Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai

Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Saivism
Personal
Born	1815 A.D. Tiruchirapalli Tamil Nadu India
Died	1876 A.D.
Literary works	Sthalapurana
Honors	Tamil Poet

Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai or Mahavidhvan Meenakshisundaram Pillai (Tamil:மீனாட்சிசுந்தரம் பிள்ளை) was an eminent Tamil scholar and teacher of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, a Tamil scholar and researcher who was instrumental in bringing many long-forgotten works of classical Tamil literature to light.

He began his career as a Tamil teacher in Mayiladuthurai, and went on to train many students in the craft of Tamil literature. Because of his poverty, he was compelled to ghost write books like Kuchelopakyam and the Suta Samitha. One of his first publications under his own name was Akhilanda Nayaki Pillai Tamil, written in 1842. He is remembered for his contribution to Tamil studies as well as Saiva Agamas(Rules of Saivites). The celebrated Tamil scholar U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, known for his discovery of the Sangam classics, became his student at the age of 17. Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, who left behind him a treasure of Tamil palm leaf manuscripts, died in poverty in 1876.

Along with the institution of Tamil literature came an increased specialization of roles. Whereas poetic and musical composition were often combined in the creation of dramatic and poetic works, the dual role of Kirthana(musical text) composer and erudite poet was becoming unusual in the 19th century. U. V. Swaminatha Iyer reports the contempt of his teacher, Pillai, for poets who composed musical works; music was thought to be a distraction from the more important aspects of grammar, poetics and mastery of traditional commentaries.

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