Tamil is the oldest language in the world, and Tolkappiyam is one of the earliest available literary works in Tamil. The author of Tolkappiyam, Tolkappiyar, is believed to have lived during the Second Sangam era—before 4,200 B.C. However, very little is known about the man who first translated this outstanding ancient text into English – Dr Subramanya Sastri.
A great scholar proficient in Tamil, Sanskrit, and English, Dr PS Subrahmanya Sastri was born on July 29, 1890, in Balakrishnanpatti, Kollimalai—Trichy district of Tamil Nadu, the eldest son of Swaminatha Sastrigal and Srimati Mangalammal.
After studying mathematics at the degree level, he studied Sanskrit for his MA with Neelkanda Shastri, an expert in grammar and philosophy. He graduated as the first PhD holder from the University of Madras. He published his thesis on ‘History of Grammatical Theories in Tamil and Their Relation to Grammatical Literature in Sanskrit’ in 1930.
He started his career as a mathematics teacher at Tiruvaiyaru Government College. Later, he became the Principal of Rajah’s College, Tiruvaiyaru, and Head of the Department of Sanskrit at Annamalai University between 1942 and 1947. He was known by the titles Vidyaratnam, Vidyanidi, and Vidyabhushanam.
Dr Subrahmanya Sastri researched Tolkappiyam and wrote the text in Tamil and English. He published the English translation in 1930. Although his approach was scientific, Tamil and Sanskrit scholars widely criticized his work.
Naysayers called Dr Subrahmanya Sastri anti-Tamil and anti-Sanskrit for translating Tolkappiyam.
However, it should be noted that during his tenure at Annamalai University, he revived the defunct Sanskrit Honours course. His class lectures in Sanskrit or English were interspersed with parallels from Tamil literature. Such was his love for the three languages.
Dr Sastri’s fluency in Tamil, Sanskrit and English got him the title of ‘Vani Triveni Prayaga’ from Kanchi Paramacharya. In addition to that, he had sound knowledge in Latin and German and has written about 35 books.
Though he was steadfast in his looks, his disciples remembered him for being very simple and extremely kind, especially the poor scholars. He was always conscious about his own humble beginnings and had devoted his entire life to Tamil.
Dr Subrahmanya Shastri passed away on 20th May 1978 at 88.
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