LiteratureBritish Crown rule

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Jeevaka Chintamani

· Kumbakonam

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Jeevaka Chintamani
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer published Jeevaka Chintamani, the first of his editions of classical Tamil works recovered from palm-leaf manuscripts.

U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, a Tamil professor at the Government Arts College, Kumbakonam, spent years collecting and collating palm-leaf manuscripts. In 1887 he published the complete Jeevaka Chintamani with notes. He followed it with Pattupattu (1889), Silappatikaram (1891), Purananuru (1894) and Manimekalai (1898). His editions restored much of Sangam and early classical Tamil literature to print.

Related events

  1. 1812

    1. 1812ChennaiLiterature

      Tirukkural appears in print for the first time

      The first known printed edition of the Tirukkural was produced in 1812, together with the Naladiyar.

  2. 1855

    1. 19 Feb 1855KumbakonamLiterature

      Birth of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer

      U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, later famed for recovering and printing many lost classical Tamil texts, was born near Kumbakonam.

  3. 1885

    1. 1885ChennaiLiterature

      C. W. Damodaram Pillai publishes Tolkappiyam commentary

      C. W. Damodaram Pillai published the Porulatikaram of the Tolkappiyam with Nachinarkiniyar's commentary, part of his revival of ancient Tamil texts.

  4. 1886

    1. 1886ChennaiLiterature

      G. U. Pope publishes his English Tirukkural

      Missionary scholar G. U. Pope published 'The Sacred Kurral', an English translation of the Tirukkural with grammar, notes and lexicon.

  5. 1894

    1. 1894KumbakonamLiterature

      U. V. Swaminatha Iyer publishes Purananuru

      After years of manuscript research, U. V. Swaminatha Iyer published an edition of the Sangam anthology Purananuru with notes.

  6. 1901

    1. 24 May 1901MaduraiLanguage

      Pandithurai Thevar founds the Fourth Tamil Sangam in Madurai

      Pandithurai Thevar, a member of the Ramnad royal family, founded the Madurai Tamil Sangam, known as the Fourth Tamil Sangam, to promote Tamil learning.

Open in the timeline explorer