

be

should

p r o v i d e d s i m p l e l i n e s of numerous s k e t c h - m a p s w h i c h

expanded

of

concept

t h a t t h e poems of T a m i l S i d d h a s

Patyams

can

and

be

by

the

of

the

l a t e s t developments i n Western l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m .

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1.

Tarnilmanam,
(Madurai: Meenakshi P u t t a k a Nilayam,
1 9 6 2 7 , ;.
9 . [ A l l t h e works c i t e d i n t h e r e f e r e n c e s
h e r e a r e by T . P . M e e n a k s h i s u n d a r a n . ]

2.

Ibid.,, p. 5

3.

Ibid.,,

4.

I b i d . , , p . 12.

5.

I b i d . , , p . 49.

6.

Philosophy
University,

P. 6

of Tiruvalluvar,
1969), p. 7.

(Hadurai:

Madurai

Ibid.,

p.

15

I b i d . , p. 19
Ibid.,p. 20.
I b i d . , p . 18

See S i x t y - f l r s t
(Annamalainagar:
pp.106-113.

B i r t h d a y Con~mr.ru~.atiun
Annamalai
University,

Volume,

1961),

"The T a m i l L i t e r a r y Theory of t h e B h a k t i P e r i o d " ,

J o u r n a l o f t h e M a d u r a i U n i v e r s i t y , December
1970,
p. 7.
P h i l o s o p h y of T i r u v a l l u v a r , p. 33.
Tamilum PirapanpZturn,
( M a d r a s : New
~ o u s eL t d . , 1975)) 'p. 32.

Century

Book

Ibid., p.40

S e e " T a m i ~ c c e l v ~ k k u " ,Tarnilurn Pigapappg;urn.

~ T d k a l u r nC u v a i y u h k a l , ( M a d u r a i : S a r v o d a y a I l a k k i y a p a n n a i , 1978, p p . 108-109.

Quoted i n S.S.Prawer, Comparative L i t e r a r y S t u d i e s ,

D u c k w o r t h , 1973, p . 1 0 4 .

Tarnilurn ~ i ~ a p a f p T ; u mp, . 31
I b i d . , p . 29.

T a m i l u m Pi_rapanpZfurn, p. 31.
I b i d . , p.41
I b i d . , p.18.
Ulaka
Ngkarikattil
Tami&ri~
~aAku
S a r v o d a y a I l a k k i y a p p a n n a i , 1982), p . 11.

(Madurai:

27.

U l a k a N g k a r i k a t t i l T a m i l a r i ~ ~ a A k u , p p . 90-92,
F h i l o s o p h g , o f T i r u v a l l u v l j r , pp. 111-113, 116-17,
140-41, N l n k a j u n C u v a i y u l j k a ; , pp. 5 9 - 6 1 .

28.

S e e P h i l o s o p h y o f T i r u v a l l u v a r , p. 82,
C u v a i y u r i k a l , pp. 5 2 ,
Tamil I l a k k i y a
pp.57-58. T a m i ~ u mPifapa7pB$;jm, p.27.

~ ~ ~ k a l u n r
~aralZiu,