Tamil Scholar TN Ramachandran passes away

The man who was the first to translate nearly 4300 stanzas of Periya Puranam, Thiruvachakam and Thirumurais into English is no more. Not a day passed without him reciting the sacred verses of the Saint Poets

'Thanjavur has lost a Jewel. He was one of the greatest Tamil Scholars' - K Ramnarayanan, former Revenue Officer and close friend of TNR

Presenting 'Raja Raja' award to him at The Big Temple was a big honour for me - Thanjavur Prince Babaji Rajah Bhonsle

"Be sincere to yourself. Have no pretention. Do not go after fame or name and don't fall for it. Our need for humility is infinite" - TNR's final message to the World at Large

Erudite Scholar and proponent of Saiva Siddhantha, Octogenarian Sekkizhar-Adi-p-Podi Dr.Thillaisthanam Natarajan Ramachandran passed away last evening at 7.45pm. He was 87. He had been unwell for a while. Till the very end he moved around with a small note, pen and a dictionary in his hand.

He was an erudite scholar of Saiva Siddhanta and a great lover of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati. He translated Vinayakar Naan Mani Malai, Kuyil Paattu, Kannan Paattu and Panchali Sapatham of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati. His monograph on the bibliography of Saiva Siddhanta works is indispensable for any researcher of Saivism.  

He conducted weekly classes in Periya Puranam and Saiva Siddhanta and participated in several conferences at national and international levels. He was the Honorary Director of International Institute of Saiva Siddhanta, Dharmapuram. He started the Saint Sekkizhar School of Saiva Siddhanta, a trust for publishing rare and research works and was a member of the Committee for the revision of the University of Madras Tamil Lexicon. 

This writer met him for a long chat at his house in Sriram Nagar, Alwarpet in January 2020 ahead of the story on the consecration of the Big Temple, Thanjavur. For almost three hours, this writer listened to his strong views on various topics.

Born in Thiru Nallam (Konerirajapuram), he spent his entire childhood in Thillaisthanam. His father ran a transport company in Thanjavur while his grand father had been a clerk under the famous advocate Naganathaswamy. They had bought a house in Thillaisthanam (Thillaisthanam Neiyarappar). Every Sunday the young boy, still not into his teens would be taken to The Big Temple in Thanjavur to be initiated the importance of temples and the contribution of the Saint Poets to the society.

A Mammooth Victory as an apprentice

He recounted his early days as a lawyer "I was only 10 days old in the court and was a junior. Being an apprentice, I was not to 'open my mouth' in the court. However, my boss gave me the opportunity to talk and I won the case against G Ramaswamy." Following that victory, he instantly became famous and a name to reckon with. His friendship with Vaishnavite Parthasarathy led him to read the commentaries of Periya Vaachan Pillai. 

His excitement was palpable and almost childlike when the conversation moved that evening to the sacred verses of the Saint Poets. His devotional spirit rose high when he was posed a query on any of the sacred verses, for he had spent sleepless nights with his thoughts centered on getting the right contextual meaning as was intended by the Saint Poets when they wrote the verses over 1000 years ago. 

Lets go lucrative opportunity in Madras returns to Thanjavur

Popularly known as TNR, he had his early education at Srinivasa Rao High School, Tiruvaiyaru and graduated in Commerce at St. Joseph’s College, Trichy. He later attended the Madras Law College, where he completed Bachelor’s Degree in Law. He returned to Thanjavur in 1956 at the age of 22 after completing his graduation (BL) and had been there ever since till poor health forced him to move to Madras to be with his sons. He recounted that there were 60 lawayers in Thanjavur at that time in the late 1950s and it was a challenge to take them on and succeed. But he did. 

He told this writer in January 2020 that though he could have continued to practice in Madras and pursued a lucrative practice in the city, his mind was focused on promoting the literatures of Tamil and English with hiis prime interest in the works of Sekkizhar and Saiva Siddhanta. He was a disciple of renowned poet Tiruloka Sitaram. 

Right from his school days in Thiruvayaru in the 1940s, Ramachandran developed special interest in the Thevaram verses and Saivite Siddhantha Sastras and for years listened to the Periya Puranam lectures of the revered (Principal) Gopala Iyer (his brother Srinivasan was TNR's classmate) of Thiruvayaru "His lectures were truly outstanding and I was completely immersed in those. It was that inspiration that led to my deep involvement in the sacred verses later on in life. We formed a 'sacred group' during our school days and recited the Thevaram verses every single day."

Perseverance in everything you do

During the summer vacation, Ramachandran spent over six hours every day at Gopala Iyer's house in Thiruvayaru listening to his talks "Perseverance was important. I allocated time for these. Memorising was also important to remember these verses. My acharya would spot even a small mistake in the recital. That was the reason for us to aspire for perfection in everything we did."

TNR recounted there being a weekly Mandagapadi in Thillaisthanam and prasadam being distributed to all the villagers "it was events such as these that made me devotional and spiritual from a very early stage in life."

He continued his early initiation into the Thevaram verses right through his college days and then during his period as a lawyer. Not a day passed without him reading the sacred verses of the Saivite Saint Poets. 

In his life time, TNR translated most of the Thevaram verses in English. For a large part, he spent his own money to publish books for the welfare of the society so people could read and understand the contribution of the great Saint Poets. As he was a perfectionist and one who believed in perseverance, he never rushed to publish. He engaged in long years of meticulous planning and painstaking search for materials. 

Dark Days – 75 years ago

He went to the Big Temple quite frequently through the 1940s making the trip across the Cauvery from Thiruvayaru. Ramachandran’s eyes lit up when asked of the Big Temple from those years as a school boy "The temple now bears no resemblance to what it was 75 years ago. Almost all of us stood for a while at the eastern gopuram as a nice breeze struck us every time one made his way into the temple. It was a special experience. There were no electric lights in those days and the Sannidhis were illuminated by Ghee lamps. For such a huge temple complex, the darkness was scary and no one entered the temple after sunset fearing dangerous reptiles that moved around inside the temple complex.”

Contented Gurukals

He delightfully recalled the contented mindset of the Gurukals of the Big Temple in the 1960s and 70s “Despite the low salary, the Gurukals of the Big Temple were a totally contented and devoted lot. They saw it as a great blessing to be able to perform daily pooja at such a historic temple and dutifully undertook this service. At any point of time, the financial challenges did not swerve them away from the service to the Lord.”

Big Temple Trustees - Ones with a big heart

He told this writer that the Trustees of the Big Temple were ones with a big heart. They were sincere and committed to the temple. They brought the Society together. It is considered sacred to have darshan of the Lord during 48 Pradoshams. TNR did not miss a single pradosham for several decades and was present at the Big Temple between 4.30pm and 7.30pm on the Pradosham evenings and became closely associated with the temples and the devotees during such festive times. 

He remembers the financial challenges at the temple in those decades "Othuvars were present in large numbers at the Periya Koil but the payment was poor. When they moved away, the priests sang the Thevaram verses." 

'The festivals integrated us. It transcended beyond religion. The Yadavas presented prasadam in Thiruvayaru and the Shivachariars took that prasadam.'

Pravachanams – A regular feature inside the Periya Koil

Ramachandran told this writer that Pravachanams by renowned scholars was a regular feature inside the Periya Koil in those decades

Thanjavur Prince Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, who was a classmate of TR Mahesh (one of TNR’s sons)  recalls TNR presenting several spiritual lectures week on week through the 1960s and 70s at the Big Temple “He presented lectures on Saiva Siddhantha for decades and there would always be a big crowd listening to his talks at the big temple.” 

Thanjavur Palace's Raja Raja Award
Babaji Bhonsle says that he was honoured to present the Raja Raja Award to Ramachandran a few years ago at the Big Temple. It was an award on the Raja Raja Sathaya Thiru Naal presented to TNR for his significant contribution to society “He wrote fore-wards for many of our books. For me, it was always a guru sishya relationship. He was a great mentor who would provide deep insights into various issues in a simple way. We sat for hours together at his home to discuss critical issues of the time. His knowledge was so deep and profound that he would criss-cross between several literatures with such ease that left all of us stunned.”

"He was one of the most inspiring personalities that I have seen and was always there to provide a helping hand. I was greatly enriched through my interactions with him for several years and his passing away is a great loss to me."

Sacred Verses - A Gold Mine
As years went by, devotees from across Thanjavur and around came specifically to hear his talks on Saiva Siddhantha Sastras and the significance of the Thevaram Verses and went back with devotional messages for life. He realized early on that the sacred verses were a gold mine as it taught one the way to live life and spent a lot of time to understand the nuances and intricate meanings of the sacred verses of the Saint Poets. This was particularly helpful in answering incisive questions from the audience at the end of these sessions. Every Shivachariar in that region came and listened to his spiritual talks.

Alankarams during the Navarathri Festival

Ramachandran recalled the Navarathri Festival at the Ambal Sannidhi of the Periya Koil as being one of the big occasions in the year “Sivachariars of the time were alankaram specialists. Aesthetic sense was very high in those decades and the Sivachariars were perfectionists. Each day of the Navarathri Utsavam, they would drape Ambal in a special alankaram and devotees flocked in large numbers from Thanjavur and all the nearby villages to take a look at the ‘Alankaram of the Day’. The entire discussion among the devotees that evening centered around the alankaram.

The 1980 Kumbabhisekam – A turning Point

Ramachandran saw the Kumbabhisekam in 1980 and the decade that followed as a turning point for the temple “It had been a long time coming and everyone eagerly waited for this big event. The Kumbabhisekam brought the society together. Subsequently, the revival of the festivals in its historical grandeur integrated people from different communities. It was a turning point for the temple. Crowds increased manifold after that Kumbabhisekam.”

During the entire Kumbabhisekam celebrations, TNR presented, to a big audience, lectures on Saiva Siddhantha Sastras at the Big Temple in 1980.

He was particularly happy that the Gurukals were now paid very well by the Palace under the regime of Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, quite a turnaround from the dark days, 50 years ago.

Thanjavur has lost a Jewel

89 year old K Ramanarayanan who worked in the Revenue department in Thanjavur for several decades was a neighbour and a very close friend of Ramachandran. 

Ramnarayanan, who lost his wife in February this year, is shocked to hear the news of Ramachandran’s death ‘Thanjavur has lost a jewel. He was one of the greatest Tamil Scholars.’

“Gopal Iyer, Principal of Thiruvayaru College was a big influence on him and the reason for the development of his interest in Tamil Literature. After Gopal Iyer’s initiation, he was all about Sekkizhar and became a huge fan. It was Ramachandran who brought Sekkizhar to the fore through his Kambaraja padi. Kodaivasal Balasubramanian was his creation.”

His love for Sekkizhar was so much that he had prefixed the title “Sekkizhar Adi-p-Podi” to his name. 

“He was a very simple man and would often be seen breezing on the swing at his house in Thanjavur. He was a multi faceted personality”

Awards galore but not enough

In 1982, TN Government honoured him with Bharati Centenary Celebrations Award recognizing his translations of Bharathi’s works. A year later, the Govt presented him with the Best Translator award. The TN Government annointed him with the Mahakavi Bharatiyar award in 2010. In 2001, he was presented the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

The Mutts too recognized his contributions to the literary world. Dharmapuram Aadheenam crowned him with  ‘Saiva Siddhanta Kalanithi’ award while Kanchi Sankara Mutt presented a Gold Medal in 2004. That same year, Thiru Vavaduthurai Mutt presented him with the “Siddhanta Saiva Semmani” award.

But Ramnarayanan believes that the Government or the Mutts did not recognize him enough for his several decades of unmatched service to the literary world “I have lost a good friend. He did not get his due recognition but he was unmindful of that and continued to articulate his views. He did not work to get awards. His contribution to Tamil literature is significant and unmatched."

A Lawyer by profession, he would often participate in the ‘English literature’ talk at the SPCA club near the Big Temple. He was one of the members of Siddhar Mutt, Thanjavur.

An unnamed CEO says that he was blessed to read his transliterated books, a fortune left by him for future generations that may miss reading scriptures in Tamil. 

He was my inspiration for the Chidambaram Temple recovery- Son TR Ramesh

Temple activist and President of the Temple Worshippers Society TR Ramesh (Temple Activisit TR Ramesh) credits his father’s motivation as the reason for him to fight the case for the Chidambaram Deekshithars “He was the true reason I made the foray into temple activism when Chidambaram Temple was taken over. As a lawyer, he taught me the basics of Fundamental Constitutional Religious Rights. He told me to give my best when fighting cases for temples. But he cautioned me never to compromise on them because Deity, His Temple, His Endowments interests are NEVER to be compromised or diluted.”

Ramachandran was the first to translate nearly 4300 stanzas of Periya Puranam into English. He has many other firsts to his credit. He translated Manickavachakar’s Tiruvachakam and Tirukkovaiyar, the works of Karaikkal Ammaiyar and Pattinathar, Tirunavukkarasar’s Sixth Tirumurai, the First and Second Tirumurais of Thiru Gnana Sambandar, the Seventh Tirumurai of Sundarar and seven out of the fourteen Saiva Siddhanta Sastras. He has published over a 100 articles and authored over 25books.

Finally after over three hours of intense conversation, he bid goodbye to this writer late that evening in January 2020 with a strong message that had become so symbolic of him all through his life "You should be sincere to yourself. There should be no pretention. You should not go after fame or name and you should not fall for it."

His final message to this writer that January evening in 2020 "Our need for humility is infinite".