Arumuka Navalar
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Arumuka Navalar ஆறுமுக நாவலர் the pre eminent Hindu reformer of Sri Lanka was a product of period of intense religious transformation amongst Sri Lankan Tamils.
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[edit] Social Conditions
The demise of Jaffna Kingdom that had provided official sanction to Hindu religion was a social disaster to the Sri Lankan Tamil people. Incessant missionary activities by both Catholic and Protestant missionaries had converted a significant minority of the people. In this milieu Arumukan was born.
[edit] Early life
He was born in Nallur, the capital of ancient Jaffna Kingdom, in December 1822, and died at the age of 56 on December 5th, 1879. His father Kandhar and mother Sivekamy were deeply religious and devout and Navalar imbibed those qualities. Even as a teenager he mastered Tamil, Sanskrit and English, and made an in-depth study of Tamil grammar, language, literature and religious works. It is on record that at a very young age he completed a drama script begun by his father, who died without completing it. Scholars who had gone through this work were full of praise for the originality he showed as a playwright.
[edit] Influence in Literature
Arumuga Navalar was a prolific writer and a 'silver tongued' orator. He was a pioneer in the field of prose-writing. In the 19th century the Tamil prose style was in its infancy. Navalar appeared on the Tamil literacy firmament and brought out prose works which are cherished by Tamil scholars as outstanding achievements. Parithima Kalagnar later described Navalar as 'Vasana Nadai Kaivantha Vallalar' (the best exponent of Tamil prose).
Today the writings and pronouncements of public men have little or nothing to do with their private life. But the life of Arumuga Navalar was in total conformity with everything he said and wrote. He maintained a high moral standard in both private and public life.
In his short life covering 57 years he published around 75 books. They covered his original writings and his commentaries on ancient classics.
[edit] Religious Reforms
By his time Hinduism in Sri Lanka had become moribund without state support and most people did not have a clear understanding of the philosophical background that needed to complement the spiritual aspects of worship. To increase public awareness of the religion, he translated many ancient religious works and published them along with many original titles explaining the finer philosophical aspects of the elite Saiva Siddhanta school of Hinduism. He would travel fom temple to temple to lecture the local congregations regarding the finer points of religion and rituals. Where ever he saw what he considreded to be "incorrect" obsevances or rituals, he would change them. His ability for public speech and his vast knowledge of the subject made him a very popular figure indeed.
[edit] Limitations of his reforms
His reforms were limited with the ‘’upper’’ caste Vellalar. Further his reforms tended to follow the standard Sanskritisation process thus eliminating many native traditions and even deities (such as Kannaki Amman) of the Jaffna Tamils and leading to the eventual social distance between the upper caste Jaffna Tamils and all other Tamils who did not go through this transformation especially in the Eastern Province. He did not champion the rights of ‘’lower’’ caste (akin to Indian Dalits) Jaffna Tamils in an inclusive ideology such as Narayana Guru and other reformers had attempted in South India. Thus the missionaries were able to win even more adherent to their faith from this group. Nevertheless he and others like him stemmed the tide of conversations.
