Tamil Nadu Timeline

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Death of Shaiva reformer Arumuka Navalar

· Jaffna

Death of Shaiva reformer Arumuka Navalar
Eelakesari, Jaffna, British Ceylon, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Arumuka Navalar, the Jaffna scholar who revived Shaiva Tamil learning in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and printed early Tamil classics, died.

Arumuka Navalar was born in Jaffna in 1822 and became a Shaivite Tamil scholar and religious reformer. He founded schools on a modern pattern, such as the Saivaprakasa Vidyasala, adapting methods he had seen in missionary schools. He was among the pioneers who located and printed Tamil texts, including Thirumurukaattuppadai in 1851 and early paper editions of the Tolkappiyam. He died on 5 December 1879, and his work strongly shaped Shaiva revival in both Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.

Related events

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    1. 1849ThiruvaduthuraiLiterature

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      Travelling to Madras to acquire a printing press, Jaffna scholar Arumuka Pillai received the title Navalar from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam.

  2. 1876

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  3. 1879

    1. 1879ChennaiLiterature

      First Tamil novel, Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, published

      Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai published Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, regarded as the first novel in the Tamil language.

  4. 1881

    1. 1881TirunelveliLiterature

      Caldwell's History of Tinnevelly published

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  5. 1882

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  6. 1987

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      Operation Poomalai: Indian airdrop over Jaffna

      Indian Air Force transport planes dropped relief supplies over the besieged city of Jaffna, halting a Sri Lankan army offensive against the Tamil militants.

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