Kumaraswamy Pulavar

Kumaraswamy Pulavar
Born	Kumaraswamy January 18, 1854 Chunnakam, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka
Died	1922 Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Cause of death	General illness
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Education	Tamil Pandithar
Occupation	Poet
Employer	Madurai Tamil Sangam
Known for	Hindu reformer

Chunnakam Kumaraswamy Pulavar (Tamil: சுன்னாகம் குமாரசாமிப்புலவர்) was a well-known Sri Lankan Tamil scholar and poet from Maylani village in Chunnakam township in Jaffna peninsula in the British held Ceylon now known as Sri Lanka. He lived from 1854 to 1922. He along with other activists were instrumental in the revival of native traditions in Sri Lanka that had been long dormant during the previous 400 years of colonial rule by various European powers.

Chunnakam Kumaraswamy Pulavar was born to Ampalavanar and Chithamparammai on January 18, 1854 as only son, among two daughters. When the Pulavar was 5, he started studying Tamil under Namasivaya Desikar and also started studying at Mallakam English School. At the age of 8 he started learning Tamil literature from Murukasu Panditar. Encouraged by Arumuga Navalar, a friend of his great uncle Muttukumara Kavirajar, Pulavar started learning Sanskrit literature from a close relative, Naganatha Panditar from the age of 9. In 1878 Rao Bhahadur C. W. Thamotharampillai asked the Pulavar to teach at his Saivapracasa Tamil School at Elalai, and two years later Pulavar was promoted to be the principal of the school. He was there for 22 years and earned high recognition for his hard work. During this time Pulavar wrote a number of research papers on ancient Tamil literature. He also wrote and published several articles on greatness of Saiva religion to counter the insulting articles published by Christian clergy at that time in Jaffna and Tamil Nadu. In 1892 he married Chinnachiammai, daughter of Mylvahanam of Kantharodai / Uduvil.

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