Swami Vipulananda
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Swami Vipulananda | |
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reformer |
Swami Vipulananda (
Biography
Vipulananda was born in the village of
Literary contributions
Apart from Vipulananda's knowledge of Tamil he also knew English, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and Sinhala.
After researching Tamil music and other Indian musical forms and musical instruments for many years, Vipulananda produced the seminal book of scientific research in Tamil called the Yazh Nool, or Book of Stringed Musical Instruments, which was published just before he died in 1947. The book was an effort by the author to understand and explain the intricacies and technicalities of genre of Tamil music in general, and the stringed musical instruments in particular, using modern techniques and tools of research and calculations based on mathematics and physics. Yal Nool is recognized as a unique work of its kind.[3]
Using the literary traditions in Sanskrit, Greek and English he wrote Mathangaculamani, a translation of twelve of Shakespeare's plays, as a treatise on drama with commentaries focusing on various aspects of drama such as the plot, structure, sequence of action, characterization, subjective experience and gestures. Professor Chelva Kanaganayagam, in a critical review of Mathangaculamani, concludes that
The major contribution of the text is its attempt to establish drama as a valid academic discipline rather than provide a basis for performance.
Vipulananda also served as editor of several publications including Ramakrishna Vijayam (Tamil), Vivekananda (Tamil) and Prabuddha Bharata (English). He also edited and helped publish literary works of several well-known scholars. His translations from English to Tamil include selected writings of
Vipulananda authored six major Tamil publications: a collection of four Prabanthangal, Mathangaculamani, The Great Dance of Thillai, Umamageswaram (all related to Saiva traditions of the Hindu religion), Dictionary of Technical Terms on Chemistry and Yal Nool. A collection of 170 essays, written from 1914 to 1947, were published posthumously in four parts in 1995. He also wrote many poems, and a collection of 32 of his poems was published in 1995. He was a good public speaker and most of his speeches, focusing mainly on history of the Tamils, Tamil literature, Tamil music and musical instruments, and Vedanta philosophy, were published in international journals and magazines.[1][2]
Ramakrishna Mission
Founded in 1897 by
Vipulananda initially met the head of the Mylapore Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Sarvananda,[4] in Colombo in 1916. This was followed up with another visit in Jaffna in 1917. He entered the Mylapore Ramakrishna Math in 1922 for his monastic training. On completion of the training in 1924, he was given the name Vipulananda. After his ordination he dedicated his life to educational and spiritual pursuits and service to the community in Sri Lanka and India.
In 1925 Vipulananda became an administrator of Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) schools in Sri Lanka. He was instrumental in founding new RKM schools in
Professional career
As a noted educationist, scholar and community worker, Vipulananda was invited by the University of Madras to present its case for the establishment of a Tamil University to the special commission set up to investigate the proposal. On the recommendation of the commission, the Annamalai University was opened in 1927. In 1931 he became its first Professor of Tamil language. Professor Vipulananda also received a second invitation to become the first Professor of Tamil soon after the University of Ceylon was established in 1943, which he held until his death in 1947. Thus Professor Vipulananda enjoys the unique distinction of being the first scholar to be appointed the first professor of Tamil in two Universities in two different countries.
Vipulananda was a strong advocate of the
Based on his critical studies of some of Professor Vipulananda's writings, Mr. K.S. Sivakumaran, one of the notable literary critics from Sri Lanka, has called him a pioneer of Tamil literary criticism and the first Sri Lankan Tamil literary critic.
As a social reformer, Vipulananda led the movement to recognize
There are number of institutions named after him in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and Germany have issued stamps honoring him.[1][2][5] He died after a brief illness on July 19, 1947. Swami Vipulananda is buried close to the Sivananda Vidyalayam in Kalladi, near Batticaloa city. (see picture here).
See also
Other social reformers from Sri Lanka of the same period
References
- ^ a b c d e Arumugam, Sanmugam (1996). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon.
- ^ a b c d e Kanagaretnam, Pan. "Swami Professor Vipulananda". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
- ^ "Renowned work of Tamil scholar lauded". The Hindu. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007.
- ^ Swami Sarvananda RKM Bio (English)
- ^ a b "A.M.A Azeez". The Island.
- ^ Jameel, S.H.M. "Dr. Azeez's contribution to eastern development". Daily Mirror.