Arumuka Navalar (; 18 December 1822 – 5 December 1879) was a
Sri Lankan Shaivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
scholar,
polemic
Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...
ist, and a religious reformer who was central in reviving
native Hindu Tamil traditions in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and India.
Navalar's birth name was Nallur Arumuga Pillai.
He was born in a Tamil literary family, and became one of the Jaffna Tamils notable for reviving, reforming and reasserting the Hindu
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
tradition during the colonial era. As an assistant working for
Peter Percival
Peter Percival (24 July 1803 – 11 July 1882) was a British born missionary and educator who opened religious schools in Sri Lanka and South India during the British colonial era.) During his stay in Jaffna, he led the effort to translate the ...
– a Methodist Christian missionary, he helped translate the
King James Bible into the Tamil language.
With his knowledge of Christian theological premises, Navalar became influential in creating a period of intense religious rivalry with
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such ...
aries, defending Tamils and their historic religious culture in India and Sri Lanka, preventing large-scale conversions to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
He was one of the first natives to use the modern printing press to preserve the Tamil literary tradition. He defended Hindu Shaivism, calling it ''samaya'' (Observance, Religion) of "True Being" (''sat'', soul), and he used the same techniques to counter Christianity that Christian missionaries used against Hinduism.
As part of his religious revivalism, in a manner similar to Christian mission schools, he built schools that taught secular and
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
religious subjects.
He is credited with finding and publishing original
palm leaf manuscripts
Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and sp ...
. He also attempted to reform Hindu Shaivism and customary practices in Sri Lanka, such as by showing Shaiva Agamas (scriptures) prohibit animal sacrifice and violence of any form.
Biography
Navalar was born in 1822 as Nallur Arumuga Pillai to a Hindu family in Sri Lanka.
His family belonged to the
Vellalar
Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar are members of sev ...
caste, which constitutes about 50% of the Tamil Hindus on the island nation.
The Vellalars were related to farming.
[, Quote: "Arumuga Navalar and Jnanaprakasha Muni belonged to the Karkatta Velala class" (p. 40). (For the legend on how Navalar's ancestor learnt Hindu texts and became accepted as learned in the Hindu community, and a part of Shaiva monastery tradition, see pp. 41–43)] Historically, the Vellalars had been a part of the elites who owned lands, were literati, patrons of temples and monasteries. At the time of Navalar's birth, they were a part of the socio-political leadership in
Jaffna peninsula, a strip of land (40 by 15 miles) separated from South India by the
Palk Strait
The Palk Strait ( ta, பாக்கு நீரிணை ''Pākku Nīriṇai'', si, පෝක් සමුද්ර සන්ධිය ''Pok Samudra Sandhiya'') is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Distri ...
.
Navalar grew up in a literati Tamil
Shaiva
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
family.
Navalar's home was in the town of
Nallur on the Jaffna peninsula. The principal town
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
and the peninsula (as well as the East of Sri Lanka) were predominantly Tamil Saiva in culture distinct from that of the
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
Buddhists elsewhere. It was closely linked to the Saiva culture of South India.
It was also home to the
Jaffna Kingdom that had patronised this culture before it was defeated by the Portuguese
colonials in 1621 CE. Nallur was also the capital of the defeated kingdom.
Arumugam's father Kandharpillai was a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
poet and provided a foundation in
Tamil literature
Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...
to Arumuga Navalar.
His mother Sivakami was known for her devotion to supreme Saiva deity Lord Siva. Arumugam studied the Indian classical language,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
as well as
Tamil grammar
Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest available grammar book for Tamil, the ''Tolkāppiyam'' (dated between 300 BCE and 300 CE). Modern Tamil writing is largely based on the 13th century grammar '' Naṉṉūl'', which rest ...
. Arumugam studied English in a Christian mission run school as a day student. After his studies, he was asked to stay on at the
Jaffna Central College
Jaffna Central College ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் மத்திய கல்லூரி ''Yāḻppāṇam Mattiya Kallūri'', JCC) is a national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1816 by British Methodist missionaries, it ...
to teach English and Tamil.
The missionary school principal,
Peter Percival
Peter Percival (24 July 1803 – 11 July 1882) was a British born missionary and educator who opened religious schools in Sri Lanka and South India during the British colonial era.) During his stay in Jaffna, he led the effort to translate the ...
employed him to assist in the translation of the King James Bible and other Christian literature into Tamil to further their missionary reach and objectives.
Navalar immersed himself in the study of the Bible as well as the Vedas, Agamas and
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s. When he started his studies, he wondered whether Shaiva Hinduism or Christianity was the right path. After his studies, he became convinced that the Shaiva religious tradition in the Vedas and Agamas was the right path, and that the Christian path wasn't. Arumugam Navalar felt that Hindu Saivites needed a clearer understanding of their own ancient literature and religion. He continued to help the Christian missionaries but resolved to challenge the theological ideas of these missionaries, as well as launch reforms and spread the original ideas of Shaivism. Navalar left his job under Peter Percival that he had with the Weslyan Mission, although Percival offered him a higher salary to stay on. He decided not to marry and relinquished his patrimony and did not get any money from his four employed brothers. From then until the end of his life, he and his projects were supported by those who believed in his cause.
Through his weekly sermons at Hindu temples, he also attempted to reform local Tamils of all practices that did not find sanction in the Hindu Vedas and Agamas. The lecture series and its circuit continued regularly for several years and produced a ''Saiva revival,'' helping informed piety grow among many Jaffna Saivas. This was a direct tactical response to confront what he called the "mockery" of the Hindus by Christian missionaries.
During this period, he continued to assist Percival to complete the translation of the Bible, as well as his study of the primary texts of both Christianity and Hinduism. When there was a conflict as to Percival's version and another competing translation, Arumugam traveled to Madras to defend Percival's version. In 1848 he founded his own school and finally parted company with Percival. Navalar believed that the Christian missionaries should be viewed as a gift from Shiva to help awaken his community to discover their own ''dharma'' path (''puram'') from "which they had departed" and away from the path of the "barbaric Europeans" (''purappuram''), states Hudson.
Background information
Tamil people
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Dravi ...
are natives in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
and in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. In the early centuries of the common era,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
s and
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
s from northern and eastern regions of India influenced South India. The Tamil
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
literati responded with their own literature, particularly with the
bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
saints, the
Nayanars
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were de ...
and
Alvars. By the 12th century CE, the Tamils had an extensive network of temples, religious literature and pilgrimage sites dedicated to
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
and
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
[.] Of these, the Shaiva ''samayam'' (religious tradition) was most influential in the Jaffna region. They held the
Veda
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Co ...
s and
Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
to be the bedrock of their beliefs. Navalar was born and raised in this background.
The 18th and 19th century Tamils in India and Sri Lanka found themselves in the midst of intrusive Christian missionary activity and their polemics against Hinduism. According to D. Dennis Hudson, Tamil Saivas opposed Christian missions from the earliest days, based on indirect literary evidence. Printing press was not available to the Hindus in colonial era South Asia, and the Shaiva community used their oral tradition and handwritten notes for anti-missionary literature. Once Hindus gained access to printing presses, they mass-produced religious literature to condemn Christian propaganda in Jaffna and Chennai (then Madras) in the same way that Christian missionaries had used mass-produced literature to attack Hinduism. Arumuga Navalar was one of the first Tamils who became adept at this information war, and to undertake as his life's career the intellectual and institutional response of Saivism to Christianity in Sri Lanka and India.
The 19th century Protestant missionaries from England and America in Jaffna believed that Hindu Shaivism was "evil" and in the struggle God and the Devil, they began to use publications such as ''The Morning Star'' to reveal the "falsity" of Hindu Shaivism and highlight texts such as the Skanda Purana in their schools for children. This angered the Shaiva community, who began their own efforts to counter the methods of the Christians.
Response to Protestant propaganda
In September 1842 two hundred Hindu men gathered at a Siva temple monastery. The group decided to open up a school to study Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
and Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
. The group also decided to start a press with the help of resident Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...
Burghers. Arumugam Navalar who was part of the organisation wrote about the meeting in The Morning Star in a sympathetic tone.
While Arumugam Navalar was still working under Peter Percival and translating the Bible, he published a seminal letter in ''The Morning Star'' under a pseudonym in September 1841. It was a comparative study of Christianity and Hindu Saivism and targeted the weakness in the argument Christian missionaries had used against local Hindu Saiva practices. The missionaries had attacked the idol worship
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
and temple rituals of the local Hindu Saivas as "devilish" and of "no value". Navalar, an avid reader of the Bible as he worked to translate it into Tamil, stated that Christianity and Jesus himself were rooted in the temple rituals of the ancient Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
and that the reverence to the icons of Christianity such as the cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
was akin to Shaiva's reverence for the icons of Hinduism such as the lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
. If Christians find their churches, rites and symbols as pedagogically useful, why shouldn't Shaiva Hindus have the same human rights and religious choices, argued Navalar. His letter admonished the missionaries for misrepresenting their own religion and concluded that in effect there was no difference between Christianity and Hindu Saivism as far as idol worship and temple rituals were concerned.
Circuit preaching
Using the preaching methods popularised by the Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
preachers, he became a circuit preacher. His first secession was on 31 December 1847 at Vaitheeswaran Temple
Vaitheeswaran Koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Shiva, located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran meaning the "God of healing" and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure ...
in Vannarpannai. It was a weekly event known as ''Prasangams'' on every Friday evening. In these secession he read from sacred texts and then preached in a manner that lay people understood. He was helped by his friend Karttikeya Aiyar of Nallur and his students from his school. The sermon topics were mostly ethical, liturgical, and theological and included the evils of adultery, drunkenness, the value of non-killing, the conduct of women, the worship of the linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
, the four initiations, the importance of giving alms, of protecting cows, and the unity of God.
Emphasis on Agamas
In his weekly sermons, he attacked Christians and criticized the benighted practices of local Hindus. He specifically reprimanded the trustees and priests of the Nallur Kandaswami Temple in his home town because they had built the temple not according to the Agamas a century ago as well as used priests who were not initiated in the Agamas. He also opposed their worship of Vel
Vel ( ta, வேல், lit=Vēl) is a divine javelin or spear associated with Murugan, the Hindu god of war.
Significance
According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti, ...
or the weapon representing the main deity as it did not have Agamic sanction.
Reformed school system
The school he founded was called ''Saivaprakasa Vidyasala'' or School of Lord Siva's splendor. The school did not follow the traditional Tamil teaching system, in which each student worked on his own pace and the teacher pupil ratio was extremely low. Although this system produced stellar experts in subject matter but took too much labour and was inefficient compared to the western system used by the Missionaries.[ He developed his teaching methods based on the exposure he had with the Missionaries. He developed the curriculum to be able to teach 20 students at a time and included secular subject matters and English. He also wrote the basic instruction materials for different grades in Saivism.][ Most of his teachers were friends and acquaintances who were volunteers. This school system was duplicated later in ]Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...
in India in 1865 and it still exits. But the school system he founded in Sri Lanka was replicated and over 100 primary and secondary schools were built based on his teaching methods. This school system produced numerous students who had clearer understanding of their religion, textual foundations, rituals and theology.[
]
Navalar title
As an owner of a pioneering new school with the a need for original publications in Tamil prose to teach subjects for all grades, Arumugar Navalar felt a need for a printing press. He and his colleague Sadasiva Pillai went to Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, India in 1849 to purchase a printing press. On the way they stopped at Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam
Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam is a Saivite Matha, mutt based in the town of Thiruvaduthurai in Kuthalam taluk of Mayiladuthurai district, Mayiladuthurai District, Tamil Nadu, India. The adheenam maintains the Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai, May ...
in Tanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
, India, an important Saiva monastery. He was asked by the head of the monastery to preach. After listening to his preaching and understanding his unusual mastery of the knowledge of Agamas, the head of the monastery conferred on him the title ''Navalar'' (learned). This honorary degree from a prestigious Saiva monastery enhanced his position amongst Saivas and he was known as the Navalar since then.[
]
Literary contributions
While in India he published two texts, one was an educational tool (teachers guide) ''Cüdãmani Nikantu'', a sixteenth-century lexicon of simple verses and ''Soundarya Lahari
The Saundarya Lahari ( sa, सौन्दर्यलहरी) meaning "The waves of Beauty" is a famous literary work in Sanskrit attributed to Adi Shankara. Some believe the first part "Ananda Lahari" was etched on mount Meru by Ganesha hims ...
'', a Sanskrit poem in praise of the Primeval Mother Goddess Parvati, geared towards devotion. These were the first effort at editing and printing Tamil works for Hindu Saiva students and devotees. His press was set up in a building that was donated by a merchant of Vannarpannai. It was named the ''Vidyaanubalana yantra sala'' (Preservation of Knowledge Press).[ The initial publications included ''Bala Patam'' (Lessons for Children) in 1850 and 1851. They were graded readers, simple in style, similar in organisation to those used in the ]Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
schools. This was followed up by a third volume in 1860 and 1865. It consisted of thirty-nine advanced essays in clear prose, discussing subjects such as God, Saul, The Worship of God, Crimes against the Lord, Grace, Killing, Eating meat, Drinking liquor, Stealing, Adultery, Lying, Envy, Anger, and Gambling. These editions were in use in 2007.
Other notable texts published included ''The Prohibition of Killing'', ''Manual of worship of Shiva temple'' and ''The Essence of the Saiva Religion''. His first major literary publication appeared in 1851, the 272-page prose version of Sekkilar
Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the '' Periya Puranam'' (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 ver ...
's Periya Puranam
The ''Periya purāṇam'' (Tamil: பெரிய புராணம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic ...
, a retelling of the 12th-century hagiography of the Nayanars
The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; ta, நாயன்மார், translit=Nāyaṉmār, translit-std=ISO, lit=hounds of Siva, and later 'teachers of Shiva ) were a group of 63 Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were de ...
or Saivite saints.[ In 1853 he published Nakkirar's '' Tirumurukarrupatai'', with its own commentary. It was a devotional poem to Sri Murugan.] This was followed by local missionaries attacking Sri Murugan as an "immoral deity" for marrying two women. As a response Navalar published ''Radiant Wisdom'' explaining how the chronicles embody differing levels of meaning and that numerous characters in the Christian Bible, like King David, who were being claimed as examples of good conduct by the missionaries, were being depicted as having multiple wives and sexual partners themselves. He also published literature of controversial nature, in a manner similar to how Christian missionaries were, in what Navalar called as "mocking" the Hindus. He along with Centinatha Aiyar, published examples of indecent language from the Bible and published it as ''Disgusting Things in the Bible'' (Bibiliya Kutsita). In 1852, he along with Ci. Vinayakamurtti Cettiyar of Nallur, printed the ''Kummi Song on Wisdom'' of Muttukumara Kavirajar
Muttukumara Kavirajar (1780–1851), the Ceylon / Sri Lankan Tamil poet, was one of the earliest Hindus to protest via published native literature the conversion attempts by the various Protestant missionaries within the Jaffna peninsula in Sri La ...
. The local Christians called for the one-sided censorship of such criticism and to shut down these printing presses.
The seminal work that was geared towards stemming the tide of conversions was printed in 1854. It was a training manual for the use of Saivas in their opposition to the missionaries, titled "Saiva dusana parihara" (''The Abolition of the Abuse of Saivism'').
A Methodist missionary, who had worked in Jaffna, described the manual thirteen years after it had appeared as:
This manual was widely used in Sri Lanka and India; it was reprinted at least twice in the 19th century, and eight times by 1956.
Legacy
According to D. Dennis Hudson – a World Religions scholar,[Prof. D. Dennis Hudson (1939–2007) was a Professor of World Religions at the Department of Religion, Smith College at SUNY.] Navalar's legacy began in Jaffna, but spread more broadly to Sri Lanka as well as Southern India. Navalar active efforts to set up two centres of reform made him influential in the Tamil community. He started two schools, two printing presses and campaigned against Christian missionary activity in colonial-era Jaffna and Madras Presidency. He produced approximately ninety-seven Tamil publications, twenty-three were his own creations, eleven were commentaries, and forty were his editions of those works of grammar, literature, liturgy, and theology that were not previously available in print. With this recovery, editing, and publishing of ancient works, Navalar laid the foundations for the recovery of lost Tamil classics
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
that other Tamil scholars such as U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer (19 February 1855 – 28 April 1942) was a Tamil scholar and researcher who was instrumental in bringing many long-forgotten works of classical Tamil literature to light. His singular efforts ...
and C.W. Thamotharampillai continued.[ He was the first person to deploy the prose style in the Tamil language and according to Tamil scholar ]Kamil Zvelebil
Kamil Václav Zvelebil (November 17, 1927 – January 17, 2009) was a Czech scholar in Indian literature and linguistics, notably Tamil, Sanskrit, Dravidian linguistics and literature and philology.
Life and career
Zvelebil studied at the Cha ...
in style it bridged the medieval to the modern.
Navalar established the world's first Hindu school adapted to the modern needs that succeeded and flourished. While the school he established in Chidamharam in 1865 has survived to this day, similar schools seem to have spread only to two nearby towns. In Sri Lanka, eventually more than one hundred and fifty primary and secondary schools emerged from his work. Many of the students of these schools were successful in defending the Hindu Saiva culture not only against Christian missionary activities but also against neo-Hindu sects.[ His reforms and contributions were added to by scholars such as V. Kalyanasundaram (1883–1953), and ]Maraimalai Adigal
Maraimalai Adigal (15 July 1876 – 15 September 1950) was a Tamil orator and writer and father of Pure Tamil movement. He was a fervent Tamizh Saivite. He wrote more than 100 books, including works on original poems and dramas, but most famous ...
(1876–1950), who developed their own schools of theology within the Hindu Saiva heritage.[ Although it is difficult to quantify as to how many Hindus may have converted to Protestant Christianity without his intervention but according to Bishop ]Sabapathy Kulendran
''Sabapathy'' is a 1941 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by A. V. Meiyappan and A. T. Krishnaswamy, and produced by Meiyappan. An adaptation of Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar's farce play of the same name, the film stars T. R. Ramachandr ...
, the low rate of conversion compared to the initial promise was due to Navalar's activities.
Arumuka Navalar who identified himself with an idealised past, worked within the traditions of Hindu Saiva culture and adhered to the Hindu Saiva doctrine. He was an unapologetic defender of Hindu Shaivism. Although he never cared much for his caste identity, as he considered all living beings as equal, his efforts led to the consolidation of traditional privileges of Hindu Saiva Vellala (farmers, landlords) and Karaiyar
Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.
They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...
(warriors). Although Navalar did not show much interest in Tamil politics and kept his focus on defending the Hindu Shaiva faith in Sri Lanka and South India, his aggressive preaching of a Hindu Saiva cultural heritage contributed to the growth Tamil nationalism
Tamil nationalism is the ideology which asserts that the Tamil people constitute a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Tamil people. Tamil nationalism is primarily a secular nationalism, that focus on language and homeland. It expresses ...
. The Tamil nationalist movement had an element that "Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Saiva Siddhanta
Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...
preceded all others as the original Tamil religion", states Dennis Hudson. Navalar's insistence on the Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
as the criteria of Hindu Saiva worship, moreover, gave momentum to the tendency among Tamils everywhere to attempt to subsume local deities under the Agamic pantheon and to abandon animal sacrifice altogether.
Navalar and his followers have been accused by some such as Sivathamby of focusing on the religious literature "in their anxiety", and "openly keeping away" from the secular Tamil literature, as they opposed the Christian missionaries. According to David Shulman, however, Navalar was among the pioneers who first located and printed the predominantly non-religious Tamil Sangam literature
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
in 1851 (''Thirumurukaattuppadai'', one of the Ten Idylls
The Ten Idylls, known as Pattuppāṭṭu ( ta, பத்துப்பாட்டு) or Ten Lays, is an anthology of ten longer poems in the Sangam literature – the earliest known Tamil literature. They range between about 100 and 800 lin ...
) and the earliest paper editions of a palm-leaf manuscript on the ancient Tamil grammar text, ''Tolkappiyam''. According to Kamil Zvelebil
Kamil Václav Zvelebil (November 17, 1927 – January 17, 2009) was a Czech scholar in Indian literature and linguistics, notably Tamil, Sanskrit, Dravidian linguistics and literature and philology.
Life and career
Zvelebil studied at the Cha ...
– a Tamil literature scholar, Navalar was one of the key persons who identified, edited and published the secular and religious classical Tamil literature before 1879. He also inspired his fellow Tamils to publish Hindu texts and their translations.[
His critics state that Navalar was an example of a "hegemonic caste" and his hidden agenda was to promote his own caste. Arumuga Navalar found support from the Brahmins and his own literati caste of Vellalas in the Tamil community, according to Wilson, because he accepted and recognized their caste-based status.][ His supporters state that Navalar had no such hidden agenda, and his active efforts to reform attest to Navalar's commitment to end social vices such as alcoholism, violence against animals and others.] According to Peter Schalk, Navalar has also been accused of despising the Vaishnava and Jaina community.[
Navalar's legacy has provoked negative reactions and criticism from the political left of South Asia. Navalar, states Schalk, was a theologian who used indirect "metonymic language" with "coded words" that metaphorically supported the traditional caste system privileges within the colonial era administration. His supporters, in contrast, interpret the same "coded words" differently and view him as an "organic intellectual" committed to religious growth through reforms and one committed to the human rights and freedom struggle of the Tamil people.]
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External links
Arumuka Navalar, a contemporary Christian Missionary perspective
Arumuka Navalar, a Hindu perspective
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navalar, Arumuka
1822 births
1879 deaths
Alumni of Jaffna Central College
19th-century Hindu religious leaders
Sri Lankan Hindu revivalists
Sri Lankan Tamil revivalists
Shaivite religious leaders
Hindu missionaries
Hindu revivalists
Missionary linguists
Sri Lankan missionaries
19th-century translators
Translators of the Bible into Tamil
Tamil-language writers
Sri Lankan translators
Sri Lankan Hindus