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xvi CONTENTS
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By C. Saraswathi Bai . . 1059
Sanskrit Department (Annamalai University) . . 1063
By Pandit S. Ramasubba Sastri .. 1066
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By V. K. Seshadriacharya Siromani and Vidwan .. 1068
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CONTENTS
xvii
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Kuttamath „«_
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By O. tf. A. Ramayya Sastri 1119
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By K. Parvathi Ammal
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By C. N. A. Ramayya Sastri 11?5
H. H. Ramo Varma Appan Thampuran 1179
By Vallathol
.. 1185
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Rajah Saheb of Chettinad (Frontispiece)
1. The Rajah Sir S.Rm.M. Annamalai Chettiar
2. Father and Brothers
3. The Rajah Saheb and the Rani Saheba of Chettinad
4. The Rajah Saheb of Chettinad in LL.D. Robes (Madras
University)
5. The Rajah Saheb on his walk in the garden
6. Kumararajah Sir M. A. Muthiah Chettiar, B.A.
7. Kumararajah in Mayoral Robes
8. Kumararajah M. A. Muthia Chettiar as Pro- Chancellor,
Madras University
9. S, Rm. M. Rm. Ramanathan Chettiar, Under- Sheriff.
Madras
10. M. A. Chidambaram Chettiar, 3rd son of the Rajah
Saheb of Chettinad
11. The River View of the Palace at Adyar
12. The Rajah Saheb's Palace at Kanadukathan
13. Proposed Chettinad Palace at Chettinad
14. Proposed Chettinad Palace at Chettinad (Another View)
15. The Rajah Saheb's Rest House at the Chettinad
Railway Station
16. The Rajah Saheb's Bungalow at Ootacamund
17. Aerodrome Building, Chettinad
18. The Rajah Saheb of Chettinad at the opening of the
Chettinad Aerodrome
19. A Group Photo at the Chettinad Aerodrome
20. The Rajah Saheb at the Chettinad Aerodrome
21. Lady Pentland Women and Children Hospital, Chettinad
22. The Rajah Saheb of Chettinad
23. Pro-Chancellor, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor (in
Academic Robes, 1931)
24. H. E. Lord Erskine, G. C.S.I. (Chancellor, Annamalai
University, 1934-39)
25. H. E. The Hon'ble Sir Arthur Oswald James Hope,
G.C.I.E., M.C., Chancellor, Annamalai University,
from 1939
XX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
26. Diwan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan M.A., I.E.S.
(Retd.), Vice-Chancellor from 1929-1935
27. The Right Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, P.C., C.H.,
LL.D., Vice-Chancellor from 1935-1940
28. Rai Bahadur Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy Nayudu Garu,
K. C.S.I., D.Litt., Vice-Chancellor, Annamalai
University from 1940
29. Library and Administrative Buildings
30. Interior View of the Srinivasa Sastri Hall
31. Annamalai University Convocation, Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar presiding
32. Arts College
33. Arts College
34. Science College
35. Oriental College
36. Music College
37. Gokhale Hall— Union Hall
38. The All-India Economic Conference, 1934
39. Hostel
40. Women Students' Hostel
41. The Park and the Bandstand
42. Sports Pavilion
43. Guest House and Staff Club
44. Hospital
45. Posts and Telegraph's Office and Professors' Quarters
46. Ladies Club
47. Vice-Chancellor's Bungalow
48. Acting Vice-Chancellors
49. Sri Pasupatheswarar Temple— Annamalainagar
50. Nagarathar reception to Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar
at Koilur on April, 1930.
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR OF CHETTINAD
%
A MEMOIR.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chetliar was born at Kanadu-
kathan on the 30th of September 1881. He was the third
son of Muthiah Chettiar, a man distinguished for his practical
piety and benevolence. Muthiah Chettiar was a greatly
respected member of the Nagarathar community of which
he was, in his day, the undisputed head. He was thorough-
going in his benefactions. He renovated the temple of Sri
Nataraja at Chidambaram at a cost of several lakhs of rupees
and also established a choultry where pilgrims could find
iood and shelter. In the cold weather, at the time of the
Arudhra Darsanam, the choultry is thick with pilgrims from
all over the country and gets the appearance of a little town.
He also repaired and renovated the famous shrine at Karur,
which has since been in an excellent state of preservation.
Muthiah Chettiar's piety was profound. He undertook
a pilgrimage to Benares and for half the distance he went on
foot. While at Benares, at the desire of his community, he
began the construction of the Nagarathar choultry a spaci-
ous and richly-endowed rest-house on the Dasaswamedha
Ghat, where hundreds of pilgrims congregate everyday all
the year round.
Muthiah Chettiar had three sons, Chidambaram, Rama-
swami and Annamalai. Chidambaram Chettiar, a forceful
personality, was the first among the Nagarathars to make
roads in Chettinad. Cart-tracks and pathways began to
give place to metalled roads over which one could pass in
2 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
comfort and safety. He had two sons, Sir M. C. T. Muthiah
Chettiar, who attained considerable prominence in the social
life of Madras and Pethachi Chettiar, who died com-
paratively early. This branch is represented now by Sir
M. C. T. Muthiah Chettiar's son, the Hon'ble M. C. T.
Chidambaram Chettiar.
Ramaswami Chettiar, the second son, was a man of great
probity and public spirit. He was nominated to the Legis-
lative Council constituted under the Morley-Minto Reforms
and was the first member of his community to receive that
distinction. He built and endowed a school at Chidambaram,
which is now flourishing as the Ramaswami Chettiar High
School. He was Chairman of the Chidambaram Munici-
pality for many years and was President of the Taluk Board.
For his many services, the distinction of Dewan Bahadur
was conferred upon him.
Annamalai — the subject of this sketch — was the third
son of Muthiah Chettiar and is said to have been his father's
favourite, probably from being the youngest of his sons.
His was a normal childhood and youth with little to dis-
tinguish them from those of his contemporaries. Proba-
bly a distaste for what was merely mamul and conventional
and a more than ordinary propensity to get into mischief
were the main features of his early youth.
Annamalai Chettiar's early years were years of pre-
paration. His father was keen upon giving him a good up-
bringing. He personally supervised his studies and gave him
a thorough grounding in the family business. From early
in his career, Annamalai Chettiar, studied different systems
of banking and, in time, came to be acknowledged as an
expert in that field.
THE RAJAH SIR S.Rm.M. ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 3
Muthiah Chettiar died when Annamalai was nineteen.
After his death, his sons effected a partition of the family
properties among themselves and began to conduct their
several businesses separately. Chidambaram, the eldest
and Annamalai, the youngest, stayed on at Kanadukathan
while Ramaswami Chettiar chose Chidambaram for his resi-
dence and stayed there, more or less permanently, visiting
Kanadukathan at intervals.
For about ten years Annamalai Chettiar devoted him-
self entirely to his business and family affairs. He was very
careful in his choice of agents to conduct his firms abroad
and he avoided the not uncommon mistake of leaving too
much to them. System, regularity and attention to detail
marked his way of doing business. With slackers he had
no patience at any time and such was his driving power and
force of example that his firms and businesses were run
without a hitch.
The results of his methods were seen in the returns.
His business prospered exceedingly. With fuller profits he
decided to lead, not an easier, but a fuller life. The ances-
tral family house, big as a barn, was not exactly to his taste
and he built himself a commodious house at Kanadukathan.
It is a gracious edifice built in the conventional Nagarathar
style but planned on liberal lines, with larger halls and
ampler verandahs than is common in Chettinad. It is a
house with character. In that palatial abode more than one
Governor has been an honoured guest. Men of light and
leading from all over the country have enjoyed the Rajah's
princely hospitality within its halls,
Annamalai Chettiar toured extensively in India,
Burma, Ceylon and Malaya. He was always fond of seeing
" cities of men, manners and governments," and acquired
4 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
by personal study a remarkable degree of varied knowledge.
In 1 910, in company with his nephew, the late Sir M. C. T.
Muthiah Chettiar, he toured over Europe. He was also
accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Miller of the American Mis-
sion. They were old friends of his and it was his appre-
ciation of their devoted services that was largely respon-
sible for his gifts to the American Mission. He spent
many months in England and saw a good deal of the country.
Annamalai Chettiar was deeply interested in local self-
government and took advantage of his stay in England
to study the administration of parishes and county councils.
To this tour, Annamalai Chettiar says he owes much. He
was impressed by the efficiency of the day-to-day administra-
tion of affairs in the west, the highly-developed civic sense
of the people and wondered why, in this respect modern
India should not follow the example of the west.
On his return to India, he enlarged the sphere of his
activities. He desired to give practical expression to his in-
terest in local affairs and got a chance to do so when he be-
came the Chairman of the Karaikudi Union. He did not
regard his job as a sinecure; he took his responsibility
seriously and, in his time, things began to hum. People still
talk of the days — it was before the discovery of the internal
combustion engine — when Annamalai Chettiar used to
drive up to Karaikudi, all the way from Kanadukathan, in
his landaulette drawn by a magnificent pair of iron-grey
horses, go round the town, giving orders and seeing them
carried out and return to Kanadukathan, while to the rest
of the townfolk, the day was just beginning. Spacious days
they were and, in his own heart, I feel certain Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar looks back with longing to the days
of the streamlined landaulette, on which the most luxurious
Daimler or Buick, he asserts, is not a patch.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 5
He was Chairman till 1913. His tenure of the Munici-
pal Chair gave him a lot of insight into the problems of
Municipal administration, the ways of men who will help
and those who will hinder, and he learned at firsthand when
wheels move and when they get stuck. He was also a mem-
ber of the District Board and, in this capacity also, he
bestowed careful attention to parochial problems. He was
so great a believer in self help that he induced his native
village of Kanadukathan to form itself into a voluntary
union without waiting for the government to confer that
status on it.
Annamalai Chettiar was ever ready to do everything
in his power to serve the interests of law. On one occa-
sion His Majesty's mails were waylaid and stolen. Infor-
mation was sent to Annamalai Chettiar who, with a hand-
ful of men, scoured the country in person and finally suc-
ceeded in running the offenders to earth at an out-of-the
way spot, just as they were in the process of dividing the
' swag '. At the sight of the ' intruders ' they bolted, leav-
ing the larger part of the loot behind. Annamalai
Chettiar recovered the properties and duly forwarded
them to the District Magistrate. The Police were soon
on the tracks of the runaway robbers. Those were the
days of highway robberies and dacoities and Annamalai
Chettiar's pluck and determination came in for cordial
appreciation. Here was another proof of his public spirit
and soon afterwards he received the sanad and badge of
Rao Bahadur. They say that "a good launch is half the
voyage" and there can be no gainsaying the fact that Rao
Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar made his launch into public
life in a most favourable wind.
6 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
In 1916, Rao Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar was nomi-
nated to the Madras Legislative Council, and from this
time he divided his time between Chettinad and Madras.
From a very early period, Rao Bahadur Annamalai
Chettiar was deeply interested in education. Education, he
was convinced, was the prime need of this country and he
made liberal contributions whenever possible. In 1915, he
provided a hostel for the students of the American College
at Madura, a gift which was greatly appreciated. The sister
institution, known as the Madura College, was languishing
for lack of funds. Rao Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar was
approached for financial aid and he readily contributed
about 30,000 rupees, being one half of the amount needed
for acquiring a site for the location of the College. The
other half was contributed by the Government.
The family had already to its credit the High School
established by Dewan Bahadur Ramaswami Chettiar at
Chidambaram. Rao Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar desired to
extend the family benefactions so as to cover the field of
higher education as well. His ambition was to build and
endow a College. He consulted his old friend and colleague
on the Legislative Council, The Right Hon'ble V. S. Srini-
vasa Sastriar who enthusiastically supported the idea. The
two called in Mr. P. A. Subramauia Aiyar, Headmaster of
the Hindu High School, a veteran educationist, and took
counsel together. They discussed details, ways and means.
The idea grew and took shape in Annamalai Chettiar's mind.
The question was where the proposed college should be
located. At ope time, Annamalai Chettiar thought of
Madura but the rival claims of Chidambaram could not
easily be brushed aside. He had not come to a decision
THE FATHER AND BROTHERS
COMMEMORATION VOLVME 7
when his brother, the Dewan Bahadur, died. It was patent
that he would have to take some practical interest in the
conduct of the High School and it struck him that the best
plan under the circumstances would be to locate the Col-
lege also at Chidambaram, Doubts were raised whether the
South Arcot District was the most suitable area for the
establishment of a college. It was said that the experience
of the past was against it, as twice previously a College had
been started at Cuddalore, but had been allowed to languish.
Annamalai Chettiar was unconvinced. What were the rea-
sons for the failure, he kept asking. In his own mind, he
knew the answer. Lack of funds, a Micawber-like waiting
on hope, and slackness in management should have been
the reasons why the College did not take root. He thought
over the matter deeply and came to the conclusion that
Chidambaram was, on the whole, best suited for the pur-
pose and decided in its favour. The reasons which weighed
with him were, firstly, Chidambaram's historic and religious
associations which qualified it to be the seat of a University,
and secondly, the family's age-long connection with the town
and its devotion to Sri Nataraja, under whose divine care
and protection they had prospered in the past.
The idea once formed, there was no delay in carrying it
out. With Rajah Sir Annamalai, to decide is to act. A
staff of brilliant men was collected and the work was taken
in hand. The College had started work by 1918. The
absence of a suitable building was not allowed to stand in
the way. Necessary extensions were made to the High
school to accommodate the classes newly formed. At the
same time plans for the building of a College were maturing.
A suitable site was selected and the work of construction
began in right earnest. Annamalai Chettiar threw himself
g RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
into the work heart and soul and spared no pains for the
early completion of the project. He had expert assistance
but he went over every inch of the ground himself. In
purely academic matters, he trusted implicitly to his educa-
tional advisers. On the practical side, he held easy sway.
In planning the buildings, in providing funds and seeing to
their proper application, Rao Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar
took the utmost interest. Not a stone was laid and not a
rupee spent which had not met with his previous approval.
Though the Rao Bahadur looked to most things in person, he
took care not to get into people's way. His own views and
suggestions were so sensible and practical that his advice
was sought at every turn. On the academic side, he was
ably assisted by Mr. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, the first Princi-
pal of the Sri Minakshi College. In the work of construc-
tion he had the benefit of the willing assistance of such
engineering experts like Dewan Bahadur A. V. Ramalinga
Aiyar, Dewan Bahadur Duraisingam and Dewan Bahadur
N. Swaminatha Aiyar.
No suitable contractor was locally available. Materials
had to be brought down from great distances but this was
not allowed to deter or delay the work which had been
undertaken. He worked hard, and his employees worked
hard. The Rajah acts on the principle that the labourer is
worthy of his hire. And the labourers in turn reacted
so splendidly to the prevailing mood that work became a
pleasure. The construction proceeded like clockwork and
the new Sri Minakshi College was completed and fit for
occupation in 1923.
While engaged in advancing the cause of higher educa-
tion, Rao Bahadur Annamalai Chettiar had not been un-
mindful of his other obligations. In 1920, he stood for elec-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 9
tion to the Council of State and was returned at the top of
the polls. In the same year, the Viceroy appointed him one
of the Governors of the Imperial Bank of India. In both of
these capacities, he had increased opportunities of serving
the country. His vast experience of banking made him ex-
tremely valuable on the Bank's Governing Board while, as
an elder statesman, he expressed himself with moderation
and good sense. To the Council of State he was elected
thrice consecutively, and was always returned at the head
of the polls.
To him honours were not slow in coming. In 1922, he
was made Dewan Bahadur and in 1923, a knighthood was
conferred upon him. Never were honours more deservedly
bestowed. Apart from the record to his credit crowded
with achievement, his courtesy and charm of manner had
obtained for him a large and ever-increasing circle of friends
belonging to all parties and spread all over the country.
The Sri Minakshi College was prospering. With the
years, it grew in reputation and popularity. So good was its
work and so high its standing in the educational world that
Sir Annamalai conceived the idea of making it the nucleus
of a University. He took counsel with his numerous friends,
both academic and lay, and they welcomed and supported
the idea. Lord Goschen, who was Governor of Madras, and
whose interest in the Sri Minakshi College was keen and
constant, gave the proposal his instant blessing. An Anna-
malai University Bill was drafted and was passed into law.
And the University came into being in 1929,
The inauguration of the University was hailed with
universal satisfaction in our province. Sir Annamalai,
the Founder, is the Pro-Chancellor of the University.
10 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The Right Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar was appointed
Vice-Chancellor but, because he had to go away as the
Agent to the Governor General in South Africa, he could
not take up the appointment. Dewan Bahadur S. E. Runga-
nadhan was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 1929 and he held
the office till 1935. Dewan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan's
unremitting care and attention helped to increase the use-
fulness of the University. He was succeeded by the Right
Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar who was Vice-Chancellor
for five years and by the distinction of his personality and
his devoted work enhanced the status and reputation of the
University. For reasons of health Mr. Sastriar had to resign
in 1940, and Sir Kurma Venkata Reddi Garu, Ex-Governor
of Madras, with a distinguished record of public service suc-
ceeded him as Vice-Chancellor.
Annamalainagar, as the University area is called, is
a lovely creation. Beautifully designed colleges and halls,
comfortable quarters for the staff, broad and shady parks, a
magnificent cricket pitch and spacious playing grounds make
it an ideal spot for the dissemination of education. The place
is packed with all the amenities of life. Rowing facilities,
clubs for men and women, temples and tanks give the Uni-
versity its distinctive charm. Sanskrit, Tamil and Music
stand out prominently in the University courses, a matter of
deep significance from the cultural point of view. Students
from the Tamil country flock to it in thousands and receive
the education which is so readily imparted in ideal
surroundings. And they are deeply appreciative of the
bounty of the founder who saw the " seed of learning "
imbedded within the young and enabled "its flowered
future" to unroll, The Founder's Day is a sort of minor
annual carnival at Annamalainagar.
THE AND THE OF
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 11
In 1929, the high and unique distinction of a hereditary
Rajah was conferred upon Sir Annamalai Chettiar. A
magnificent thrill of delight went through the country. The
Nagarathars were overjoyed and organised what was a regu-
lar carnival to express their joy. The celebrations were
held at Kovilur, the traditional meeting-place of the ninety-
six villages of Chettinad. Thousands of fairy lamps, gleaming
in the evening in the streets, gay with bunting and green-
ery, turned the sleepy little township into a veritable fairy-
land. The Right Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar presided
on the occasion. His close friendship with Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar and the mutual regard which was known to
subsist between them pointed to him as the person most
fitted to take the chair. ' Numerous friends of the Rajah,
representing all communities and all shades of opinion,
were present. In a magnificent speech, The Right Hon'ble
V. S, Srinivasa Sastriar showed how eminently the Rajah
was fitted for the regal rank bestowed on him.
The University of Madras marked their appreciation
of the Rajah's services to education by conferring on him
the degree of Doctor of Laws.
In 1935, Rajah Sir Annamalai visited England at the
head of a delegation whose purpose was to obtain the neces-
sary safeguards in regard to the position of Indians in a
separated Burma. The Rajah Sahib interviewed the Secre-
tary of State, Sir Samuel Hoare, Mr. R. A. Butler, Lord
Winterton and other leading members of Parliament. It
was, on the whole, a successful trip and valuable concessions
were obtained. Separation, however, has forced into promi-
nence other outstanding matters all of which Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar handles with his accustomed energy and
determination. The Indo-Burma Immigration Agreement
12 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
which has been exercising the public mind considerably, is
engaging his attention at the moment.
From England, the Rajah paid a flying visit to the
United States of America. He was accompanied by Rani
Lady Annamalai Chettiar and both of them appeared to have
enjoyed the visit greatly. Their only regret was that they
had to return very quickly to keep their various engage-
ments in Great Britain. While in England, the Rajah
visited the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In
Oxford, he met the Master of Balliol who showed him over
the University. He discussed problems of University
Administration with, it was said, "considerable insight."
He also visited the several slum areas as he is keenly interest-
ed in the housing conditions of the poor. His visits were
not intended to fill a dull hour; he was serious and purpose-
ful in making them, he was ulike a chiel, takin notes". Sir
Annamalai had the knack of turning all his experiences to
practical account. He personally designs the quarters which
he provides for his numerous employees and dependants,
and these are invariably airy and comfortable.
Before returning to India, Sir Annamalai visited Belgi-
um, France and Germany. In Paris he was able to dp a real
good turn to his country. The Government of French Indo-
China were beginning to look upon Indians with dis-
favour and had actually expelled some of them. Sir
Annamalai took the matter up with the French Govern-
ment. The India Office put him on to the British Embassy
in Paris, who arranged a meeting with M. Rollin, the Minister
for Colonies. M. Rollin recognised the force of Sir
Annamalai's contentions and promised to remedy the
situation, which he did v/ithout loss of time. In this
connection the Rajah remembers with gratitude the help
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 13
willingly given among others by M. Outrey, an exceedingly
genial and helpful member of the Chamber of Deputies,
and M. Eugene Simoneau, a cultivated and charming young
Frenchman, employed as Secretary to M. Rollin and who
has since joined the administration at Morocco as a mem-
ber of the Cabinet of General Nogues.
If the Rajah has a hobby, it is building. It may be said
of him that he has given much and built much. In England,
and all over the Continent, he studied novel building designs
with a practised eye. His houses are models of elegance and
comfort. His home at Chettinad is commodious, well-light-
ed and airy and Chettinad House at Adyar is a lovely piece
of architecture. With the Adyar on one side and the sea on
the other, in a spacious park, it stands, a fabric in white,
which looks like fairy gossamer at dawn in a December mist.
The Palace which he is now engaged in building at Chettinad
is certain to surpass similai edifices in grandeur and com-
fort.
And in hall, grange and park, Rajah Sir Annamalai
loves to dispense hospitality. His visiting list is long and his
geniality and princely hospitality have won all hearts.
He is lucky in his helpmate. Rani Lady Annamalai
Chettiar is an ideal wife, and has won all hearts by her
piety and charitable disposition.
In his house at Chettinad he has been honoured by the
visits of successive Governors of the Province. Lord
Pentland stayed with him in 1916 and was struck by the
Rajah's standing in his District.
In 1932, Lord and Lady Willingdon visited Chettinad
and greatly enjoyed their stay at his house. Lord Goschen
was his guest in 1925. The Stanleys spent a day with him in
14 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
1934 and recently in March last, the Rajah had the honour
of entertaining His Excellency Sir Arthur Hope at Chettinad.
Rajah Sir Annamalai's services to his community have been
marked by careful attention to their interests here and
abroad. He has been the President of the Nattukkottai
Nagarathars' Association for many years and has secured
for the Association valuable rights and privileges.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar's paramount claim to
public esteem lies in the abundant charities which he has
founded. Apart from the University which is the biggest
endowment ever made by a single individual in these parts
and by all accounts one of the first four or five leading
endowments in all India, he has given large sums for
schools, hospitals and similar benefactions. It is a safe
estimate that his numerous benefactions have, so far cost
the Rajah over a crore of rupees — a truly magnificent re-
cord indeed.
One may safely prophesy that the future of the family
and the family charities is assured. Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar's sons are sure to carry on the family tradition. His
eldest son Kumararajah Sir M. A. Muthiah Chettiar has
already distinguished himself in the public life of the Presi-
dency by his great gifts or organization, and leadership. As
Mayor of Madras, as a Minister of State, as the leader of the
Justice Party and as a businessman he has won laurels. The
Rajah's younger sons, Mr. Ramanathan Chettiar and
Chidambaram Chettiar are in business. The former is also
Deputy Sheriff of Madras.
In his own personal habits the Rajah is extremely simple.
He adheres resolutely to the Tamil maxim which exhorts
one to rise before the dawn. He is generally up at four in
the morning, has a bath and has an early cup of coffee. He
THE RAJAH SAHEB OF CHETTINAD IN LL.D. ROBES
(MADRAS UNIVERSITY)
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 15
is at his desk by six and by about ten contrives to get through
the bulk of the day's work. He walks about a great deal and
is happiest when sauntering on his grounds directing a path
to be made here or a tree to be planted there. Of music
he is passionately fond, and often, while at work, he turns
on the wireless to listen to his favourities. He has taken in
hand the resuscitation of Tamil music and it is the prayer
of his numerous friends that he should live long to enjoy
the sweet strains he is doing so much to revive.
GREETINGS, GOOD WISHES AND APPRECIATIONS.
HIS EXCELLENCY SIB ARTHUR HOPE, G.C.I.E., M.C.,
Governor of Madras
I am very pleased to hear that the University is cele-
brating in a fitting manner the Shastipurti of Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar, and to add my own warm congratula-
tions. The Rajah's munificence has been widespread, but
it is above all for his magnificent contribution to the cause
of education in South India by the founding of Annamalai
University that his name will be remembered among future
generations with affection and respect.
20 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
HIS HOLINESS KASIVASI SWAMINATHA THAMBIBAN AVL.,
Tirupanandal
As a philanthropist, Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar
stands foremost in South India. The munificent gifts that
he has made for the cause of education, medical aid, and
women welfare all over India and elsewhere, not to speak
of his other charities, distinguish him as the most generous
hearted gentleman of the present generation. In particu-
lar, the University at Chidambaram founded by him with
departments of Science, Tamil, Sanskrit and Music, the first
residential teaching University in South India, is a boon to
the rising generation. The University town has sprung, as
if by magic, into a centre beaming with intelligent faces and
pursuing academic work of a high order. That part of the
town in which the University is situated has been fittingly
named after the Founder, having been converted from a
dry waste into a model town with all modern amenities.
Thus the University with its colony stands to the credit of
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar as a monument of his
educational munificence. We heartily congratulate him on
the happy function of the celebration of the completion of
his 60th year and wish him long life and prosperity.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME % 22
DR. GEORGE S. ARUNDALE,
President, Theosophical Society
It is with very great pleasure that I add my congratu-
lations to all those with which I am Sure Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar will be inundated on the occasion of his
Shashtiabdapurti — a notable spiritual event in his life and
the herald, I am sure, of that added fineness of stature with
which the new period will bless him.
The Rajah Saheb has been in the public eye almost
from the beginning of his career, and it was not long before
he entered the public service in the Councils of this Presi-
dency and of India. Indeed, this very year marks the
twenty-fifth anniversary of his association with the Madras
Legislative Council, while on each occasion that he stood
for election to the Council of Stale he was returned at the
top of the poll, thus receiving a notable token of the esteem
in which he has always been held both by the general
public and by his own community. His Majesty the King-
Emperor has fittingly recognised the outstanding worth of
Sir Annamalai by conferring upon him honour after
honour, and worthily have these been worn.
As a business man he has achieved success which few
even among his peers have reached, largely because his
benefactions have always increased as his worldly pros-
perity has grown. But the crown of them all has been the
great Annamalai University at Chidambaram — a verita-
ble monument to his public spirited patriotism and kingly
generosity. Most rightly did the Rajah Saheb say in 1926,
a few years before the actual establishment of the Univer-
sity:
Since days long past, Chidambaram has been a great
centre of culture in South India and has enlisted the
22 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
devotion alike of her warriors and kings, philosophers
and poets. It has often struck me that at Chidam-
baram, if anywhere in South India, there is a great
opportunity fur working on chosen lines and to noble
ends that synthesis of the great cultures of the East and
the West which is the prime task of our country and
of her educational institutions at this hour.
Chidambaram is indeed a sacred spot fragrant with
the splendour of noble lives and with the dedication of
mighty saints, and there could be no better setting for
the education of India's young citizens in the true
spirit of their Motherland.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar has thus sought to make
available to these modern days of India's life the very soul
of India's spiritual greatness that her young sons and
daughters of to-day may be greatly inspired to build a future
worthy of her incomparable past.
Surely the blessings of Bharata Mata must be upon
him for this signal act of filial homage to her and will
gladden his way as he passes this sixtieth landmark of his
present incarnation.
May he be spared many years to continue his great
services to India and to this Presidency.
MR. T. AUSTIN, C.I.E., I.C.S.,
Adviser, Government of Madras
I gladly add my best wishes to the commemoration
volume which is to mark the completion of Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar's sixtieth year. The list of his benefactions
is long and varied: in the great generosity shown towards
KUMAR ARAJAH SIR M. A MUTHIAH CHETTIAK. B A
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 23
educational institutions and the welfare of women, he has
taken the direction where help is so much needed. I wish
the Rajah Sahib many more years of useful life.
REV. FATHER P. CARTY, S.J.
The 61st birthday celebration of Dr. Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar of Chettinad appeals to me not only as the
worthy public recognition of the truly royal munificence of
one of India's most distinguished sons and benefactors, but
also as an event of national importance, occurring as it does
at the very time when the world suffers, as it has rarely suf-
fered before, from the inhuman machinations of ruthless
malefactors. This horrifying background of fierce war and
bloodshed involving in its destruction peaceful and harmless
citizens even more than the armed forces, sets out by con-
trast, as nothing else would, this admirable life of peaceful
endeavour so generously and so unassumingly spent in the
one object of doing good and being good to others and
making people happy.
The benefactions of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai have be-
come a household word not only in South India but in the
North and in Burmah as well; and what, to my mind, makes
their chief value is the high purpose which we discover be-
hind each one of them. They are either charitable endow-
ments seeking to relieve the misery of the poor, or religious
endowments which clearly indicate his high spiritual motives
and reveal that sense of service to man for God's sake which
is so different from mere humanitarianism; — or, lastly, but
not the least, educational endowments which he has spread
so lavishly throughout the length and breadth of India and
Burmah. If I stress this last proof of his genuinely gener-
24 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
ous and kindly heart it is because by his munificent largesses
in this field he has shown the high value he sets on the pro-
motion of education and learning in India, In this he is per-
fectly right, since obviously a nation of illiterates is bound
to lag behind in every form of improvement and progress.
And though India cannot certainly be called an illiterate
country when we consider the quality and the numbers of
those of India's sons who, in the field of learning and science,
can proudly stand any comparison with those of other coun-
tries, nevertheless the hundreds of millions who still await
their chance of receiving even a fairly adequate elementary
education, reveal perhaps one of the chief factors which
account for the slow march of all-round progress in India.
For it is by the brains of its citizens that a nation ultimately
develops and prospers.
It is the peculiar merit of Dr. Kajah Sir Annamalai to
have keenly realized this fundamental need of India and to
have come forward to meet it on so magnificent a scale. It
is, moreover, a peculiar trait of his enlightened generosity
that by the crowning foundation of the Annamalai University
he has opened up new vistas of higher learning and efficiency
to many a poor student who, but for this institution and the
free scholarships with which it is endowed, would have been
unable to rise from their humble surroundings and to take
place among the builders of India's future.
I feel deeply honoured to have been invited to associate
myself with the many admirers of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai
in expressing in however imperfect a manner, my personal
esteem, respect and admiration for him on this auspicious
celebration.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 25
THE MAHARAJAH OF COCHIN
On the occasion of the Sastyabda-poorti of Dr. Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, I have great pleasure
in wishing him many more years of happy and useful life.
My son was a student of the University of which Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar is the founder, and the glowing
accounts he has given me of the University will ever remain
fresh in my memory.
KULAPATHl DR. J. H. COUSINS,
Art Adviser to the Government of Travancore ;
Head of the Department of Fine Arts, University of Travancore
I have watched the career of the Honourable the Rajah
of Chettinad, with deep appreciation of the princely manner
in which he put the material results of his genius in the
affairs of the outer life into the creation of a great institution
for the development of the powers of the inner life of the
young men and women of South India. I have also been
much gratified by his continued fostering of the Annamalai
University, and trust that the institution will have the
benefit of his guidance for many fruitful years to come.
THE HON'BLE SIR MANECKJI B. DADHABHOY, K. C.S.I.,
Barrister-at-Law, President, Council of State
I am very glad to state that I had come in close contact
with my friend Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chetti-
nad for many years in our capacity as members of the Coun-
cil of State, and I had always entertained very high opinion
of his business ability and his noble and spotless character.
He was well respected by all the members of the Council of
26 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
State and his debates in that House were full of information,
sober thought and sound judgment. His business capacity
is very much respected in the town and Presidency of
Madras. He is an ornament of his community and I pray
that he will be spared for many years to render good and
substantial services to his country which for many years
he has so faithfully discharged.
PKOFESSOR B. B. DEY, D.Sc. (LONDON), F.I.C., I.E.S.,
Presidency College, Madras.
The foundation of the Annamalai University the first
real residential University in the South, through the vision
and munificence of one single individual, is unique in the
annals of education in this Presidency, and the beneficial
work of the University with its high standard of efficiency
is slowly becoming known throughout the country.
My close association with the University even from its
inception, and particularly with the Chemistry department
which has been built up so efficiently by my friend Dr. S. N.
Chakravarthi has made me familiar with the work of the
Science Departments and particularly with the research
activities in Chemistry and in Physics, which would do
honour to any of the old Universities in this country.
I send my best wishes for success of the celebrations of
the event.
LORD ERSKINE, G.C.I.E., M.P.,
Ex-Governor of Madras.
I send my best wishes to the Rajah of Chettinad on
the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The Annamalai
KUMARARAJAH IN MAYORAL ROBES
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 27
University will remain a lasting symbol of his love for
learning and culture. The Tamil country should ever be
grateful to Sir Annamalai as one of the leading educational
benefactors of South India. May he be with us for many
more years.
PROFESSOR J. FRANCO, M.A.,
Presidency College, Madras
It is extremely pleasing to me to render my tribute on
the occasion of the celebration of the Shashtiabdapurthi
(61st birthday), of the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad for the
invaluable services he has rendered to the cause of higher
education in this country.
Apart from the traditional and free-handed generosity
for which his family has been noted, his own benefactions
for the relief of suffering, the uplift of the poor, the renova-
tion of our ancient temples and the promotion of indigenous
culture have been immense. Besides, one cannot but be
struck with his pioneer achievement in a new and most fruit-
ful direction, namely, the starting on a magnificient scale,
of the first Unitary Residential University in South India.
This is but the beginning of the realisation of the idea of
establishing Residential rather than merely Examining,
Universities, at the principal centres of culture, within the
jurisdiction of the overgrown University of Madras and the
Rajah Saheb deserves to be congratulated on taking the
first step in this direction.
It was on the sub-structure of the Sri Minakshi College
at Chidambaram which the Rajah had started in 1920 and
which had developed into a vigorous and popular Honours
College, that the Annamalai University was founded. It
28 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
not only embodies the idea of a University of the Residen-
tial type but also serves as a centre in which the genius of
Tamil culture can be fostered. For over two decades the
Rajah has assiduously watered and anxiously watched the
tender plant that had been set in the soil of hallowed
Chidambaram. The sapling has now become a big and leafy
tree spreading its foliage over a number of branches
of learning, one of which we may note with pride, is
South Indian Music and another the department devoted to
the revival of Tamil Literature and Culture.
The Rajah Saheb's many-sided philanthropy has thus
reached its acme in the Annamalai University. This will
perhaps be the most serviceable and enduring of all his
charities. It is, my sincere prayer that he may be long
spared to us to see his work thrive and prosper and if possi-
ble, to render yet other valuable services to South India.
MAHATMA GANDHI
"I would wish the Rajah Saheb many a long year of
useful service."
MB. V. V. GIRI, BAR-AT-LAW
It is but right and fitting that the Annamalai Univer-
sity is celebrating in a fitting manner the 60th year of its
great founder Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar. His many
sided charities are well-known throughout India and have
earned the esteem of his fellow countrymen. My esteemed
father the late Mr. V. V. Jogiah Pantulu, and myself have
known the Rajah Saheb for nearly two decades and we
always appreciated his services to the country. His sacrifice
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 29
for establishing the University will ever be remembered. I
wish the Rajah Sahib long life, happiness and prosperity to
continue his great work of putting the University on a sound
basis.
THE HON'BLE SIR MAURICE GWYER, K.C.B., K C.S.I.,
Chief Justice of India and Vice -Chancellor, Delhi University
The princely benefactions of Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar of Chettinad are known over the whole of India,
and it is difficult to say which we have admired the more,
the magnificence of his gifts or the breadth of his sympa-
thies, for no good cause has ever appealed to him in vain.
Education owes him an inestimable debt, not only for what
he himself has done, great though that is, but for the noble
example which he has set to others.
It is not given to many men at their Shashtiabdapurthi
to look back on a life so full of liberality and beneficence ;
and all those who labour in the field of education will join
in offering their most hearty congratulations to the Rajah
Saheb upon this anniversary and their earnest prayers that
he may live to enjoy many more years of happiness and
welldoing.
MR. A. A. HAYLES,
Editor. Madras Mail.
Nearly a hundred years divide Annamalai Chettiar
from Pachaiyappa, but it is significant that the century
which opened with the founding of a school and college by
one great South Indian should have closed with the esta-
30 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
blishment by another of a university. Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar will be best remembered for the university
which bears his name, but that only partially represents his
benevolence. From the temples he has built or renovated
and endowed for the benefit of his fellow religionists to the
hospitals and other public institutions, big or small, that he
has supported his charity has flowed into many channels,
helping those less favourably circumstanced than himself.
A genial, wise and uncommonly shrewd personality,
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar has made friends in many
places and in different walks of life. They join his col-
leagues and fellow- workers in wishing him continued hap-
piness and prosperity.
THE HON'BLE KHAN BAHADUR SIR MD AZIZUL HUQUE,
C.J.E., B.L., M.L.A.,
Vice-Chancellor, Calcutta University
On the happy day when the Hon'ble The Rajah of
Chettinad, the Pro-Chancellor of the Annamalai University
completes his sixtieth year I recall the great service which
he has rendered to the cause of education and social wel-
fare of the people of the province of Madras. The Anna-
malai University stands most pre-eminently as the monu-
ment of his great work. He has given a new incentive to
the cultural life of the people cf the Annamalai area and
I am sure that a time will come when under the auspices
of the University, Annamalai will stand second to none
in the cultural progress of India. The Rajah has been
closely associated with many aspects of public life and the
people all over India must always feel gratitude for all
that he has done for the people of this country.
KUMARARAJAH M A MUTHIAH CHETTIAR AS PRO-CHANCELLOR.
MADRAS UNIVERSITY
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 31
THE RT. HON'BLE SIR AKBAR HYDARI, KT., P.C. LL.D. D.C.L.,
President, H.E.H. The Nizam's Executive Council
I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar for a number of years and of being
aware of the great charities dispensed by him for public
benefit and utility, the most monumental endowment being
the Annamalai University itself which derives its name from
its most generous donor. The example set by this great
philanthropist is one which may well be copied by others
who have the good fortune of possessing wealth and the
spirit and the heart to use it for the benefit of mankind.
AMIN-UL-MULK SIR MIRZA M. ISMAIL, K.C.I.E., O.B.E.
It is with genuine pleasure that I avail myself of this
opportunity to convey my hearty felicitations to Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar on the completion of his sixtieth year,
and to wish him many years of happiness and usefulness to
his fellow-citizens.
Sir Annamalai Chettiar's record as a philanthropist is
one of which any man may be proud. As the Founder of
the Annamalai University, his name will ever be remem-
bered. That University will stand for all time as the
noblest record of his munificence and his public spirit.
A most obliging friend, a generous host, a successful
business man, Sir Annamalai is a most prominent and popu-
lar figure in the social and commercial life of this Province.
Let me wish him once more every good fortune in the
years to come.
32 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
SIR FREDERICK JAMES, ML A
I count it a privilege to send a message for the Com-
memoration Volume to be presented to Dr. Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad on his 61st birthday.
Few men acquire great riches; fewer still use those
riches for the common weal. The Rajah has done both.
He must indeed be a happy man when he contemplates the
many monuments of his generosity — and particularly the
spectacle of that University which was founded and
endowed by him, and so fittingly perpetuates his name.
Titles have rightly been bestowed upon the Rajah; but
I have no doubt that on this day his heart will be warmed,
not by their decorative dignity but by the gratitude and
affection of all classes in his and succeeding generations.
When I wish him many happy returns of his birthday
anniversary, it is not the usual formal greeting. It
expresses the sincere wish of one of his many friends that
he may long be spared to continue his charitable activi-
ties and to share, with his family, the satisfaction and re-
ward of years of distinguished public service.
SIR COWASJI JEHANGIR
In any part of the world to find a man who devotes his
wealth to discriminating charities, bringing great institu-
tions into existence for the benefit of his fellow subjects, is
rare. Such a man is Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar,
whom the whole of India in general, and the Madras Pro-
vince in particular, will congratulate on his 61st birthday.
He will ever be remembered in his Province as the Founder
of a great University and as a great patron of Art and
Learning.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 33
Young men of the Province of Madras will for genera-
tions be grateful to the man who helped to educate them.
May all the educational institutions founded by him help to
produce Indians who will be an honour to their country.
It is a pleasure to know the Rajah Saheb personally, a
most unassuming man who, having amassed a fortune,
delights in helping those who are not so fortunate as himself.
May he continue to add to the good works that have distin-
guished his whole career.
THE HON'BLE S5R BARON JAYATILAKA
Minister for Home Affairs & Leader of the State Council, Ceylon
I have been invited to associate myself with the cele-
brations which the Annan) alai University proposes to hold
in connection with the sixty-first birthday of Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar, the Founder and Pro-Chancellor of the
University. I respond with sincere pleasure, and send this
brief message in order to express my high appreciation of
the great services Sir Annamalai Chettiar has rendered to
his country, notably in the sphere of education.
Last December it was my good fortune to visit the
Annamalai University and see for myself the magnificent
work that is being done in that unique institution. Dur-
ing that visit I had also the opportunity of gaining some
idea of the generous liberality with which Sir Annamalai
is maintaining religious and charitable institutions in that
part of the country.
"Data jagati durlabhah" (a giver is rare in this world)
is an ancient and true saying. Sir Annamalai Chettiar has
by his munificence earned the right to be enrolled among
5
34 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHBTWAH
those rare beings who spend their wealth nobly for the wel-
fare of humanity.
MB. T. J. KEDAR, B.A., LL.B., M.L.A.,
Vice -Chancellor, Nagpur University
It is with the greatest pleasure that I associate myself
in the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Founder
Pro-Chancellor of the Annamalai University.
Unique among the educational benefactions in Modern
India, the princely donation of the Hon'ble Rajah Dr. Sir
S. R. M. Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad laid the founda-
tion of a new teaching University in India. And it has been
given to him, as it has been given to few, to nurse and bring
up the most favourite child of his own charity and to set
it going on the path of progress under his paternal guid-
ance.
May the noble Rajah live a hundred years and may his
great example inspire others and bear thousandfold fruit !
DIWAN BAHADUR R. V. KRISHNA AYYAR, C.I.E.,
Additional Secretary to the Government of Madras, Public Department
I am glad that the Annamalai University is intending
to celebrate the Sashtiabdhapoorthi of its Founder-Pro-
Chancellor. It is very meet that it should do so. The
attainment of the Sixtieth year is an auspicious event in
the life of every Hindu ; but in the case of the Rajah of
Chettinad, who has dedicated such a substantial part of his
wealth as he has done for the benefit of the Annamalai
S Km M Km HAMANATHAN CI'EITIAR, UNDER-SHEKIFF, MADKAo
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 35
University, the event is one for national celebration and
jubilation.
The name of the Rajah of Chettinad will be promi-
nent in the roll of the honoured names of great Kings,
Noblemen and others who have encouraged learning and
Arts. In one sense, his work is greater than that of many of
tKem, as he has not been content merely with patronising
one or more individual poets or musicians, but has created
a whole University with its many-sided activities which in
course of time would bring forth a whole host of poets,
philosophers, economists, scientists, musicians and' leaders
of men.
The Rajah of Chettinad is an example of what is
expected of rich and wealthy men in these days. ThougK
the inheritor of a vast fortune, he is one who has not been
content to sit idle and enjoy himself, but his life has been a
great example of active work, diligence and devotion to
duty.
Even as regards this University, but for his persever-
ence and resolve, it would not have come into being. After
its coming into existence, the constant care and attention
he has been bestowing on its welfare and progress are truly
remarkable.
His original endowments and gifts to the University
which are already fabulous have constantly been added to,
every time when the University was in need of help.
But the University is no longer the Rajah's property
but is a national institution specially intended for the
benefit of the Tamil land. It is the duty of all of us to see
that the institution does not languish for want of support
and that it becomes truly and in effect a magnificent
Temple of Learning for the whole of the Tamil land.
36 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Chidambaram is situated in the heart of the Tamil
country. It is known in our ancient books as the
centre of the Universe. It has hoary traditions of learn-
ing; but the glory of the ancient traditions of this town
will, I hope, be nothing as compared with the glory which
ought to be its future.
Being a Residential University, it has special
facilities to enable the students tc learn the greatest of
all Arts, and so far as India is concerned, also the most diffi-
cult of all Arts, namely, the art of living together. It can not
only help in the creation of a cultured and intelligent
society, but to build up a fraternity which will replace the
strife of classes by social peace.
Now that an Andhra University has come into ex-
istence for the Andhradesa, a Travancore University for
the Malayalam speaking peoples, a Mysore University for
the Kannada-speaking people, this University must be
treated by the Tamilians as the embodiment of their aspira-
tions and the realisation of their unity.
It is the prayer of every citizen in this Province
that the Raja of Chettinad will be spared to us for many
many years to come and that he and his children and chil-
dren's children will be happy and prosperous from genera-
tion to generation.
SIR ALLADI KRISHNASWAMI AY YAK, B.A., B.L ,
Advocate General, Madras
I rejoice in the opportunity that you have so kindly
afforded me to send my most cordial and affectionate
greetings to Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the
Founder and Pro-Chancellor of the University on his 61st
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 37
birthday. The event represents according to our Hindu
notions a significant mile-stone in one's life and it is singu-
larly appropriate that the University which he founded and
has been nursing with such devotion should organise the
celebration with felicite' and goodwill.
The Annamalai University is by far the most outstand-
ing contribution to the cause of University education by
any private benefactor in this part of India. To the Rajah
of Chettinad belongs the credit of giving a new direction
to the well-known philanthropy and the public spirit edness
of the Nattukottai Chettiar community. Not content with
founding the University the Rajah has been taking a sustain-
ed, living atid parental interest in the work of the University
and has add^d largelv to ihe original foundation bv the
institution of new scholarships and studentships.
it is not \\f±\rovL( Signincance that the University is
located in the heart of the Tamil country sanctified by the
shrine of Lord Sri Nataraja, "The Kovil" of Saivite
Literature. At Chidambaram Patanjali and Vyagrapadha
performed their great tapas and Nandanar in later times
attained his beatitude. I have no doubt that Sanskrit and
Tamil culture will radiate from this University and that
votaries of science and humanities will gather within its
walls and spread knowledge to the different parts of India.
It is my fervent hope and prayer that the Rajah may be
long spared in health and happiness to be of service to the
country and to the cause of education, that the institution
which he has founded and nursed may grow from strength
to strength and that from its walls may go forth men and
women filled with the sense of the text of the great Upani-
shad.
38 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
*rr
n
Om. From the unreal lead me to the Real.
From darkness lead me to Light.
From death lead me to Immortality.
MB. V. N. KUDUVA, M.A., I.C.S.,
Collector, South Arcot,
For generations, Nagarathars have been weJI-known
for their charities. The temples renovated and en-
dowed by them are innumerable, and they are by no
means confined to the Tamil Nad. A healthily conserva-
tive community, their charities, while they are extensive,
had till recently a tendency to run in time-honoured and
traditidnal grooves. It was given to the Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar of Chettinod the auspicious occasion of whose
sixtyfirst birthday, has evoked expressions of gratitude from
his countrymen, to strike a new channel of philanthropy by
devoting a considerable portion of his wealth to the creation
of a new University which perpetuates his name.
".'H
Chidambaram is singularly fortunate to have attracted
the attention of the Rajah Sahib's family and to have been
the recipient of their benefactions. For over three genera-
tions, members of his family have spent a fortune in the
stupendous task of renovation of the great Sabhanayaka
shrine including the rebuilding of the gopurams, manta-
pams, and fine-pillared corridors of the inner enclosures of
the Sri Nataraja Temple, a shrine which was for over fifteen
M A, CHIDAMBARAM CHETT1AR, 3RD SON OF THE RAJAH SAHEB
OF CHETTINAD
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 39
centuries a great centre of South Indian culture,
which attracted the devotion of the Chola Kings and a
large number of saints, philosophers and poets who have
left an indelible mark and shaped the culture of the Tamil
people. The action of the Rajah Sahib in completely and
effectively renovating the dilapidated shrine of Sri Govinda-
raja is characteristic of his catholicity of mind in view of the
age-long disputes between the followers of the Vaishnavite
and Saivite faiths which had marred the harmony of the
great shrine. Chidambaram has also to be specially grateful
to the Rajah Sahib's elder brother, the late Dewan Bahadur
Ramaswami Chettiar, for its two great amenities, a flourish-
ing High School which provides for the education of its
youth, and its protected water-supply which has to a large
extent minimised the ravages of cholera arid filaria.
The nucleus of the University, Sri Minakshi College
was founded by the Rajah Sahib in 1920, and by rapid and
successive stages, it has been developed into a University of
a unitary teaching and residential type which is unique in
South India. The purpose and aims of this University in
the words of the Rajah Sahib are "to embody and work for
the synthesis of the great cultures of the East and the West
which is the prime task of our country and her educational
institutions at this hour/' Provision has been made for re-
search, and a unique feature of this University is a well-
endowed faculty of oriental studies including a school for the
training of the youth in the art of Carnatic and Tamil music.
The University is still in the stage of development, and
it is essential for its development as a residential University
that its authorities should endeavour to promote the social
and corporate life of its students in a healthy manner. One
of the objects of its Founder Pro-Chancellor is to satisfy,
40 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
after the inauguration of the Mysore and Andhra Universi-
ties, the desire of the people of the Tamil Nad to have a Uni-
versity of their own. It is therefore natural that educa-
tion should be imparted in a manner to promote the highest
ethical and cultural wealth of the Tamil race. It is hoped
that this University will build up a healthy and noble tra-
dition and give scope for the full expression of the Tamil
genius without restricting it to the barriers of provincia-
lism.
THE HON'BLE SIB LIONEL LEACH,
Chief Justice of the Madras High Court
Ine Sixtieth anniversary of the birtn oi Dr. Kajah
Annamalai Chettiar oi Chetlinad, the Bounder and Jb^ro-
Chancellor oi the Annamalai University provides a tilting
opportunity for the members oi Ihe University to acknow-
ledge the deep debt oi gratitude which they owe to him. The
debt is not, however, confined to the members oi the Uni-
versity. It is a debt wnich all in South India owe. The
public benefactions oi Or. Kajah bir Annamalai Chettiar
have been many, but the greatest benefaction oi all has been
the foundation of the Annamalai University. It is impossi-
ble to conceive of a more useful object to which wealth
could be devoted in times of peace.
It may not be possible to express adequately in words
the gratitude which is felt for the magnificent public spirit
which the Founder has shown, but the feeling of gratitude
is there and all will join in offering him their sincere con-
gratulations on this happy occasion and in the prayer that
he be granted many more years of life to watch and aid the
development of the University which he has founded.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 41
THE HON'BLE NAWAB MAIIDI YAK JUNG BAHADUR, M.A., (OXON),
Vice-Chancellor, Osrnania University and Educational Member,
Hyderabad, Dcccan.
The foundation and munificent endowment of the
great Annamalai University by its Founder Pro-Chancellor,
the Hon'ble Rajah of Chettinad, has marked him as a true
benefactor of his country. The University will be a peren-
nial fountain of learning, to which the youth of India will
come in great numbers and drink deep of the springs for
generations to come. On this the 60th Anniversary of the
birthday of the Founder, thousands of his grateful country-
men join in paying him a tribute of admiration for his pious
and selfless act of which the Annamalai University is an
enduring monument.
MR. R P. MASANI, M.A.,
Vice-Chancellor, University of Bombay
I am very glad to hear that it is proposed by your Uni-
versity to celebrate the completion of 60 years of the life of
the Hon'ble the Rajah of Chettinad, Founder Pro-Chancellor
of the Annamalai University, and that as a part of the cele-
brations it is proposed to present a Commemoration Volume
to the Rajah Saheb on the 28th September 1941. You are
thereby honouring one who has taken a very keen interest
in the promotion of higher education and rendered it possi-
ble by his munificent donation to found a residential
university, I have much pleasure in sending to your Univer-
sity, and through you to the Rajah Saheb also, my cordial
greetings and best wishes.
42 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
SIR CHUNBLAL V. MEHTA, K.C.S.I.,
Bombay
I consider it a privilege to be asked to send a message
to be incorporated in the Commemoration Volume that it
is proposed to present to Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar
of Chettinad on his completing his Sixtieth year. It is a
happy thought on this occasion to recognise the many
extremely valuable services that Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai
has rendered to the Southern Presidency, to the cause of
Education and to Hindu Religion, and its Shastras. His
charities have been on a princely scale and have been both
catholic and enlightened. The founding of the splendid
University in Annamalainagar both Teaching and Residen-
tial will be a lasting monument to the public spirit and
generosity of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar and of his
distinguished family, as lasting as the famous temples of
Chidambaram which he has renovated at great cost. That
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar will be long spared to
continue his useful public services and his generous chari-
ties for many years to come must be the fervent hope of
every friend and well-wisher of his.
THE REV. JOHN K. MILLER, M.A., D.D ,
White Lodge, Coonoor, The Nilgiris, S. India
It is with real pleasure that I add my tribute and
hearty congratulations to Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar
of Chettinad, whose friendship I have enjoyed for more
than thirty years, on having completed sixty years of life so
satisfactorily for himself and others.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 43
To few has it been given and made possible to do so
much for others as he has done and I hope he may live for
many more years to do even greater service for humanity.
In 1910 it was my privilege to help in preparing him and
his nephew the late Sir M. C. T. Muthiah Chettiar, for a visit
to Europe and to the coronation of our late good King
George the Fifth and to accompany them on the voyage
and trip through Europe.
This visit I am sure did much in awaking these gentle-
men to a realisation of India's needs to their own ability to
help meet them and our Madras Presidency has benefited
greatly from their gifts and public service.
In 1913 a gift from the then Rao Bahadur Annamalai
Chettiar made possible a hostel for our Pasumalai Normal
Training School and a few years later he gave a generous
donation towards our fund for the installing of our water and
Electric lighting plant and he has since given to other good
causes at Pasumalai.
It was also the privilege of Mrs. Miller and myself to
assist him in entertaining at his Chettinad home three of our
Madras Presidency Governors, beginning with H. E. The
Right Honourable Lord Pentland and on these occasions to
see the laying of foundation stones for numerous schools and
hospitals in Chettinad.
I have watched with' interest the work of Dr. Rajah Sir
Annamalai and of his children, who are following in his steps
and finding ample opportunity for service of mankind.
With every good wish for a long and happy life for him-
self and family I subscribe myself as one who is his true and
loyal friend.
44 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
SIB B. L. M1TTEB, Kt., K.C.S.I., M.A., B.L., BAB-AT-LAW,
Advocate General of India,
Possession of wealth may be a blessing or a curse. In
India material wealth has never been given the dominant
value which it possesses in western civilization. Here the
value is measured by the use made of it. The place of the
owner of wealth in society is conditioned by the extent to
which he regards his ownership as a trust. Rajah Sir
Annamalai has always acted up to the Indian ideal and,
hence, the high estimation in which he is held by his coun-
trymen. He has used his great wealth for the spread of edu-
cation, relief of distress and other acts of charity. I recall
an occasion when I appealed to him for help to Lady Irwin
Girls' School at Simla and Delhi. He said little, but, in
about an hour's time, I received from him a cheque in five
figures. The amount so generously given formed the
nucleus of a building fund. The school now possesses a
magnificent building and it is one of the foremost educational
institutions in New Delhi for the benefit of Indian girls of
all provinces and all communities. I have known Rajah Sir
Annamalai for many years and I know how completely he
is inspired by the Indian ideal of the union of Lakshmi and
Saraswati. I offer my hearty felicitations on his completing
his sixtieth year.
DB. MARIA MONTESSORI
I have heard of the great efforts of the Hon'ble
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar has made in favour of educa-
tion in this country. Myself, as a pioneer of education and
as the opener of a new field of discoveries, am deeply mov-
ed by those who open the possibilities to human beings of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 45
obtaining the development which should be due to every
human spirit. To him, therefore, I convey my congratula-
tions on the attainment of his Sixtieth Birthday. I hope
that his life may last long and that his figure may long
remain an example to the rest and a living monument of
those who have deserved well from India and from the rest
of humanity.
REV. L. D. MURPHY, S.J.,
Principal, Loyola College, Madras
It gives me great pleasure to have this opportunity of
adding my voice to the general chorus of congratulations to
Rajah Sir S. R. M. Annamalai Chettiar. It is easy without
exaggeration to speak in terms of high praise of the Rajah's
manysided character, with its lotus-like development against
a background of utter simplicity of life. Success sits lightly
on his shoulders and the black care which the poet Horace
foretells for such eminence as the Rajah has attained can
never be his familiar. Its approach would be denied by the
royal spirit of lavish generosity which has been so constant a
companion in all his undertakings. Religion, Education and
the poor are his special beneficiaries and together they form
a strong buckler to protect him from harm. May God grant
him many years of useful life for their benefit.
MR. S, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN NAINAR, M.A., LL.B., (ALIGARH),
Ph.D. (LONDON),
University of Madras
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, in
whose honour this volume is issued on the occasion of his
46 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
sixtieth birthday is known throughout India and Greater
India as the founder of the Annamalai University and also
a number of charitable institutions. The Tamilnad, in
particular, can never forget this magnificent and liberal
patron of learning who has made Chidambaram a centre
of light and leading. Although there are several munificent
men in this great country, the Rajah Sahib, is, I think,
the first person to specially pay attention to the promotion
of learning on modern lines by founding a University which
is named after him.
The Rajah Sahib has shown a rare devotion to Dravi-
dian languages and culture. At a critical time in the his-
tory of the Tamil language he has come to its rescue. He
has endowed special prizes for the study of Tamil and has
thus inaugurated a new era of Tamil learning.
The Rajah Sahib's beneficence is so great that many
towns and cities derive advantage from his charity. His
charities stand out as a brilliant example of what a single
individual with his own unaided resources can achieve. He
is imbued with a spirit of such great self-sacrifice as is rarely
met with in a man.
South India may well feel proud that it has produced
such a noteworthy person who has done so much to quicken
the intellectual life of this part of India. May he live long
and continue to provide facilities for the development of
culture and enlightenment.
PROFESSOR K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI, M.A.,
University of Madras
I was for some time closely associated with some of the
numerous benefactions which have made the Rajah's name a
SS
y
W
p
H
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 47
household word in South India; and I had many opportuni-
ties of observing and admiring his great qualities of indus-
try, clearness of mind, far-sightedness and, most import-
ant of all, promptness in well-doing. I have the pleasantest
recollections of my association with the Rajah Sahib who
in building up a great educational institution conceived
policy on large and generous lines and gave his Principal
and staff the widest academic and administrative freedom
in carrying it out.
I wish him many years of life full of happiness to him-
self and his family and of service to the country.
MR. H. C. PAPWORTH, M.A., I.E.S., O.B.E.,
Principal, Presidency College, Madras
I greatly appreciate the invitation to write a short tri-
bute on the occasion of the sixtieth birthday of Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, Founder and Pro-Chan-
cellor of Annamalai University. I do so with special plea-
sure, as it has been my privilege to be a member of Anna-
malai University from its foundation.
Many colleges in English universities and many univer-
sities in America owe their foundation to private benefac-
tors. In some cases these foundations assumed and still
retain the name of the benefactor as their title; in other
cases, especially in some of the older foundations, the origi-
nal name has given place to another dedication. In India
the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad has the honour of being
a pioneer in this munificent work, for it was his bounty plac-
ed at the disposal of the State which made possible the
foundation of the University which bears his name.
48 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
All educationists and all who prize the inestimable
benefits of knowledge and sound learning will remember his
munificence with gratitude, and offer him their felicitations
at the ensuing commemoration of his birthday.
THE RAJAH OF PARLAKIMEDI
It gives me profound pleasure to offer my hearty con-
gratulations to Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chetti-
nad on the occasion of his Sashtipurthi, the completion of
a period of life unique with abundant feelings of philan-
thropy and rare aptitude for the creation of colossal chari-
ties like the Annamalai University. May God spare him for
many more years with blessings of prosperity and healthy
life to do further useful service to our great country INDIA
and her people.
THfc MAHARAJAH OF PITHAPURAM
I have known my dear friend the Rajah of Chettinad
for a very long time. A gentleman of charming manners,
he makes his visitors feel quite at home from the outset. It
is indeed a pleasure to converse with him. His hospitality
is proverbial. Possessing business talents of an extraordi-
narily high order he works hard day and night. That he
should work so assiduously, though endowed by Providence
with immense wealth, is truly praiseworthy. This is a
quality worth acquiring, as it enables one to spend more
money for charitable purposes. His manifold philanthropic
activities cover a very wide and varied field. He thus sets
a noble example. The most outstanding of his charities is,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 49
of course, the famous Annamalai University. He has been
rendering meritorious services to the country. Many are
the poor that are benefited by the munificence of this gene-
rous Rajah. Most heartily do I congratulate my esteemed
friend on this auspicious occasion of his "Shastipurti". May
God grant him long life, happiness and prosperity!
KUNWAR SIR JAGADISH PRASAD, K. C.S.I., C.I.E., O.B.E., LL.D.
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad is one
of those rare men in India who have used their riches for the
benefit of their fellow men. He is the founder of the only
Unitary, Teaching and Residential University in South
India, the Annamalai University of Annamalainagar. Other
educational, charitable, religious and social institutions
have benefited largely from his open-hearted generosity.
It is right and proper that his countrymen should do
him honour not only as a munificent benefactor of learning
but as setting a worthy example to others of the right use
of great wealth.
I join with others in wishing him many more years of
beneficent service to his province and country.
If. H. THE RAJAH OF PUDUKOTTAI
On such an occasion as the 61st Birthday of one who
has so notably benefited Tamilnad as Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar, it gives me great pleasure — as Ruler-to-be of the
only Tamil State — to send a message to the Vice-Chancellor
of the splendid University which Sir Annamalai's generous
munificence brought into being.
7
50 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Many a Pudukkottian already has reason to bless the
name of the Rajah Saheb and his now famous institution,
and doubtless thousands more will do so. So it is in their
name as well as my own that I send my sincere wishes for
the continued prosperity and happiness both of the Founder
and of his foundation.
SIB S. BADHAKRISHNAN, M.A., D.LITT., LL.D., F.B.A.,
Vice -Chancellor, Benares Hindu University
I am glad to know that your Pro-Chancellor the Hon'ble
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, Rajah of Chettinad, will be
completing his Sixty years on the 28th of September, 1941.
The only University in the country founded by a single
individual is yours. And for years it has been doing very
valuable work. I have no doubt that the Rajah Saheb will
continue to take an affectionate interest in the institution. I
wish him many years of useful and happy life.
MIBZA MD. BAFI
Barrister-at-LaW' Bangoon
I beg to send from Burma a message of congratulation
to Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar on his completing the
60th year of his life. The Rajah's name is remembered with
respect in this country where many educational institutions
have benefited by his gifts. In India his charities have been
simply colossal. The Annamalai University alone, which
constitutes a landmark in the history of education in South
India, will for ever remain a monument to his kingly gene-
rosity, his love of culture, his ardent desire for the spread of
education, more enduring than any commemorative present
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 51
that we may offer him. We are not all born for great things,
but let us not deny ourselves the greatness of appreciating
things that are great. May the Rajah live long will be the
prayer of all his friends and admirers among whom I count
myself, on this happy occasion.
MR. C. RAJAGOPALACHARI, B.A. B.L.,
Ex- Chief Minister, Madras
I appreciate the courtesy that prompted you to send
me intimation of the Sashtipurti celebration of Sir Anna-
malai. My son forwarded me your letter. To the numer-
ous messages and greetings that will surely grace the
pages of the Commemoration Volume, let me add a sincere
tribute from one of his own generation, whom wide-gaping
differences in political creed and practice have not prevented
from appreciating the outstanding ability and virtues of the
Rajah. But for the unfortunate abnormality of our national
status and the struggles imposed on us, who can doubt but
Sir Annamalai Chettiar would have been to all of us one of
the safest and most successful leaders in our public life? I
first met him twenty-two years ago when I was in the fever
of the newly-discovered creed of Non-Co-operation and I
remember how deeply I was impressed by the manner in
which he took my answer to his request for a vote in the
Council of State elections. That impression has continued
unmodified by anything that has happened since then. In
him we can see one who knows by instinct how to move
among men of differing views, how to be big and powerful
yet preserve untarnished one's courtesy and humility of
mind and speech, how to be a gentleman in the difficult
sense of the term. I join his other friends in congratulat-
ing him on the jubilee day and send up the wish and prayer
52 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
that all his virtues may flourish in the younger men that
wait to reach his age, round about him in Chettinad.
RAO BAHADUR M. C. RAJAH, M.L.A.
I am glad the Diamond Jubilee of Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar is to be celebrated in a worthy manner. Not
merely because he is a Rajah or a Knight but because he is a
great man who is also a good man. Greatness and goodness
do not always go together. There are many great men, men
who make a great impression on the public mind, but in
whom goodness is not very conspicuous — goodness of heart,
goodness of disposition, a desire to do good to others and to
find their own happiness in the happiness of others. It is the
presence of these moral qualities in a man who has immense
means and opportunities cf doing good which distinguishes
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar from other rich men. It is
not enough to own riches: what makes riches a blessing is to
know how to use it for the good of others. This knowledge
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar possesses in an abundant
quantity. I remember how before making an endowment
which constitutes the foundation of the Annamalai Univer-
sity he consulted more than one Educationist, Indian and
European, and discussed details with them so that the
money he invested might prove most beneficial — might bear
fruit, tenfold, thirtyfold arid a hundredfold. It is this pain-
staking thoughtfulness, so characteristic of the man, which
endears him to all who know him. There is so much self-for-
getful dignity about the man that his benefactions seem a
natural expression of his inner disposition, and are acceptable
as such. We have all heard the saying "Noblesse oblige"
Nobility has its obligations and responsibilities. This is
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 53
applicable not only to mere titular nobility but also to
wealth and influence which when properly used make a
man truly noble. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar takes his
rank with Tata, the founder of the Tata family who earned
money through business but used that money for the
benefit of his people and his country. In establishing the
Annamalai University, Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar has
given an impetus to the progress of education in Tamil Nad
which will continue for endless generations. In this
stream of educational progress we of the Depressed Classes
will be caught up and carried to new realms of happiness
and prosperity for which we shall ever remember Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar as a real benefactor of our community.
I have compared Sir Annamalai Chettiar to Tata. Per-
haps a more appropriate and closer analogy and nearer home
is to be found in Pachaiappa the founder of Pachaiappa
Charities. This gentleman also earned and amassed a large
amount of wealth, and endowed it all for the good of the peo-
ple as religious benefactions, in the shape of free feeding
and temple worship. These benefactions only fed the
priests and did not bring any return of lasting good to the
people at large. Certain wise men, however, of a later
generation realised the comparative fruitfulness and barren-
ness of these charities, and rescued a portion of the funds for
the purpose of educating the people. Thus we have tlv*
Pachaiappa Schools in Madras, Conjeevaram, Chidambaram
and other places, and among these Pachaiappa's College
stands as a prominent monument of his charitable disposi-
tion.
But Sir Annamalai Chettiar did not require the wisdom
of a later generation to direct his benefactions. He has had
not only the heart to give but also the head to direct his
54 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
gifts into fruitful channels so that they may irrigate the
homes and happiness of thousands of people in the country.
The application of charities to Educational Institutions is
like introducing electric lighting and electric power into a
District.
Sir Annamalai Chettiar's community was always noted
for making large benefactions but these had for generations
taken the form of building temples and choultries and feed-
ing pilgrims on festival occasions. And it was only in
recent times that some of them under the influence of
enlightened public opinion added the starting and financing
of schools to the list of their benefactions while still the chief
item of their charitable dispositions was in the direction of
religious endowments. In Sir Annamalai Chettiar's own
family some younger members endowed local schools which
are conducted in their names. But it was given to Sir
Annamalai Chettiar to conceive a larger project which will
cover the needs of the whole presidency and benefit genera-
tion after generation and become part and parcel of the
intellectual moral and spiritual legacy of this presidency.
His is not a one-sided endowment intended to benefit one
community rather than another. In keeping with the
spirit of the times and needs of the country the doors of the
Annamalai University are thrown open to students of
all communities; and on its staff and council are
men belonging to Brahmin, Non-Brahmin Hindu, Christian
and Mohammedan communities. This is in keeping with
the largeness of heart and the breadth of vision of its
founder.
It is not without significance that the University is in
a holy city, sacred to the memory of the Panchama Saint
Nandanar. To me this circumstance is an augury of the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 55
bright future which awaits my community. Sir Annamalai
Chettiar's name will go down in history associated with the
moral, social and intellectual progress of the community of
which Saint Nandanar was the Prophet and shining star.
SIB SHRI RAM,
New Delhi
A handsome tribute was once paid to Baron Rothschild
that needy Jews sometimes prayed to God but more often
wrote to the Rothschilds. The tribute will apply better to
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, as no deserving social cause
has ever appealed to him in vain. His munificent charities
to religious and educational institutions have been instru-
mental in reviving our great cultural heritage as represent-
ed in Sanskrit* and Tamil philosophical works, in music and
in other arts. He is a true Rajah, one who has endeared
himself with the public as the prince of givers. The many
beneficent institutions which he has founded in India,
Burma and Ceylon are standing monuments of his philan-
thropy and of his desire to serve his fellow-men. May the
Rajah Saheb be spared long to continue his elevating acti-
vities, is a prayer which will be echoed by thousands of his
countrymen.
SIR C. V. RAMAN, KT., F.R.S., M.A., Ph.D., Hon. D.Sc., Hon. LL.D.,
Nobel Laureate,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
A unique place in the esteem and affection of his
countrymen has been established for himself by Dr. Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar by his unparalleled stervices to the
cause of learning, culture and religion in Southern India for
56 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
over a quarter of a century. Generations yet unborn will
have cause to feel grateful to him for the opportunities he
has created for the acquisition of the knowledge, alike of the
East and of the West, by the youth of Tamilnad. He has
saved for posterity the highest traditions of our language
and our music and ensured their permanence by transmis-
sion from teacher to the taught in the institutions created by
his princely benefactions. In the Annamalai University,
he has established a centre of learning of a distinctive kind
whose achievements have justly been a cause of pride to his
countrymen and which will keep his name and fame green
for all time. We rejoice that he has reached the sixtieth
year of his age in full enjoyment of his health and strength.
We pray that he may long be spared to continue his life of
generous solicitude for the welfare of the younger genera-
tion and for the promotion of the cause of learning and cul-
ture in our country!
MR. E. V. RAMASAM1 NAICKER,
Erode
I am delighted to learn that the completion of the 60th
year of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar is going to be
celebrated shortly.
The Rajah Saheb is a brilliant Gem of Tamil Nad. He
is a Karma Veerar. Men of such keen intelligence, untiring
energy and profound ability are very rarely found in this
land. In his capacity for earning money and in his large-
heartedness in utilising it for the welfare of humanity he
stands unequalled in this Province.
It is a well-known fact that his charities are many-
sided and innumerable and thousands are benefited by
them.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 57
In short, this Great Vallal has has given about one crore
of rupees for charitable purposes. To-day, there is no equal
to him in Southern India in munificence and philanthropy.
It is but proper that the completion of the 60th year of this
great benefactor should be celebrated in a fitting manner.
On this happy occasion, I have great pleasure in wish-
ing him long life, sound health, great fame and prosperity.
SACHIVOTTAiVIA SIR C. P. RAMASWAMI AIYAR, K.C.I.E.,
K. C.S.I., LL.D.,
Dewan of Travancore
It is but appropriate and fitting that the Annamalai
University should celebrate the bnasntiabdapurti ol its
founder, the Hon'ble Rajah Sir Annamaiai Chettiar.
The community of which he is tne most famous repre-
sentative has been noted for centuries tor iis businesslike
habits, frugality and simplicity oi living ana equally noted
for the benefactions made by ine INagarathars from out
of the wealth that they have amassed by the exercise of
these qualities. Until quite recently, the community con-
centrated on the performance of various functions in South
Indian temples; and their zeal for the renovation of temple
buildings is a well-known feature. It was left to Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar to conceive the idea of starting a
teaching and residential University in one of the most sacred
and holy spots in South India. To the genius loci has
been added the inspiration and stimulus of men like the Rt.
Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastri who was, for some time,
the Vice-Chancellor and who has been succeeded by my old
friend Sir K. V. Reddy. The University can do a great deal
not only in the matter of general studies but for maintaining
and cherishing those great and ancient traditions of which
58 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
South India is so proud, namely, those of Sanskritic lore and
Dravidian scholarship. As a nucleus of Sanskrit and Tamil
learning and scholarship, the Annamalai University has a
definite role to fill.
I join the University in wishing Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar many more years of beneficent activity.
THE HON'BLE SIR A. RAMASWAMI MUDALIAR,
Commerce Member, Government of India
I am glad to learn that the public of the Madras Presi-
dency have decided to celebrate the Shashtiabdhapurthi the
occasion of completing the sixtieth year by Dr. Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar — in a suitable manner and that, in parti-
cular, the Annamalai University is bringing out a Commemo-
ration Volume which will be presented to the Rajah Saheb.
I have had the privilege of knowing Sir Annamalai Chettiar
for nearly a quarter of a century and of being fairly intimate-
ly acquainted with his numerous activities in the field of
politics, education and religion. No one has done more in
the Province than the Rajah in finding funds for the promo-
tion of higher education, religious education and the fine
arts. Temples, schools, colleges and other charitable insti-
tutions have equally benefited by his large hearted dona-
tions. A side of his activities which may not have attracted
equally prominent attention is the help he has given to the
promotion of the cause of women. The main Ladies* Club
in Madras and several similar institutions in the mofussil
owe not a little to his magnificent donations. These princely
charities of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar will be a
standing monument to the nobility, characteristic of his
family and of himself in particular. It is needless to add that
not by his charities alone but by his innate gentlemanliness
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 59
and sweetness of disposition that Rajah Sir Annamalai has
endeared himself to every one who has had the privilege of
knowing him. May the blessings of Providence be vouchsafed
unto him and may he be spared for many decades to continue
his great work and to be an asset to the community!
THE RAJAH OF RAMNAD
I am glad to know that you are proposing through an
influential Committee celebrating the completion by
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, of his
sixtieth year on the 28th of September, 1941 in a fitting
manner.
I thank you very much for the honour you have done
in asking me to send a message of appreciation of his noble
acts of piety, charity and great munificence, on this happy
occasion. I am sure one more competent than myself will
be better able to pay tribute to his various acts of charity
and benevolence which are wide and varied.
His one ambition in life seems to be to strive, save and
serve for the benefit of his fellowmen which is well exempli-
fied by the charitable and educational institutions of great
help and usefulness to humanity. His benefactions are
varied and many but the highest monument of his benefi-
cent works is the founding, equipping and endowing of the
great and unique Residential University at Annamalai-
nagar, more fittingly named after him.
I am sure his great name will ever be cherished with
esteem and gratitude by posterity.
May God bless him with a further long life of continued
prosperity to be of still greater service to humanity.
60 BAJAH SIB ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
DEWAN BAHADUR C. S. RATNASABAPATHI MUDALIAR,
It is indeed a kindly thought that should have prompt-
ed the University authorities to celebrate the Founder's
Day, that will recall to the memory of one and all, the munifi-
cent benefaction of my esteemed friend and our illustrious
countryman, Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar. And this year's
function has a special significance in that it happens to be
his 61st birthday Sashtiabdapurti year. The Rajah be-
longs to a rare order typifying in himself, the aristocracy of
Brain, Heart and Bullion in happy harmony. True to the
dictum, noblesse oblige, he has taken upon himself the
sovereign task of founding a University by his solitary and
magnificent efforts— a University in the true Oriental style,
intended to foster our Art and Culture and our own Mother
tongue, Tamil studies. It truly recaptures the genius and
splendour of our former times, and stands in grandeur as
the seat of modern Indian renaissance, even as Nalanda and
Taxila of ancient days.
Situated at Chidambaram, the holy spot where Lord
Nataraja with his Divine dance attunes the Universe to
spiritual height, the Annamalai University radiates a sublime
charm partaking of His all-pervasive spiritual grace. Its
atmosphere is permeated by Sath, Chit, Anand, brightening
the body and mind and sweetening the soul
The career of the Founder is a chapter not only in India's
commercial and industrial history but also in the educa-
tional history thereof. May the university flourish in the
chosen path of its Founder, and may the Rajah Saheb and
his successors live for long, long years brightening the pages
of his University and those of India.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 61
MB. C. B. BEDDY, M.A (CANTAB.), HON. D LITT., M.L.C,,
Vice-Chancellor, Andhra University, Waltair
I associate myself most heartily with the movement to
celebrate the Shashtipurti of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chetti in
a befitting manner. The Rajah Saheb might be justly re-
garded as a national asset. No merchant or industrialist
of South India has spent such large amounts on public
benefactions. For a parallel to his philanthropy we have
to go to Bombay. He started by making benefactions in
the orthodox traditional style of the Hindus. Some of the
most expensive and elaborate improvements of the famous
Chidambaram and other temples are to be credited to his
religious spirit. There are choultries or Dharmasalas built
for the accommodation and comfort of travellers which be-
speak his sense of humanity. Every project for public good
organised in South India has found in him an exemplary con-
tributor. But by far his greatest achievement is the Univer-
sity which very rightly bears his name. Contemporary India
and posterity will note how this is the first University found-
ed by private benefaction and how the entire extent of the
benefaction rested on the limitless generosity of one single
individual, the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad. There is no
parallel to this, as far as my knowledge goes, anywhere in the
world excepting one, the Rockfeller University of Chicago,
founded and maintained by the monetary contributions of a
single family. Though the Annamalai University cannot
be regarded either from the point of view of the courses or
standards organised to be anywhere near the world famous
institution in Chicago, still it is the best that has ever been
done by an individual in India and is notable furthermore as
an example to other millionaires.
It is not merely by these outward achievements that the
Rajah Saheb has made himself famous and endeared, but
62 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
by his personality. I had the pleasure and privilege of being
his guest more than once. No host could have shown more
personal attention to the comforts of a guest than the Rajah
Saheb whose custom, in accordance with the best tradi-
tions of India, has always been to attend personally, though
he could easily have appointed deputies. The lavishness
of Chettinad hospitality is well-known and is not inferior to
that for which some Indian States have become famous.
The Rajah Saheb, in spite of his wealth and high dignity and
position, is simple in his life and dress; modest in his manner
and most considerate in his dealings with others. He makes
no distinction between the different linguistic divisions in
the Presidency. He has Aridhra affiliations as the owner of
an extensive Estate in Chittoor District. His possessions in
Burma and interests in Ceylon and Indo-China mark him
out not only as a national but as an inter-national figure.
And wherever he has property, he has also exercised philan-
thropy.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chetti ranks among the worthiest
in the country. Most successful as a maker of money, he
has been still more noteworthy as a spender thereof on right
good causes and progressive projects.
If the service of the country, if the advancement of its
material and moral prosperity are amongst the objectives of
a University, then the Annamalai University cannot have
a better example before it or a nobler inspirer than its own
illustrious Founder.
DEWAN BAHADUR S. E. RUNGANADHAN, M.A.,
Adviser to The Secretary of State for India
Heartiest congratulations Rajah Sahib's 61st Birth-
day. His wise benefactions have earned him India's homage
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME 63
and gratitude. May his University flourish and promote
country's unity and progress. God bless him.
THE RIGHT HON. SIR TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU,
P.C., K. C.S.I., M.A., LL.D.
I am greatly obliged to you for your letter of the 5th of
August. I note with pleasure that Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar of Chettinad, the Founder Pro-Chancellor of the
Annamalai University, will soon be completing his 60th
year. I also note with pleasure that the Annamalai Uni-
versity has decided to celebrate the event in a fitting manner.
On this occasion I desire to convey to the Rajah Saheb
my heartiest congratulations and best wishes for a long life.
The Rajah Saheb's name is an honoured name throughout
India as a munificent benefactor of education and culture.
If it is a great thing to earn so much wealth, it is a still
greater thing to make such good use of wealth. The
younger generation in your presidency has every reason to
feel grateful to him for what he has done for them, but more
than that the entire country has reason to be grateful to him
for being one of the very limited number of our wealthy
men, who have set such fine example to others. Long after
the names of those, who are so much in the public eye at
present, have been forgotten the names of men like Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar, Jamshedji Tata, Tarak Nath Palit,
Rash Behary Ghose and some others, will continue to be
remembered with affection and gratitude by succeeding
generations of their countrymen and will serve as beacon
lights on our onward journey. I, therefore, send him
through you my best congratulations and wishes for a long
life and I could also ask you, as Vice-Chancellor, to con-
vey to the University, of which he is the founder, my best
64 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
wishes for its success and continued service to the cause of
knowledge and culture.
MBS. SAROJINI NATOU,
Hyderabad, Deccan
In adding my felicitations to Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar on his 61st birthday, I am happy to have this
opportunity of expressing my appreciation of his many and
far-reaching benefactions.
To the long family record, almost an hundred years old,
of pious charities in their chosen city of Chidambaram, Sir
Annamalai Chettiar has added a rich chapter by his per-
sonal and princely gifts to all fine causes — to promote and
foster ancient and modern learning, to encourage literature,
music, art and sport, to further movements for social service
and social progress, to establish inter-provincial and inter-
national friendship. The Annamalai University is in itself
an enduring tribute to his splendid generosity.
Not often in our generation has great individual wealth
like his been devoted to public welfare and progress with a
philanthropy so discriminating in its quality and so catholic
in its range.
MR. S. SATYAMURU, B.A., B.L., M.L.A.
I have had the pleasure and the privilege of knowing
him intimately for many years now. The highest tribute, I
can pay to him, is that he is every inch a gentleman. I have
not met a more polished, courteous, or thoughtful gentle-
man. To have renovated the renowned temple of Sri Nata-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 65
raja, is by itself an imperishable monument to the Rajah's
distinguished family.
The Rajah Sahib has done still a greater service to
the country by founding the Annamalai University. From
inside knowledge, I know his paternal care and solicitude
for the welfare and the progress of the Institution.
His recent contribution towards the development of
Tamil Music may, I hope, mark a turning point in the history
of Tamil Culture. People earn a good deal, but give very
little. But the Rajah Sahib has given over a crore of Rupees
for charities. May God Sri Naiaraja bless him. May he
and his family live long, prosperous, and happy lives and
serve the cause of the country.
THE HOi\ BLt. D. S. SJLNANAVAKA,
Minister ot Agriculture and Lands, Ceylon Government
I am obliged to Sir K, V. Keddi and his Committee for
giving me the opportunity oi paying my own humble tribute
to a personality whose radiating imiuence nas cheer ed many
thousands oJc iauman beings in South india and Ceylon. My
wife and I have vivid recollections of the lavishness of the
hospitality of the Rajah of Chettinad during our brief so-
journ in his city. That hospitality, shown to strangers
within the gates, is but the gleam of one facet of a gem whose
lustre shines in and illumines the darkest recesses of a struc-
ture of society which, alas, is still not without its dark
places. We in poor Ceylon gasp in wonderment at the
fabulous tales of untold wealth among our neighbours which
at times reach our ears: we thrill with a sense of indefinable
pleasure when we hear that a few, at least, of the possessors
of that wealth are not content unless they disburse that
9
66 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
wealth for the common good. The founding, equipping, and
endowing of an entire University by one single individual
seems a miracle to us in this country who can scarcely find
a benefactor to endow one single Chair. But we take some
comfort from the thought that the inspiration of such an
achievement cannot altogether be lost, and that though we
have no Annamalai Chettiars in our midst the emulation
of the Rajah Sahib's benefactions can still ue attempted
on a smaller scale. I have heard it said that one who lives
to his sixtieth year is entitled to be called a purna ayus,
one who has lived a full lufe. It is my prayer, and I know
it is the prayer of all in Ceylon who are acquainted even in
the slightest degree with the person or the achievements of
Rajah Sir Annamalai Cheltiar of Chettinad, that he will
be spared for many, many more years to come so that his
life may be fuller and richer for the good of his own
country and the world in general.
MR. P. SESHADEI, M.A., M.B.E.,
Principal, Government College, Ajmer and President, All-India Federation
of Educational Associations
May I join in the felicitations which will be conveyed
to the Hon. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar on the auspici-
ous occasion of his completing sixty years ? His magnifi-
cent endowment for the creation of the Annamalai Univer-
sity is one which will make his name immortal in the his-
tory of Indian education. There have undoubtedly been
many benefactors of education in various parts of the
world, but the example of one whose princely generosity is
responsible for the creation of a whole University is unique.
The numerous well-wishers of the Rajah can do no better
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 67
on this occasion, than to hope that the Annamalai University
will soon take its rank among the best Universities of India
and prove worthy of the great generosity of its founder.
SIR SHAFAAT AHM^D KHAN
I am delighted to hear that preparations are being
made at Annamalainagar to commemorate the noble ser-
vices of the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad. His love of learning
has found perfect expression in the Annamalai University.
It is a growing and expanding organism, pulsating with
activity, and is a living definition of the intrinsic greatness
of the Rajah Saheb's heart and mind. As an inconspicuous
Professor of Madras University, I had the privilege of
making his acquaintance in Madras in 1920-21 and I have
a vivid recollection of the grace and charm which his con-
versation radiated. Our paths diverged in 1921 and I do
not think we met again. But I have kept in touch with
the currents of events in Madras and I find that during
the last twenty years, the Rajah Saheb has developed a
personality and organised enterprises of which, I must con-
fess, I had little expectation at the time I met him in Madras.
He is now one of the foremost philanthropists of India, and
his wide sympathies, practical work for the social and econo-
mic uplift and absolute sincerity have spread his name and
reputation through the whole of Southern India. He is a
model of what an Indian Merchant Prince ought to be. Bacon
says that the nobler a man is, the greater the objects of pas-
sion he has. The objects of the Rajah Saheb's passions are
many, but the Annamalai University is naturally the first
object of his affection. He has put the impress of his per-
sonality on this hallowed institution, and I have no doubt
that it perpetuates the work of its founder in a manner that
68 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
is in perfect conformity with the spirit of its Founder. I
wish India had more Chettinads at the present day, so that
the humblest citizen may have an opportunity of nourish-
ing himself on the best and noblest in our Indian culture/'
HIS HOLINESS SRI-LA-SRI SHANMUOA DESIKA GNANASAMBANDA
PANDARASANNADHI AVL,
'Adhinakarthar of Dharmapuram AdJhinam, Dharmapuram, Mayavaram.
May Lord Chockkanatha shower His choicest blessings
on you, grant you long life, prosperity, peace and ever-
lasting happiness.
Words fail to express your manysided activities,
charitable and religious for the benefit of humanity
especially to the South Indians. As an ardent devotee of
Lord Nataraja, you deserve the well-deserved admiration of
all worshippers and devotees of Lord Siva by your muni-
ficent contribution to the repairs of His Shrines on the
mundane globe at Chidambaram and Karur, and by your
lar^e-heartedness in having established a residential
University in the vicinity of His Shrine at Chidambaram
accessible to students of all classes, regardless of caste,
creed, religion and party politics. As pious as the Nain-
mars, you have in every nossible way striven and are still
striving to enrich and enliven the heritage of the South
Indians — Tamil Literature and South Indian Music
by your unequalled generosity by creating specific endow-
ments for this purpose. Your liberal charity with a unique
broad outlook, with a humanitarian object, devoid of all
ostentation with no tinge of self in it, and non-fanatic,
will hand down to posterity your name and fame as long
as life exists in the world. You have by your unstinted
help to all deserving of help irrespective of any other con-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 69
dition social, religious, political or territorial set a living
example to others by giving a lead to show how on this
earth one possessing wealth and influence and power can
best serve the public, especially the poor.
May the Almighty bless you and guide you in your
future career to continue the selfless task of sacrifice you
have undertaken.
SIR JAMES SIMPSON
Sir James and Lady Simpson join heartily in the Com-
memoration of the Sixtieth Birthday of the Rajah of Chet-
tinad. They recall very affectionately the many happy
visits and long years of friendship and association with the
Rajah Saheb and his family.
What an achievement for sixty summers and what a re-
markable contribution the Rajah has made to the Cultural,
Political, Economic and Social life of India! Long may he be
spared further to adorn his chosen motto "Strive, Save and
Serve."
SIR P. S. SIVASWAMY AIYER,
K. C.S.I., C.I.E., B.A., B.L., LL.D.
I am very glad to hear that the Annamalai University
has resolved to celebrate the 61st birth-day of Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the founder and Pro-Chancellor
of the University, and has decided to present to him a com-
memoration volume. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar comes
from a family of Nagarathar Chettis well-known in South-
70 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
ern India for its numerous charities. I knew his elder
brother Dewan Bahadur S. Rm. Ramaswami Chettiar and
greatly appreciated the interest he took in the administra-
tion of Chidambaram Municipality and the Taluk Board,
and the health, education and welfare of the Chidambaram
town. The leaders of the Nagarathar community have
always been noted for their charities, but they were gene-
rally of a more or less religious character: they have taken
great interest in the repair, renovation and beautification
of the great Siva temples in Southern India, in the constiuc-
tion of choultries for the feeding of the poor and izi the
foundation of religious Pathasalas and other forms of chari-
ties sanctioned by Hindu usage. The Rajah's family has set
an example of a more enlightened form of public benefac-
tions in accord with modern ideas and present-day needs.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar is the illustrious representa-
tive of his family. It is not possible to enumerate the many
charities which he has founded or supported. The Anna-
malai University is the greatest monument of his enlighten-
ed munificence. He has encouraged western as well as
Oriental learning and culture, secular as well as religious
learning, the fine arts as well as literature and science. The
administration of his charities has not been marked by any
narrow-minded communalism such as has become the bane
of South Indian life, and will, it is hoped, continue to be
free from any such influences. The numerous charities of
the Rajah have earned for him the undying gratitude of
Southern India. I offer him my most cordial felicitations
on the auspicious occasion of his sixtieth birthday and pray
that he may be blessed with health and strength to guide the
Annamalai University for many years to come with his
broad-minded outlook and generosity.
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME 71
THE RT. HON'BLE V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI, P.C., C.H.,
LL.D., M.L.C.
•
I am happy to be allowed to congratulate the Rajah
Sahib of Chettinad on his sixty-first birthday and to wish
him many more years of prosperity and honour. Like
hundreds of other people I have received favours and kind-
nesses from him without number. These I have acknow-
ledged elsewhere; it is not possible to acknowledge them
adequately. More than these is the affection and personal
attachment that prompt them. What I have done or can
ever do to deserve it all has puzzled me for a long time. It
was in the old Council hall at Delhi that we met first. The
friendship that began then has continued without a break,
the years have strengthened and deepened it. We have
had few trials and tasks in common, we have not been
engaged together in literary or business pursuits, we have
not journeyed together in India and abroad or studied
men and measures out of the same books. What has drawn
and held us each to the other? I cannot flatter myself that
I am capable of doing him any service, material or other.
The flow of benefits between us, copious and uninterrupted,
has ever been in one direction and one direction only. In
the nature of things it cannot be otherwise. Am I wrong
then in regarding the bond between us as an example of
that "subtle inner force" which the Sanskrit poet postu-
lates as the essence of love?
Annamalai University comes late in the story. I was
sixty-six when the Rajah entrusted it to my care. For five
years he gave me his confidence and support in the fullest
measure. Twice during the strike of students the institu-
tion was in serious peril, and as a change of policy seemed
to me scarcely proper, I implored him to relieve me and try
72 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
another management. His practical wisdom was truer
than mine. He left me to weather the storm as I might; and
though I have no reason to boast, the result vindicated his
patience and his trust in me. I do not wish to live a day
after I have ceased to be thankful for such a blessing.
Of the Rajah's many-sided career, I have no detailed
knowledge. I shall not presume to portray his character
or canvass the qualities that have enabled him to conquer
difficulties and achieve success. Two points, however,
which may seem small to the superficial observer,
I venture to pick out for special mention. A teacher
of youth cannot do less in holding up to their admiration
and imitation the life of a patron of youth. Though he can
employ agents and secretaries and relieve himself of anxiety
and hard work, the Rajah rises early and goes to bed late
and fills the intervening hours with serious business, care-
fully allotted and planned. To idle pastimes and strenu-
ous games on the field, he is a complete stranger. Still he
seldom misses an engagement or neglects a social duty, and
I have always envied the equability of temper which en-
ables him to greet ail persons, high or low, friendly or
unfriendly, with the same engaging smile.
MR. K. SRINIVASAN,
Managing Editor, "The Hindu", Madras
It is with great pleasure that I offer my felicitations to
the Hon'ble Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar on the comple-
tion of his 60 years. I wish him long life, health and con-
tinued prosperity.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 73
DIWAN BAHADUR R. SRINIVASAN, M.L.C.,
President, The Madras Provincial Scheduled Castes Federation
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad has
been spending a large sum of money for several years on
educational institutions in India and abroad, women's cause,
religious charities, renovations and maintenance of temples,
particularly Sri Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram where
Saint Nanda's shrine remains most sacred.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar is a generous hearted
gentleman, a great benefactor and a sincere friend of his
race.
MR. R. M. STATIIAM, M.A., I.E.S., C.I.E.,
Director of Public Instruction, Madras.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to send a message for
the Commemoration Volume to be presented to Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad on the occasion of his
61st birthday. I have been connected with Education
in this Presidency for over 28 years and I am therefore fully
able to appreciate the immense contribution which the
Rajah Sahib has made to the furtherance of Education in all
its branches. It would be difficult to find another public
man who has given so liberally and willingly not only for
the establishment and improvement of many types of edu-
cational institutions but for all forms of deserving chari-
ties. His gift of 20 lakhs of rupees for the founding of a
Unitary and Residential University at Chidambaram has
been a unique feature of the development of higher educa-
tion in this Province. In thus remembering Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar's wide generosity I am sure that he
would like us also to remember that for nearly one hundred
10
74 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
years the members of his family have set aside large sums
of money for religious and educational purposes in and
around Chidambaram. I can only conclude by expressing
the most sincere wish that the celebration which we are
now commemorating may be most happy and successful and
that Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar may long continue to
extend his wise and generous patronage to the work of ad-
vancing Education in this Province.
RAJAKARYAPRAVINA MR A S SUBKA KAO, MA, (CAMAB),
BAR-AT-LAW
Vice- Chanetljor, Mysore University.
It is a great pleasure tc add my own tribute to those
of others to the Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chetti-
nad on the happy occasion of the completion of his sixtieth
year. It was my privilege to take part in the celebrations
of the Founder's Day in 1937, and I took advantage of the
occasion to pay my tribute to the munificence of the Rajah
in the cause of higher education in South India. His munifi-
cence recalls the remarkable manner in which the million-
aires of America, J. P. Morgan and Rockfeller, have advanc-
ed the cause of higher education and research in America.
It is very much to be hoped that the great example of the
Rajah will find numerous and equally generous imitators.
KULAPATI P. A. SUBRAMANIA IYER, M.A., L.T.,
Triplicate, Madras
On this blessed day, the 61st Birthday of the Hon'ble
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, my thoughts go back
to a period of time, over twenty years ago, when he conceiv-
ed the happy idea of founding a Collegiate Institution at
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 75
Chidambaram and naming it after his mother of blessed
memory. The Sri Meenakshi College, which has since
bloomed into Annamalai University at Annamalainagar,
then came into being.
I am proud at the recollection that I was present with
the Rajah to meet the University Commission headed by
Sir Ramunni Menon that came to Chidambaram to recom-
mend the affiliation of the Sri Meenakshi College to the
Madras University.
Prior to this time and later also, we used to have long
conversations about this institution — the selection of the
site, the choice of the staff, the equipment of the Library,
Laboratories etc. etc. When, some years later, he met me
one evening and said that the preparations for the founda-
tion of The Annamalai University had been completed and
that it would soon commence to function^ nobody was
happier than I.
"Mighty of heart, mighty of mind, Magnanimous — to
be this is indeed to be great in life, to become this increas-
ingly is indeed to advance in life — in life itself, not in the
trappings of it," said Ruskin years ago. Who that knows the
Rajah and has watched his benefactions of various kinds,
and. particularly, the rise and growth of the Annamalai
University would not say that this description applies very
aptly to him? All his life the Rajah has been 'scorning de-
lights and living laborious days/ living on almost ascetic
fare, sleeping for not more than four to five hours a day (he
once told me this), and with an intelligence, keen and un-
sleeping, keeping watch over every little detail of the busi-
ness of his vast estates in and beyond India, practising, with
meticulous care, punctuality, method, preciseness, economy
of time and speech, to the wonderment, delight and admira-
76 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
tion of all who have anything to do with him. May we not
pray that soon he may be enabled to extend his benefac-
tions by the addition to the University of a first-rate Techno-
logical Institute equipped on up-to-date lines?
"To strive, to save, to serve' — This has been his personal
motto. How much has he not striven? And how much has
he not saved and given away to others for +heir benefit!!
In thus saving and giving away, he has been walking in the
foot-steps of the Upanishadic Rishis of old whose maxims, as
quoted in Taittariya Upanishad, were:
(a) Annam Bahukurveeta.
Do multiply food.
(b) Nakanchana Vasalhou Pratyachaksheeta.
Tasmat BaJwannam Prapnuyat.
Do not deny shelter to anv one that seeks it. Therefore
acquire abundance of food.
And all the commentators on the above say that this
gathering of Annam is for the purpose of giving to those who
are in need.
All honour to the Rajah who alike by the manner of his
personal life and by his rich benefactions is setting a bright
example to all mankind1
Subhamastu.
DEW AN BAHADUR K. SUNDARAM CHETTIAR,
Retired High Court Judge
Let me avail myself of the privilege of paying a tribute
of praise in the form of a message to Dr. Rajah Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar of Chettinad, at the celebration of a memora-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 77
ble event in his life- time, viz,, his completion of his sixtieth
year. Born in a very respectable aristocratic family, with
a golden spoon in his mouth, his career in life has been unique
in its glory. Endowed with a heritage of wealth, he has
worked himself up to the pinnacle of name and fame, by
means of his remarkable skill in the business of commerce
and banking, and being equipped with a deep insight, a
spirit of adventure, sound common sense, admirable tact,
and suavity of manners. Having been blessed by the God-
dess of Wealth in the wide vista of his undertakings, his
generous heart inspired him to lavish his riches in numerous
kinds of charities, which would make his name to be treasur-
ed up in the memory of posterity, as that of a great benefac-
tor. His philanthropy has come out with shining lustre, from
out of the crucible of action. While the possession of even
large surplus wealth, is no prompter for the utilisation of any
portion of it for the good of others, which is a sorry spectacle
in the case of many, is it not a matter for admiration that
the Rajah of Chettinad has no( merely stopped with gener-
ous intentions, but has given them concrete shape with a
spectacular effect? Many and varied are his benefactions,
which can be rightly characterized as princely.
In the field of education, his monumental benefaction is
the founding of the famous Annamalai University. What
was a barren tract of land, has now become Annamalai-
nagar, a splendid colony with beautiful buildings, spacious
halls, hostels, residential quarters, play-grounds, libraries,
and laboratories. His religious charities reached their
climax in the recent renovation of Sri Tillai Govindaraja
temple at Chidambaram. His steadfast loyalty to the Crown
has been strikingly manifested in his generous contributions
and in several other ways.
78 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Many humanitarian causes in South India and else-
where, have had his generous response. A patron of music,
his sympathy for its encouragement and development is
laudable. It is no wonder, that he has been the recipient
of high and rare honours in the world. Above all, he has
earned the deep gratitude of humanity as also the benign
Grace of the Almighty.
May God shower His choicest blessings on him and
may he live long with sound health and happiness.
SIR ALEXANDER TOTTENHAM, C.I.E ,
Administrator, Pudukottai State
It is a pleasure to me to send a message on the occasion
of the Sashtiabdapurti of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar. I
have had the pleasure of his friendship for about 30 years.
He and his, brother were, I think, pioneers amongst the
Nattukkottai Chettiars in making large gifts to promote
education, medical relief and similar objects. Previously,
the Nattukottai Chettiars confined themselves mainly I think
to "tiruppani" and constructing large uranis.
Perhaps the most striking example of his liberality
is the foundation of the Annamalai University. It is a strik-
ing monument of his generosity. In addition he has made
large donations to a number of Colleges and Schools in
Madras Presidency, in Burma and even in Ceylon; as well
as to institutions for the study of the Vedas and Sastras.
He has also been a liberal patron of Indian music.
He has given liberal donations to various Ladies1
Clubs and Associations and Hospitals intended for the wel-
fare of women.
THE OF
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 79
At the same time, he has spent large sums on the
traditional objects of Nattukottai Chetty munificence.
I think he must be easily the premier philanthro-
pist of South India.
I am glad to associate myself with the congratula-
tions to him on this occasion, and wish him long life and
prosperity, and his University every success.
SIR MAHOMED USMAN, K.C.I.E., B.A., M.L.C ,
Vice -Chancellor, University of Madras
I congratulate the Annamalai University on celebrating
the completion of the sixtieth year of its distinguished
founder, Kajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, who
is the Pro-Chancellor of the University. His large-hearted
charities to various educational, religious and other institu-
tions in this Presidency are well-known. By these generous
gifts he has earned the gratitude, esteem and affection of
the people of this Presidency. The most outstanding act of
his philanthropy is the foundation of the Annamalai Univer-
sity, which is the only Unitary, Teaching and Residential
University in South India and whose special aim is the en-
couragement of South Indian culture. He will ever be
remembered by posterity as a great benefactor and a great
patron of learning in Southern India. I "wish him long life
and happiness of every kind.
SIR S. VARADACHAJUAR,
Judge, Federal Court, Delhi
It is quite in the fitness of things that the Annamalai
University should celebrate the Shashtyabdapurthi of its en-
80 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
lightened founder. The Community to which Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chetliar belongs has long been known for the
Philanthropy of its members; but, it has often been remark-
ed that their Endowments were limited to the traditional
lines, and did not take sufficient note of the needs of the
changing times. Sir Annamalai Chettiar's family was one
of the earliest in the Chettinad to recognise the force of this
Criticism and to give the lead in the direction of what may
be called 'enlightened charity.' In his own time, the Rajah
has, in his innumerable acts of public munificence, shown
a striking catholicity of outlook and a wise discrimination
in the choice of the objects of his bounty, happily combin-
ing the old outlook and the new vision.
The Annamalai University is an experiment in the ser-
vice of a high ideal and it is no wonder that criticisms and
suggestions continue to be heard even from well meaning
quarters. I have no doubt that the Rajah and those associ-
ated with him in the administration of the affairs of the
University will keep the ideal constantly before them and
the Rajah will be proud to see the day when the Annamalai
University comes to be recognised on all hands as a fulfil-
ment of that ideal. May a kindly Providence be pleased to
spare him for many more years of useful and philanthropic
service to his mothreland.
SIR M. VENKATASUBBA RAO,
Agent to The H.E.H. The Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, Nagpur
On this happy occasion of the Shastipurti of the Rajah
of Chettinad my wife and myself send him warm greetings
and most sincere good wishes.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 81
South India has produced shining lights in several
spheres — in statecraft, science and scholarship, law and
medicine; but in philanthropy — judged by modern notions —
the same good fortune has not fallen to our lot. The Rajah
of Chettinad as a philanthropist, while ranking with the
most prominent in any part of India, is in our province first
and foremost. His benefactions are so outstanding and so
manifold that they will be gratefully remembered through
many generations. From every side we hear of a new world-
order based on economic justice; that however, in spite of
the sincerest efforts, will be long in coming. Meanwhile, the
man in the street feels chagrined at the galling contrast bet-
ween extreme wealth and extreme want and challenges the
very basis of society. There are a few among the wealthy of
the world who realising this make inequality less irritating
by giving generously for the public weal. The Rajah of
Chettinad belongs to this band of discerning men and may
be truly described as the Prince of philanthropists in South
India.
May good luck attend him.
MR. C. VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR
I am greatly delighted to hear that the Sashtipurthi
of the Hon'ble the Rajah Sir S. R. M. Annamalai Chettiar of
Chettinad will be celebrated suitably on the 28th Septem-
ber 1941. I warmly offer my heartfelt congratulations on
the event. It is by no means easy for me adequately to
describe the unique character of the great benefactor and
founder of the Annamalai University. This University may
be said to be a model one in all India. I particularly note
with feelings of gratitude that Physical Training is compul-
11
82 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
sory on all the students of the University and that lectures
on Physiology, Health and Hygiene are delivered weekly.
May I also venture to suggest that compulsory Military
Training is called for by the unexpected crisis of the World.
I call attention to the fact that Nazism is threatening even
India both from the West and the East. Hence the necessity
for the said military training. May I also venture to sug-
gest that Hindi, the future National language of our coun-
try, be introduced as one of the subjects of the University.
I need say no more. I am proud of the fact that the great
man is a personal friend of mine. I prayerfully wish the
founder and Pro-Chancellor long life and prosperity, bo
much so that his ninetieth birthday may be celebrated thirty
years hence even with far greater enthusiasm and grai itude
than it is possible at present, when also the Annamalai
University may be the unrivalled model university in all
India.
DEWAN BAHADUR SIB T. VLJAYARAGHAVACBARIAR, K.B.E .,
Devvan, Mewar State
It has often been a matter of complaint that there are
not as many public benefactions connected with education
in Madras as there are in some other major provinces of India.
This is probably due to the fact that compared with those
provinces, Madras is deficient in the number of wealthy citi-
zens who can afford to make large benefactions. The Nattuk-
kotai Chetty Community is probably the wealthiest section
of the Madras population, but though they have made abun-
dant contributions to public objects, these objects have been
more of a religious character than of educational. My old
friend, Sir Annamalai Chettiar, is a shining exception to
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 83
this. He has devoted a large sum to found the University
which has been named after him. It is located in the heart
of the Tamil country and one of its main objects is to foster
Tamil learning and culture. It is not given to many in any
country outside the United States to found a University of
their own. A unique foundation of this character deserves
commemoration by the citizens of the Province. So far as
the founder is concerned, his name will live in the good work
which the Annamalai University is carrying on. But an
obligation lies on his fellow-citizens; to express their grateful
admiration of this great charity and it is a happy thought to
make his sixty-first birthday the occasion and a Commemo-
v, i lion Volume the medium of the thanksgiving.
SIR ZAFURULLA KHAN, K. C.S.I.,
Law Member, H.E. The Viceroy's Executive Council
It has given me very great pleasure to learn that the
Annamalai University proposes to celebrate the completion
of his 60th year by Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of
Chettinad, the Founder Pro-Chancellor of the University, in
a fitting manner, I have myself been the recipient of many
gracious kindnesses from Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, and
know that the scope of his charities is not restricted by any
considerations of caste, creed, or nationality. It is onlv
right that the occasion to which I have referred above should
be duly celebrated by the great institution which he has
founded, and which is only one — though the principal one—
of his numerous efforts in the service of his fellow beings.
84 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
MR ABDUL HAMEED KHAN, M.L.A.,
Ex -May or of Madras,
Leader: Madras Legislative Muslim League Party.
Dr. Rajah Sir Aiinamalai Chettiar of Chettinad is one
of the most eminent sons of India. He is as good and suc-
cessful a business man as he is bountiful and liberal. He
has given away about a crore of rupees in charity in India
and elsewhere. The large sum of money he is spending on
the University at Annamalaiiiagar, in the neighbourhood of
that ancient town of Chidambaram, shows his large hearted
munificence and zeal for higher education. His systematic
and deliberate policy of protection of Tamil learning is
manifested in his generous provision for its study in his
University at Annamalainagar.
Rajah Sahib of Chettinad has in him, too, all the quali-
ties of a leader of men. He has much of the charm of man-
ner, ready humour and almost tender loyalty to his friends
which makes a great leader.
Rajah Sahib is fortunate in his sons who are fine men,
excellent and of striking merit. There is in Kumararaja
Sir M. A. Muthia Chettiar of Chettinad a gentleman who,
though comparatively young, has already reached a posi-
tion of eminence by his wisdom and charming manners.
He, like his great father, is very much interested in the
advancement of learning and culture.
It gives me genuine pleasure to felicitate the Rajah
Sahib of Chettinad on the happy occasion of his 61st Birth-
day and wish him a long life of everlasting usefulness and
uninterrupted peace and happiness.
KUAN BAHADUR ADAM HAJEE MOHAMED SAIT,
Ex -Sheriff of Madras,
Director, Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.
On the happy occasion of my esteemed friend and
leader Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar entering upon his
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Sixty-first year I have much pleasure in associating myself
with the chorus of good wishes, praise and congratulations
that will be pouring in from all parts of India. His is an
eventful life distinguished for its manifold services to
society. Rajah Saheb has tilled with honour eminent posi-
tions of leadership. As a vigilant legislator, as a charming
Prince among merchants, as .a great patron of learning and
arts, he has endeared himself to the entire people of South
India who have nothing but praise for the Rajah Saheb and
who, with one voice, pray to the Almighty that He may
shower his bountiful gitts on the Rajah and the other mem-
bers of his family. The Kajah is fortunate in his sons.
Among them, Kumararajah Sir M. A. ivluthiah Cheitiar has
already come to prominence in the public life of this Pro-
vince, as a tireless worker for the economic and political
regeneration of this country. Let me offer my humble tri-
butes and hearty good wishes for the long life, health and
prosperity of the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad.
BASHEEK AHMED SAVEJbD, M.A., B.L., M.L. A.,
Advocate, Member, Syndicate, Madras University.
It is a pleasure and privilege to contribute a few lines
to the Commemoration Volume that is to be published in
connection with the blst Birthday of the Rajah Saheb of
Chetlinad. It is but meet that the Sixty first Birthday of
the Rajah Saheb should be rejoiced as a great and eventful
day in the annals of South India. Numerous and well-
known have been the benefactions of the Rajah Saheb but
none could exceed in wisdom, merit and quality his
foundation of ihe Annamalai University at Chidambaram.
There could indeed be no greater monument for his philan-
thropy, charity and munificence than this. His contri-
bution to the spread of knowledge and culture in the shape
of this residential University, so well-conceived and so
v/ell-i banned remains unsurpassed. Greatness of mind,
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
nobility of character, uniform courtesy, sincerity and
thoroughness of purpose have been the unique characteris-
tics of the Rajah Saheb and these have marked him out
as one of the most outstanding personalities of our times
and his life serves as a pre-eminent model for the younger
generation to emulate and profit by. I wish the Rajah
Saheb many many more returns of this happy day and
pray that he may be spared to us for many a long year to
come in the best of health, wealth and prosperity.
P. CHENCIOAH, M.L.
Chief Judge, Pudukottai.
Of the various foundations that are being laid for the
New India of our vision and hope the surest and the most
enduring one is that of knowledge. The universities
are among the most powerful engines of National recon-
struction in as much as they create leaders who are to take
the nation into the land of promise.
Sir Annamalai, a prince among merchants of Nattuko-
tai Community, has set an example for a new consecration
of money in his munificent endowment of the Annamalai
University. Year after year, hundreds of young men and
women carry torches of light into the world and as they
lighten the darkness around, look back on the university
as the mother who nursed them in the ideals of service and
on the Rajah as the great donor who founded it. As I
believe that the higher education of the universities is the
keystone of national progress, I regard Sir Annamalai a
great benefactor whom the country will praise and cherish.
On the happy occasion of Shasti-purti, I join the great
company of his friends in wishing him long life and pros-
perity.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
HIS HIGHNESS SIR NAWWAB GHULAM MUHAMMAD
ALI KHAN BAHADUR G.C.I.E.,
The Prince of Arcot.
I have great pleasure in associating myself with the
61st Birthday celebrations of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar of Chettinad. The Rajah Saheb of Chettinad is
one of the ablest and most successful men of Southern
India. He is a good friend and possesses charming manners.
There are many charitable institutions which are benefited
by his munificence. He has done a great service to the
cause of education in Southern India by founding a Univer-
sity which is named after him.
I wish Rajah Snhib long life, full of prosperity and
happiness.
MR. G. JANAKIRAM CHETTY,
Mayor of Madras.
On the 61st Birthday of the Hon'ble Dr. Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad I rejoice to convey to him
my humble congratulations. I feel glad to contemplate that
his life has been one full of years and full of honours and
glory. If ever any person was the architect of his own
fortunes, the Rajah of Chettinad was pre-eminently one
such. He battled with life and wrested from it wealth,
power and glory. Nor were these obtained without anxiety,
labour or shocks. Endowed with a prodigious memory and
a giant intellect he could plan elaborately and with preci-
sion, organise with great thoroughness and succeed with
comparative ease. Those who witness only his triumphs
hardly know the travail behind these.
And now, after the completion of his sixtieth year he
can look back on his work and achievements with justi-
fiable and nardonable pride. By his simplicity, condescen-
sion and geniality he has endeared himself to one and all.
He is considered as a patriarch in his own community and
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
one whose word is almost law to its members. He loves
them and cares for their welfare as much as he loves and
cares for his own children. His piety has led him into
charities which few have excelled. His discriminative
endowments have won for him a name and a fame which
will last as long as India lasts. The Annamalai University
alone, not to speak of other charities, will stand as a monu-
ment to the greatness of his heart and the regality of his
munificence. Shrewd and far-seeing, he made a departure
from the time-honoured courses of the charities of Indians
and has made an endowment which has an universal appeal.
His gifts to his University have not ceased. Yearly contribu-
tions and endowments go to swell a benefaction already
large. He is guiding its destinies with a sure hand and
will soon put it beyond all vicissitudes.
Sixty years are not much in a land noted for the longe-
vity of its inhabitants. May God spare this great philan-
thropist and benefactor for many a decade to come, so that
he may enrich his life of usefulness and service by further
deeds which v/ill add greater lustre to his name.
MR. M. PATANJALJ SASTRI,
Judge, Madras High Court.
It is with great pleasure that I respond to your invita-
tion to send a message on the occasion of the Shastiabdha-
poorthi celebration of the Founder, Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar of Chettinad.
My memory goes back to the time when years ago I
was a member of the Board of Trustees of Sri Meenakshi
College, the nucleus of the great University which now
bears his name and I recall how untiringly and enthusiasti-
cally he used to work for the institution in those days. It
was named after his beloved mother and his attachment
to it was marked by an almost filial devotion. How that
institution later developed into the only residential Uni-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
versity in South India and how the scrub jungle east of the
Railway line in Chidambaram was transformed by the
vision, faith and bounty of the Founder into the magni-
ficent Halls of Learning and Research over which you now
preside forms a romantic and glorious chapter in the his-
tory of the educational progress of this Province.
It must be a matter of legitimate pride and satisfaction
for Rajah Sir Annamalai to have lived such a useful and
successful life for sixty years. "He lives who helps many
to live" says a Sanskrit adage. Hundreds have found their
living in his beneficent activities, and his indeed must be
counted a purposeful life.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar is in many respects a re-
markable man. Keen business acumen, tireless energy,
unwearying attention to detail and a discriminating readi-
ness to take risks have combined in his case to produce a
fortune which many a prince may well envy. Withal, his
personal habits and tastes are of the simplest, and he avoids
the usual extravagance of wealth. But if he is frugal so
far as his own personal needs are concerned, he is lavish in
his contributions to charities. Perhaps there is no philan-
throphist in this part of the country, who has made
larger contributions to charities, both institutional and
private, than he. And their end is by no means in sight.
In short, his own favourite motto "Strive, save and serve"
may well be regarded as his autobiographical memoirs; for,
he has striven mightily, saved thriftily and served nobly.
I wish your celebration all success, and the Founder,
many happy returns of the day.
SIR PURSHOTAMDAS TIIAKURDAS.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, whilst upholding all the
admirable traditions of the great Chettiar clan in the
South, has made this most welcome departure, that instead
of spending his charitable endowments exclusively on
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
temples and other extra-conservative forms of charity, he
has set the example of spending after more practical and
up-to-date needs of his generation in his Province in many
ways. The Annamalai University is a striking proof of
this, and it is very much to be hoped that the example set
by the Rajah of Chettinad will be taken up by all similarly
placed in India. I wish the Rajah of Chettinad and the
Chettinad family continued prosperity to follow up this
most welcome innovation in their dispensation of charitable
funds. India cannot have too many of such innovations.
I look forward to the Kumararajah of Chettinad's whole-
hearted support to his illustrious father's noble example.
DEWAN BAHADUR V. SHUNMUGA MUDALIAR
Sheriff of Madras.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, whose
friendship I have enjoyed for over two decades enters on
the Sixty-first birthday on the 28th of September, 1941.
Let me send my hearty felicitations on that occasion. This
great business magnate is 1he foremost merchant prince,
not only in this country, but also in Ceylon, Malaya, Burma,
the Strait Settlements and Indo-China. He has been con-
nected with the Reserve Bank of India ever since its incep-
tion and is the Director of several other banks of this Pre-
sidency. If he is a great busmess man making a great for-
tune by his farsightedness, he is a greater philanthropist
giving most generously to all noble causes. The Annamalai
University is a standing monument to his princely munifi-
cence. He has filled with honour and distinction many posi-
tions of responsibility and served the country in manifold
ways. May the Lord Almighty be pleased to confer on him
its choicest gifts and give him a long and unclouded life of
happiness and public service.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
RAO BAHADUR JUSTICE P . VENKATAEAM AN A RAO,
Judge, Madras High Court.
The traditions of Hinduism enjoin various charities and
of these the most valued is the gift of knowledge. Anna-
dhanam for the poor is also counted as a great virtue but
the gift of knowledge is counted greater still. Gratitude
prescribes that we should remember those who have not
only furnished the means for relief of the poor of the coun-
try but also those who have planted beacon lights in the
shape of Universities in our midst. On this auspicious occa-
sion our country will thank God for raising a great donor
in the person of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar in South
India for the promotion of learning.
An English writer writing on great men remarked
thus : " Nor is power alone a sufficient title to greatness. It
must be power governed by purpose, by a philosophy, good
or bad, of human life, not by mere spasms of emotion or an
itch for adventure." Sir Annamalai has utilised the power
which wealth has conferred on him for really useful pur-
poses. The motto of Sir Annamalai's house " Strive, Save,
Serve" has received a glorious exemplification in the en-
dowment of the Annamalai University. The merchant
princes of the Nattukottai Chetti community have rebuilt
temples in various places. But Sir Annamalai has given a
new turn to the traditional modes of charity by endowing a
temple of knowledge. The Annamalai University will be
an enduring monument perpetuating his name among
generations of students that go out from its portals.
The value of and the beneficial influence which univer-
sities are capable of exercising in this country and especi-
ally in the regeneration of India in the present turmoil and
conflict which is confronting the world are immense and in-
calculable. In the course of my Convocation Address to the
students of the Andhra University last December, I observ-
ed that the true and abiding basis for Indian unity lies in
the creation of Indian culture which forges communal cul-
tures into one living whole in art and literature and society
and politics and the universities are the competent agencies
for inspiring our youth with a passion for unity evoking in
them a lifelong devotion to the promotion of a single unified
Indian culture and the synthesis of cultures is a special need
of India. From the note which has been sent to me by my
esteemed friend Dr. Sir K. V. Reddi I find that the Anna-
malai University has realised this need and has this object
in view.
Shastipurthi is a landmark in life celebrated with joy
and thankfulness but the joy of the celebration must be
great indeed for Sir Annamalai when it takes place in the
temple of knowledge he has built. May Sir Annamalai
reach the coveted age of hundred years and may the country
continue to be the recipient of his benefactions.
K. VENKATASWAM1 NAIDU, B.;A., B.L., M.L.C .,
Ex-Mayor of Madras.
Deputy President Madras Legislative Council,
On the occasion of Sastiabdha Purthi of Sri Rajah Sir
Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad let me join in the chorus
of appreciation showered on him. Next to Pachaiyappas,
Rajah Saheb will live for ever as one of the greatest Edu-
cationists of South India. His Annamalai University will
be a standing monument of his love of service and culture.
By renovating the famous temple of Sri Govindaraja at
Chidambaram, he has become God's favourite. His
pleasing manners, princely hospitality and an attitude of
helpfulness at all times have earned for him the love and
regard of everyone. May he live long and continue his
beneficent acts.
ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY
BY
DR. B. V. NARAYANASWAMY NAIDU
More than twelve years ago the Annamalai University
was started, thanks to the generosity and public spirit of
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad whose name it
bears. Its aims and ideals are similar to those of the other
Universities in South India, but it differs from most of them
in being both a teaching and a residential University.
It differs from them in another respect also. It owes
its existence to the munificence 'and generosity of
an eminent citizen of our motherland. His princely gift
for the cause of higher education has no parallel in the
history of this presidency.
Since the publication of the report of the Sadler Com-
mission, the trend of best educational opinion in the country
has been in favour of a unitary, teaching and residential
University as it makes for efficiency and economy in
higher academic work and provides ample facilities for the
moulding of character and the development of a corporate
spirit. Early in 1928 the committee appointed by the Gov-
ernment of Madras to examine the need for establishing a
university for the Tamil districts, wrote in their report that
it was desirable to have unitary teaching Universities and
as many of them as the country could afford but that the
immediate realisation of this desire was not to be expected
as the financial resources even for one such University
could not be indicated with any degree of assurance. But
86 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
even while these words were being written, the Rajah
Saheb of Chettinad was in consultation with the Government
of Madras regarding a scheme for the creation of a teaching
University at Chidambaram. With princely generosity he
offered to hand over to the proposed University the three
collegiate institutions for higher instruction in English, Tamil
and Sanskrit studies founded by him at Chidambaram
and their assets together with twenty lakhs of rupees in
cash. The Government recognising the unique nature
of the benefaction, came to the conclusion that they should
not miss this opportunity of encouraging private effort in the
cause of public instruction and establishing a new Univer-
sity of a type, which was admittedly the best, though un-
known in the Presidency of Madras.
On the 27th June, 1928, the Government published a
communique promising twenty lakhs of rupees towards the
endowment fund which was later raised to twenty-seven
lakhs and a recurring grant of a lakh and a half per annum.
A bill to establish and incorporate a teaching and residential
University was published in a Gazette Extraordinary on the
24th August, 1928. It was introduced into the Madras
Legislative Council on the 8th September 1928, and
referred to a Select Committee of 25 members of the Legis-
lative Council. On the 12th October, 1928, the bill was
passed into law. The Act received the assent of the Gov-
ernor on the 3rd November, 1928 and that of the Governor-
General on the llth December, 1928. The assent of the
Governor-General was published in the Fort St. George
Gazette on the 1st January, 1929. The Government in G.O.
No. 1 dated 1st January, 1929, brought into force the
several sections of the Act from 1st January, 1929. Thus
this unique University in South India came into being. The
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 87
Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the
Senate, the Academic Council and the Syndicate constitute
the body corporate of the University. The Governor-
General is the Visitor of the University; the Governor of
Madras is the Chancellor; the Founder of the University is
the Pro-Chancellor; the Vice-Chancellor is a whole-time
officer, to whom a salary may be paid, who holds office for
a period of three years and is appointed by the Chancellor
from among three persons recommended by the Founder.
At present we have in our midst as our Vice-Chancellor,
Sir Kurma Venkata Reddi Naidu, K.C.I.E., D.Litt. M.L.C.
The authorities of the University under the Act are;
(1) the Senate; (2) the Academic Council; (3) the Facul-
ties; (4) the Boards of Studies; (5) the Syndicate; (6)
the Finance Committee (for a period of ten years from
15th May 1929) and (7) the Board of Selection.
About 150 miles from Madras a stone's throw to the
east of Chidambaram Railway Station lies the University
Colony named Annamalainagar. The Colony is 540 acres in
extent, and the lecture hails, hostels, administrative build-
ings and residential quarters stand in this area. It is ideally
situated in the midst of green fields far from the bustle of
town life; and yet it has every amenity that most progres-
sive towns enjoy. During these 12 years magnificent build-
ings, costing more than 20 lakhs, have come up and great
progress has been made in various directions. This is in no
small measure due to the tireless efforts of Dewan Bahadur
S. E. Runganadhan — at present Advisor to the Secretary of
State for India — who was Vice-Chancellor of the Annamalai
University from 1929 to 1935, and of the Rt. Hon'ble V. S.
Srinivasa Sastri, who was Vice-Chancellor for five years
88 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
from 1935 and of our present Vice-Chancellor, Sir Kurma
Venkata Reddi Naidu.
In this University nearly a thousand students are pur-
suing, to-day, various courses of study. Instruction is
provided and facilities for study offered from the Inter-
mediate course up to the Ph.D., M.Litt. and M.Sc. degrees.
This University is the only one which offers an Honours
course in Tamil. Another noteworthy feature is its
Department of Music which has done not a little to pro-
mote the study of Carnatic Music.
The University Library is one of the best of its kind
and is just a few yards from the hostel. It affords every
facility for reading and contains many up-to-date books
and periodicals. More than 15,000 rupees are spent every
year on new books and journals. The study of current
journals and periodicals is specially encouraged in this Uni-
versity. The total number of books in the general and sec-
tional libraries is over 50,000. The library receives regular-
ly 248 scientific and learned periodicals. Each Department
of Study has its*own seminar library for the use of Honours
and Research students.
The residential aspect of this unitary and teaching Uni-
versity deserves special mention. Students and teachers
live in the same colony and there are many opportunities for
fruitful contact of mind and mind. Every opportunity is
given to develop in the student not merely a keen and culti-
vated intelligence but also sound character and a sound
physique. The students' hostel is managed by a
Warden and a Sub- Warden and five inspectors. Students,
too, have their share in the management of the hostel. The
Warden is assisted in his work by a Students' Representa-
PRO -CHANCELLOR, CHANCELLOR AND VICE-CHANCELLOR,
(IN ACADEMIC ROBES, 1931)
/
'k - %€ll^€^K.;SM
H. E. LORD ERSKINB G.C.S.I,
(CHANCELLOR, ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY. 1934-39)
H. E. THE
SIR G.C.I.E., M.C,
1939
S, E. M.A.f I.E.S.
BT.
V. S. P.C., C.H.. LL.D,
RAI BAHADUR SIR KURMA VENKATA REDDY NAYUDU
GARU, K C I E., D.LITT , VICE-CHANCELLOR.
ANNAMALAI UNVERSITY FROM 1940
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ACTING VICE-CHANCELLORS
1. PROF. K M. KHADYE, 1931 (May-August)
2. DR. S. N. CHAKRAVARTI 1935 (May- June)
3 MR T R VENKATARAMA SASTRIAR (December
1936 to January 1937; 1939 January)
4. DR. B. V. NARAYANASWAMY NAIDU 1939
(March-April)
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 89
tive Council. Living in close proximity to the lecture halls
and the huge University Library a student in this Univer-
sity can consult without the least trouble any of his teachers
about the books he should read, get his doubts cleared and
receive instruction in any other matter in which he is inte-
rested. He need not travel long distances to meet his tea-
chers; they are at his door ready to be consulted whenever
any doubt or difficulty arises.
The women students have a well-equipped hostel of
their own under a resident lady Warden. In recent years
more and more women students have joined the University
especially for the study of Music. Some have taken up
advanced courses of study in Arts and Science.
The capacity for organisation and leadership finds play
in the largely self-governing University Union and in various
other Sectional Societies. A Union Hall has been built
at a cost of Rs. 15,000. The University has also a Dramatic
Club, a Boating Club and a Students' Co-operative Society.
The University possesses one of the most extensive play
grounds in South India and provision is made for all types
of games and sports. In this University, Physical Training is
compulsory for all students and no one can take a Univer-
sity Examination without producing a Certificate of Physical
training from the University Director of Physical Educa-
tion. Particular care is taken of the health of the stu-
dents. There is a Resident Medical Officer who periodically
examines the students. A well-equipped hospital with up-
to-date arrangements has also been provided.
Ever since its inception the University has emphasised
teaching as well as research. In addition to the Research
Journal, published three times every year, the University
i?
90 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
has to its credit a large number of learned publications.
Studentships and fellowships have also been instituted for
the promotion of advanced research. The departments
of study are organized not merely for teaching but also
for advanced research. Advantage has been taken of these
facilities by students and by members of the teaching staff
who have contributed many papers to learned journals,
Grants-in-Aid of research work are also awarded
under certain conditions. With a view to providing for the
advancement of learning in Tamil a special research depart-
ment is working under the guidance of the Head of the
Department of Tamil. With a view to the ultimate adop-
tion of Tamil as the medium of instruction in the University
the syndicate instituted prizes for text-books in Tamil on
various subjects. So far books in Tamil on Logic, Physics
and Chemistry have been published. A Tamil work on
Music selected for the award of a prize of Rs. 750 will be
published shortly. The Heads of Departments of studies
in History, Economics, Mathematics, Botany and Zoology
have been requested to arrange for getting ready Tamil
text-books in the several optional subjects suitable for
use in the Intermediate classes. These are expected to be
published by the end of the year 1941.
Any casual visitor to Annamalainagar will be struck by
the pulsating life of this centre of cultural activity. Any
day of the week he will see in the evening hundreds of young
men lustily playing in the open air Cricket, Tennis or
Hockey or any one of the games popular with the youth of
this country. Or he may see them sitting and silently pour-
ing over books or periodicals in the spacious Reading Rooms
of the University Library. Yet again he may see a scholar
reading a learned paper before an advanced Study Circle of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 91
kindred spirits; or see him going out Scouting or on Social
Service work. Perhaps he may light upon a Music perform-
ance given by one of the foremost exponents of Carnatic
Music; or listen in to the Radio or spend a few minutes read-
ing a daily newspaper or current weekly. If he is more
lucky he may see the whole University professors, lecturers,
students and townsmen gathered in the Srinivasa Sastri
Hall listening to a learned discourse on some topic of
importance.
Barring the Travancore University, the Annamalai Uni-
versity is the youngest in the Indian Empire. During the
first decade of its existence it has served South India as a
true centre of Indian culture and as an ideal training
ground for the young men and women of this land. We
cannot be sufficiently grateful to the Rajah of Chettinad for
founding this magnificent institution which is unique in
our country.
We cannot all found Universities; but every one of us
can do our bit to strengthen and encourage centres of learn-
ing like the Annamalai University.
SUCCESSION LIST.
CHANCELLORS.
1929. The Rt Hon'ble Viscount Goschen of Hawk-
hurst, G.C.S.L, G.C.I.E., C.B.E.
1929. July to December— The Hon'ble Sir Norman
Edward Marjoribanks, C.B.E., G.C.LE.
The Rt. Hon'ble Sir George Frederic Stanley,
P.C., G.C.S.L, G.S.I.K, C.M.G.
1934. May to August— The Hon'ble Sir Muhammad
Usman, K.C.I.E., B.A.
His Excellency Lord Erskine, G.C.S J.
92 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
1936. June— The Hon'ble Sir K. V. Reddy Kt.,
B.A., B.L.
His Excellency Lord Erskine, G.C.S.I.
1939. The Hon'ble Sir Arthur Oswald James Hope,
G.C.I.E., M.C.
PRO-CHANCELLOR.
1929. Dr. Rajah Sir S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar of
Chettinad, LL.D.
VICE-CHANCELLORS.
1929. The Rt. Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, P.C.
C.H., LL.D.
1929. Diwan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan, M.A., I.E.S.
1931. May-Aug.— K. M. Khadye, Esq., M.A., (Bomb.),
B.A. (Cantab), Officiating.
1931. Diwan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan, M.A., I.E.S.
1935. May-June— Dr. S. N. Chakravarti, M.Sc.,
D.Phil., (Oxon) , Officiating.
1935. The Rt. Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, P.C.,
C.H., LL.D.
1936. Dec. tc Feb. 1937— Sri T. R. Venkatarama
Sastriar, C.I.E., B.A., B.L., Officiating.
1937. The Rt. Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, P.C.,
C.H., LL.D.
1939. March- April — Dr. B. V. Narayanaswami Nayudu,
M.A., Ph.D., B.Com., Bar-at-Law, Officiating.
The Rt. Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, P.C.,
C.H., LL.D.
1940. Rai Bahadur Dr. Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy
Nayudu Garu, K.C.I.E., D.Litt, M.L.C.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 93
MEMBERS WHO HAVE DELIVERED
CONVOCATION ADDRESSES.
1931. Diwan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan, M.A., I.E.S.
1932. R. Littlehailes, Esq., M.A., C.I.E.
1933. Diwan Bahadur Sir T. Desikachariar, Kt.,
B.A., B.L.
1934. Diwan Bahadur R. V. Krishna Ayyar, B.A., B.L.
1935. Sir Mirza Ismail, Kt.
1936. Sir Phiroze C. Sethna, Kt.
1937. The Rt. Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar P.C.,
C.H., LL.D.
1938. Sri K. Natarajan, B.A.
1939. H. C. Papworth, Esq., M.A., I.E.S.
1940. The Hon'ble Sir Lionel Leach, Kt.
PAPERS
ENGLISH
BIHARI
BY
PANDIT AMARANATHA JHA, M.A.,
Vice-Chancellor, Allahabad University.
Both on personal and public grounds I am glad to send
these few lines, as a I am hereby enabled to pay my tribute
to an old friend of my father's, whose benefactions, magni-
ficent alike in magnitude and in piety, make him one of the
outstanding figures in modern India. Believing in the essen-
tial unity of Indian culture, I propose to translate some
verses of a Hindi poet of the seventeenth century — short
flights of fancy, pretty vignettes, which, because of the one-
ness of Indian tradition, will not be difficult of appreciation
even by readers in the South.
Traditionally, Bihari wrote a Satsai, a collection of seven
hundred verses. They are divided into four sections,
Nayaka-nayikavarnana (Description of the Hero and the
Heroine) ; Shringaravarnana (Description of the Erotic
Sentiment) ; Shikha-nakha-ritu-varnana (Description of the
Figure of the Heroine and of the Seasons);
and Anyokti-Navarasa-Nripastuti-Varnana (Description of
the Nine Sentiments and of the Monarch) . The classifica-
tion follows in the main the lines prescribed in the Sanskrit
works, Dasharupa and Sahityadarpana. The verses centre
round the eternally young and fresh figures of Radha and
Krishna, but they are capable of universal application.
The Doha is a couplet and there is the same epigram-
matic effect in it as in the heroic couplet in English. It de-
13
98 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
mands compression and brevity. It forces the poet to eschew
unnecessary decoration. Each couplet is complete in itself
and yet through hundreds of them there is a continuity of
thought and harmony of atmosphere. Moods vary and emo-
tions alter; but the underlying unity is not disturbed.
(263) My eyes are no more in my power: I am tired of ex-
plaining matters to them. They laugh at me, having
obtained control over my mind ;and body. How,
then, can I have power over them ?
(267) Himself full of beauty, from top to toe, he yet solicits
me, smiling; truly, the covetous never abandon their
greed.
(268) "Fie, you care not for your reputation. Why do you
keep gazing at Krishna/"*?
"But what can I cL to these covetous eyes of mine?
What can I do to get rid of them ? "
(270) The Creator has not destined any happiness for
these wretched eyes of mine. They dare not look at
Krishna, because others are looking on, and they are
restless without looking at him.
(276) How can one dwell, how can one exist in the domain
of Love? There is no justice there: the eyes come
into clash, but it is the heart that is taken prisoner.
(277) Fierce is the intoxication of beauty; terror does not
drive it away ; it permits no sleep ; the passage of
time does not diminish it ; it is not followed by the
recovery of consciousness.
(278) Krishna's eyes rob me of my heart and of all my
possessions. They waylay the wary and steal from
those who are awake.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 99
(280) I have made countless attempts; I have tried again
and again, but I cannot extricate myself from
Krishna's charms. My mind is mingled with his
beauty, as completely as salt with water.
(284) The new love on the one side and consideration for
the good name of her family on the other — between
the two she was torn, and perplexed, and her mind
is like the windmill.
(285) She ascends to the roof of the house and quickly
comes down from it; she keep doing this without feel-
ing exhausted in the least; she has become like unto
a juggler's box.
(286) To and fro, and to and fro, she keeps moving, stop-
ping nowhere even for a while; she keeps flitting
backwards and forwards like the chakai bird.
(287) "My mind is engrossed with thoughts of him who
has stolen my heart, and I have at the same time in-
tense regard for my elders. I go on doing my house-
hold work, but my heart is as though on a swing."
THE FETISH OF APPLIED SCIENCE.
BY
DR. S. V. ANANTAKRISHNAN, M.A., PH.D. (LOND)., A.i.C.
The origin of Science may be traced to that instinct in
man that led to his acquisition of knowledge about Nature
in order to survive. The need for food and the warding off
of the attacks of animals led to the developments of primi-
tive agriculture and primitive tools and weapons. From
these beginnings to the scientific achievements of the
twentieth century is a far cry and it is not our purpose
here to trace historically this development.
One of the catchwords among politicians, especially in
this country — and we hear their cry in our academic
bodies too — is that research workers should devote their
attention to problems in "applied science" rather than to
'pure science." The fundamental mistakes made by these
are the assumption that the two regions are water-tight
compartments and the failure to realise that many of the
socalled "applied science' ' problems arise only in the actual
working of industries. A careful examination of the so-
called applied sciences shows the extent of their depend-
ence on the theoretical side. At the end of a Friday even-
ing discourse at the Royal Institution, an old lady asked
the lecturer Faraday as to the use of electricity and the
scientist retorted "of what use, madam, is the new-born
babe." Scientific outlook has not materially altered since
then.
Scientific research may be broadly classified on the
basis of the motives behind the work. To one class the dis-
101
covery and acquisition of new knowledge is the end while
the other centres round utility. The transition from one
to the other, however, is not a forbidden one. A large
volume of scientific knowledge is useful though only a small
fraction of it may be essential.
The close interrelationship between pure and applied
science, between scientific discovery and invention, may be
seen from an examination of a few select instances. Achieve-
ments in the latter field arc often, however, a result of the
exercise of mechanical ingenuity rather than a spirit of
inquiry which should form the background of scientific
research.
When Sir William Crookes uttered his warning on the
possible shortage of nitrogenous fertilisers, several workers
set on the problem but the final result of a successful fixa-
tion of atmospheric nitrogen could be achieved only when
the theoretical side of each reaction was thoroughy work-
ed out. The Birkeland Eyde process is a result of the
thermodynamic and kinetic studies on the Nitrogen-oxygen
reaction, while the Haber process of ammonia manufacture
was preceded by a systematic investigation on heterogene-
ous catalysis and the nitrogen-hydrogen reaction. It is again
the investigations of G- N. Lewis on the thermodynamics
of the Ammonium Carbamate-urea equilibrium arising
from the free energy change studies on the reaction
CO> + 2NHa < > CO(NHii)i> + 2H20 that has led to the
manufacture of urea which is now gradually displacing
other nitrogenous fertilisers.
The chemistry of colloids also reveals how the two
aspects of scientific research cannot be dissociated. The
present state of the petroleum industry, the textile industry
and paint and varnish industry, is to be traced to the theo-
102 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
retical investigations 01 Larouieis, Uancroit, Lianginuir,
Gardner in America, of Clayton, Donnan, McBain eoc., in
England and of ifreundlicJi, Mark, Zsigmondy etc. in
Germany.
The dehumanizing aspect 01 applied researcli is seen
best in modern wariare. bciieeie uncovered ciiiorme m i H 4
and Uavy escaohsiiea its elementary nature some Inirty
years iaier. 'ihe use 01 us bleacning properties as well as
tiiu inaniuaclure oi bieaciiing powaer is now known for
nearly a century and a iiaii DUL its use as an anUiiuman
weapon in Uie lorrn 01 poison gas is recent mstory. An-
ouier 01 bciieeie s aiscoveries , giyceroi, tens a similar story.
It was a laooralory curiosuy until AUrea i\oDei s discovery
oi niiro-giycerine in ibbo. me explosive properties and
wartime use oi thijj compounu are too well-known to need,
any special mention.
Every one is iamiiiar witn radio-communication and
broadcasting out lew realise trie beginning of these modern
"necessities." uaraaay discovered the principles relating
to the nature and inliueace 01 tne electromagnetic held and
ClerK Maxwells equations based on these enabled the
prooi that waves originating from conducting wires travel
with the same velocity as lignt. The work of Fitzgerald,
Oliver, Lodge and Hertz were the logical outcome of these
purely mathematical conceptions and gave them a physi-
cal reality.
Another development in pure science has, however, to
precede the use of these electromagnetic waves for long dis-
tance transmission. The researches on "thermionic emis-
sion" form a necessary link in the chain. The " Edison
Effect ", the two electrode valve of Fleming, the Diodes and
pentodes of a later period and the theory and use of those
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 103
for generating and detecting continuous electric waves
represent an important stage in the development of broad-
casting. The promotion of natural knowledge has given
place to purposeful invention. Here, too, we see the de-
humanizing application of scientific research in some of the
methods adopted in present day warfare.
Turning to another common industry, the electric
lamp, we are faced again with an inter-woven texture of
discovery and invention. These have become so common
that one is apt to forget the early history as an outcome of
purely scientific search. The observation that the pass-
age of a current through a conductor raises its temperature
sufficiently to even enable it to glow led to the carbon
filament lamp but the peculiar property of carbon, viz., a
decreased resistance with increasing temperature, set limi-
tations that necessitated the search for a substitute. As
is well known, a rise of temperature tends to increase the
speed of a chemical reaction and the high temperatures
necessary for light emission restricted the choice to metals
of high melting point and to an inert atmosphere for the
filament. The vacuum lamp with a platinum filament is
a result of investigations on high vacua and the chemistry
of the platinum group of metals.
It is a far cry from the discovery of tungstic acid and
tungsten by Scheele to the thoriated tungsten, coiled coil
gas filled lamp of the present day. The properties of
tungsten apart from its high melting point were against
its wide use in the beginning. The discovery of ductile
tungsten was of highly scientific importance and proved to
be an equally important scientific invention. The theore-
tical investigations of Langmuir on heterogeneous cataly-
sis and black body radiation, his extension of phase rule
to non-equilibrium systems and his work on thermionic
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
emission paved the way for the development of the thori-
ated tungsten and the coiled coil lamps.
Accurate gas density determinations by Lord Ray-
leigh and the work of Dewar on heat transmission that led
to the familiar Dewar flask enabled Ramsay to discover
the inert gases. This discovery was of considerable
theoretical interest and the post war period was to show
its industrial import. The inert nature of the gases led
to the choice of argon and krypton as suitable atmospheres
for the gas filled lamp and in Neon provided advertisers
with a means for a striking coloured sign. The invention
of the electric discharge lamp and the production of these
multi-coloured signs have their origin in the theoretical
investigations of Crookes, J. J. Thomson and others on the
discharge of electricity through gases and the more recent
investigations on the phenomena of fluorescence and
phosphorescence.
Another modern necessity, the refrigerator, also
illustrates the transition from discovery to invention. It
is in the investigations of Amagat, and Van der Waats on
the pressure volume relationship and critical state of gases
and vapours and in the classical " porous-plug " experi-
ment of Thomson that one has to look for the beginnings
of refrigeration. The foundation for the liquefaction of
gases was laid by Faraday and the application of the Joule-
Thomson effect enabled the development and use of
liquefied gases.
When considering applied science, one cannot lose
sight of work in the " border " sciences where investiga-
tions in several sciences find common ground. Reference
may be made here to medicine, and its adjuncts. The work
of Louis Pasteur on optical activity led him to a study of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 105
fermentation phenomena and bacteriology that has
immortalized his name all over the world by the work
associated with Pasteur Institutes. It is no exaggeration
to state that every outstanding discovery in the field of
biochemistry and medicine has its origin in the quest for
truth by disinterested workers. One has only to look into
the history of X-ray therapy, radium therapy, chemo-
therapy and of studies on nutrition to see the close corre-
lation of pure and applied science. The discovery and
identification of the vitamins and the synthesis of some
of them constitute a triumph in the search of new know-
ledge as much as in their practical applications.
The preceding paragraphs would have given sufficient
indication that the political propaganda against work in
pure science is baseless. One has only to glance through
the publications of research laboratories of large industrial
concerns to know the extent of fundamental work that is
being carried on there in addition to work directly connec-
ted with the industry. In the ideal state, research may be
carried on without any objective reward but the normal
work is not so absolutely selfless. The seeker after
knowledge aims at honour and academic distinctions while
the inventor looks for a financial return for his labour and
ingenuity. This leads us to the question of the existence
and maintenance of research laboratories. A modern
laboratory cannot exist or survive without an adequate
subsidy. Most laboratories now functioning are either
maintained by Governments or are subsidized by indus-
trial combines. The financial interests, however, often
tend to cramp the research workers' activities and free-
dom of thought. The extent to which vested interests
thwart the spirit of inquiry varies with the country and
the Institution. While not forgetting their objective, the
14
106
Bureau of Standards in Washington and the D.S.I.R. in its
Teddington Laboratories carry on a lot of fundamental
work but in this country we have to tell a different story.
Industrial laboratories maintained by leading concerns
view fundamental research with disfavour. While
increased industrialization is a necessary development, it is
a short-sighted policy to decry those workers who do not
happen to carry on utilitarian research. They also serve
a purpose in extending the bounds of knowledge. Under-
standing Nature is at least as important as using Nature
and life may not be worth living if man had to deal with
only useful things.
EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
BY
DR. ANWAR IQBAL QURESHI, M.A.,
M.Sc. (LOND.), PH.D.,
Professor of Economics, Osmania University.
A system of education must be suited to the people
for whom it is intended and there should be some conside-
ration of the social and economic back-ground on which
our system of education is to work. Unfortunately these
two most fundamental concepts have been violently
ignored in the present educational system of this country.
In any scheme of educational reconstruction in this country
the first and the most fundamental consideration should
be that our educational institutions should have national
outlook. In order to create this outlook the system of
training should provide courses of instruction in that lite-
rature which contains the ideals of its race and all the nice
proofs and subtle inspirations of the character, spirit and
thoughts of the nation which it serves ; and, besides that,
instruction in the history and leading conceptions of those
institutions which play an important role in the life of the
nation. In order to achieve this important ideal special
stress should be laid on the study of Indian culture and
Indian History. The history books that are taught in our
schools and universities give most misleading and hopeless
accounts of events and leading character of our nation.
They have already created enough mischief and without
the least possible delay all efforts must be devoted to eradi-
cate this evil and suitable text books should be prepared
10g RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
to give an honest and sympathetic account of our past cul-
ture and heritage. Our universities could and should do
a good deal to achieve this end. It is the object of learning
not only to satisfy the curiosity and to perfect the spirit of
individual men but also to advance civilization ; and, if it
be true, that each nation plays its special part in further-
ing the common advancement then every people should use
its universities to perfect it in its proper role.
Woodrow Wilson has rightly remarked that, " Every
man sent out from a university should be a man of his
nation as well as a man of his time." In any scheme of
reorganisation of education of this country this ideal
should occupy a very important place.
Primary Education : — To begin from the very begin-
ning our schools must be organised on sound modern lines
to provide real education not only to the classes but to the
masses as well. It should be the first obligation on the
State to provide every citizen male and female with free
primary education. The expenditure required for provid-
ing free universal education must be the first charge on
our national exchequer. In this connection I would like to
explain what I mean by free primary education. A good
deal of nonsense, and loose-talk has been going on in this
country about the primary education and it is debated
whether it should be a four years course or a five years
course. Even if we accept a five years course it means that
a child going to school at the age of five will finish with
his free education at the age of ten. To my mind the idea
of a free universal education finishing at the tender age of
ten is most absurd and fantastic. In no country of the
world such an absurd idea has ever been entertained. The
average minimum age up to which free education is given
in most countries is fourteen years which in itself is con-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 109
sidered very inadequate. All money that will be spent on
free compulsory education based on a course of five years
will be absolute waste. Even in the interest of economy
itself it is highly desirable that in no scheme of free pri-
mary education in India the course of instruction should be
less than eight years.
Broadcasting and Education : — The development of
broadcasting in India has opened many new possibilities
for educational reconstruction. Broadcasting is still in its
infancy in this country but still the possibilities
of fully developing it are immense. Some stations in
India have already started this experiment and many of
their broadcasts for schools have been well deviced and of
great interest and use. I propose that a separate depart-
ment of education should be created by the All-India Radio
and increasing use should be made of this modern educa-
tional instrument especially for the education of adults.
Cinema and Education : — The development of tele-
vision is likely to provide still further facilities for
the increasing use of the radio for educational purposes
but until its further development increasing use should be
made of Cinemas. Educational films should be prepared
especially for teaching Geography and other allied
subjects.
Vocational Education : — The second most important
problem to be considered in any scheme of educational re-
construction is the need for the expansion of vocation-
al education. India is rapidly developing into a vast indus-
trial country and there is increasing need of skilled and
trained labour. No country can develop its trade and
industry without skilled artizans, therefore, the need for
vocational education in all its aspects is most urgent.
uo RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Effective machinery should be established for securing
close regular co-operation between industry and commerce,
on the one hand and education on the other.
Vocational Guidance:— In any system of mass edu-
cation vocational guidance must assume special impor-
tance. A swiftly changing economic and social world has
made demand upon educational procedures for adjust-
ment to the needs of the individual. Education
through the discovery and development of individual abi-
lity prepares him for his life ; and the child's vocational
guidance prepares him for living well ; and both yield him
the maximum of satisfaction. Vocational guidance should
assist the individual to choose an occupation, prepare for
it, enter upon it and progress in it. As preparation for an
occupation involves decisions in the choice of studies,
choice of curriculums, JUid the choice of schools and
colleges, it becomes evident that vocational guidance can-
not be separated from educational guidance. Since work
occupies one half of the working time of most individuals,
it should represent the active expression of the whole per-
sonality. In view of this important function, careful study
must be made of all the problems involved in vocational
activity. Proper vocational adjustment for each citizen not
only means individual happiness but avoids social and
economic waste. The underlined principles which should
govern vocational guidance activities should be based upon
the recognition of individual preferences, of the complexity
of modern educational life, of the right of the individual
to make his own choices, and upon the realization that the
adjustment of an individual to his occupation is an ever
changing situation.
Effects oj Economic Depression on Education : — What-
ever hardships and privations the last Great Depression
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 111
may have caused all the world over, it has done one good
service, and that is, it has made us all to face and examine
critically the various important problems which were pre-
viously ipso facto taken for granted. One of these pro-
blems is the problem of university education. Until the
economic depression set in, and the large number of
graduates which our universities were minting rapidly
found themselves without jobs, and the problem of un-
employment among educated classes took a serious turn,
little attention was devoted in India to the universities and
their problems. All that mattered in the pre-depression
period was, that the number of universities should be in-
creased, and considering that the number of universities
jumped from five in 1916 to sixteen in 1927, an increase
of three hundred per cent, in the course of eleven years,
the record of progress seems to be very satisfactory indeed.
The universities that were established before 1916 were
mainly based on the model of the London University, and
were only examining bodies. The Calcutta University
Commission of 1916 recommended strongly the desirability
of starting unitary and residential universities and as a result,
the majority of universities that have been founded since
that date are residential and teaching universities. The
establishment of so many residential universities on the
model of the Oxford and Cambridge universities satisfied
the Indian critics who had previously been dissatisfied by
the older examining universities. It was considered that
the establishment of residential universities had almost
solved the fundamental. problems of Indian education and
all that was necessary was to improve the quality of
teaching and emphasise the importance of tutorial work
and to increase the contact of the students with the
teachers. It was considered that in due course of time
when the effects of these important improvements become
H2 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
pronounced our problems will be solved. But during the
past few years the ship of Indian education has not sailed
as smoothly as it was expected and many critics have
begun to doubt if the very structure of the ship itself was
strong enough to stand the stormy seas of world events.
The tremendous rise in the number of unemployed young
persons has led to the policy of despair and many super-
ficial critics hold that the universities are responsible for
many of the country's troubles. It is not realised that the
universities are in no way responsible for unemployment
which, on the other hand, is due to causes far beyond
their control. Moreover, it is not the function of the uni-
versities to create avenues for employment. It is a very
narrow view to take that if the number of people admitted
to universities is drastically curtailed the possibilities of
employing this restricted number will increase. The fun-
damental function of universities is not to act as an
employment bureau but as a trainer of the mind and in-
tellect of the future citizens and to bring out their latent
faculties which may be used in any walk of life. It is an
unfortunate fact that our universities are not centres for
intellectual training, culture and enlightenment as they
ought to be. Have our universities succeeded in mental
development of students ? It is on the answer to this
question that our universities stand or fall. Unfortunately
they are places for cramming and smattering, and there
has been a serious maladjustment in the university life.
Too much importance is attached to the literary and acade-
mic side and very little to the intellectual and cultural side.
Much time is wasted by the professors on lecturing
to students and by the students in cramming and digesting
the contents of those lectures. We find that even in the
field of knowledge an Indian student does not fare favour-
ably with students of other universities. Why, in spite
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 113
of so much teaching by professors, and cramming by
students do our students do so unfavourably ? Surely
there must be something wrong in our system of teaching
which shows such poor results. I think the fundamental
difficulty and defect in our system of university education
is that we impart teaching through a foreign medium, which
acts as a great deterrent to any substantial progress. It is
gratifying to note that educational experts in the country
have begun to realise this great defect which exists to-day
in our universities; the only exception to which is the
Osmania University established in 1919. It is the first uni-
versity of its kind in India where all lecturing work is car-
ried on through the medium of the primary vernacular of
the country. Twenty years ago when Mr. Akbar Haydri
as he then was (Sir Akbar Haydri, Newab Hayder Newaz
Jung Bahadur, President of His Exalted Highness the
Nizam's Executive Council, and the present Chancellor of
the university) , submitted a memorandum in which he pro-
pounded this great scheme of starting a university with the
primary object of teaching through Urdu, there were not
many experts in the country who received this idea with
any great favour. As a matter of fact, some of the greatest
experts considered it rather fantastic and altogether un-
workable. It must be said to the credit of Sir Akbar that all
these heavy showers of criticism that poured from all quar-
ters did not affect him, and with great courage, foresight
and enthusiasm he launched this great experiment which
today is an accomplished fact, and all experts in the coun-
try are now looking to this university for guidance. It
will not be considered here out of place to reproduce briefly
some of the remarks which the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra
University made in his recent convocation address : " In
pride and fullness of heart as an educationist, I congratu-
late the sovereign and his Government on the success
15
114 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
achieved by the Osmania University. The band of young,
accomplished and enthusiastic teachers composing the
different faculties are a team which the greatest education-
ists in India would be proud to captain. The researches
accomplished and still in progress and the investigation in
the theoretical and applied fields of Science including Zoo-
logy, Physics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering and History
augur not merely an All India but an international future
for the Osmania University. To be the first to recognise an
Indian language as a fit medium for university culture and
to have made the university founded on the principle a
centre of modern research are accomplishments for which
India must be eternally grateful to the Nizam's Dominions/'
The primary function of the University, as I have al-
ready remarked, is to train the mind, but the training of
mind can never be thorough if it has to employ a foreign
vehicle of thought. English is not only a foreign language
to most of us in India but is also "alien." By "alien" I mean
that it has no connection with the tradition, culture and
life of the East, and except in the big cities it is seldom
spoken. A great deal of saving in time and improvement
in the quality of the work can be effected if the teaching
work in the Indian Universities is carried on through the
medium of vernacular. One naturally asks through which
vernacular, as there are so many languages in the country.
The Indian National Congress has decided to adapt Hindus-
tani as the lingua franca of the country, and I think if we
rise above petty regional and provincial jealousies it will
not be difficult for the country as a whole to adopt Hindus-
tani as the chief medium of instruction in all our universi-
ties. I should not be misunderstood to belittle the import-
ance of English in our universities. I firmly believe that
a sound knowledge of English is absolutely essential if we
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 115
are to benefit from the very valuable treasures of know-
ledge and learning of the West. It is with this idea in view
that English has been made a compulsory second language
and no student is awarded a degree unless he passes an exa-
mination of fairly high standard in English.
Medium of Instruction
Now I come to the most pertinent part of my paper,
viz., the possibility of teaching in Urdu. Still there are
many people who seriously doubt the possibility or at least
the practicability of such a proposition. Before I proceed
further to explain this matter, I would like to mention a few
facts. Perhaps it may be recalled that it is not very long
ago that History and Geography were taught in English in
the Punjab schools and the matric students had to answer
these papers in English. It is fortunate that wise council
prevailed and the Punjab University decided to give option
to the Matric students to answer questions in these
two papers either in English or in any of the vernacu-
lars. To some it appeared a very retrograde step. I feel
no hesitation whatsoever in congratulating the authorities
of the Punjab University for their very wise decision. We
find to-day the standard of these answers has increased con-
siderably and more than 90% of the students answer their
questions in vernacular. What the Punjab University has
done for History and Geography for the Matriculation, the
Osmania University has done for all other classes. Now,
some may say that there is a limit to everything. And the
likely limit to most people seems the matriculation. They
would say so far and no more. This is the attitude of Cal-
cutta and Madras Universities. The Agra University has gone
a step further and would like to try up to the intermedi-
ate. In the Allahabad University candidates appearing for
the M.A. examination in Economics have to write their
116 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
essays in easy Hindi or Urdu. I have given these examples
just to show you the changing trend of opinion. What the
Punjab University did for the Matriculation about twenty
years ago, the Calcutta University is going to do now. The
objections raised against the option in the Punjab Univer-
sity twenty years ago were repeated in the Calcutta Uni-
versity.
It is said that adequate literature is not available in the
vernaculars. Also there will be immense difficulties regard-
ing the technical terms, so on and so forth. I quite admit
the force of the arguments. But something has to be done.
We cannot afford to be mere spectators and watch our own
intellectual ruin. Why is the intellectual standard of ordi-
nary Indian graduate so low ? In my opinion the real
answer to this question is that he does not properly under-
stand what he reads. He only crams and passes the exa-
minations. Although I have admitted above that there are
real difficulties regarding the availability of literature and
the coining of terms yet these difficulties are vastly exag-
gerated. Take, for example, the teaching of classical langua-
ges. Why on earth a student has to translate these in
English ? I personally know the cases where students had
passed the highest examination of the Punjab University
in the classical languages but failed in the intermediate in
the language paper, simply because their English was so
weak that they could not translate the classical text into
English.
When the Ostnania University broke new ground and
declared to base its teaching on Urdu, it was regarded as
a most fantastic idea. But. today we have showed the world
how it could be done. The teaching and examining in all
subjects from the intermediate to the Ph.D. standard is
done in Urdu. The standard of answers of students is far
higher as compared with the students of other universities.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 117
I am firmly of the opinion that if teaching in Indian
Universities is to improve it must be done in the verna-
culars. In the course of twenty years we have coined thou-
sands of terms and several hundred standard books have
been translated into Urdu. If our example is followed by
all other universities a tremendous amount of literature
will be forthcoming in a short time. What Osmania has
done, other universities too can do.
12o RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
lus, Sophocles, and Euripedes, wrote tragedies (Eleusinian
dramas) which were of a secret nature, because they were
religious in plots. It is even said that on one occasion
Aeschylus was accused of having let out an Eleusinian sec-
ret, and was released only on the intervention of his brother,
who was a great warrior. Thus we see that the drama pro-
per had its origin in religion in Greece.
In India, which justly claims to have an independent
origin of the drama, we hear of the songs, some of which
were accompanied with dances, in the most ancient times.
Apart from the divine origin of music, dance and drama, we
have the rhythmical hymns in the Vedas (e.g. Samaveda);
and mention is made of the lasya or gentle dance of Parvati,
the tandava or vehement dance of Rudra, etc. Dances
formed a part of the celebrations in the most ancient sacri-
fices,— human, horse, goat, — one yielding its place to the
next. Moreover, the Bharatanatya-sastra which is said to
have been written in the fifth century B.C., contains a sys-
tematic record of canons on music, poetry, art, dance, and
drama. Bhasa, one of the earliest dramatists as we have
known, has selected most of his themes from the Rama-
yana and the Mahabharata. Kalidasa, (who lived between
the first century B.C., and the fifth century A.D.) writes in
his Malavikagnimitra.
W TO ^3 ^IF "
(Sages say that the drama is a sacrifice to the gods, which
is pleasing to the eye). This indicates that in those days,
the Naramedha, the Asvamedha, and such other sacrifices
were not considered to be pleasing to the eye ; but that the
drama, which is also a sacrifice (action) gives not only
pleasure to the eye, but also pacification to the gods. We
see here the religious origin of the drama in India.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 121
India and Greece are the only two countries which are
bestowed with the fortunes of having brought forth their
native dramatic faculities, even in the most ancient times.
China is said to have had her alphabet even before the
twentieth century B.C. The Chinese are noted for their
excellence in the imitative faculty. They take pride in
their " Book of Oods " which proves the existence of music
and poetry prior to the twelfth century B.C. The Chinese
are famous for their taste and native talents in music, but
they had no regular dramas till the sixth century A.D. But,
even in those days when they had dramas not known to the
historian, the Chinese are said to have celebrated every
function with a dramatic performance — functions such as
the promotion in the salary of an officer, the marriage of a
middle class man, and the birth of a child.
In Italy, we hear about the songs and dances of the
Talics in the eighth century B.C., at a time when Greece
was enjoying her Mystic dramas, and India her Sacrificial
performances. All these performances had for their ulti-
mate object, the elevation of the soul and consequent sub-
limity. Again we see the religious aim in the ancient drama.>
After the Punic Wars which were fought in the third cen-
tury B.C. Italy came into close contact with Greece ; by
which the influence of the Greek drama spread on to Italy.
The Greek prisoners in Italy were given privileges to exhi-
bit their talents in dramatic action, and it is also known that
some of those who fascinated the public by such talents
were released, and were allowed to enjoy free-citizenship.
France, Spain, and Great Britain have their records of
their dramas from the eleventh century A.D., but even
before that time, there were, no doubt, folk songs in France
and Spain, and Saxon dances in Britain. It is only after
16
122
the influence of Latin literature over Britain that she began
to have her regular dramas. The other countries of Europe
had their languages perfected even at a later date. The
eleventh and the twelfth centuries brought manifold
changes in the history of many countries in the world.
Every country had her dialect perfected, her government
systematised, and her art and culture dignified.
It is now seen clearly that the origin of the earliest
drama was only religious as far as the theme is concerned,
with very few exceptions, of which the Mricchakatika is
one. After the twelfth century A.D. the drama took differ-
ent shapes by takirig in themes from the social, political
and historical fields.
CERA NADU AND TAMIL
BY
VIDVAN S. ARUMUGA MUDALIYAR, M.A., B.O.L., L.T.,
Government College, Coimbatore.
For the elucidation of the history of the Kerala coun-
try just before and during the three centuries of the Chris-
tian era, we have no epigraphical, archaeological or even
literary evidences in Malayalam. The ' Keralotpatti ' is
regarded as the oldest available account of Kerala, but this
belongs to the 17th century A.D., and is further, as Logan
observes, "a farrago of legendary nonsense which had for
its aim the exaltation of the Brahman caste and influence/'
The late lamented1 K. G. Sesha Aiyar similarly observes
that "to gleam history from this work is as hopeless as to
seek for a needle in a hay-stack." The Keralotpatti says
that Kerala arose at Parasurama's Command from the seas.
This means that, as P. Padmanabha Menon2 suggests, the
country covered by Malabar, Travancore and Cochin, was
formed by volcanic agencies on this coast centuries ago;
"that there was once a subsidence, probably sudden, at
Gokarnam ; and secondly that there was afterwards a per-
ceptible uprising, most probably in this case gradual, of at
least some portion if not nearly all the coast between Gokar-
nam and the Cape." This view has received confirmation
from the investigations of the Geological Survey of India.3
1. 'Chera Kings of the Sangam Period/ p. 78.
2. 'History of Kerala/ Vol. 1, pp. 19 and 20 of the notes.
3. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Vol. XXIV,
part HI, p. 35.
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Mr. Philip Lake shows that South Malabar between Bey-
pore and Ponnani rivers was the result of such upheaval.
The chronicle then gives some traditions which are too
hazy to be taken as History. According to it a period of
indigenous kings, who were generally incompetent was
followed by a period of kings selected from the neighbouring
countries on the understanding that each was to rule for
twelve years. The earliest of them is said to be one Keya
Perumal, and after him were brought a succession of Chola,
'Pandi,' Kerala, Tulubha' Indra and Arya Perumals, ^and
others. Historians can see in this only this much, that "the
author has heard of invasions of Kerala by some Pandya,
Chola4 and other neighbouring kings or chiefs who probably
retired to their territories after their raid and from that he
wove his fanciful list of Perumals brought by the people
into Kerala."
There is another work called the "Kerala-mahatmyam"
which is in Sanskrit and which is allied to the work men-
tioned above. But it is even later, and, as pointed out by
C. Achyuta Menon5 and C. A. Innes,6 so full of inconsisten-
cies, anachronisms and absurdities that it is difficult to sepa-
rate from the chaff what few grains of truth they contain.
In the absence of epigraphic and archaeological eviden-
ces, we are lucky in having literary sources of information
in regard to this period of Malayalam History. These con-
sist of (1) the Tamil classics of the Sangam period, and
(2) the Greek and Roman writers like Ptolemy, Pliny and
the author of the Periplus of the Erithrean Seas.
4. See 1.
5. 'Cochin State Manual,' Ch. II, p. 29.
6. Malabar District Gazetter, Vol. II.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 125
The Tamils, of all the Dravidian nations, cultivated and
preserved the earliest literature of continuous development
and unique historical value. Among these works we find
three distinct classes, viz., the naturalistic, ethical and reli-
gious. The value of the first type, in particular, cannot be
over-estimated, though even here much caution is neces-
sary in sifting and arranging the available material. On
the whole, we have in them faithful records of the political,
social, literary and religious conditions of Malabar during
the Sangam Period. Previous to the era of dated inscrip-
tions, they are the earliest sources for the construction of
South Indian History. The most important works among
the Tamil classics that throw light on ancient Kerala are
the Purananuru, the Padirrupattu, and the Silappadikaram,
besides a few lyrics of the Agananuru and the Narrinai.
We understand that the land, bounded on the east by the
Western Ghats and the west by the sea, was called in the
early Tamil works, the Cera-nadu (Co^jr/5/r©), and the
kings of the country Ceran, Ceraman or Ceralan (G^jEr^,
G^LD/reir, (S&jre»&r}. From very early times, Tamilakam
was ruled by the three crowned kings? ((jp^-mew*— /xsjr^/r)
Cera, Cola and Pandiya. The Tolkappiyam the famous
Tamil grammar and the oldest extant Tamil work, refers,
in one of its7 Sutrams, to the Tamil country as one belong-
ing to 'the famous three within the four boundaries/ The
Commentator Perasiriyar enumerates the four boundaries
as Venkadam (Tirupati hills) in the north, Kumari on the
south, and the seas on the east and the west. The Kumari
mentioned here, it must be known, is not the present Cape
Comorin, but the name of a river of the same name in the
southern Tamil continent, the Kumarikandam, which was
known to the early Tamil works and which was submerged
7. Tolkappiyam, Poruladikaram, Seyyuliyal, No. 79.
126 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
later on. Panambaranar, the class-mate of Tolkappiyar, has
written a preface to the Tolkappiyam, wherein he refers to
the northern and southern boundaries of Tamilakam. The
commentator8 Nachchinarkkiniyar explains the absence of
the mention of the boundaries on the east and west on the
ground that they were the seas. In those early days Cera
country was part and parcel of Tamilakam. Tradition
handed over from ancient days says that the Cera-Cola-
Pandiyar were the rulers of the land from time immemo-
rial. The famous commentator of the Tirukkural explain-
ing the phrase Palankudi (upon @if) ancient family, occur-
ing in the chapter entitled Kudimai ((5f ^^ says that
it was as old and great even as the three royal families of
Cera, Cola and Pandiya, which could be traced to the
beginning of creation
6H(j5^«i>). Evidently the phrase cc U<SV>I—ULJG
is an exaggeration. We may take it to mean from very
early times. To quote some more instances to prove that
Tamil was prevalent up to the west coast, we
may refer to the two following Sutrams of Sikandi-
yar and Kakkaipadiniyar respectively.
1. i: QQKEJ&L^LD
2.
QQJ(SJ<SL
pktEKGX Q<£®)'fo)
These Sutrams refer to the east and the west boundaries
of Tamilakam as ^Qu&iMLb' Or the sea. It is interesting
to note that the Cera9 author of the Silappadikaram too,
8. Tolkappiyam, Eluttatikaram, Naccinarkkiniyar commen-
tary, p. 8. S.I.S.S.W.P. Society edition.
9. Silappadikaram, VIII, 11. 1-2.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 127
while enumerating the boundaries of Tamilakam, leaves out
the west and the east for the same reason pointed out by
the commentator of Tolkappiyam.
The ancient Cera country is referred to in Sanskrit
works as Kerala, and that seems to be the name by which
the Malayalis love to call their native land. P. T. Srini-
vasa Aiyangar10 says that the name of this country occurs
in the original form of Cera itself in the Taittiriya Aran-
yaka as Cera-padah, and he cites the authority of Prof. A.
B. Keith for constructing the expression to the Ceras. But
this is doubtful, as Sayana takes Cera to mean snake.
Katyayana (first half of the 4th century B.C.) and
Patanjali (B.C. 150) make mention of Cera, though Panini
(7th century B.C. if not earlier) does not. The Maha-
bharata, the Ramayana, the Vayu-purana, the Matsya and
Markandeyapuranas mention Kerala and Gokarnam. The
second and 13th edicts of the great Buddhist emperor Asoka
refer to the ruler of Kerala as Keralaputra and class this
country as one of the border-lands (Pratyantas) of his
empire.
Since the Cera country formed the western portion of
Tamilakam, the Cera king is described in the Tamil classics
as the ruler of the western country. The epithet, " Kuda-
pulam kaval " — maruman literally meaning " one who came
in the line of kings protecting the western country,"
(@L-L/a)/i *ireu&)ij>(TijLcirttr} is used for the Cera king by the
author of the Sirupanarruppadai, a Sangam work ; and he
describes the Pandya and Chola respectively as the kings
of the southern and eastern countries. Since the western
10. History of the Tamils, p. 29.
128 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
country is mountainous, the Chera king was also known as
Malaiyan (
Apart from the big geographical divisions, Tamila-
kam was divided into two divisions from the view-point of
the purity of the language spoken therein. The one was
Sen Tamil Nadu (area where good Tamil was spoken), and
the other Kodun-Tamil Nadu (tract where bad Tamil
was spoken) . Madura, which was the seat of the Third
Tamil Sangam, and its surrounding parts were the Sen-
Tamil-Nadu, and under the Kodun-Tamil Nadu are includ-
ed twelve districts, which Senavarayar and Nachchinark-
kiniyar, commentators of the Tolkappiyam, name in the
following order from the south-east to the north east of
Sentamil Nadu — Ponkar, Oli, Tenpandi, Kuttam, Kudam,
Panri, Karka, Sitam, Puli, Malaiyamanadu, Aruva and
Aruva — Vadatalai.
The commentator of the Yapparunkalam gives the
same list with this difference, that instead of Ponkar and
Oli, he has Ven and Punal. Kanakasabhai Pillai11 too
accepts this view, and gives a map setting forth the four
Koduntamil Nadus or Provinces bordering on the Arabian
Sea in the following order from north to south. Puli Nadu,
Kuda Nadu, and Venadu. The names were appropriately
given to each province, as they noted its peculiarity. 'Puli'
or the ' Sandy tract ' extended most probably from the
banks of the modern Agalapula to the mouth of the
Ponnani river. The soil of this part of the country is re-
markably sandy. Kudam or the " western land " denoted
apparently the region between the mouth of Ponnani
river and the southernmost mouth of the Periyar near
11. The Tamils 1800 years ago facing, p. 14.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 129
Ernakulam. This would have been the most western land
to the first immigrants who came into Malabar by the Pal-
ghat Pass.
Kuttam or the land of lakes comprised the territory
around the modern towns of Kottayam and Quilon, which
is to-day known by the same name to the natives of the
country. The river Pali or Palai, which flows through this
province formed at its mouth several islands and lakes, and
hence this tract was called Kuttam12 or " the land of lakes/'
To the south of this province, lay the Venadu which com-
prised the major portion of Travancore.
Even to-day the Maharajah of Travancore is known
as " Venattadigal Tiruvadigal." The low hills and valleys
in this region were covered with luxurous forests of
bamboo, and therefore it was aptly called Ven-Nadu or the
" bamboo land." The Chera, being the overlord of these
provinces, was also known after them, Puliyan, Kudavan
and Kuttuvan.
The above mentioned five provinces formed the
ancient Chera country, the capital of which was Vanji or
Karur. It was situated on the banks of the Periyar.
Adiyarkkunallar, the commentator of the Silappadikaram,
identifies this Karur with Tiruvanjaikkulam,12 but Kanaka-
sabhai Pillai identifies it with Tirukarur three miles from
Kothaimangalam and13 28 miles east by north of Cochin,
where the remains of an old temple and other massive
buildings are still visible.14 Pandit R. Raghava Aiyangar
12. Cera Kings of the Sangam period, chapter VT.
13. The Tamils 18 hundred years ago, p. 15.
14. Journal of the Asiatic Society, Vol. II, p. 336; Sewell's
lists of Antiquities, Vol. II, p. 261.
17
130 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
discusses this question very elaborately in his "Vanjima-
nagar," and arrives at the conclusion, and Pandit M.
Raghava Aiyangar in his " Cheran Senguttuvan " agrees
with him, that Vanji, the ancient capital of the Cheras, is
neither of these places, but Karur in ancient Kongu. or
modern Trichinopoly District.
The western geographer of the first century A.D.,
Pliny, who refers to the ruler of Kerala as Calobotra, men-
tions Muziris, which has been identified by Dr. Burnell with
the modern Cranganore, as the first emporium of trade in
India. Tamil Literature too, has nothing but praise for
the sea-borne trade that passed through this Chera sea-
port and we cannot but refer to two famous odes from the
Agananuru and Purananuru, referring to his trade at
Muzuris, and the articles (like pepper, etc.), obtained from
the mountain and the sea exported to the countries of the
Yavanar, i.e., Greeks, in exchange for gold. The songs
are : —
1
LC) Q LJ ift ' UU IT j$ £11
nflQiufT® Quuj(njLD
QpSiflujiriru Qu<ssr. (^/sth. 148)
G£iB,$ QUIT /bur
343)
The Periplus, written in the second century A.D., also
refers to ' Kerobotras ' and the lands he ruled over. It
says that it extended from Nouro and Tyndis in the north
to Nelaynda in the south. Ptolemy (second century A.D.)
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 131
also mentions Karoura as the capital where Kerobotras
lived.
The word Kerala will, if carefully analysed, ultimately
lead us to the root Chera. Dr. Caldwell on the other hand
erroneously conceived * 'Kerala* ' to be the original form of
the word from which according to him Chera is derived.
He committed the same mistake with regard to the word
' Dravidian,' but the mistake has been exposed by
Dr. Grierson in his Linguistic Survey of India. In the
Purananuru we find the words Cheralathan. Manikka-
vasagar's Tiruvachakam has "Q^oarsw-a/oir, G^^gar,
G& ir pear" and in Tirumukkhappasuram given to Panapatra
we have,
We know very well that in Canarese roots and words
beginning with the palatal consonant C, it changes into the
guttural consonant K, we give the following examples : —
Tamil. Canarese.
Cey (to do) . . Key
Cevi (ear) . . Kivi
Ceri (a hamlet) . . Keri
Centamarai (red lotus) . . Kendavara.
Cennir (red water, blood) . . Kennir
Thus there is a greater possibility for the word ceral
to have become keral and the country of Keral, Keralam
in Canarese than for 'Cera' to come out of Kerala ew and
«o interchange easily and Keralam (Q^JT^LD] becomes
easily Keralam, (Stf/roni). It is this form that has
entered Sanskrit as Kerala. The Sanskritists might have
taken the word from Canarese which was more easily
132 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
accessible to them perhaps, than Tamil which was spoken
in the southern most part in India.
Rev. Foulkes* contends that Chera and Kerala denote
the same country, Kerala being but the Canarese dialecti-
cal form of the word Chera. Dr. Gundert in his Malaya-
lam Dictionary has, under the word Keram — " Canarese
pronunciation of Cheram ", " Chera = Malabar ;" and
under the word Keralam " Cheram = the country between
Gokarnam and Kumari." While agreeing in the main with
the learned Doctor that the word Ceram has become Kera-
lam through Canarese, we are disposed to think that the
word may have originated from Ceral, another form of the
word Ceran. Many Cera Kings have been called as we
know, Ceralan and Ceral. The word Ceral is used in the
Silappadikaram itself while denoting the author of the
poem as "0*— ^Sds/r^ (c&ireSlGrr/h] (Q&rr&Ju^&LL(8j"»
It will not be out of place here to consider the terms
" Malabar and Malay alam " which denote the country and
its language now. We do not know for certain from when
this word has come into existence to mean the language ;
and its etymology also is obscure. The word properly
denotes the territory and not the language. It is composed
of two words malai (mountain) and alam (from al
to possess, to use, to rule and not to be confounded with
al, depth) which means a territory subject to the domina-
tion of mountains. It is noteworthy that the word Mala-
yalam does not occur either in the early or mediaeval Tamil
Literature. As we have pointed out before, the country
where Malayalam is now spoken was called Chera Nadu
and the people called themselves Tamilar and in the
*Salem District Manual, Vol. I.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 133
Silappadikaram and other ancient Tamil classics the Cera
king is spoken of as a Tamil king. Malayalam is also known
as Malayalma, another form of which is Malayama ; but
both words are substantially the same. The appellative
noun corresponding to Malayalam is Malay ali (a man of
Malayalam) .
The origin of the name Malabar has given scope for
much speculation. The first part of the word is evidently
the Malayalam word for mountain as in the word Mala-
yalam itself. The first appearance of this word mala with
the suffix 'bar' is in 1150, and from the time of its appear-
ance, the first part of the word is frequently found
to change. Col. Yule gives the following Arabian forms
— Malibar, Manibar, Mutibar, and Munibar. The following
forms are used by early European travellers : —Munibar,
Milibar, Melibar, Minubar, etc. From the arrival of the
Portuguese in India it seems always to have been Malabar.
It has been difficult to ascertain the origin and mean-
ing of the suffix bar. Lassen explained it as identical with
the Sanskrit vara in the sense of a region, Malayavara
meaning the region of Malaya, the western ghats. But the
term Malayavara is fictitious, neither found in Sanskrit nor
used by the people of the Malabar coast. The same diffi-
culty stands in the way of Mala Varam, (Tamil, Malaya-
lam), the foot of the mountains. Dr. Grundert suggested
the possibility of the derivation of bar from the Arabic,
barr— continent as he considered it probable that the name
of Malabar has been first brought into use by Arabian
navigators.
Colonel Yule arrived independently at a similar con-
clusion, but he preferred the Persian bar to the Arabic
134 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
barr, and Dr. Caldwell* agreed with Colonel Yule and
thought that bar, country, may have been added to 'Male'
to distinguish the mainland from adjacent islands,— the
Maldives and its Laccadives,
For a very long time Tamil was known to European
scholars as the language of Malabar, or the Malabar langu-
age. Fabricius, who composed a Tamil Dictionary in the
18th Century, styled it " Dictionary of Malabar and English
wherein the words and phrases of the Tamilian language
commonly called by the Europeans, the Malabar language,
are explained in English/' It was only in the latter part
of the 19th Century that this mistake was corrected, thanks
to the writings of Beschi, Dr. G. U. Pope and other orien-
talists.
From the Silappadikaram we learn that the Cera king
who ruled the country in the 2nd century A.D., was Sen-
guttuvan. The author of this epic was the royal ascetic
and younger brother of the king. He is called Illangovadi-
gal (the royal prince ascetic). Senguttuvan is the best
known of the ancient Chera Kings. He is also the hero
of the fifth decade of Padirruppattu of which the famous
Paranar was the author. Being a great warrior, Sengut-
tuvan is said to have conquered extensive jegions from
Cape Comorin in the south to the Himalayas in the north.
Q p GST 63T ,EJ (2J/.r(fl QoJ/T L—ITuSlsMt _ UJJT<P!T
(Lp!T&-Stni _ U QlLJ(TF)^rf)&L£K &55>pj(U *ll fT IT
Q&II J\)LJoO r6lTLL.€0)L-f& QjBfTGti & <aQ oW I
gyirSoOTLJ Qu/T6\)/5f#/r/f<S (^Ll
^Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages, III,
2nd Edn., p. 28.
15. Padirruppattu, 43.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 135
The Vanjikkandam or the 3rd Canto of the Silappadi-
karam is nothing but a graphic account of the king's
northern expedition, in which he was assisted by his ally
* Nurruvar Kannar V6 On that occasion he fought a
battle on the banks of the Ganges, in which the combined
troops of certain " Aryan " princes among whom Vijaya,
the son of a Bala Kumara, Rudra and others are mentioned.
After defeating them he returned triumphantly with
a fragment of stone from the Himalaya, for fashioning the
image of Kannaki, the Pattini-Devi, who came to Malai-
Nadu after burning down Madura, where her husband had
been illegally sentenced to death by the Pandiya King.
He built a temple, identified with that of modern Cranga-
nur (Kodungalur) and consecrated her image there. From
a few astronomical details available in the Silappadikaram
K. G. Sesha Aiyar arrives at 171 A.D. as the year of fire
which engulfed Madura at the/ Pattini Devi's command.
Further, the poem says that at the consecration ceremony
of the image, one of the princes present was King Gajabahu
of Lanka, surrounded by sea (<SL_SO (gy9«OE7g»«« asiusu/r^.
From this synchronism we can arrive at the date of
Senguttuvan.
Historians are of the view that Senguttuvan's invasion
was feasible in the disturbed conditions of North India in
the latter half of the 2nd Century A.D.17
Space does not permit us to go into chronology and
detailed history of the early Chera Kings. The Padfirrup-
16. Kanakasabai Pillai has correctly identified the Nurruvar
Kannar with the great Andhra Satakarnis of the times.
17. Cera Kings of the Sangam period. K. G. Sesha Aiyar,
ch. VII, Section 5.
136 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
pattu, moreover is not completely extent now, The first
and the last tens are lost. The extant eight sections deal
with the achievements of these eight Chera Kings : —
1. Imayavaramban Nedun Ceralatan.
((j^LQiLjeujniuevr QfiQgfj G&jr<stirr,$6yr)
2. Palyanai-Selkelu-Kuttuvan
6Vr J.
3. Kalankaykkanni Narmudicceral
(<5E6YT/Ef<35/T{L/<95 dSS^TSffijf? /57T/T (Lp U^&Q & & 6$ J.
4. Kadal-Pirakkottiya Senkuttuvan
(tft— 6tii3tD& (StftrtLtq-U
5. Adukotpatfu-ceralatan
6. Selvakkadunko-Valiyatan
( 0^^)617 <55:a5f?/E73«/r6If/r L/9(U/T^63T. ")
7. Takadur erinta Perunceral irumporai
(^<95(F/r erpSiZp Qu(r^^ Q&rrsv ^
8. Kudukko-ilanceral irumporai
The fifth decade, it will be noted, deals with Senkut-
tuvan of the Silappadikaram fame. For the names of the
Cera kings celebrated in the Purananuru lyrics we have to
depend on the colophon appended to each lyrics of that
collection. From these we gather the names of the
seventeen18 Cera kings ; but some of these are reduplica-
tions. More than two attempts have been made to identify
and assign chronological order for these cera kings. Full
18. Cera Kings of the Sangam period, K. N. Sivaraja Filial,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 137
justice cannot be done to the discussion19 here, and the
reader is directed to consult the special works on the sub-
ject. Kanakasabai Pillai brings the Ceras up to the
middle of the 2nd Century; K. N. Sivaraja Pillai takes them
to the end of the 2nd Century ; and K. G. Sesha Aiyer takes
them still further to the end of the 3rd Century A.D.
It is curious that, neither in the Tamil classics, nor in
Sanskrit, the language that is prevalent now in this
country, is said to have been prevalent here in those days.
The language spoken in those days was only Tamil, though
it was Koduntamil and not Sentamil. Still it is a wonder
that it is from this part of the country that the Padirrup-
pattu and Silappadikaram, the famous Sentamil Kaviyan
which poet Bharathi praises as capturing our mind (
Lo &<8*>uu$*tnrLb) saw the light.
The Purapporul-Venba-malai, the Tamil grammar
assigned to the 7th or 8th Century A.D., the Perumal Tiru-
moli of Kulasekara Alvar20 (Circa 600-800 A.D.) , Sundara-
murti Nayanar's Tevarappadikam on Lord Siva of Tiru-
vanjaikkalam, and his friend Ceraman Perumal's Ponvan*
nattantati and Adi-ula (Circa 9th Century A.D.) sprang
from this Cera country. This shows eloquently that the
Cera kings were ardent patrons of Tamil, and that many
of them were themselves no mean poets.
19. 1. Chronology of the Early Tamils— K. N. Sivaraja Pillai
2. Cera kings of the Sangam period— K. G. Sesha Aiyer.
3. Beginnings of South Indian History, Dr. S. K. Aiyangar.
4. The Tamil 1800 years ago— Kanakasabai Pillai.
20. 1. Early History of South Indian Vaishnavism in South
India, S. K. Aiyangar.
2. Alvargal Kalanilai, M. Raghava Aiyangar, pp. 157-72,
18
138 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Attention may now be drawn to the very interesting
fact that the names of many villages in Malabar and
Travancore which terminate in words like ceri, ur, kodu,
karai, angadi, etc., indicate that they were originally occu-
pied by the Tamils. Again, from the existence of the
Tamil words kilakku and Merkku in the Malayalam lan-
guage, Dr. Caldwell argues that the Malayalam country
must have originally been colonised by the Tamils. The
words Kilakku and Merku literally mean downward and
upward respectively. In these words the particle ku is a
termination denoting direction. These words quite aptly
describe the East and the West of the Tamil country. They
are derived from the roots Kil and Mel respectively, both
of which must have necessarily originated on the eastern
side of the Ghats ; for it is to the west of eastern plains that
this lofty range of mountains rises everywhere with the
result that to go westward is to go upward, while to go
eastward is to go into the country sloping downwards to
the sea. But the configuration of the Malayalam country
is directly reverse, the mountain range being to the east-
ward and the sea westward. Notwithstanding this fact,
the Malayalam words for East and West are identical with
the Tamil words, Dr. Gundert argues that there is an-
other word for denoting west in Malayalam, namely,
Padinnaru, and that word is more commonly used than the
word merku. It may be true, but Padinnaru is also a
Tamil word. It is a corruption of Padinayiru, i.e., the
direction, where the sun sets. In the Purananuru, stanza
82, the word occurs in the form of Pattanayiru (set sun)\
According to Dr. Caldwell these words are a positive proof
of the early colonisation of the country by the Tamils.
Some of the old customs and manners of the people
are still lingering in the country, we are told, though the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 139
traces of the very early occupation of the country by the
Tamils are almost extinct except the Tamil element in the
vocabulary and grammatical structure in Malayalam lan-
guage, which therefore continues to be understood easily
by a Tamil stranger. Among the ancient lingering Tamil
customs, we venture to suggest here the Sakkaiyar-kuttu
— the dance of the Sakkaiyar, of which Professor P. Sanka-
ran Nambiyar of the Maharajah's College, Ernakulam,
gives a valuable account and estimate in the 1939 Special
Cochin Number of the Madras Mail in honour of His High-
ness the Maharajah's 77th Birthday Celebrations.
This Kuttu, which is, even to-day, very popular in
Malabar, is said to have been performed before the Cera
king, Senguttuvan, and on that particular occasion the
Sakkaiyan chose to exhibit the Kodu kotticedam or adal of
Lord Siva. The dress and make up, the gestures and
abhinayams pertaining to this particular Kuttu, which the
Sakkiyar selected for the occasion, are minutely described
by the authors of Silappadikaram. We think that the
" movements and facial expressions, the signs and gestures
employed by the actors and actresses in the Kuttu " which
Prof. Nambiyar says " are said to approximate most closely
to the principles laid down in the authoritative Sanskrit
treatise on the subject, Bharata's Natya Sastra " are echoed
in the description21 mentioned above.
In those days the language of the country and court
was Tamil. The famous Tamil poet of the Sangam
at Madura, Maduraikkulavanikan Sattanar, the author of
Manimekalai, was a great friend of Senguttuvan, and
Illango. He spent a considerable part of his time in Vanji,
and he was responsible for supplying him the material, and
21. Silappadikaram, XXVIII, lines, 67-77.
140 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
requesting Illango to compose the Silappadikaram. In fact
the Silappadikaram was inaugurated in his presence.22
There are several references in the work which indicate that
the kings and the subjects of the Cera country were proved
to call themselves Tamils. One or two instances will
suffice. The Aryan Princes,23 Kanaka and Vijaya, offended
the Tamil kings in a banquet, and to avenge the wrong
committed to a brother Tamil king (Chola), Senguttuvan
wanted to invade their country while he went north for
bringing a slab of stone for the consecration of Pattini
Devi.24 Villavan Kodai, one of the ministers, while refer-
ring to the encounter of the king's army with the "Aryas"
of the north, calls the army a 'Tamil one.'
It is remarkable that the proportion of Sanskrit words
in the early Tamil works composed in the Cera country is
comparatively small. In the later writings of Ceraman
Perumal and Kulasekhara the proportion is much higher
owing to Sanskrit influences. There is a tradition that the
poet Kamban visited the country and lectured on his
Ramayanam. Even to-day his great Epic is highly popular
here. Almost the first work in the early Malayalam lan-
guage is the Rama Charitam which is closely modelled on
Kamban's great work.
Sanskrit authors even up to the end of the 7th cen-
tury A.D., refer to the languages of South India only as
Telugu and Tamil. Kumarila Bhatta, a Brahmin philolo-
gist of the last decades of the 7th Century A.D., refers to
the " Andhra Dravida Bhasha," the Telugu Tamil langu-
22. Vide Silappadikaram padikam and XXV, lines 65-92.
23. Ibid., XXVI, lines 159460, XXIX.
24. Ibid, XXV, line 158.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 141
age or perhaps, the " language of the Telugu Tamil
countries."
Canarese was probably supposed to be included in
Telugu, and Malayalam in Tamil, and yet both dialects, to-
gether with any sub-dialects that might be included
in them were evidently regarded as forming but
one bhasha. Malayalam therefore was not yet evol-
ved as a separate language. Even the three sasanas
granted to the Jews are in old Tamil dialect, and they
are recorded in the old Tamil script called Vatteluttu.
These deeds of Baskara Ravi Varma have excited much in-
terest not only because of their antiquity, but because of
the curious fact that by them the ancient Cera kings con-
ferred on the Jewish colonies certain privileges which they
still possess to some extent. The Jews appear to have
visited the western coast in the early centuries of the Chris-
tian Era. They have a tradition that a large number of
their nation came and settled in Malabar soon after the des-
truction of their temple at Jerusalem25 in 68 A.D. The
charters have been translated more than once, and there
has been much diversity gf opinion regarding the dates
assigned to them. While the learned author of " The Tamils
1800 Years Ago " assigns the last decade of the 2nd Cen-
tury A.D. to the two deeds granted to Joseph Rabban,
Lord of Anjuvannams and to his posterity, Dr. Burnell on
palaeographic grounds assigned these to the 8th Century
A.D. Placing the first deed in A.D. 774 as the only year
in which the astronomical details of the date furnished by
the grant would be satisfactory.
25. i. Tamils 1800 years ago, p. 60.
ii. Malabar Manual, Vol. II, pp. 115-122.
iii. History of Kerala, Vol. II, pages 507-512.
142 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Dr. Kielhorn says that A.D. 774-775 is not the only
year possible, and points out two dates — 10th March 680
and llth March 775 A.D. Sir Walter Elliot fixes 861 A.D.
Whatever the date may be, we are here concerned only
with the language of it.
The State Manual of Travancore, which is, no doubt,
an authoritative history of the State, contains a few obser-
vations on the relationship between Tamil and Malayalam.
It states — uThe earliest phase of the language (Malaya-
lam) must have been scarcely distinguishable from that
dialect of Tamil which is called Koduntamil by scholars.
It may be considered that Malayalam sprang from Kodun-
tamil. Separated from the parent stock by natural bar-
riers of mountains, the off-shoot of Tamil must have un-
dergone gradual changes according to the circumstances
and nature of the soil. Phonetic decay, differentiation and
other agencies which are ever at work in the infancy of a
language, must have had a full play in the case of Mala-
yalam until the advent of Sanskrit. The Sanskrit langu-
age affected the vocabulary and grammar of Malayalam.
Poets and authors indented upon Sanskrit not merely for
the expression of abstract ideas, but even for indicating
ordinary objects and things. In spite of this tendency, the
literary language continued for a long time to follow the
old Tamil models. The oldest poem now extant is Rama
Charitam written in the 13th Century A.D. It was com-
posed long before Sanskrit learning found favour in the
land. It exhibits the earliest phase of the Malayalam lan-
guage, and savours more of Tamil than Malayalam."
The mediaeval period of Malayalam is marked by the
writing of Kannasa Panikker. He has written the Rama-
yana, the Bhagavata, the Bhagavad Gi£a, etc. His language
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 143
shows the transition stage of Malayalam in a stage in whicH
the Malayalam tries to throw off Tamil inflexions and
grammatical formations. Panikkar has been called the
" Chaucer of Malayalam/'
The modern period commences with the advent of
Tunjatta Ramanuja Ezuttacchan of the middle of the 17th
Century A.D. This poet set himself to the task of bring-
ing the treasures of Sanskrit literature within the reach
of ordinary man. He found that Malayalam as it existed
then was not a fit vehicle for conveying refined thoughts.
He therefore strove to develop the latent resources of his
mother tongue. He rejected the old Tamil Vatteluttu
alphabet (which did not have the hard aspirates, sonants,
sonant aspirates, sibilants and aspirates, peculiar to San-
skrit) as defective, and adopted instead the Arya Elutu,
better known as the Grantha script. He invented a new
literary style blending Sanskrit and Malayalam idioms, and
called it Manipravalam. He also created a new metre in
Malayalam poetry called Kilippattu which has a peculiar
melody and flow of its own. With regard to the modern
Malayalam Dr. Caldwell says : " It is remarkable that the
brahminisation of a language and literature has now
become complete. This process appears to have been
carried on systematically only during the last two or
three centuries. The proportion of Sanskrit words is
least in Tamil and greatest in Malayalam. The modern
Malayalam character seems to have been derived in the
main from the Grantha script. In consequence of these
things the difference between Malayalam and Tamil,
though originally slight has progressively increased, so that
the claim of Malayalam as it now stands to be considered
not as a mere dialect of Tamil but as a sister language can-
not be called in question. Originally, it is true, I consider
144
it to have been not as a sister but a daughter. " Malayalam
being as I conceive " says the learned bishop, " a very
ancient off-shoot of Tamil differing from it chiefly at pre-
sent by its disuse of the personal terminations of the verbs
and the larger amount of Sanskrit derivatives it has avail-
ed itself of, it might perhaps be regarded as a dialect of
Tamil, than as a distinct member of the Dravidian family."
Dr. Gundert however appears to be unwilling to consider
Malayalam as an off-shoot of Tamil.26 He says : — " These
two languages of old differed rather as dialects of the same
member of the Dravidian family than as separate langu-
ages."
M. Srinivasa Aiyangar,27 on the other hand, accuses
Ezuttacchan for having given a deathblow to Tamil, his
mother tongue. In somewhat severe language the learned
author says : " For this act of vandalism he (Ezuttachhan)
is admired by the people of Malabar as the father of Mala-
yalam classical literature."
We have so for tried to trace the early history of the
country and language; but the various aspects of the life
of the people, their culture, commerce, arts and crafts,
dress, customs, etc., which can be culled out from the Tamil
works of the period, are not furnished here for lack
of space.28
26. Introduction to Dr. Gundert's Malayalam Dictionary.
27. Tamil studies, The Origin of Malayalam.
28. The works, of Kanakasabai Pillai and K. G, Sesha Aiyar,
the Malabar Manual and Gazetteer, the Cochin Manual and the
Travancore Manual, afford information on culture. R. P. Setu
Pillai's studies in Silappadikaram in Tamil, Ch. 6, gives a valu-
able picture.
THE ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY— A UNIQUE
FOUNDATION.
BY
PROF, V. K. AYAPPAN PILLAI, M.A., (OxoN,),
Professor of English, Presidency College, Madras.
The invitation kindly extended to me by my friend,
Dr. B. V. Narayanaswami Naidu, to contribute an article
to the Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Commemoration
Volume was welcome, as I have always been convinced that
the munificence and unexampled generosity of the Rajah
which provoked the Government of Madras to an equally
generous expenditure of public funds, was an act which
deserved our warmest praise and gratitude. For a
moment's reflection should convince us that, although our
worship of Saraswati, our passion for education and learn-
ing, have always been high, and perhaps genuine, we never
regarded that endowment for educational purposes was a
sacred duty to society which its richer members owed to it.
The chorus of praise with which the few exceptions are
received is testimony to their rarity. If the goddess of
wealth has blessed the Rajah's endeavours, the goddess of
wisdom has endowed him with the vision and discernment
to realise that there is no better or more enduring mode of
using one's wealth than in giving birth to an institution
where, for generations to come, young men and women of
the country could receive the blessings of a liberal educa-
tion. Both in itself, therefore, and as an example to others
equally favoured, the Rajah's gesture has been full of
significance.
19
146 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The princely gift of the Rajah of Chettinad which
started the foundation gives to the Annamalai University
a character all its own ; but there is another circumstance
of equal significance. The University founded in Chidam-
baram is of the unitary and residential type of which there
is no other instance in the South and but a few in all India.
It is well known, that it was the famous despatch of Sir
Charles Wood in 1854, which brought the question of the
founding of Universities in India, to the forefront. We
read in that document that " among many subjects of
importance none have a stronger claim to our attention
than that of education. It is one of our most sacred duties
to the nation, to be the means, as far as in us lies, of con-
ferring upon the natives of India those vast moral and
material blessings which flow from the general diffusion
of knowledge, and which India may under providence
derive from her connection with England." When, how-
ever, in pursuance of this enlightened policy, which is un-
doubtedly the source of the progress which the country has
had these years, the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras were founded in 1857, they were modelled rather
on the University of London than on the much older and
greater foundations, the residential universities of Oxford
and Cambridge. The University of London, it need hardly
be said, has a great reputation : it has always brought to-
gether many eminent men in their spheres of knowledge
and it has always striven to set its standards high. The
nucleus of the London University was University College,
founded " by a group of enlightened liberals and radicals
for the purpose of giving a University education to all
qualified students ' irrespective of class or creed V To
compete with what was regarded as this " godless univer-
sity/' the Anglican community soon brought into being
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 147
King's College. In the meantime various educational
institutions had sprung up all over the country and the
London University was empowered in 1858 " to examine
for a degree any students who presented themselves regard-
less of how or where they had studied." This is the
ground of the one serious criticism always levelled against
the University of London : in the words of Dr. Flexner,
" if a university is, whatever its type or form, a highly
vitalized organism, vitalised not by administrative means,
but by ideas and ideals, with a corporate life, I confess my-
self unable to understand in what sense the University of
London is a University at all." It was, however, perhaps
inevitable that when in 1857 the three Presidency Univer-
sities were founded to serve the needs of this vast conti-
nent, anything like a residential university of the unitary
type was unthinkable. The colleges founded for the pur-
pose were to impart the teaching and the universities
merely to examine the candidates and present them their
degrees. The Universities of the Punjab and of Allaha-
bad, founded in 1882 and 1887 respectively, in order to
relieve the Calcutta University of some of the heavy bur-
den she was bearing, were also of the same type as those
of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. Gradually, however,
it was recognised that Indian Universities should aim at
being not merely agencies to conduct public examinations,
but that they should undertake both teaching and research,
should bring both teachers and pupils together, that, in
short, the type of university organization known as the resi-
dential should, wherever possible, be given preference to
the merely affiliating type patterns of which were London
and the new Indian universities. The findings of the Cal-
cutta University Commission which was presided over by
Sir Michael Sadler, and which included among its members
148 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
distinguished educationists like Ramsay Muir, gave a great
impetus to the residential ideal which was strongly advo-
cated by the Commission. It was in this atmosphere that
the unitary and teaching universities of the residential type,
founded in Benares and Aligarh, Allahabad, Dacca and
Lucknow, came into being. The Madras University Act of
1923 had for its principal object the reorganization of the
University "with a view to establishing a teaching and
residential University at Madras, but neither in the parent
university of Madras, nor in its daughters at Mysore, Wal-
tair and Trivandrum has it been found feasible to achieve
the residential ideal. The Annamalai 'University, how-
ever, founded in 1929 is " unitary, teaching and residential
in character, the first of its kind/' with little or no chance
of being followed by a second, "in South India." It will
be admitted that an institution which is unique both
because it is a monument to the generosity and the vision
of its founder and because of its character as a unitary and
residential university deserves the warmest and discerning
support of the citizens of South India.
Is there any special virtue in this residential ideal
which deserves our sympathy and consideration ? It is no
doubt true that the residential idea is enshrined in the older
Universities of England, and these are, by the consensus of
world opinion, among the very greatest universities of the
world. But are they not " semi-monastic institutions
" which, arising in the Middle Ages, still retain in their
character something of their origin ? It cannot be denied
that Oxford and Cambridge are the only residential univer-
sities that do exist. The newer universities of England,
those of London, Sheffield, Manchester and others, the
great universities of Scotland, are, like those of Germany,
first rate organizations for purposes of learning and
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 149
research, but in no sense residential. Nor are the great
American Universities of Harvard and Yale residential.
But it has been generally recognised that the ideals which
underlie the residential system as embodied at Oxford and
Cambridge are ideals of singular educational value. In the
residential universities students who assemble together
from the different corners of the country, or from beyond
its borders, students differing not infrequently in their race
and creed and their social upbringing, live together for a
period. This common living, it has been found, affords
unique opportunities for that free social intercourse neces-
sary for the development of the maturing mind of the
student who as a human animal is necessarily a social being.
It is not the contact of the pupils with the matured minds
of their teachers only, the value of which no one will ques-
tion, but the contact of the pupils with their own fellows
which is of inestimable educational value. The opportu-
nities of a residential university are that this contact
which is so valuable for the harmonious development of
the faculties of the adolescent pupil is made possible not
merely in the class rooms and lecture halls, but in the
common rooms of students, in debating societies, in reli-
gious associations and in games. It is well known that
what is known as the tutorial system is a prominent feature
of Oxford and Cambridge. " In its purest form it is tete-a
tete dialogue between tutor and pupil." This is, of course,
nothing strange to our ideas and is no other than the
method followed by the ancient rishis and gurus, the
method of Sandipani with that famous pair of pupils,
Krishna and Kuchela. I am well aware that the tutorial
system has its difficulties, often insuperable, in modern
conditions and has been abandoned in Indian institutions,
often without giving it any serious trial. I do not know
150 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
if Annamalainagar ever took it up seriously or gave it the
consideration it deserved. But it seems clear that Anna-
malainagar, where there is, fortunately, only a single
college for Arts and Science, with a few special schools of
study attached, the opportunities for carrying out the resi-
dential ideal are unique. A proper recognition of the uni-
queness if the foundation would be to develop to its utmost
limits the residential ideal which underlies the university.
One of the recommendations of the Sadler Commission
has been that Intermediate education should be separated
from that of the University. Only a few universities like
Dacca have carried out the recommendation and Annama-
lai University has left it severly alone. But it appears to
me that, rid of the responsibilities of its Intermediate sec-
tion, which no doubt helps to swell the limited income of
the university, the Annamalai University which is already
turning out excellent work in several of its branches
should be in a position to grow into a real residential
university, concentrating its efforts mainly in the develop-
ment of such branches of learning and research as are not
provided elsewhere but, at the same time, are of immense
value for the conservation and enlargement of South Indian
culture. A University which sets before itself the highest
ideals, which attracts to itself men of scholarship and
character devoted to the single-souled pursuit of learning
and culture, untrammelled by the interests of party and
of narrow and petty considerations, and offers them reason-
able conditions under which they may live and work, a
university whose jealous care is the maintenance of the
highest academic standards, has nothing to fear. It fills
an essential need of the community and is bound to live
and thrive. May we not hope that the Annamalai Univer-
sity founded by the Rajah of Chettinad, whose Shashti-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 151
abdapurti the University rightly proposes to celebrate in
a fitting manner, will develop into one of the premier insti-
tutions of South India, making its invaluable contribution
to the moral and intellectual advancement of this part of
our great country ?
THE WORSHIPFUL MINISTER
BY
M. BALASUBRAHMANYA MUDALIYAR, B.A., B.L.,
Hon. Secy. Saiva Siddhantha Mahasamajam.
Did you ever hear of a king worshipping his own
minister? Has the mighty ruler of a vast country in any
system of civilisation ever spent a whole year, day in and
day out, hearing a learned disquisition on the lives of saints
who belonged to the hoary past? Could a monarch ever
afford to depute his prime minister for twelve months on
a non-political mission? You would say "no"; yet all these
strange things did happen in the Tamil country in the
twelfth century of the Christian era. The king was Kulot-
tunga Chola the Second and the Minister, Sekkilar.
Literature was the king's hobby, and the Jain work
Jeevaka Chintamani was his favourite book. The shrewd
minister was an ardent Saivite and could not contemplate
with equanimity, the rising tide of Jain influence over the
young king. He perceived that a glowing version of the
selfless lives of the sixty three Saiva saints was the only
means to retrieve his master. In his afternoon conversa-
tions, he narrated to the king seme of the soul stirring inci-
dents in the lives of these saints. The king was so fascinated
that he begged of his minister to reduce the lives into a book.
He got his furlough, went to Chidambaram, gathered a band
of scholars around him to collate all the available material
for him, and produced in an exact year the "Periyapura-
nam"
153
It was the most valuable book yet produced on
Saiva history. Its value must be judged, not with
reference to the modern scientific methods of historical re-
search, but with due regard to the times when history was
still in its infancy in most countries of the world. The way
in which pieces of internal evidence to be found in the songs
of the three great Saiva saints were put together, and their
biographies shaped, makes one wonder how the author
would have fared if better and ampler material had been
available. The book was not merely history or biography
but also a piece of literature possessing high classical value.
The king was so much impressed with the excellence of
the book, which was in verse, that he requested his minister
to undertake a v^ry detailed expDoiuon inereof. The minis-
ter agreed. A daily assembly of scholars was convened by;
the king for a year. The hall chosen was the grand edifice
with a thousand pillars in the northeast corner of the
Chidambaram temple. The minister explained all the
niceties and subtleties of the book in such a way that the
entire audience was entranced and spellbound. Pindrop
silence prevailed and the soul was lifted far above the
mundane plane. Tears flowed freely when the sufferings
and privations of some of the saints were narrated. The
king and his subjects felt alike. The year was a unique
experience in the life of everyone. The seed for a true uni-
versity was then sown, and it has taken eight long centu-
ries for it to sprout out and shape itself into the temple of
learning, ivhose founder's sixty-first birthday we are proud-
ly celebrating to-day.
The king was overpowered with emotion and fell at
his minister's feet. He mounted the minister and his book
on the state elephant, sat behind them, and waved chamara
20
154
with both his hands, and went in procession round the main
streets. His subjects stood speechless and wonderstruck,
watching the royal procession. Here was pen mightier
than the sword in the noblest sense.
The minister was so sincere in practising what he prea-
ched that he preferred retirement to the glamour of state.
The king gave leave with a heavy heart and chose the minis-
ter's brother to succeed him. The minister in his retire-
ment was provided with every comfort which a simple and
solitary life demanded. He spent his last years in devout
contemplation of his Maker.
Nowhere has history recorded events of this kind which
lift us from the base and material turmoils of earthly exis-
tence into the ethereal region of spiritual communion with
the Infinite. Such events did truly happen at Chidam-
baram once. Let us pray for their repetition in a suitable
form in the near future to lift us back to catch a glimpse of
that bliss.
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CULTURE
BY
BEGUM SULTAN MIR AMIRUDDIN
On the occasion of the 61st birthday of the Rajah
of Chettinad, I wish to join the chorus of tributes offered
to him for, his share in the cause of promoting culture in
larger than that of any other man in South India. The
Annamalai University stands out as a towering and glori-
ous monument to the magnanimity of its great and noble
founder and demonstrates his wisdom and foresight, for it
is an effective, genuine and progressive University educa-
tion that can supply the nation with the creative minds of
culture and with youths equipped with the qualities of
leadership which it so much needs. There is a tendency in
some quarters to belittle the importance of the establish-
ment of Universities and consider efforts at the expansion of
higher education to be a superfluity, but at the present stage
of India's history when wise planning and deep thinking
to reconstruct national life are so essential in order to ena-
ble her to take her due place in the comity of nations, we
require a sufficient number of men and women endowed
with the training that higher education imparts. I do not
believe that there is a surfeit of such men and women in
this land at present and higher education cannot be said to
have reached saturation point.
In this article I wish to deal with the fundamentals of
true culture, in the implanting of which our Universities
are primarily engaged. Culture in its etymological sense
means cultivation and has many connotations, but it is
156 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
usually taken to be synonymous with the cultivation of the
mind through the medium of knowledge. In the majority
of instances education is an indispensable pre-requisite of
culture for knowledge is power; it is knowledge that sup-
plies us with facts, ideas and ideals that make up life's
kaleidoscope. Facts dominate life and ideas control the
world and these have their basis in knowledge, which endows
one with the capacity of deciding what to do. Usually it is
education which holds the key that unlocks the treasures of
culture. Hence the very essence of culture must be art and
science and the human effort concerned — ceaseless effort in
the sphere of study and in the domains of observation,
reflection and contemplation.
But culture is not simply the cultivation of the mind.
Mere knowledge which satisfies curiosity and the crowding
of one's memory with facts is not culture; rather culture is
the fine fulfilment of the knowledge acquired. How is this
fulfilment achieved? By activity of thought. Knowledge
becomes active thought when it is utilised and applied to the
life around. But though knowledge static and inert is not
culture, it must be remembered that knowledge in motion,
for wrong ends is the mosc terrible force in nature and is the
very negation of culture. Totalitarian Europe offers an
example of this, where, despite intellectual progress of a
high order and the onward march of science, the elements
of culture are absolutely wanting. Thus while knowledge
is comparatively useless unless put into application, it must
be not utilised and related to the affairs of life as will satisfy
human needs and lead to human amelioration. Bacon says,
"Some men think that the gratification of curiosity is the
end of knowledge; some love of fame; some the pleasure of
dispute; some the necessity of supporting themselves by
knowledge, but the real use of all knowledge is this that we
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 157
should dedicate our reason which was given to us by God to
the use and advantage of man."
The application of one's knowledge for human needs
being the real import of culture, we find that it is not merely
in the centres of learning that culture resides. It is not un-
common to discover sometimes even an uneducated culti-
vator, with no literary education at all but who has learnt
his lessons on the book of Life and on the lap of Nature, to
evince greater signs of culture than some of the by-products
of our Universities. In such a case, though the range of
the man's knowledge is small, that knowledge sparkles, it is
alive; though his ideas are few, they are not inert and dead
matter but constantly related to the stream of events that
enter his life and the lives of those within his ken. This
fundamental of culture, namely that the mind enriched and
humanized should be a running brook for those that need
to quench their thirst and not a still image on the canvas has
to be grasped by those who are engaged in the pursuit of
higher knowledge, and our Universities should set before
themselves the task of evoking the interest of the students
in putting their knowledge to use and throwing it into all
its combinations with the life around. Education is gene-
rally undertaken for its utility as a means of livelihood and
also as a mark of polish and refinement, but it is deprived
of its real significance if in the pursuit of narrow personal
ends it fails to arouse in the minds of young men and wo-
men that impulse of service, which is the essence of true
culture. An education that does not rouse one's active
sympathy to the dumb pangs of misery and unhappiness of
the lives submerged in the shadows is one that is devoid of
its cultural aspect.
The time has arrived when the youths of this land, who
are the future moulders of the nation's destiny, should realize
158 RAJAH STIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the true significance of culture and get acquainted with the
implications of Noblesse Oblige. A sphere wherein they
can render yeoman service is that of the liquidation of mass
illiteracy. The problem of making India's population
literate is one of stupendous magnitude and of urgent
importance. We learn in history that in the reign of Asoka
about 60 per cent of the inhabitants of this land were literate.
To-day, however, not even 10 per cent are literate. And
it is the monster Ignorance that has been devastating the
land from a long time past that has given birth to the evil
conditions, which are undermining the strength and sapping
all potentialities for good inherent in the nation. India's
appallingly high death-rate, the incidence of epidemic
diseases, the existence of social evils, and the prevalence of
a high rate of crime are all to be traced to the ignorance in
which people are steeped. During the past 50 years, every
decennial census showed an increase of 1 per cent literacy.
If the present rate of progress of literacy is not accelerated,
it will take at least a thousand years for India to become
literate. Since the task is of immense magnitude and of vital
importance, it behoves the students of the Universities to
contribute their quota to the great work of national regenera-
tion. China has awakened from her opiate slumber of
ages by the efforts of her students, who have dedicated a
good portion of their holidays to imparting knowledge to
the adults. Will not the youths of India answer the
sonorous call of duty when the clarion is sounded? If they
have imbibed the true spirit of culture, there is no doubt
that they will.
While service constitutes an essential element of culture,
it is erroneous to assume that a life of isolation from worldly
affairs is a necessary pre-requisite, for a cultured man is pre-
eminently one who does not ignore the practical aspects of
COMMEMOKATION VOLUME 159
existence. As has been pointed out by Johnson, "The seeds
of culture may be planted in solitude but must be cultivated
in public." Culture though born of meditation, through the
inward travail of the spirit, thrives most in contact with life
and draws its vitality both from Nature and from man and
is never inert but active.
Culture denotes the cultivation of a higher quality of life
consequent on the mental training received, whether through
the medium of books or otherwise. While objectively it re-
quires an intelligent understanding of and interest in some-
thing tending to human welfare besides one's own job in the
workaday world, subjectively it calls for self-analysis, self-
control and self-reformation. Culture manifests itself in
good manners and a catholicity of outlook that recoils from
arrogance and exclusiveness; in understanding that ignores
not charity; in a spirit of compromise and accommodation
that realizes the need to co-operate with others and adopt the
principle of live and let live; and above all in sympathy that
knows no caste and creed. Culture awakens the sense of
fellowship latent in all men. A cultured individual realizes
that life is a unity and man is part of that life; he is consci-
ous of the fact that he is part of that one world process that
is at work about him as in him, and like the ancient Roman
Emperor proclaims, "I do not regard as strange and foreign
to myself anything that is human inasmuch as I am human/'
Moreover, a cultured man not merely recognizes diver-
sity, which is Nature's law, but respects it, since variety
yields charm and colour to life. In a ]and like India inhabit-
ed by members of different castes and creeds, the most
urgent desideratum of to-day, namely unity, can come about,
paradoxically, not by a process of uniformity but by respect-
ing differences. The hall-mark of a cultured man and
woman is to be free from narrow prejudices and to be able to
160 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
appreciate the good and beautiful wherever found. No
community or race should suffer from the delusion that it
alone has the monopoly of truth, of virtues and of the fine
arts, for of all dungeons the most terrible are those invisible
ones wherein men's souls are imprisoned in self-delusion
bred by vanity. The environments, the requirements, the
temperaments and traditions of the various races and peoples
have been responsible for different ways of approach to
life's problems, but the divergences of the paths pursued
should not befog our vision to the soundness of many of the
methods and maxims of those different from ourselves.
Kipling rightly says, "There are nine and ninety ways of
inditing tribal lays, and very single one of them is right."
Culture is essentially broad-based in its outlook and its
appeal is universal. Hence the different centres of learn-
ing while recognizing and utilising diversity should admit
interchange and exchange and each University should esta-
blish Chairs for the fundamental ideals and realities within
other cultures besides developing its own and pulsate with
all thoughts that are high, noble and great, not merely in
the life of its own people but of the world in general. In
the words of Lord Morley. "Let there be preferences, but
let there be no exclusion/'
India remains chaotic because the mental approach of
the nation is defective. The problems of India will be solv-
ed when the educated sons and daughters of her land will
become imbued with the true spirit of culture and will
realize that despite diversities, the adherents of different
beliefs, customs and traditions and the products of varying
environments while retaining their own individuality and
living their own lives to the full can still combine together as
in a symphony orchestra, wherein the various instruments,
though they are different from one another, yet all contri-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 161
a
bute to the production of a melodious harmony. Such
combination and the cultivation of the true choir spirit,
wherein each singer is giyen full scope to develop the best in
him while he, on the other hand, gives of his utmost for the
success of the choir, should be one of the ideals towards
which our seats of learning should strive.
Mathew Arnold spoke of sweetness and light as the
marks of true culture. The Annamalai University has
added to it faith and courage — qualities which are of pro-
found significance at the present juncture of world history.
One of the most threatening features of life to-day is the
reaction against faith and reverence, and expert designers
who are planning out the main lines of a new and better
order realize that their edifice will never stand unless steps
are taken to check the rising tide of irreverence and lack of
faith. Indeed, without faith the wheels of progress will
be braked and civilization is bound to suffer a collapse.
Courage is also a quality whose need was never greater
than at present— Courage to battle against the forces of
evil, courage to face life's problems with a spirit of stern,
persistent determination to overcome difficulties, courage
to surrender prejudices, courage to resist mass thinking and
the temptation to applaud all popular sentiments irrespective
of quality, courage to act up to one's conviction and to the
new vision of world progress.
In short, the idea of refinement appears to be insepara-
ble from that of culture. The term refinement calls up to
mind the picture of a furnace burning the dross and yield-
ing the gold or that of a sieve sifting the grain from the
chaff. Culture imparts a finer tone, a gentler touch and a
nobler quality to an individual and contributes to a richer
life more directly than health contributes to wealth.
21
162
Though the acquisition of culture involves unremitting
effort and sacrifice, the satisfaction obtained therefrom is
immense, for while the pleasures of wealth and power are
fleeting, the ecstasy derived from culture is perennial in
enjoyment and of permanent duration.
THE RAJAH OF CHETTINAD
BY
MR. SOMASUNDARA BHARATI, B.A., B.L.
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the first Rajah of
Chettinad, is a unique personality. And his diamond Jubi-
lee is now fittingly commemorated by his grateful country-
men whom he long served and lavishly benefited by his
numerous acts of Philanthropy and Patriotism. Hailing
from the most talented affluent and charitable family of
hereditary Bankers in Kanadukathan, he yet easily out-dis-
tanced and eclipsed all his forbears and cousins both in
making colossal wealth and what is rarer still in wisely and
lavishly spending fabulous fortunes on public welfare.
Many are celebrated charities that redound to the credit
and glory of his family; now for nearly a century, starting
from 1850. Chidambaram where God Nataraja sarabands
His Eternal Cosmic dance came to be the centre of their
charitable activities. The famous Gold-domed hold fane of
God naturally received their first attention. The Pagoda
and the Towers were renovated extensively and elaborately
on the eve of this century. A feeding house for the poor and
choultry for all pilgrims were their next gifts to this place
of perpetual festivity. The Rajah Sahib's senior brother,
Diwan Bahadur Ramasamy Chettiar, the first Dewan Baha-
dur in Chettinad, earned the eternal gratitude of this holy
place by his invaluable two-fold gifts of a well equipped
High School and a protected water supply to quench the
physical and mental thirst alike,
164 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHEITIAR
Walking in his brother's wake, Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar first founded on the east suburb of Chidambaram
three great Colleges successively, all in the name of his
favourite Goddess, to wit Sree Minakshi Arts College, Sree
Minakshi Tamil College and Sree Minakshi Sanskrit Col-
lege. To these he soon added his Sree Minakshi Oriental
Training College. He then started his brilliant career by
quietly and unostentatiously minting millions with his un-
rivalled business talents on the one hand, and
on the other by lavish gifts, endowments and
benefactions in countless ways with counting
costs all over Tamilaham and even in distant
non-Tamil countries such as, Ceylon and Burma. It
is no exaggeration to say that there is not any great institu-
tion or cause, community or country within the ambit of his
enterprising fellow Nagarathar's activities that was not en-
riched or benefited by the inexhaustible purse and philan-
thropy of this modern Croesus and Macalnas rolled in to
one. The Madura College, and the American College and
Hostels in Madura and Pasumalai, the National High School
at Trichinopoly, the Mylapore P. S. High School, the Indian
Public School at Dehra Dun, the Irwin School at Delhi, the
Ramakrishna Institution at Madras and Ootacamund and
several educational and religious institutions in Rangoon,
Moulmein Kanbe, and Colombo, the Y.M.C.A. and Red Cross
Society are only some of the many institutions which were
fertilized by his munificence. His piety which is non-sec-
tarian, enthused him to renovate at great cost Thillai-
Govindar's Shrine, God Pasupatheeswara's Temples in Anna-
malai and Karur, the Hindu Temple in Colombo, besides the
abiding upkeep of the works, and maintenance of Kuttelais
and endowments at the holy shrine of Sree Nataraja in
Chidambaram,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 165
The Crowning glory of his passion for services to his
fellowmen and the sweetest fruits of his native patriotism
is the latest yet the first and only Unitary, Teaching and
Residential University in South India appropriately named
after him. It is an edifice emerging four-square on and out
of the four Sree Meenakshi Colleges which he previously
founded on his extensive estates in the eastern environment
of Chidambaram. The imposing new University buildings
superbly and solidly built grudging neither cost nor care,
stand towering above and overlooking, extensive grounds
which are in turn enveloped by emerald fields and green
swards. They form by day a panoramic perspective
of picturesque piles, as a rare and unique blend of
Classic Indian, Saracenic and Romantic styles. By
night the brilliantly lighted premises of the Univer-
sity present a tableau of celestial charm of seraphic
rest. The sanitary water supply, perfect drainage, the
swimming pool, and boating channels each at an
enormous cost the extensive and up-to-date play grounds and
exquisite sports pavilion, are some of the graceful additions to
the university, each and every one of which indebted more or
less to the Rajah's privy purse. The new guest and rest-
house and the staff-club on grand style are also indebted to
his munificence. The magnificent ladies' club which is a
very unique, costly and fine building, with extensive well-
laid grounds is also the exclusive gift of the Rajah Saheb
to the University. The hostels fri general and the new
Women's Hostel in particular add to the charm of the
panorama. In short the buildings alone would be worth
about twenty-five lakhs of rupees.
Add to all this, his lavish contributions to the Univer-
sity endowment fund, and the several auxiliary and addi-
tional endowments for prizes, medals, studentships to
166 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
scholars of this university for studies both in the university
and in foreign universities. The up-to-date library house
in the superb left wing of the new Senate House, the
science laboratories, and the charming music college well-
match and add to the fascination and utility of the Uni-
versity. Great endowments to educational institutions are
not rare all over the world. But a well-equipped and en-
dowed modern university owing almost its all from its
inception to private enterprise and personal philanthropy
of a single individual is not heard of in the old world,
whereas the Rajah's University is an up-to-date Modern
University second to none. The unparalleled philanthropy
of this modern Croesus of South India attracted the atten-
tion of even the apathetic alien rulers. The Viceroy on
the local Government's well deserved recommendations
bestowed on him the hereditary title, style, honour and
privileges of a Rajah in recognition and acknowledgment of
his great philanthropy and genuine patriotism, in addition
to the many other titles they had previously honoured him
with such as the Knighthood, Diwan Bahadur, etc.
The Rajah is a real Karma Yogin, and his admirable
disciplined life most rigorous and yet most restful, is the
envy of businessmen and a wonder to all. With a zest for
work, and spleen-proof placid temper an admirable abandon
coupled with a genius for infinite industry and devotion to
details, with volcanic energy embalmed in sweetest suavity,
with an unbending will matched by innate courtesy and in-
stinctive devotion, with enthusiasm in enterprise and aver-
sion to lassitude, he is easily a prince among men as he is a
man among princes. Rising invariably at 4 a.m. he finishes
his ablutions and devotional regimen and urgent personal
business correspondence all before 7 a.m. He is then ready
to attend to the heavy business routine entailed by the in-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 167
numerable business organisations and branches he runs in
India, Burma, Malaya and Ceylon, and to calls and appeals
to his head and heart, his time and purse alike. His unfail-
ing method and admirable system, his mastery of details, his
phenomenal memory and ready resources are some of his
traits rare even among the captains of Industry and multi-
pliers of millions in the busy west. His statesmanship, his
reserve with well informed and diplomatic talent, his deep
knowledge of men and affairs and his versatility would
easily have made him a forefront cabinet-minister, Premier
or President if only he were a citizen in any self governing
country. As it is he stands in the Indian world of to-day
as a striding colossus of wealth, a power for benevolence and
a tower of strength to his weaker countrymen. His delight
is his silent selfless service, and his strength is his matchless
character. His unrivalled and enviable success is the fruit
of his manifold virtues. His lofty service to culture and
higher education earned him his doctorate honoris causa
from the Madras University. We, his grateful compatriots
and admiring countrymen cordially wish him on the happy
completion of his Sixtieth Birthday a Methuselah's longe-
vity, Solomon's happy prosperity and Socrates' wisdom. May
the Almighty God shower lavishly all His choicest blessings
on this Modern Kubera and inspire him to continue to pro-
mote the progress of his mother country and the welfare of
his loving but less fortunate country. May he live long for the
Glory of God and for the honour and success of persever-
ance, patriotism and public service, as an example to his
peers now, and as an inspiration to all in future, is the
prayer that goes up to God to-day from the hearts of all his
well-wishing fellow-countrymen.
NATIONALISM AND DEMOCRACY
BY
R. BHASKARAN, M.A.
Since the French Revolution, the states of Europe and
the colonial countries of the world have grown on the two
principles of Nationality and Democracy which seemed to
sustain and fortify each other. Nationalism has had its cri-
tics ; Lord Acton called it a retrograde step in history.
Democracy too has its detractors who find it guilty of the
grave error of supposing that a crowd could understand
and choose. But, in the midst of " the chaos of talk,
of argument, of opinion, " men must find some excuse
for unity and build a state for their secular needs, or
be drawn into the political orbit of a stronger com-
munity. The task is always urgent and the penalty
of failure is extinction. A common loyalty to something
outside of self is needed to make a community:
the nation replaced the dynastic ruler as the object of such
devotion. Authority is needed to transform the community
into the more enduring structure which is the State ; Demo-
cratic theory furnished government with the sovereign
authority of the General Will. Thus there is nothing for-
tuitous in the close association of nationalism and demo-
cracy at the beginning of the Nation-State. If people come
together, they do so only because they all recognize certain
values distinct from the values of other people. If a com-
munity keeps together, it can do so only under a govern-
ment which can be trusted to guarantee these values. Yet
it would not be right to describe the state as the work of
169
free will and reason ; for in the world of reality there are
no absolutely free individuals and rational choice is almost
non-existent. Nations are seldom truly "self-determined."
Nationhood is sometimes achieved by the pressure of active
groups inside the community. And "small" nations are
born of the strategic needs of great powers. National unity
may be fostered by similarity of culture, race, language,
social habits and historical experience among the people
that constitute the nation. National governments may
acquire greater power by closely representing the national
mind. But forces inside the national community and out-
side should be favourably disposed if a Nation-State is to
emerge and survive.
In whatever way a Nation-State may be founded, it
cannot forever be immune to attack. The complex of hopes,
aspirations and fears that made it soon unmakes it. The
cultural values of the ruling group are repudiated by the
generality which once followed the elite. Patriotism tends
to find a smaller and more intense expression as regional-
ism. Submerged dialects "come up again and divide the
nation. Conservatives and radicals split the community.
Several sectional economic interests engage in strife. When
people see themselves as really belonging not to the politi-
cal community of the nation but to a small group or class,
when classes within the state appeal to or sympathise with
similar classes in other states, the nation has ceased to be.
When nations go to war to destroy nations the ruin is com-
plete. The failure of the principle of nationality as a neces-
sary and sufficient basis of political union is manifest today.
But in the absence of a more rational or popular prin-
ciple, nationality with all its dangers and inadequacies must
prevail. Therefore the political animal instead of blaming
nationalism which is the cause of his present agony blames
170 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
representative democracy and turns against it. It is not
surprising that when the foundations of society are crumbl-
ing, people should be occupied with the reform of mere
government. It might be urged against the critics of demo-
cracy that representative democracy is only a mechanism
for the expression of the general will and it cannot create
a general will where no such will is to be found. In an
entirely rational world of intellectuals democracy would be
acquitted and nationalism banished. Societies, however,
detect the scapegoat by a sure instinct and nations in dis-
tress invariably pervert or overthrow their democratic
institutions. Rid of a machine that would not work a
miracle, they subside into an artificial unity imposed by
a dominant group which has cultivated the will to power
and seeks to encourage in its subjects the will to believe.
In the end, new political myths may take the place and
even the name of democracy and nationality.
In colonial countries feelings of nationality are easily
engendered. Common and reluctant subjection to a foreign
power makes a nation of the people inhabiting a centrally
administered territory. What cost much to free peoples
comes gratis to their subjects. A people demanding free-
dom and self-determination cannot imagine a native gov-
ernment that is not from the outset democratic. So
nationalism and democracy are intertwined in the affections
of a people aspiring, or even struggling to be free. But
the vicissitudes of democracy and nationalism are the same
all the world over ; in fact transplanted ideas go through
the natural cycle of their lives with sensational rapidity.
India is no exception to the rule, though patriots of
no country can be got to deny the uniqueness of their land.
When India came under British rule, it was inevitable that
her political structure should be determined by Western
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 171
ideas. When Macaulay triumphed over the Orientals, it
was inevitable that the educated classes should seek for
their home-land the institutions they had been taught to
love and admire. Raja Rammohan Roy complained that
India was " a country into which the notion of patriotism
has never made its way." A century later Jawaharlal
Nehru could write, ' 'Patriotism is not enough, we want
something higher, wider and nobler." That is the measure
of the distance travelled by the intelligentzia in the course
of a hundred years, and proof of the success of western edu-
cation. It is a popular superstition, impossible to eradicate,
that our educational system was devised to produce and
only turned out inferior employees of government and com-
mercial offices. On the contrary it has produced in the past,
and is still turning out in large numbers, young men and
women equipped to meet all the needs of a healthy
society. But in the strange political conditions of the early
days, government distrusted the educated classes, for in the
words of Grant Duff they were 'professional malcontents ;
busy, pushing talkers ; intriguers and grumblers'. Their
patriotism then made them unpopular with the rulers.
They were also soon to lose the regard of the people ; for
the first fruits of the democratic theory they preached came
to be a contemptuous rejection of the values they had learn-
ed to cherish. Nevertheless it was a growing class educated
on western lines that propagated widely and planted firmly
the notions of nationalism and democracy in this country.
The intelligentzia was from the beginning variously
handicapped. Most of the educated men came from the
poorer sections of the middle class and therefore lacked the
local influence that would have made them an example to
the countryside. They could not function as a leisure class.
Nor could they obtain any position of power and real res-
172 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAJ CHETTIAR
ponsibility in the government of the country. They studied
social and political theories out of textbooks ; they scanned
the administrative methods of the British Government ; but
of real politics and power politics they were altogether inno-
cent. The ethical teaching they had absorbed at school and
their native love of peace reconciled them to their lot.
They had to take many things for granted and among them
was the Government of India which was a gigantic adminis-
trative contrivance working so smoothly and with so much
of Benthamite efficiency that no one asked where it got its
power from. They saw the whole of India made one by a
centralised system of law and government and understood
the unifying effect of education in the English tongue.
They could imagine a gradual Indianization of the
personnel of government and a gradual association
of the public in the councils of government. The
language of the educated men of the last gene-
ration shows how firmly they believed in the supreme
significance of the administration and how careless they
were of the tremendous but obscure processes by which
nations come of age or perish. If the educated classes were
unable to understand or control the political climate of the
country, they at least kept alive in institutions of higher
learning respect for law and constitutionalism and the
liberal devotion to "fundamental human decencies."
The piety of the educated gave us the political vision
of a united Indian nation stretching from the Himalayas to
the Cape. The vision was to be realized by an education
fitting the people to the service of a constitutional demo-
cracy. And the Government should itself undertake the
tuition of its subjects enabling them to reach in time the
level of a free, united and democratic nation. And this
new nation was not to remain alone and friendless in a
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 173
hostile world ; it would be a member of a great Common-
wealth of Nations, a defensive league girdling the globe.
But when the first instalment of political power was
bestowed on the natives of India, these noble academic
theories had to retreat before the scramble which a coveted
substance excites. Racial, territorial, economic, religious
and linguistic interests manifested themselves and had to
be acknowledged by the rulers and the ruled alike. Political
India accepted a federal organization of the central govern-
ment with its implications of territorial autonomy for seve-
ral areas within the country. Nationalist political parties
upheld many claims of language, culture and economic
interests, in order to win a large following against the estab-
lished order. Just as subject people get nationalism with-
out tears, sub-nationalities acquire effusive recognition of
their integrity and permanence from the government as
well as from the rebels. It would be foolish to ignore the
natural and legitimate expression of sectional interests ; they
represent real political forces which cannot be dissipated
by assumed indifference or by vehement invective. Any
one of them, and not necessarily the largest, may yet grow
powerful enough to make and lead a real Indian nation.
Mr. Ruthnaswamy whose knowledge of the theory and
practice of Government and Politics is unrivalled wrote in
1932, "If ever there was a country that was made for unity
it was India (But) the history of India is a con-
tinuous and complete denial of its geography." And in the
epilogue to his treatise on The Making of the State, he ex-
pressed the hope that " the State that has at last been made
in India may yet be the making of India. " The duty of
making the nation is here cast upon statesmen and adminis-
174
trators for in any sane order responsibility must go with
power.
The late S. Srinivasa lyengar told the Kumbakonam
Parliament, "Let us firmly and ardently believe that, to
whatever communities we belong, we Indians are all of one
race and nationality ; on that conviction of racial identity
alone depends our salvation in this world, in the present
and in the future." Here was an attempt to create a new
myth which would unite all the citizens of India.
It is unlikely that practical politicians and busy adminis-
trators will find the time and opportunity to devote
themselves to the service of Indian nationalism. It is even
more unlikely that any one will persuade the Indian masses
to see themselves as one race. Meantime, the recrimina-
tions of sectional leaders separate classes and groups more
definitely from one another. Indian nationalism has nearly
attained the status of a lost cause and the right to asylum
in Universities.
In these distracted times it is the duty of schools of
social studies in Indian Universities to train the generations
that pass through them to look on the political scene with
eyes of compassion and not of revenge, to keep the channels
of understanding open, and to equip every cause with fair-
minded advocates and willing servants. Even a hostile and
uncomprehending community deserves the ministration of
trained minds.
ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY— LANDS AND BUILDINGS
BY
DR. K. C. CHAKKO, B.A., D.Sc., (LOND.),
A.M.I.E., (IND.), I.E.S.,
Principal, Engineering College, Madras
The lands belonging to the University now cover an
area of 572 acres of which 100 acres were handed down
with the Sri Minakshi College and the 168 acres were a gift
by the Founder direct to the University and the remainder
were acquired by the University. The area lies to the East
of the Railway line at Chidambaram and is bounded on the
other sides by the Uppanar and Khan Sahib Canals.
Owing to the difficulty felt in finding accommodation
for the staff and students in the Town, four professor's and
four lecturers' quarters and hostel accommodation were
already built as part of the Sri Minakshi College. These,
with the College blocks, coverd a plinth area of 71822 sq. ft.
and cost 8 lakhs of rupees.
The establishment of the University as a Unitary
Teaching and Residential Institution by the Act of 1929
not only made the existing accommodation utterly inade-
quate for the needs of a University. Accordingly, a pro-
gramme of buildings, roads and other works was commenced
and buildings covering an area of 273,361 sq. ft. and costing
12 lakhs of rupees have so far been completed. Though a
few individuals regarded the expenditure as a waste of
money, the University authorities consistently held the view
that a reasonable amount of expenditure on Buildings and
176 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAJ CHETTIAR
other amenities usually associated with a University were
absolutely essential. The new buildings include a Convo-
cation Hall, Library and Administrative Block, an Oriental
Block, four new Hostel Blocks, a Union Hall, a Music Col-
lege and a Guest House. There are now quarters provided
for 100 members of staff and 60 menials. A few figures
regarding the buildings are given in the Appendix.
The growth of the University in the first ten years of its
existence has been so rapid that the Building Schemes
and the provision of amenities could not keep pace with the
needs of the expanding University. Thus the number of
students rose from 771 to 983 in the three years ending
1940 and by the construction of four new hostel blocks, the
accommodation was sufficient for only 651 students.
The essential needs for the present size of the Uni-
versity have been practically supplied excepting the Water
Supply and drainage schemes. With the rapid increase
in expenditure consequent on the constant expansion of
the University, and the added difficulties caused by the
present war, it has become necessary to temporarily stop
the expansion and begin a period of consolidation. It is
hoped that before long, the University will begin to grow
again with renewed vigour until it attains its full maturity.
There are at present 18449 feet of roads as against
4480 feet in the pre-University days. Of these, 7466 feet
have been tarred and it is proposed to tar the remaining
portions also in due course.
There was no garden worth mentioning before the
University was established. Since then 967,600 square
feet of area, i.e., nearly 22 acres, have been converted into
gardens and playgrounds and this area is being gradually
extended.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 177
The beginnings of a protected water supply scheme
have also been made. Water from the Usuppur channel is
led by an open channel, one mile long, into two sedimenta-
tion tanks each capable of holding over three million cubic
feet of water. From these the water is pumped through a
pressure filter to an overhead tank of 25,000 gallons capa-
city. The hostel and 24 of the lecturers' quarters are
now being supplied with filtered water. The water will
soon be distributed to the areas through suitable pipes.
The drainage scheme for the whole area has not been
taken up, but a scheme is in existence for the hostel and
college blocks and the Hospital.
These works were in some cases carried out depart-
mentally by the University Engineers but the more import-
ant buildings were constructed by experienced contractors.
The plans and bills were scrutinised by distinguished engi-
neers, such as Dewan Bahadur A. V. Ramalinga Aiyer and
Dewan Bahadur N. Swaminatha Iyer, Retired Chief Engi-
neers of the Madras P.W.D. and Rao Bahadur K. V. Natesa
Iyer, Retired Chief Engineer, Travancore State. The admi-
nistrative block was originally designed by Mr. L. M. Chitale
but during execution was modified by Messrs. Edwards Reid
and Booth. The University Engineers in chronological
order are :— Mr. K. Yegnanarayana Sastri, Mr. V. R. Sub-
rahmania Iyer, Mr. S. Rangachariar, Mr. S. P. Raju Aiyer
and Mr. J. Krishnamurthi and the contractors who carried
out the major works are : —Mr. P. Rajabather Mudaliar,
Mr. V. Subrahmania Aiyer, Mr. Kolandaivelu Mudaliar,
Mr. N. Kandaswami Pillai, Rao Saheb S. Sambasivam
Pillai, Ratna Mudaliar and Santanam Aiyar and Messrs.
Gannon and Dunkerley. The Engineer member of the
Syndicate gave technical advice on engineering questions
generally.
23
178
Although the standard of academic work carried out
by the University may be regarded as an important cause
for the prestige of the University, it cannot be denied that
the buildings, roads, gardens and other amenities have also
played a very great part in giving the University the impor-
tance it has attained.
APPENDIX
Building. Cost. Date.
Rupees.
1. Library and Administrative
Buildings .. 3,77,098 1937
2. Guest House . . 64,496 1938
3. Union Hall . . 19,805 1937
4. Music College and Music Hostel 33,258 1937
5. Hostel Blocks, New . . 3,83,939 37-39
6. Pandits' Quarters . . 68,810 38-40
7. Vice-Chancellor's Quarters . . 63,842 1930
8. Lecturers' Quarters . . 1,55,698 30-37
9. Garrages & Tiffin Shed . . 11,160 1939
10. Post & Telegraph Office . . 11,236 1938
11. Professors' Quarters . . 1,44,938 30-37
12. Ladies Club .. 15,000 1936
13. Hospital & an Isolation Ward 26,550 36-37
14. Women Students' Hostel . . 32,160 1938
15. Menials' Quarters . . 33,892 1938
16. College Buildings . . 5,24,305 24, 26, 32
17. Clerks' Quarters . . 10,875 1933
"19,77,062
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAVIDIAN FAMILY
BY
MR, A. CHIDAMBARANATHA CHETTIAR, M.A.,
It is customary in the Science of language to talk of
certain languages as constituting a family. By this meta-
phorical usage it is implied that certain languages, which may
be called sisters, represent so many local developments of
one language which may be regarded as their common
parent. Pushing the figure of speech further one will find
that the languages which stand in the relation of sister to
each other are daughters of the assumed mother. The idea
is that in the course of the development of a language it has
taken upon itself several shapes through the working of
different conditions in different localities and has consequent-
ly received several names. When a close examination of a
number of languages indicates that they participate to a large
extent in a common stock of words or root-elements of words,
an inference is ordinarily made that the languages concerned
may be descended from a common source. A comparison
therefore of word-materials of languages would enable
one in trying to determine the relationship that may exist
between language and language. Because of such resem-
blances as can be explained only on the assumption that the
languages are varied forms of a single older language, a
notion is naturally formed that the languages in question may
be historically related to each other.
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu, Kudagu,
Tuda, Kota, Kurukh or Oraon, Malto or Rajmahal, Kui or
Khond, Gond and Brahui are languages which appear to
180 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
have belonged to the same stock, viz., the Dravidian.
Though the term "Dravidian" is ill-considered, coming as it
does from a foreign source, it has gained such rich currency
and wide-spread usage as a common name for designating
these languages that it is prudent now not to quarrel with
the usage but to allow it to continue.
I shall make a short attempt in this paper simply to
point out how these languages deserve to be brought under
one family. While investigating the word-material of langu-
ages with a view to arriving at a relationship, it is necessary
to take such words only as express familiar and ordinary
things, creatures, operations and family relations and such
words as are indicative of the numerals and pronouns.
Such members of the vocabulary as are used everywhere by
every one almost every day are ot utmost importance from
a philological point of view. "The language' consists to the
philologist", as Dr. T. G. Tucker Gays, "of what is habitually
spoken and habitually understood by the people at large."
Words ordinarily used only by the learned classes or words
of exceptional occurrence such as the strictly technical words
of the arts and sciences are less important in a considera-
tion of the question of ultimate relationship, for these are
members of the vocabulary that are liable to be borrowed
from foreign sources on contact with the foreigner.
Space would permit a comparison only among the chief
languages and therefore Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Mala-
yalam alone would be taken now for the purpose. As words
for familiar and ordinary things the following are found: —
ENGLISH Tamil Telugu Kannada Malayalam
HOUSE vi£u vita
manai mane
il, illam illu illam
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
181
SALT
uppu
uppu
uppu
uppa
IRON
irumpu
inumu
irimba
karumpon
kappina
STONE
kal
kallu
kallu
kalla
HILL
malai
male
mala
kunru
kontfa
TREE
maram
Mranu
mara
maram
che$i
chettu
gi^a
chetfi
FLOWER
pu
puvu
huvu
pu
ARROW
ampu
ampu
ampu
ampa
BOAT
padaku
paqlava
vallam
vallam
to$i
dorp.
toi^i
BONE
enpu
elumpu
emuka
elume
elumpa
BLOOD
neyttor
netturu
netturu
kviruti
kenniru
chora
chennir
It could be shown according to definite rules governing
phonetic changes that these are various forms of the same
word in each case. A iinai "ai" of Tamil ordinarily changes
into a final "e" in Kamiada as in the words "talai" (—head)
and "Karai" (—bank) which become "tale" and "kare".
Thus the change from umanai>; to olmane'1 is explained. UH"
of old is retained in Tamil as it was, whereas it has become
"illu" in Telugu; this can be explained by means of stating
that there was a tendency among certain speakers to affix
a vowel, generally u; to the consonantal ending of words for
the sake of euphony. Witness for instance words such as
kallu, mannu, alu etc. in Telugu standing in correspondence
with Tamil kal, man, al etc.
Among familiar and ordinary things must be included
words relating to the parts of the body and to the Five
Elements.
182
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
English
Tamil
Telugu
Kannada
Malayalam
HEAD
talai
tala
tale
tala
HAND
kai
icheyi
kayi
kai
FOOT
ati
a$ugu
a#
ati
EYE
kan
kannu
kawu
kani^a
EAR
chevi
chevi
kivi
chevi
katu
kata
TOOTH
pal
pallu
haUu
palla
BACK
mudugu
muduga
ven
bennu
bennu
EARTH
nilam
nela
maij.
mannu
mannu
pu^avi
pu^ami
pcxjavi
WATER
nir
nilju
niru
nir
FIRE
neruppu
nippu
ti
ti
AIR
ical
gali
ghaU
karru
katta
SKY
vanam
banu
vanam
VJJJ.
minnu
it could be shown here too that in eacn case the change
is due to tne operation oi certain phonetic principles, i'or
instance, in accordance with the well-known law oi palatali-
sation a primitive "kevi" nas changed into "Chevi" in Tamil,
while Kannada retains a lorm (Kivi) which is truer to the
original. Because oi the ionauess lor aspiration which a
certain set oi speakers developed, "pal'' oi old became "hai"
(and later hailu) even as words such as pattu, puii and
painou have changed into haitu, huii and havu. Due to the
common tendency of eliding a kV sound in medial places as
in erumai (— bulialo) becoming emme in Kannada, Nerunal
becoming Ne^nal in Tamil and Mnna in i'eiugu-Kannada,
iN[eruppu has been changed into i^ippu in Telugu.
Familiar creatures such as cow, fish, elephant and snake
have words in these languages which have similar shapes. A,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
183
mm, Yanai or anai and pambu are found in one shape or the
other in these languages answering to the names* of these
creatures.
Again, such common actions as eating, giving, going etc.,
are expressed almost by similar words: —
Malayalam
tinnu
unnu
taru
kodukka
p5
chin
nilka
tiri
English
Tamil
Telugu
Kannada
EAT
tin
tinu
tinnu
un
GIVE
I
ta
kodu
ichchu
I
kodu
GO
LAUGH
po
naku
chiri
povu
nawu
hogu
nagu
STAND
nil
niluchu
nillu
KNOW
teri
teli
tili
Among words indicating family relations what a re-
markable similarity is found!
English
FATHER
Tamil
tantai
appan
attan
MOTHER tay
ammai
tallai
SISTER akkai
(elder)
Telugu
tandri
appa
amma
talli
akka
Kannada Malayalam
tande
appa
tayi
amma
akka
acKchan
amma
talla
akka
Numerals and pronouns, which are generally persistent
and which therefore are sure to shed much light on deter-
mining the question of relationship, are also found to have
the same or corresponding shapes in these languages.
184
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
English
Tamil
Telugu
Kannada
ONE
onnru
ondu
okati
ondu
TWO
irandu
rendu
eradu
THREE
munru
mudu
muru
FOUR
nalu
nalugu
nalu
nangu
nalgu
nalku
FIVE
aindu
aidu
aidu
aficu
SIX
aru
aru
aru
SEVEN
elu
edu
elu
HUNDRED
nuru
nuru
nuru
I
yan
enu
yan
nan
nenu
nanu
YOU
n!
mvu
nmu
THEY
avar
varu
avaru
Malayalam
onnu
rendu
munnu
nal
afiju
aru
elu
nuru
nan
ni
avar
Each one of the changes noticed in the foregoing sets
of words can be phonologically explained. For instance, by
means of what is known as the principle of compensatory
lengthening, in a word like "avar" which stood as "avaru"
by receiving an euphonic vowel addition at the end,
the initial vowel a migrated from its place and took the
place of the succeeding vowel "a" with an increase in quan-
tity as a matter of compensation for what it had lost. Hence
varu of Telugu and Avar of Tamil are ultimately related.
Though words of the class mentioned above would help
one in determining the relationship, they alone do not suffice
to prove it. If this evidence is corroborated by evidence from
grammatical structure, one could say that these languages
do belong to the same family. The main principle underlying
the grammatical structure of all these languages is what is
called agglutination, i.e., gluing together of elements that
are attachable and detachable at will. This then helps us
in establishing that the languages mentioned before are
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 185
members of the family generally known as the Dravidian. In
order to show how these languages are similar in grammati-
cal structure one sentence will now be cited. The English
sentence "He said, o father, give me my share of the pro-
perty" would be rendered into the four main languages
thus: —
Tamil — Tandaiye, cottil enakku varavendiya parikai
enakku taravendum enran.
Telugu — 6 tandrl, astilo naku vachche palu Yimmani
eheppinadu.
Kannada — Tandeye, astiyalli nanage baratakka
palannu nanage kodu andaga.
Malayalam — Appa, Vastukkalil enikku Varendunna
pahge tarename ennu parannu.
Tandaiye of Tamil and tandeye of Kannada agree in ad-
ding a final e as the vocative. Appa of Malayalam is exact-
ly in line with the other way in which Tamil would form its
vocative, namely, by dropping the final "n" in such places
and affixing instead a. The Telugu tandrl also is analogous
to the formation in Tamil by elongating the final short "i"
as in " talaivi " from "talaivi."
Tamil cottil=cottu+il (the sign of the 7th case);
Telugu asti+lo (Here lo is but an inversion of ul, another
sign of the locative in Tamil); Kannada asti+alli (Here
"alii" is a morphological element derived from an old inde-
pendent word meaning 'that place' and serves very well to
express the idea of the locative) ; Malayalam Vastu+kal+il
(Here kal, the pluralising particle and il, the locative sign
have been glued on to the root-word) .
24
186 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Tamil enakku and Malayalam enikku are but phonetic
variations of the same inflection. It is significant that ku
or gu or ge is the element expressive of the idea of the 4th
case in all these languages. While Tamil and Malayalam
have formed an inflexional base "en" by shortening the root-
vowel in Yan or nan and while Kannada has formed the
base nan from nan by shortening the vowel, Telugu has re-
tained the included vowel intact. So, naku from Telugu na,
nanage from Kannada nan, enakku an enikku from Yan
have been formed as the dative of the first personal singular
pronoun.
Even as "ai" in Tamil "parikai" has been suffixed to
indicate the idea of the accusative or the second case, "e" has
been affixed in the Malayalam word as "parige". Pangu and
pal are identical in meaning. While Kannada has palannu
from pal+annu, Telugu generally uses palu in the sense of
share in the accusative without any affix therefor. This is
in accordance with the usage noticed in other Dravidian
languages which occasionally prefer not to affix any accusa-
tive case-sign to neuter nouns. [E.g. Tarn. Undi Koduttan
~He gave food.] Dr. R. Caldwell, the founder of Dravidian
Philology, remarks "the use of the nominative as the accusa-
tive of neuter nouns is the ordinary and almost universal
colloquial usage of Tamil-Malayalam, and is often found
even in classical compositions In Telugu the use of the
nominative for the accusative is confined to things without
life As far as things without life are concerned,
Telugu adheres to the ordinary Dravidian rules/'
Comparisons and considerations such as these point to
the conclusion that these languages are in the
relation of sister to one another and that they have
sprung from the same mother, which may be designated as
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 187
the Primitive Dravidian. Apart from the fact of history
according to which there was a Dravidian race, the fact that
there is great similarity in the material and method of expres-
sion in these languages renders the existence of a Dravidian
family certain. As the pressing necessity of space compels
me to draw this paper to a close, I would simply conclude by
saying that the subject of study relating to the Dravidian
family of languages deserves further and greater encourage-
ment, for it is sure to shed a flood of light on several dark cor-
ners in the history of thought relating to General linguistics
and thai, as Dr. W. W. Hunter of the Bengal Civil Service
said, it is destined to open the door to the vast linguistic
residue and to furnish the basis of a new Science of
Language.
STATE INTERVENTIONS
BY
V. L. D'SouzA,
Professor of Economics, University oj Mysore.
During the last quarter of a century partly under the
stress of the Great War (1914-1918) and partly under the
stress of the Great Depression (1929-1935) almost every
country has engaged in some form of economic effort to
promote industrial prosperity. It is evident that a good
many of the measures have been in response to temporary
emergencies while others have come to stay. It is worth our
while to review the whole sphere of State action as it stood
at the beginning of the present war and to take note of the
various possibilities for Government intervention in the
economic life of India that such a survey will reveal.
Economic action on the part of the State can take either
of two main forms. In one the Government takes charge
of the whole economic process and operates a planned eco-
nomy. In the ether Government action and private enter-
prise go hand in hand. The U.S.S.R. falls into the first of
these categories. The remaining countries, about 65 in
number fall into the second. We are not concerned at pre-
sent with planned economic systems. Our survey deals
with the methods of State action in capitalistic countries
where private initiative still plays the major part in the
making and marketing of goods.
Even under a system of the most complete laissez-
faire the Government has a certain economic role to play.
189
It is the extension of the role and also its in-
tensification that makes for planned capitalism. There
is a growing belief that it is the duty of the
state to see not only that nobody starves but to en-
sure that the economic machinery of society runs
smoothly and efficiently and that in particular it
affords adequate employment for men and capital
alike. The prevalent notion is that it is necessary for the
state to take over a large measure of social responsibility
and to improve the standard of living of the mass of the
population. State action in the industrial sphere has won
the approval of the Conservative as well as the Liberal.
It is difficult to cover the whole ground of State action
within the limits of a short essay. We can give only the
barest indications of the multitudinous forms of State inter-
vention. We cannot go into the details of any particular
scheme or project but we can make an attempt to see the
movement as a whole or to vary the metaphor, to bring the
different types of action into focus simultaneously.
STATE AID TO INDUSTRY
Even in the days of unadulterated laissez-faire the state
rendered certain indirect aids to industry. Technical assis-
tance such as the provision of business information, experi-
mental farms, research institutes and State insurance had
become a recognized part of official activity. During recent
years financial aid to industry has become a marked feature.
It takes various forms e.g. Government guarantee of the in-
terest on loans and Government participation in the capital
of the concerns. As extreme form is the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation of U.S.A. which has made loans to or
brought shares in industrial corporations and has thus kept
businesses from tottering in a time of economic depression.
190 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The most noteworthy of all types of State aid is the
grant of bounties or subsidies. Even those countries where
the laissez-faire doctrines are deeply entrenched have made
subsidies quite a feature of their budgets. The
Netherlands makes a large allocation every year for finan-
cial assistance to market gardeners, bacon producers and
exporters of dairy produce. Great Britain makes a grant
of £ 3 millions to the growers of sugar-beet while Japan
subsidises the associations of small producers. In addition
there are a great many disguised or veiled forms of bounty:
remission of taxation, reduction of freight charges and
special rates of exchange.
STATE MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRY
One brought up in the school or orthodox economics
scarcely realizes the extent to which Governments are now
taking a hand in the making and marketing of goods. The
old notion that there is no middle way between private enter-
prise and state ownership has been superseded. In practi-
cally every country private undertakings and state enter-
prises are found side by side. The mixture of industrial
activity emanating from the capitalist and the Government
constitutes a new situation.
State intervention in economic life may take one of
many forms. It may amount to the actual manage-
ment of business enterprises by a Government
agency. Industries of key importance such as iron
and steel in Japan and public utilities such as elec-
trical supply in Great Britain have become the proper
subjects for state management. Sweden has made a speci-
ality of State purchase of wholesale drug and medicine
houses while the Government in U.S.A. has created a net-
work of State enterprises, called the Tennessee Valley
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 191
Authority, which serves as a yardstick by which to measure
the costs in similar groups of industries under company
management. The most successful method of State manage-
ment of industry has been the "public corporation" under
which persons directly responsible for the actual administra-
tion of the business are appointed by the State but they,
are left free to run the undertaking in their own way within
the limits prescribed by general policy. The public cor-
poration type of State management is likely to grow in
popularity as it appears to be a happy compromise bet-
ween economic individualism and governmental regimen-
tation.
STATE REGULATION OF OUTPUT
Stale regulation or adjustment) of output involves
price fixing and control of productive capacity. In a system
where private enterprise and State action intermingle,
the adjustment of output becomes a fairly easy problem.
For economic equilibrium the various kinds of goods — capi-
tal goods and consumption goods should be produced in
the right proportions. Whenever there is persistent dispro-
portion in the production of particular commodities the state
has to make the necessary adjustment.
Adjustment of output necessitates direct control on the
part of Government of prices, production and productive
capacity. The control of prices ranges all the way from
general price control over practically all commodities as is
the case in Germany to State action calculated to mitigate
seasonal price changes, as for instance of wheat in Canada
or coffee in Brazil. Apart from price fixing on behalf of the
consumers with which we are not at present concerned,
price determination by the state in the producers' interests
has become almost a normal feature of some administrations.
192 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
A characteristic type of price fixing consists in the setting up
of a price at which the Government itself guarantees to buy
all that is produced as for instance the cereals scheme of
Czecho-Slovakia. Another method of price control is that
the producer sells at the market price, the state making up
the difference between the price obtained and the price
guaranteed e.g. the wheat scheme of Great Britain. Yet
another method, illustrated by the butter scheme of Australia,
is to fix a high price for the home market and subsidise the
exports out of the surplus realized from the domestic con-*
sumers.
Government control of output has also been success-
fully attempted in recent times. We have to bear in mind
that price control and output control are inseparably con-
nected. Whether prices are fixed and the output is left to
adjust itself to the situation or vice versa leads more or
less to the same result, namely the restriction of output,
State regulation of the amount produced has become an
important device though at times it assumes fantastic
shapes. The ploughing-in of over 10 million acres in U.S.A.
in 1933 thereby carrying out a partial destruction of the cot-
ton crop, the burning of coffee in Brazil to an amount exceed-
ing one year's total world consumption and the slaughtering
of cattle in Argentina and Hungary are but sorry examples
of an operation whose primary object ought to be a planned
restriction of output.
Even more important than the control of prices and of
output is the State regulation of productive capacity. Regu-
lation in practice means a reduction to the point where sup-
ply can meet the new demand conditions. Thus in U.S.A. the
Government gives a subsidy for the restriction of wheat and
cotton acreage and the French Government does the same
for the vineyards. In Bulgaria and Czecho-Slovakia the Gov-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 193
ernment prohibits the establishment of new factories or ex-
tensions in certain industries. A number of the industrial
codes under the New Deal prohibit any increase in capital
equipment until demand improves. The restrictionist move-
ment may be carried to great lengths as in Germany where
further investment in some thirty important branches of in-
dustry was forbidden, as it was thought the investment had
already outrun the possible demand.
So much for methods of direct regulation. Government
also exercises indirect control over prices, output and
productive capacity and this kind of control is operated
through associations of producers. The state as in Germany,
might compel the formation of cartels, an important feature
of which is to force the outsiders to join so as to obtain unity
of management and economies of marketing. Or again the
state, as in Poland, might promote schemes of self-govern-
ment in industry by which the majority of producers in a
given industry will have power to frame decisions binding on
the whole body.
Government control creates the need for further and
further measures as in a concentric circle. Control is con-
tagious and a Government which sets about regulating prices,
output and productive capacity will soon discover that there
are hardly any frontiers to its activity. Thus a Government
that determines the price of one product will be called upon,
sooner or later, to determine the prices of connected and
complementary goods. An intervention at any single seg-
ment of the price system can rarely be an isolated act for, its
repercussions spread over a wide area.
Moreover if price is controlled output also must be
controlled and restrictionism tends to grow. Thus the
Government may be obliged to pass a measure to the effect
that f ?lds taken out of rice or wheat cultivation are not used
25
194 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
to grow sugarcane or rye and thus spoil the markets for
these. Neither should the manufacturers, say millers, be
ground between the upper stone of price-fixing regulations
in favour of producers of wheat and the nether stone of
price-fixing regulations in favour of consumers of bread.
These difficulties do not dispense with the idea of State
action but they call for caution and an application of
economic judgment to Government intervention.
STATE ADJUSTMENT OF CONSUMER DEMAND
An analysis of the Great Depression revealed the
existence of an almost infinite capacity to produce and
despite huge populations, an insufficient capacity to
consume. In other words production was running ahead of
effective demand and the people though willing to buy had
not the purchasing power. The best remedy for the
imbalance between output and consumption seemed to be
for the State to create and maintain effective demand.
The measures proposed to keep the industrial system
on an even keel are classified as either contractionist or
expansionist. The contractionist method relies upon a
reduction in prices and costs. In practice it amounts to a
diminution in the total quantity of money in circulation,
increased taxation to balance the budget, diminution in state
expenditure, reduction of interest on loans, scaling down of
farmers' debts and wage-cutting under the initiative of the
Government. Germany, Italy and France have tried Gov-
ernment policies tending in these directions. Their object
is to reduce costs to the level of effective demand.
The expansionist method adopts the opposite line. It
is based on the argument that if more and more purchasing
power were placed in the hands of potential buyers prices
would cover costs, surplus stocks would be sold, the unem-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 195
ployed resources would be brought into active use. The de-
mand would become effective to the point where consumption
would be equal to the wealth produced. Under the influ-
ence of expansionist ideas Great Britain and the countries
of the Sterling Bloc broke off from the gold standard
and allowed their currency to depreciate or become
cheap in terms of foreign currencies, while the Unit-
ed States without actually going off the gold standard
reduced the gold value of her dollar. The expan-
sionist process has been followed up by what is called "open-
market operations", that is to say, by the State Bank pur-
chasing securities with a view to inject additional purchasing
power into the monetary system. The process leads on to
low interest rates and "cheap money" for the businessmen.
The Government then goes a step further and borrows a part
of the abundant supply of purchasing power and uses the
funds for public works, relief schemes and social services,
thus placing new money in the hands of potential buyers of
goods. In Germany the measures for increasing effective
demand were associated with a rigid system of price control
with the result that the whole of the expansionist policy was
directed towards increased activity. The expansionist
ideas are tending to become a part of the permanent techni-
que for business stabilisation.
STATE INTERVENTION IN FOREIGN TRADE.
Government interference in the conduct of international
trade is of the utmost complexity. It takes various
forms and most of these are interconnected with the various
types of State action within the country itself.
The oldest and by far the most important method of
State intervention in foreign trade is the regulation of
imports and exports. On the imports side the chief motive
196
of action appears to be restriction on the entry of foreign
goods, prompted by a variety of considerations such as the
desire to protect home industry from foreign competition,
or as an offset against currency depreciation and dumping
and as a preventive of an adverse balance of payments. The
simple device of the tariff is now supplemented by quotas,
licenses, prohibitions and blocked accounts.
In contrast to the restriction of imports every encour-
agement is given to the exports and among the measures
thereof we may mention export subsidies, State credits to
exporters, assumption by the state of the trading risks and
the setting up of marketing organization under State direc-
tion. While in theory the advantages of free international
exchange are conceded by all, each country overcome by
fear of unemployment, of war and of exchange difficulties
pursues in practice a policy of national self-sufficiency.
Imports are suspect so long as effective demand in the home
market is not sufficient to keep capital and labour reasonably
fully employed.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF RAGHUNATHA SASTRI
PARVATE AND HIS WORKS — BETWEEN
A.D. 1821 AND 1859,
BY
P. K. GODE, M.A,
Curator, B.O.R., Institute, Poona.
According to Satischandra Vidyabhusana1 the date of
Raghunatha Sastri Parvata the author of the Nydyaratna is
"about 1815 A.D." Aufrecht2 records the following Mss of
this commentary: —
"WTflrcrl" a commentary on the Pancavddi Section of
the Gadadhaii by Raghunatha Saslrin. Hall p. 32, B. 4, 24,
Ben. 198, 199, 205, 221. NP. I. 118, 124. Poona 550. Oppert.
190, 653, 1270, 3156, 3267, 5437. II, 7142, 7612, 8262.
Rice. 112."
T'\ a commentary on Gadahara's Pancavada by
Raghunatha Parvata (or R. Sastrin) Hz. 978, p. 84, 1311."
1. History of Indian Logic, Calcutta, 1921, p. 487 —
"92 Raghunatha Sastri (Parvata)
(about 1815 A.D.)
He was a Maratha, who wrote a gloss on Gadddhari
pancavdda, while residing at Poona about 70 years ago." If
Raghunatha lived 70 years ago from A.D. 1921 backwards we
must suppose that he was living in A.D. 1850 or so. Dr. Vidya-
bhusana, however, gives fc about A.D. 1815*' as the date of
Raghunatha. These two dates viz., A.D. 1815 and 1850 will not
contradict each other if we presume that Raghunatha lived, say,
between 1800 and 1850.
2. CC. I, 309.
3. Aufrecht, CC. Ill, 66.
198 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
In the above entries of Aufrecht no reference regard-
ing the date of the author has been recorded. Fitzedward
Hall,4 however, while describing in Ms of the ?*TTOTr*T refers
to its author as '"Raghunatha Sastrin Parvatikara, late of
the Poona College" As Hall's Bibliography was published
at Calcutta in 1859, he appears to have had some know-
ledge of Raghimatha Sastri and his association with the
Poona College earlier than A.D. 1859. Hall also refers to a
lithograph copy of the Nydyaratna made at Bombay in
A.D. 1843. It appears that another lithograph copy5 was
4. Bibliography, Calcutta, 1859 — HP!! was "Inspector of
Public Instruction of Saugor and Nerbudda territories." He des-
cribes a Ms of the WTTTT?^ as follows: "Nvanaralna — A Com-
mentary on the PancavadT Sub-section of No. XLI by Raghunatha
Sastri Parvatikara, late of the Poona College. This work was
lithographed in Bombay in the Saka year 1765 or A.D. 1843;
leaves 316 of the Ms. form, and four leaves of emendations,"
5. This copy is found in the Visramba^ Collection at the
B.O.R. Institute (Govt. Mss.). It bears the number 550 of
Visrdma I and begins as follows : —
4C sftiruterw ^JT: ii ^JTre^^fTT^r TO* \\
II I ll
n ^ n
I
n ^i
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 199
made at Poona from this Bombay edition of A.D. 1843 in
Saka 1772— A.D. 1850 as will be seen from the colophon of
the Poona lithograph edition.6 But a closer study of this
6. Ms. No. 550 of Visrama I ends as follows: —folio 330
u ^ li
: n « n
II ^ II
n ^ n
«nraf i mto
The chronogram fg 53^ ^j^5^ = Saka 1772 = >1.D. 1850 which is
the year of this Poona (<joiqcft»|) lithograph.
200 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
colophon shows that Raghunatha composed the Nyaya-
ratna in Saka 1765 represented by .the chronogram
" 3fr<JT, Tf , ^f?, £f " in verse 6 at the end of the work.
It is possible therefore, that Hall may have confused the
date of composition of the Nydyaratna viz., Saka 1765 or
A.D. 1843 with the date of trie lithograpii copy. At any rate
we have to believe in the testimony oi the author who
specifies the year (Saka 1765) called "tiobtiakrt" and also
the month (Bhddraka or Bhddrapada) .
In view of the above date of composition of Raghu-
natha' s Nyayaralna, viz., A.D. 1843, we find it impossible
to accept the date of Raghunatha's death given by Pt.
Critrava Sastri7 in his Caritrakosa viz., "about A.D. 1820."
7. Madkyayugma Carilra-kosa, Poona, 1937, p. 675 — a;racff$i
STT^rt q^cT— (*$<<£ &• ^H* gut?:) "—He favoured intermarriages
between the bramnin sub-castes, viz., Deshasthds, Kokanasthas
and Karhadas. In fact he married girls belonging to these castes.
He took sides in the dispute in the Husabinis iamily of Poona,
which resulted in some scuffle. Raghunatha was prosecuted and
sentenced to simple imprisonment for some years. During his
imprisonment he composed a work called "^T^cqrf «rao|" which
is a commentary on the Bhagavadyua. 'Ihis work has been pub-
lished by the Anandashram, Poona, in their series. He wrote
a commentary on the 9Tf !«rcfcqT3TT3- He wrote also a work called
. He was a pupil of the celebrated *;TO3rei$ " (trans-
lation mine) .
The editor has not specified the source of the above informa-
tion. He appears to think that r^r^^is different from TT?T*JRt-
- In fact ?qnrarc^r is the name of this^^f. Then again
is different from the Marathi commentary on the
Bhagavadglid called the ^rfeffo which Mr. B. G. Tilak read
out to his father during the latter's illness in A.D. 1872, in which
year Mr. Tilak was only 16 years old (Vide
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 201
Hall's remark of A.D. 1859 viz., "late of the Poona College,"
if considered along with (1) A.D. 1843 the date of composi-
tion of the *mzK<a and (2) A.D. 1850 the date of the
Poona litho-copy of the ssrW^T made at the (Vi6ra-
mabag) Pathasala, leads us to infer that the literary
activity of Raghunatha may have commenced about
A.D. 1820, the year about which Pt. Chitrav Sastri states
he was dead . Perhaps Raghunatha may have been a teacher
in the Visrambag Patha-Sala, from which he may havfe
retired aboui 1859 A.D. Apparently Hall knew his con-
nection with the Poona College viz., the Visrambag Patha-
sala before A.D. 1859-
In the Nydyaratna (verse 4 at the beginning and colo-
phon) Raghunatha definitely states that he was the pupil of
^rasTTSTT^ft who is called "tftffar^S'TSIT^ "• I am
inclined to identify this ^TSRT^Tqr with u
who was appointed by the Bombay Government
as the first Principal of this Sanskrit College at
Vishrambag, Poona according to a letter8 dated 6th Octo-
ber, 1821. This tiqqnm}1 issued Rules and Regulations
for the guidance of teachers and students of the Sanskrit
8. Vide, p. 45 of Peshwa Dajtar Selections (No. 42—1934).
The teachers appointed by Government for the Sanskrit
College were:- (^ ftttVZ Wtt (%)
qra;*r (y)3?TOi^i^ (for sr^rc, ro^Fr) ft) *rsrarrat$ (for
clause 10 of this letter reads :—
26
202 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
College under his own signature in a document9 dated
19th July 1322. In another document10 dated 17th July 1837
(along with ?*To5Tjft<tcT m<|, 3?r*ir wewta, srr*ft<fa
is referred to as advising Maharaja Pratapsinh of
Satara to confess the charges brought against him.
Messrs. Natu, Parasnis and Bandre and Raghavacarya
were pro-Government persons and consequently their
advice was refused by the Raja of Satara who was not pre-
pared to do anything against his conscience.
I am inclined to suppose that Raghunatha the author of
the «rm^ was a pupil of STsraTsrw the first Principal
of the Vishrambag College which was started in A.D. 1821.
u <ra*rrsiT^" taught ?3TT in this College and produced able
pupils like our Raghunatha the author of the wrro*qr and
5Jfrc<JT3*rear. The chronology of the guru and the pupil
may now be represented as follows : —
AD.
1821— (6th October)- -Poona Sanskrit College started
by Government with ^TsrapSTTsf * as its
Principal, and teacher in «TW.
^jsprra <T^ possibly joined at this time
the above College as a student and studied
under
9. P. D. No. 42 (p. 49ff), Letter No. 9 dated 19—7—1822
srr% ?m
(P. 51)
fir n
10. Ibid., p. 106— Letter No. 56 dated 17-7-1837,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 203
1821— (19th July)— *T5T*T*Tq' issued Rules and Regu-
lations for the teachers and students of. the
College.
1837— (17th July)— ^rasnsmT advises the Raja
Pratapsinh to confess charges against him.
1843— (Month of Bhddrapada)— ?^TO nqft the
pupil of ?!R3r^Tsr composed his «JFWW-
1850— A litho-copy of ?gm*sT is prepared at the
litho press of the College "
1859 — Fitzedward Hall publishes his Bibliography at
Calcutta in which he refers to
as "late of the Poona College".
1872— Lokamanya B. G. Tilak reads out
VTTTrfeffer (commentary on Gita in Marathi)
to his father in his last illness.11
The above chronology of Raghunatha's life and works
is reconstructed on the basis of the Nyayaratna,12 the letters
11, Vide infra, foot-note 14.
12. In verse 3 at the beginning of ^TPTT^1 our author
refers to S^uttjgft - Again in verse 3 at the end of this work we
find this work referred to as '^Tttrrflgft'1 This work is a gloss on
TT^TO^ called ^ratf*»ffar by f;s<Tm£ STlf, a Maratha residing
at Benares. This gloss has been printed in Telugu characters.
S. Vidyabhusana states that fjtoivr^1 died about 150 years ago,"
i.e., about A.D. 1770. (See p. 486 of His. of Ind. Logic). If
this d?te is correct Raghunatha's reference to ^TT^nrVT^t *n
A.D. 1843 appears to have been made after about 133 years from
the death of $t
204 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
in the Peshwa Daftar and Fitzedward Hall's remarks. We
must now see what evidence is furnished by another work
of Raghunatha viz., ST^FTCTT^nn represented by some
Mss in the Catalogus Catalogorum of Aufrecht13 and by the
printed edition of the work in the Anandashrama Sanskrit
Series. It appears that Raghunatha composed a work in
Marathi also. This work is a commentary in Marathi prose
on the Bhagavadglta called the WTffe^fa and it will
be of special interest to us in view of the fact that Loka-
manya B. G. Tilak's first contact with the Gita literature
which later blossomed forth into his monumental work
Gltdrahasya in Marathi, began with the reading of Raghu-
natha's wrcrrfafffT in AD. 1872 during the last illness
of Mr. Tilak's father14 as stated by him in the Gltdrahasya
itself. In the Catalogue of Gujarat Mss by Biihler
13. CCI, 625— "STT^^T^jq-iJT'' Vedanta, by Raghunatha B. 4.
98. Oppert 3226.11.5575.8374."
"B. 4.98 "^=p. 98 of Buhler's Catalogue of Gujarat Mss,
Fasc. IV; Bombay (1873). Ms. No. 346—
5T5rc<IT^VfqroT by ?!S[5rr*T) Folios 311 in the
possession of ^fcfarofJT ^[| °f Bhavanagar.
14. Gitarahasya, Prastavana (p. 1) dated A.D. 1915—
«FPW 'Clf^ etc-" Evidently Mr. Tilak's love for the
Gita began at the age of 16 on a perusal of Raghunatha'svfTq-tf^^f^r.
I am thankful to Mr. Achwal of Poona for drawing my attention
to this important reference.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 205
published in 1873 he notes a Ms of
in the possession of a gentleman at Bhavanagar. It would
thus be seen that the chronology of the works of
our author so far known is capable of being represented as
follows: —
— Composed in A.D. 1843.
15— Composed before A.D. 1872.
— Composed before A.D. 1873.
15. Bhagavadglta with srrerfeffo of
Printed in the Vrttaprasaraka Press of Naro Appaji
Godbole, Sadashiv Peth, Poona, Saka 1809 (—A.D. 1887). This
Maratjhi Commentary begins with 9 Sanskrit verses as follows : —
HTTOT an^l I^f: $wijjg II ? II
rfq ^ i
II R II
n \ \\
W feroft [«R ^m^RR^R "I I
The last verse, viz., verse 9 in the above extract is exactly identi-
cal with verse 4 at the beginning of rgrq^ . From verse 4 we
know that ^q^3[ was the father of
The commentary ends as follows : —
u
206
It will be seen from the data recorded above that Raghu-
natha Sastri, the son of Ramacandra Parvate, flourished
between A.D. 1821 and 1859 during the time of English
patronage of Sanskrit learning at Poona. The view of
Dr. Satischandra Vidyabhusan that this author flourished
"about 1815" has been also refuted on documentary evid-
ence. In the same manner the statement of Pandit Chitrav
gastri that our author "died about 1820" is incorrect be-
cause it is not supported by any document. Moreover,
Raghunatha himself states that he composed his Nyayaratna
in Saka 1765 i.e. in A.D. 1843. The present paper amply
illustrates how our knowledge of authors and their works
even of the last century is most inaccurate owing to the
want of proper historical reconstruction on the strength of
reliable documentary evidence.
: II
SPORTS AND GAMES AT ANNAMALAINAGAR
BY
L. K. GOVINDARAJULU, B.A., B.L.
The University has been the centre of considerable
athletic activities since its very foundation in 1929. A
sound tradition of outdoor activities had already been set
up in this place by the Sri Minakshi College, thanks to the
far-sighted policy of the Principal, and the munificent
patronage of the Rajah Sahib of Chettinad, the Manager.
Cricket for lovers of the King of Games, Football and
Hockey for the hardy and fleet-footed, Badminton and
Volleyball for the less ambitious but active students, were
all well-established games at the time the Universiy came
into being.
With the inception of the University, a programme of
compulsory physical activities for all students was intro-
duced, and every able-bodied student is required by the
regulations to play some game or other of his own choice.
Facilities have accordingly been provided for a very large
variety of games and sports; and as many as fourteen clubs
now form the Athletic Association of the University.
Daily, the undergraduates may be seen taking part in the
following games and sports activities : badminton, basket-
ball, cricket, football, hockey, playground-baseball, quoits,
tennikoit, tennis, volleyball, boxing, heavy gymnastics,
group games of all types, and indigenous games. To these
amenities are to be added shortly two very popular and
useful kinds of sport, boating and swimming.
208 RAJAH SIR AWWAMALAI CHETTIAR
We owe all this great array of activities to the far-
sightedness and generosity of the Founder-Pro-Chancellor,
whose interest in every aspect of modern education is well
known. It is he who chose this " solitary, solubrious " and
spacious corner of South Arcot for this famous seat of learn-
ing and art. It is he who planned its rapid development
from a wide and barren sea of sand and swamp into a small
paradise of gardens, mansions and playfields. Fields had
to be raised and levelled, tanks, ponds and hollows filled
up, and thousands of gaunt, ugly and useless trees felled
down in order that the wide acres we now have could be
used either for the active and healthy recreation of the
undergraduates or for the creation of beautiful parks in
which the pensive student may amble at will. The cost of
all this was indeed counted ; but, though high, it has been
willingly and cheerfully met in order that this place may
become a great and worthy centre of learning in Tamil Nad.
The Raja Sahib has given this place of his best, even
in respect of games and sports. He has endowed attractive
and valuable trophies, and for the award of these, annually
inter-collegiate and inter-club tournaments are conducted
in athletics, cricket and tennis. A big prize is annually
given in his name to the best all-round student distinguish-
ing himself in the sports and games competitions of the
year. The amenities for boating now being added are
entirely due to his kindly interest and guidance. That his
interest in athletic activities as a means of education is
great and sincere is further shown by a magnificent gift he
has recently made to the Inter-University Board of India
of a large and artistic trophy for Inter-University Athle-
tics.
To the facilities we possess for games at the Univer-
sity, its numerous and spacious playfields, the large
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 209
pavilion, office-rooms for the staff, the boat canal and the
boat-house, we owe a great deal to the successive Vice-
Chancellors, Dewan Bahadur S. E. Runganadhan, the
Right Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastri and Sir K. V. Reddi.
These are due to their benign and active interest in games
and sports. Physical activities at this place have also
derived immense encouragement from the youthful and
valuable co-operation of members of the Teaching Staff
who have actively participated in the play of the under-
graduates, and assisted them in its organisation and
conduct.
Thus, sports and games have been a marked feature
of our University life here. To the Founder who has made
all this possible, may God be pleased to give a long life
of service and ever-lasting happiness.
27
KARNA'S BURDEN
BY
H. L. HARIYAPPA, M.A.
This short play which is ascribed to the authorship of
the celebrated Sanskrit dramatist Bhasa glorifies Kama
who figures as one of the great heroes of the Mahabharata.
It is as exquisite as it is short. The chief theme
is Kama's bounty which knew no bounds and which, for the
very reason, made his name for ever "like the Sun, the
Moon, the Himavan and the Ocean." To-day Kama's name
is a household word signifying limitless generosity.
Our dramatist however has, in this little piece of
hardly half an hour's performance, portrayed the hero with
a rare insight into the human mind. Kama's generosity
was not an accident; it was not a freak of his nature. We
find it fully supported by many a noble quality which makes
him majestic as well as magnanimous. He was high born,
valiant in fight and just and honest in conduct. But one
thing was against him and that was Fate. He was Kunti's
first born child by favour of the Sun-God. No more auspi-
cious circumstance is needed for one's prosperity, but for
Kama it proved otherwise. For fear of scandal Kunti cast
the baby into the river. A charioteer, Adhiratha by name,
rescued the child and his wife Radha became the foster-
mother. Thus nobody could tell Kama's lineage. In the
eyes of the world he was low born with no stake in society.
But his personality and attainments were so irresistible that
they caught the fancy of Duryodhana who elevated him to
Kingship. No two friends could be more affectionate and
true to each other. But in the scheme of the Mahabharata,
211
this friendship proved fatal to Kama. He came to be as
much hated and despised as Duryodhana himself by friends
and foes alike. How could a base born son of a charioteer
enjoy such confidence with the King ? Hence he should be
humiliated — that is how he was looked down upon even by
Duryodhana's supporters. And what about his generosity?
Even this great virtue which the world praises so much
turned out to be the blunder of his life. His own mother
Kunti took advantage of it and extracted a promise that he
would not kill the Pandavas except on* and that he would
not use the same weapon against a person a second time.
No less than Indra played the trick on him to the utter dis-
regard of all ethical principles.
It is indeed vain to suppose that Kama was all virtue
and that ms end was thoroughly undeserved ; for, how can
he be exonerated from the lalsehood that he uttered, quite
consciously, before Jamadagni's son ? It may be his ex-
cessive enthusiasm to learn at the feet of the eminent sage
or it may be a boyish wantonness that encouraged him to
utter the lie. Nevertheless, it is an error which merited
the sage's curse and which thereafter steadily worked the
nemesis of our hero. Kama however reconciled himself to
the unfortunate incident. He was consecrated on the throne
of the Anga country, became famous for his skill in archery
and valour in war and basked in the sunshine of Duryo-
dhana's friendship.
Inspite of all the glory he earned, Kama developed a
rather pessimistic outlook. He was inwardly smitten with
remorse on account of his early misfortune. His education
and training ended in the fatal curse of Parasurama. In
life, too, he came to be associated with wickedness. Kunti,
Bhisma, Krishna and others chose psychological moments
to bring home to Kama that the Pandavas were his younger
212 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
brothers and thai he was only out to kill his kith and kin.
These crucial incidents in his life swayed heavily upon the
mind resulting in an attitude of diffidence which ever and
anon oppressed him. He often seemed to betray a deplor-
able weakness of will as much as magnanimity of nature.
At ail events, therefore, Kama's is a great personality
endowed with manly qualities and divine splendour. By
the decree ol destiny only his magnificent life turned out to
be a tragedy. Truly his is an instance of the tragic hero as
conceived by the Grlbks ; and Karnabhara can be described
as a tragedy with all the appeal of its technique. Recently
however, Mr. Pusaiker in his Bhasa — A Sludy has ex-
pressed a view dillering from the above opinion. He would
not concede the title of a tragedy to the play tnough he is
willing to perceive l'' a pathetic note pervading the whole
play/7 He would have us further interpret the title Karna-
bhara as follows :
This appears to be a very far fetched explanation of the title
which in simple terms means " Kama's Burden "
(JWl «K:, 3Hte9 W TOWLI) whicil easily reminds us of
Kama's task or responsibility as commander of Duryo-
dhana's forces ; he has also a friendly duty to dis-
charge, that is to secure victory for Duryodhana.
The title further suggests the heavy handicap under which
the hero has had to fight the battle. The Sahrdaya
cannot indeed afford to ignore the tragic appeal of Kama's
character as brought out in the little play. The technical
aspect of tragedy too is clear enough. It may however be
urged that the theme of the play is the gift of the arjtnour
and the ear-rings, not Kama's end. True, that is the pri-
mary incident that is related in the piece, a large portion
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 213
of which is taken up by the episode. But ponder over it
with due regard to the background on which it has been set.
The sentiment of pathos is overwhelming. Kama finally
bids Salya drive the chariot to where Arjuna is. That is
enough to suggest the end of the great warrior. Need it be
actually included in the play ? We know that it is his final
fight. The greatness and majesty of his personality have
already been killed ; only his mortal frame marches to the
field to perish. Indeed, when fates are against what can
poor souls do ?
Tragic as his end was, Kama's fame will endure till the
end of creation. The world has forgotten all that was
possibly bad in him. His supreme self-sacrifice and unstint-
ing generosity will stand unsurpassed for ever. Both by
example and precept he has taught the world the spirit of
sacrifice in these memorable words :
frraftf
|| (Verse 22)
As Time lapses, learning fades, trees fall though deep-rooted
and lakes dry up. But what is sacrificed and what is given
will remain for ever. And again
^3 3°n ^ II (Verse 17)
After all, man ought to strive in pursuit of Dharma. King's
fortunes are wavering as the serpent's tongue. Therefore,
in solely promoting public weal, while lives are lost, virtues
will endure.
214 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
KARNA'S BURDEN
(The preliminary worship over, enter the Stage-
Director immediately)
Stage-Director :
May God Vishnu (Bearer of Fortune)
grant you prosperity — Vishnu, the
slayer of gods' hostile hosts, whose
Man-Lion form, men, women, gods,
demons and the denizens of the nether-worlds
beheld with amazement and who
ripped open the bosom of the demon-king
with his axe-edged claws. 1
This is what I would submit to the honourable gentlemen.
Hark ! what is it I hear something like a noise while I am
engaged in making an announcement ? Well, I'll see.
(In the wings)
Tell, O tell His Majesty the King of Anga.
Stage-Director :
Well, I understand :
In the tumult of battle,
the servant perplexed, with
hands folded, reports to Kama
under Duryodhana's command. 2
(ExitX
End of the Prologue
(Enter the Soldier)
Soldier : Tell, 0 tell his Majesty King of Anga that
the hour of battle is nigh.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 215
With elephants, horses and
chariots, arranged in battle under
Partha's banner, the lion-like
Kings in glee send forth their lion-roar ;
and he of the serpent-banner,
world-famed warrior apprised of
the situation, has set out in haste
to battle which is dreadful with
the enemies' war-cries. 3
(Stepping forward and looking about) Aye, here is
the Anga King sallying out of his mansion. Accoutred in
full, he hies this way with King Salya. But what turmoil
of heart, never before felt, for one who is known for his
valour and who is prominent in the feast of war ! For he —
conspicuous by his dazzling brilliance,
counted the first in battle and prowess,
the skilled one arrives with
sadness overcome. Kama in his
native splendour now appears like the
summer sun besieged by clusters of clouds. 4
Let me keep aside (Exit)
(Enter as described Kama with Salya)
Kama : Not so : will these kings who
cross my arrows' path ever
have life left in them ?
Good must be done to the Kauravas
on the battle-front ; only
Dhananjaya must be seen. 5
King Salya, pray, steer my chariot straight to the place
where Arjuna is.
216 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Salya: Certainly (steers).
Kama : How strange !
In this hour of battle,
a sense of oppression lies heavy
on the mind even of me whose
prowess in great wars is like
Yama's in rage-wars
in which soldiers, horses,
elephants and chariots are hacked to
pieces by volleys of arrows on either side 6
How hard !
First-born of Kunti was I, then known
to the world as a Radba's son ;
and that these Pandavas —
Yudhishthira and others — are but
younger brothers to me ! 7
Now has befallen the moment
that augurs well for mo.
The great day is come.
But alack, vain is the
weapon I learnt to wield ;
and besides am I prevented
by my mother's words. 8
0 King of Madra, pray listen to the story of my
weapons.
Salya : I am eager too to hear the story.
Kama : Once before I went to Jamadagni's son.
Salya : What then ?
Kama : Then —
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
217
Salya :
Kama
Salya :
Kama :
Salya :
Kama :
Salya :
Kama :
Salya :
Kama :
Salya :
28
going thither I bowed
and humbly stood before
the great sage, crest of the
Bhrigu race and foe
of the Kshatriyas, with matted
locks tawny like the lightning —
creeper, and bearing an axe
enveloped by the halo of its
radiance.
And then.
Then Jamadagni's son blessed me and asked
— who art thou ? and what brought thee
hither ?
And then.
' Holy Sire, I desire to be instructed in all
the weapons ' said I.
And then.
Then spoke the sage ' Only to the Brahmans
will I impart instruction, not to the
Kshatriyas.'
Yes, there is that old enmity that the sage
bears to those of the Kshatriya race.
Then?
I averred I was not a Kshatriya, and began
to take lessons.
Then :
Then after some time, I once went with my
teacher to fetch fruits, roots, flowers,
dry twigs and kusa grass. Weary with
wandering in the woods, the master fell
asleep on my lap.
And then.
218 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Kama : Then —
A certain insect witH a sting hard as
diamond
unfortunately bored both my thighs ;
with fortitude however, did I endure
the pain, lest I
disturb f my master's slumber. Wet
with
blood he woke up suddenly and
found me out.
Inflamed with rage, he cursed me —
let thy weapons fail thee in thy hour of
need.
Salya : Alas, the holy sage spoke sternly.
Kama : But let us verify the story of the weapons.
(Doing so")
These weapons seem to be powerless !
Besides —
With eyes blinded by despair
faltering again and again having lost
control, these steeds,
and these elephants too — with icher
smelling like the Saptacchada — seem to
forebode retreat in battle. 11
The conches and the drums have also been
silent !
Salya : 'Tis hard indeed !
Kama : King Salya, enough, enough with this des-
pondency.
Killed in battle one attains heaven ;
victorious, of course, one wins glory. Both
are highly commended in the world. Hence,
to fight is not in vain. 12
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 219
And Again —
these steeds of excellent Kamboja breed
have never disappointed my hopes in
wars. In speed they are equal to
the King of Birds.
Surely will they protect us if need be at all.
13
Prosperity be to the kine and Brahmans ; Prosperity
be to virtuous wives ; Prosperity be to warriors who
do not retreat in battles and good luck be to me whose
hour is come. Here I am, pleased.
I will straightway rush
to the Pandavas' fierce
battle-front and capture King
Dharma, famed for many virtues.
And felling Arjuna with my swift
arrows will I make the field
easy of access even as a forest
when the lion is killed. 14
King Salya, we shall mount chariot.
Salya : Certainly. (Both feign mounting the chariot)
Kama : King Salya, pray steer my chariot to thet
place where Arjuna is.
(In the wings.)
O Kama, a great favour do I beg of thee.
Kama : (Listening) Aye, it is a powerful voice !
Surely a nobleman he, not a mere Brahman,
as there is great majesty. Hearing his sweet
and dignified voice, these courses of mine,
losing control over their bodies,
stop movement all on a sudden. They
220 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
stand, as in a picture, with ears erect, eyes
steady and
the forehead winding to a side with the
neck. 15
Call the Brahman. No, no. I will myself call
him .
Your worship, this way please.
(Enter Indra in the guise of a Brahman)
Sakra :
Karna :
Sakra
Karna
0 Clouds, return ye with the Sun. (Approch-
ing Karna) O Karna, a great favour do I
beg of thee.
1 am very pleased, Your Worship.
I am now to be counted among the
blessed in the world. Here do I bow to
you —
I, Karna, whose lotus-feet are
illumined by the gems of the coronets of
kings
but whose crown is now hallowed by
the dust of a worthy Brahman's feet. 16
(To himself) what shall I say now ? Should
I say ' live long ' long will he live. Should I
not, he would scorn me as a fool. Avoiding
both what then shall I say ? Well, I have it.
(Aloud) O Karna, as the sun, the moon, the
Himavan, the ocean, let thy fame endure.
Holy sage, would you not wish to say ' live
long ' ? Rather this alone is worthy. For —
[After all, man ought to strive in pursuit of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Sakra :
Kama
Sakra :
Kama
Sakra :
Kama
Dharma.J King's fortunes are wavering as
the serpent's tongue. Therefore in solely
promoting public weal, while lives are lost,
virtues will endure. 17
Your worship, what would you desire and what
may I offer you ?
A great favour do 1 beg of thee.
Yes, I will grant you the great favour. Pray
listen to what riches I have.
I would confer upon thee a thousand cows
excellent and sacred, with horns decked
with gold ; young, beautiful and much
coveted by those in need ; yielding a stream
of nectar-like milk, after their calves are
suckled to contentment 18
Cows a thousand ! Their milk 1 may quaff
for a while. No, Karna, I do not need.
Your Holiness would not have it. Pray listen
to this.
I would at once give away thousands of
steeds of excellent quality comparable to
those of the sun. As instruments to
kingly fortune they deserve to be highly
regarded by the princes; their mettle is
tested in battle ; and born as they
are of the famous Kamboja breed, they
equal the very Wind in velocity. 19
Horse ? For a while I ride on it. No Karna,
I will not have it.
Your worship won't have it, Pray listen yet
further.
222 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
I would give you many a herd of these
elephants, of tusks and toe-nails shining,
able to rout the enemy in battle. Their
temples streaming with ichor, the bees
gather about them in
swarms. Further, they would look
like a huge range of mountains and
trumpet deep and resonant as the clouds.
20
Sakra : Elephant ? for a moment would I ride. I
like not, Kama, I like not.
Kama : Your holiness wouldn't have that either.
Pray, listen again. Gold beyond count, I
would give you.
Safcra : I take and go. (Pacing some distance) No,
I like not Karna, I like not.
Kama : Then will I conquer the Earth and give you.
Sakra : What shall I do with the Earth ?
Kama : Then, I would make over to you the fruit of
Agnishtoma.
Sakra : What is the use of the fruit of Agnishtoma ?
Kama : Then, I give you my head.
Sakra : Alas, Alas !
Kama : Fear not, fear npt. Pardon me, Holy Sir,
pray, listen yet.
Born with my own person, this armour
is protection to my body. Neither
gods nor demons could pierce it
with all their weapons. Yet I would
with pleasure part with the armour
and also this pair of ear-rings
should your worship so desire. 21
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
223
Sakra : (Gleefully) Give, do give,
Kama : (To himself). This after all was his end and
aim. Could it be the cunning of that highly
deceitful Krishna ? May be. Fie ! It is un-
worthy to bewail what is past. There is no
doubt. (Aloud) Pray accept.
Salya : Give not, O King of Anga, give not.
Kama : Don't you prevent me, King Salya. Look
With the lapse of time, learning suffers
decay, trees fall though well-rooted ;
water even in springs and lakes dries up
But what is sacrificed (into the fire)
and what is gifted away (to the needy)
will remain for ever. 22
Hence, please accept, (tears open and gives).
Sakra : (To himself after taking) Well, the two
things have been taken. I have thus accom-
plished what all the gods proposed to do for
Arjuna's victory. Let me now mount the
Airavata and witness the grand duel between
Arjuna and Kama. (Exit.)
Sailya : 0 King of Anga, pity thou art deceived.
Kama : By whom ?
Salya : By Sakra.
Kama : Not indeed. Sakra, on the contrary, has
been deceived by me. Because
With offerings at many a sacrifice the
twice-born seek to propitiate him.
Hosts of demons are crushed by him ;
he punished Paka. Constant patting
on the back of the divine elephant has
224
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAE
hardened his fingers. Arjuna is his
son. Such a one has, through me,
gained his purpose !
(Enter divine messenger in a Brahman's garb)
23
Divine Messenger : O Kama, thou hast been blessed
by Purandara who regrets for having taken
away the armour and the ear-rings. Pray,
accept this unfailing missile, called Vimala,
to slay one of the Pandavas.
Kama : Fie ! I do not accept anything in return for
my gift.
Divine Messenger : Would you not accept by the
word of a Brahman ?
Kama : Word of a Brahman ? Never before have I
transgressed. When may I have it ?
Divine Messenger : Whenever you think of it, you
have it.
Kama : Very well. I am beholden. Dost thou return.
Divine Messenger : Certainly. (Exit.)
Kama : King Salya, let us mount the chariot.
Salya : Certainly. (They jeign mounting the chariot.)
Kama : Aye, I hear something like a noise. What
could it be ?
It is the blast of the conch, resembling
the roar of the Ocean of Doom.
Is it Krishna's ? It may not be. It
is Arjuna's. Enraged at the defeat
of Yudhishtira, indeed, Arjuna will
fight with all his might, 24
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 225
King Salya, pray, steer my chariot to the place
where Arjuna is.
Salya : Certainly.
(Epilogue)
May prosperity reign everywhere.
May adversity vanish for all time.
May our Sovereign full of
Kingly virtue, alone, rule
the Earth.
(Exeunt.)
FINIS.
29
THE LOVE LETTERS OF RICHARD STEELE
BY
K. P. KARUNAKARA MENON, M.A.
Steele, the father of the periodical essay, the collabo-
rator of Addison in the Taller and the Spectator is a familiar
figure, but Steele the passionate, faulty but loyal-hearted
lover, the author of the exquisite letters to his wife, is com-
paratively unknown. Of the great love-letter writers in
English Steele alone represents the typical eager wooer and
devoted husband, "hoping and worshipping doubting and
quarrelling — now in the seventh heaven of delight, now
crying in outer darkness — always thinking of the beloved
with a boy's heart and a man's care."
The object of his love is Mary Scurlock, a Welsh lady
of some property and considerable personal attraction. "She
was a brunette, with a rather high forehead, the height of
which was ingeniously broken by two short locks upon the
temples. Moreover, she had distinctly fine eyes, and a
mouth which, in its normal state must have been arch and
pretty." Steele falls a victim to her charms within a short
time after the death of his first wife who, on his own autho-
rity, "had so extreme a value for him, that she, by fine,
conveyed to him her whole estate." The passion is recipro-
cated by Miss Scurlock, who, though less impulsive than
her wooer, is not less keen on the marriage. The letter that
she wrote to her mother seeking the latter's consent and
blessing reveals her opinion of Steele.
"But he has a competency in worldly goods to make
easy, with a mind so richly adorned as to exceed an
227
equivalent to the greatest estate in the world, in my
opinion: in short, his person is what I like; his temper
is what I am sure will make you, as well as myself
perfectly happy, if the respect of a lover, with ths
tender fondness of a dutiful son, can make you so; and,
for his understanding and morals, I refer you to his
'Christian Hero' which I remember you seemed to ap-
prove What I desire is, your consent and blessing
to my putting it out of my power to delay, and so per-
haps to lose, my first and only inclination; for I shall
never meet with a prospect of happiness if this should
vanish."
Steele is a man of transparent sincerity. To affectation
of every kind he is a total stranger. He repudiates the arti-
ficial language of romance from the first. "I shall affect
plainness and sincerity in my discourse to you, as much as
other lovers do perplexity and rapture. Instead of saying,
1 shall die for you/ I profess I should be glad to live my life
with you/' But the ardour of his passion gushes out in words
throbbing with emotion. Like all fervent lovers he looks
upon his beloved as a goddess, and his union with her as the
consummation of human felicity.
"You are so good as to let me know I shall have the
honour of seeing you when I next come here. I will
live upon that expectation, and mediate on your per-
fections till that happy hour. The vainest woman upon
earth never saw in her glasse half the attraction which
I view in you. Your air, your shape, your every
glance, motion, and gesture, have such peculiar graces,
that you possess my whole soul, and I know no life but
in the hopes of your approbation: I know not what to
say, but that I love you with the sincerest passion that
ever entered the heart of man,"
22g RAJAH SIR AJVJVAMALAI CHETTIAR
He interrupts her sabbath meditations to tell her in a
letter that "there is nothing but Heaven itself which I prefer
to your love which shall be the pursuit of my life." Every
moment of separation from her is torture to him, and he is
so full of her that " his books are blank paper, and his
friends intruders."
"Madam.
I lay down last night with yr image in my thoughts,
and have awak'd this morning in the same contempla-
tion. The pleasing transport with which I'me delighted,
has a sweetness in it, attended with a train of ten thou-
sand soft desires, anxieties, and cares. The day arises
on my hopes with new brightness; youth, beauty, and
innocence, are the charming objects that steal me from
myself, and give me joys above the reach of ambition,
pride, or glory. Believe me, fair one, to throw myself
at yr feet is giving myself the highest bliss I know on
earth."
His was a whirlwind courtship. Nevertheless he
grows impatient, and presses her to mention the happy day
when he can call her his.
"Dear Mrs. Scurlock, I am tir'd with calling you by
that name ; therefore say the day in which, you'le take
that of, Madam, your most obedient, most devoted
humble ser'nt."
Again:
"Oh hasten ye, minutes! bring on the happy morning
wherein to be ever hers will make me look down on
thrones! Dear Molly, I am tenderly, passionately faith-
fully thine."
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 229
At last the date of the marriage is fixed. It is to come
off on Tuesday, September 8, 1707. The ecstatic lover is
on the tenterhooks of expectation, and he can think of
nothing else.
'Madam,
It is the hardest thing in the world to be in love and
yet attend businesse. As for me, all who speake to me
find me out, and I must lock myself up, or other people
will do it for me.
A gentleman asked me this morning. 'What news
from Lisbon?' and I answered, 'She's exquisitely hand-
some/ Another desir'd to know 'when I had been last
at Hampton Court ? ' 'T will be on Tuesday come se'n-
night.' Pr'ythee allow me at least to kiss your hand
before that day that my mind may be in some
composure."
On the appointed day they "commit" matrimony, and
Steele, in course of time, "dwindles" into a tame and sub-
missive husband. He subscribes himself in his letters to
her as "your happy slave and obedient husband," or "your
most obsequious husband and most humble serv'nt." The
letters are full of references to her as his "absolute gover-
nesse" and "ruler." He repeatedly acknowledges her sway:
"You are the head of us and I stoop to a female reign, as
being naturally made the slave of beauty." After these
confessions we need not be surprised to hear Dean Swift
writing to Stella : "He is governed by his wife most abomi-
nably, as bad as Marlborough."
But if she governs him it is well for him, for he is a most
hopeless governor of himself. His improvidence in money-
matters is notorious, and he is no less aware of it than others.
"I never can, I own. . . .be what they call thoroughly fru-
230 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
gal." His sanguine Irish nature makes him mistake
his expectation for his income. He lives mostly
on airy calculations, and unfounded hopes of coming
into wealth. "I shall on Michaelmas day have
£593," writes the incurable optimist. Again, " Within
a day or two I doubt not but we shall have our money, whicli
will be the introduction to that life we both pant after with
so much earnestness." And, "1 have that in my pockett
which within few days will be a great sum of money." He
repeatedly assures her that the bargain he is making will
keep them for ever from want, and once he promises her
that she "shall be provided for better than any other family
in England." Despite these extravagant hopes and promises
he has to confess that "all his endeavours and thoughts tend
only to extricate his condition." She is certainly more pru-
dent than he, and that is why he calls her his "dear Prue.'
Again, Steele loved, not wisely but too well, the drink
that both cheers and inebriates. Without it he could not have
been what he calls himself, "no undelightful companion," or
what his wife describes him to be, "as agreeable and pleasant
a man as any in England." It was a habit all too common
in his age. Sir Leslie Stephen has classified the men of the
eighteenth century into those who could drink two bottles
of port after dinner and those who could not, and Thackeray
has observed that the wits of the age of Queen Anne were fat:
"Swift was fat; Addison was fat; Gay and Thomson were
preposterously fat; all that fuddling and punch drinking, that
club and coffee-house boozing shortened the lives and en-
larged the waist-coats of the men of that age." Though
Steele was not "a mountain of beef" (as Horace Walpole
described a fellow diner at the table) there is no doubt as
to which of the two classes of people mentioned by Sir Leslie
Stephen he belonged. With the morning headache, a disease
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 231
with which most of his contemporaries were familiar, Ste%ele
confesses his crime to his wife and promises amendment.
"I have been a little intemperate, and discomposed
with it; but I will be very sober for the future especially
for the sake of the most amiable and most deserving
woman, who has made me her happy slave and obedi-
ent husband."
But promises are more easily made than kept. Many
of the letters are written in drink. "I am, dear Prue, a little
in drink but at all times yr faithfull husband." In one letter
he subscribes himself "dead drunk" for love, another in toto
is
"Dear Prue,
Sober or not, I am ever yours."
One need not be a prophet to guess in what condition
Steele was when this letter was written. Equally obvious
is the reason why many letters consist of illegible scrawl. It
is well that a man so improvident and imprudent as Steele
has his "Prue" to govern him.
Like all affectionate couples Steele and his wife fre-
quently quarrelled with each other. Steele' s irregular habits
are a constant source of friction. He is often away from
home, business and conviviality make him stay out at night.
This "coquette of some years' standing," this "cried up
beauty" must have found life with her incurably social,
impractical and extravagant husband somewhat of a trial.
Evidently she is vexed by his frequent absences, and one of
Steele's letters written in on unusually serious and wounded
vein shows that "his absolute Governesse" must have been
exceptionally disrespectful and cruel. He returns the letter
to her, complaining about her masterful ways and asserting
232 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
that though he loves her "better than the light of his Eyes
or the life-blood in his Heart," he will be master of himself,
that "his time and his will should be under no direction but
his own." She must also have been guilty of inquiring too
closely as to how he was spending his time, and of making
him look ridiculous by "sending after him." How frequent
these bickerings are is clear from what he once writes to
her : " I wish I knew how to court you into Good
Humour ; for Two or Three Quarrels more will despatch
me quite."
The embers of misunderstanding flicker and fade, and
fade and flicker again, but the steady flame of his love never
dims for a moment. If a frown or a hard word of hers sinks
him into despair a smile or a compliment sends him into
ecstasy. Once she addresses him as "dear Dick" in a letter
written from Wales, and the enraptured husband declares
that he could forget his gout and walk down to her from
London. The letters are rull of instructions to her to take
care of her health. "Pray wrap yourself very warm" is the
refrain of many of his notes. Her report of "continuall
pain " in her head gives him " sensible affliction " and he
gives her his own recipe.
"I am confident that washing your head in cold water
will cure you; I mean, having water poured on your
head, and rubbed with an hand, from the crown of
your head to the nape of your neck. When I lay in yr
place and on yr pillow, I assure you, I fell into tears
last night, to think that my charming little insolent
might be then awake and in pain, and tooke it to be
a sin to go to sleep,"
Many of his letters are merely notices of little pre-
sents sent to her, "I enclose a guinea for your pocket",
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 233
or "I send you some tea which I doubt not you will find very
good," or again,
"Dear Prue,
I send you seven pen'orth of walnutts at five a penny
which is the greatest proof I can give you of my being,
with my whole heart yrs."
Before the letter is despatched he adds in a P.S. "There
are but 29 walnutts." The next day he sends her "half an
hundred more of walnutts." In all these letters we have
the prose of love. "For ihee I die, For thee I languish."
he says in a short note of two sentences in 1712, six years
after the marriage, and in 1717 he addresses her as "Ten
thousand times my dear, dear, pretty Prue," and concludes
another letter with "Poor, dear, angry, pleased, pretty,
witty, silly, everything Prue, yours ever."
Steele's affection and respect for his wife do not appear
surprising to us when we remember that it is he who in speak-
ing of Lady Elizabeth Hastings, has paid the most handsome
compliment that has ever been paid to a woman: "passion so
high souled and graceful that to love her is a liberal educa-
tion." As Thackeray has pointed out, Steele is the first of
English writers who admired and respected women. While
Congreve looks on it as mere instruments of gallantry, and
destined like most fortifications to fall after a certain time be-
fore the arts and bravery of the besieger man, while Swift
takes no pains to hide his opinion that woman is a fool, while
Addison watches them as if they are harmless, half-witted
pretty creatures made only to be men's play things, while
Pope declares that "every woman is at heart a rake" hungry
for pleasure and for gain, Steele alone pays a manly homage
to woman's goodness and understanding as well as to her
beauty and tenderness. "His breast seems to warm, and his
30
234 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
eyes to kindle when he meets with a good and beautiful wo-
man, and it is with his heart as well as with his hat that
he salutes her/'
Steele' s letters are also full of tender references to his
children. "The children are almost always in my head at
the same time as yourself," he writes to his wife. Again
(playfully) : "All my public spirit and gallantry is turned
into the care of a wayward beauty called a wife, and a parcel
of brats called children." Here is an interesting account of
one of the sons by the affectionate father:
"Your son at the present writing, is mighty well em-
ployed, in tumbling on the floor of the room, and
sweeping the sand with a feather. He grows a most
delightful child, and very full of play and spirrit. He is
also a very great scholar: he can read his Primer; and
I have brought down by Virgil. He makes very
shrewd remarks upop the pictures. We are very inti-
mate friends and play-fellows."
Indeed Steele must have been a great favourite with his
children of whom and of whose mother he was very proud.
"Your son," he writes to Mrs. Steele, "is extremely pretty,
and has his face sweetened with something of the Venus his
mother, which is no small delight to the Vulcan who begot
'aim."
Steele commits to paper every thought the moment it
comes into his head. If any letters could be called unpre-
mediated effusions, undoubtedly Steele' s letters to his wife
deserve the description. Many of them are dashed off in a
hurry.
"I have but few minutes from the duty of my employ-
ment to write in, and without time to read over what
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 235
I have writ; therefore beseech you to pardon the first
hints of my mind, which I have expressed in so little
order."
Sometimes he has "to steal a moment" from a friend
who is with him and observes him in every gesture and mo-
tion, to tell "the charmer and the inspirer of his soul" that
he is "her devoted, obedient servant."
The open hearted, unreserved, simple and affectionate
nature of the man reveals itself in everyone of his letters.
In fact, reading two or three of the short notes scribbled by
Steele to his wife we get details for a mental portrait of the
writer such as might be sought in vain in fifty essays of the
Tatler. But when we read these tender and loving letters
we feel even now as though we are unjustifiably prying
into the writer's confidence. Steele expressly begs his wife
"to show his letters to no one living," for the most excellent
reason that "other people cannot judge of so delicate a cir-
cumstance as the commerce between man and wife." They
answer to the definition of the true letter, a spontaneous non-
literary production, ephemeral, intimate, personal and pri-
vate, a substitute for a spoken conversation." Well does
Steele deserve to be remembered as the ideal letter writer
no less than as the father of the familiar essay.
REVIEWS OF BOOKS
BY
PROF. K. M. KHADYE, M.A., (CANTAB).
Nowrosjee Wadia College, Poona.
I deem it a very high honour to be called upon to write
something for this Commemoration Volume. The services
of the Founder of the Annamalai University to India have
been so great that they deserve to be recorded in letters of
gold. This duty I would naturally leave to the present
workers in the University.
I have thought it best to write on Reviews of Books,
because I wish the University had the opportunity to base its
choice of Books for its Library on such reviews as I would
look upon as ideal.
There was a time when the Reviewer thought that it was
his duty and his privilege to show up the faults, and the
faults only, of the books he had to review: to censure them
or — what is virtually the same thing, if not worse — -to damn
them with faint praise. Bishop Coplelton had such
reviewers in his mind when in the course of his satirical
'Advice to a young Reviewer' he said: —
1 'You will perhaps wonder why all my instructions are
pointed towards the censure, and not the praise, of Books;
but many reasons might be given why it should be so. The
chief are, that this part is both easier, and will sell better/'
To-day we have almost reached the other extreme.
Books do not sell well unless they have a good press, and
237
favouritism — or worse — has often resulted in an undue
adulation of third rate stuff.
In either event it is the poor reader who suffers.
Reviews have in these days become almost indispensable.
Our very existence as men and women of culture depends
on them. For, as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch puts it:
'Man and this planet being such as they are, for a man to
read all the books existent on it is impossible; and if possible,
would be in the highest degree undesirable'.
We have to make a choice. And to whom shall we go,
if not to the Reviewer for help in making our choice? 'Some
books, Bacon tells us, 'may be read by Deputy'. For books
of this type at least, we shall certainly have to depend on the
Reviewer in these days — when the output of Books has been
enormous and when our interests have been so varied. For
such books and the literature of knowledge in general, what
we expect from the Reviewer may be only a faithful and
easily intelligible summary of the book he reviews. His task
is easy, provided, of course, he is somewhat of an expert in
the subject of the book reviewed. Be it said to the credit of
the better sort of our periodicals and newspapers that their
reviews hardly ever fail to give fair satisfaction in this field.
When, however, we come to the reviews of what De Quincy
calls the literature of power, we have often a different tale
to tell. For one thing, all literature of power is subjective —
at least more subjective than objective, and its appeal cannot
be the same to everybody. Tastes differ. What the
reviewer dislikes the reader may like and what the
reviewer relishes the reader may hate. Theoretically
speaking, this position must be conceded. But, as a matter
of fact, normally, this situation must not and does not arise.
If the Reviewer is what Dr. I. A. Richards calls an adequate
reader — a man of normal feelings, with no special preposses-
238 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
sions or prejudices, a man of Catholic tastes, widely read,
conversant with bad as well as good literature, there is no
reason why his judgment should not be ordinarily acceptable
to the reader. Whether the reviewer is such a man is what
the reader is keen on knowing. And that is why signed
reviews arc so much in demand. We ask for guidance from
a man on whom we can rely. This reliance on great names
may not be without its own peculiar risks, but on the whole
the system of signed reviews works better than any other.
i have, by impiicauon at least, included judgment as a
iactor ot some importance in a review, and nere I am in good
company. Jb'or instance, the Century Dictionary cieimes a
leview as 'A critical Examination; a Critique; particularly a
written discussion oj the merits and dejects oi a literary
worK/ I must admit, however, that tins delimtion may riot
be universally accepted. The shorter Oxiord tells us tiiat
a review is 'a general account or criticism oi a
literary work/ 'ihe iact is, ol iate, all criticibm iias
tenaed to become impressionist. Anatoie France looked
upon criticism as 'the adventures ol a soul througii master-
pieces' ana Benedetto Croce would have us believe tiuu tiie
critics sole busmess is to reproduce the work 01 arc as tne
autnor conceived it. 'lo me it appears that tins tendency is
a reaction against the dogmatic criticism 01 earner days.
Tne tins won t-do-sort ol criticism is deiiiiitely worse tnan an
attempt to get at tne author's point oi view. Ihe en tic can
oiten ao nothing oetter than initiate tiie reader into the
inmost recesses ol the writer's heart. j.o reproduce tiie con-
ditions at tiie time the work oi art was conceived is an
achievement ol the highest merit, and we should be grateiui
to a critic who suceeds in doing it. But when ail his due
praise is given to such a critic, we nave also tne right to ask
him whether, while giving Ins author ins uue, ne has con-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 239
sidered the position of the reader or the reader's point of
view. How the work of art is concieved is one thing,
and how it would affect the reader is quite another
thing. Those critics who adventure through masterpieces
may not give a moment's thought to the reader, but the
reader's point of view is at least as important as the author's,
so long as authors write for the readers and not for them-
selves. And when a critic thinks of giving any importance
what-so-ever to the readers point of view, he has, ipso facto,
to include judgment of some sort in his critique.
What is true of criticism on a large scale is true also of
reviews — such as appear in periodicals and newspapers.
Reviews have to be brief — the briefer the better, provided
they have all the essentials of criticism on a large scale — they
must recreate the original work of art — that is due from
them to the author — and they must understand the reader
and make him feel at ease in the presence of the work of art.
Judgment of some sort is implicit in this second part of the
Reviewer's duty.
PHYSIQUE OF OUR UNIVERSITY WOMEN STUDENTS.
BY
DR. (MRS). KRISHNABAI KHADYE, M.B.BS.
Poona.
As a Medical Examiner of the University women stu-
dents of Poona for the last few years, I have arrived at some
conclusions, which I take this opportunity to place before
the Public, in this volume which commemorates the services
of a great man to the Public of India.
At the outset, I must point out that there is a great
improvement in the height and health of our girl students in
schools and colleges during the last five years. This is due
as much to the greater freedom of life which now has been
theirs, as to the Compulsory Physical Training to which they
have been subjected in recent times.
Those girls who have at least a moderate kind of freedom
in their daily life at home and in the teaching institutions and
who take part in sports are the best in health.
Poverty is one of the causes of undernourishment and
deficient diet among us and our students are a prey to it.
But considering the money that is spent by our students, I
must say that the undernourishment and deficiency in diet
are due more to our lack of knowledge of balanced diet than
to poverty. We must create a real interest in balanced diet
among our men and women.
The sight of a good many of our girls is bad owing to
uncorrected eyesight. I may say that this is often due to
241
their working when they are not keeping fit, or are convales-
cent afer some disease like malaria or some infectious fever.
We often neglect convalescence and that is often the root
cause of many diseases and bad health amongst us. The girl
who is deeply engrossed in her studies and does not take any
part in the social life of her college is often anaemic or weak.
The girl who lives in the college hostel and enjoys a freer
life is often better in health than a girl who comes from her
home, as I believe the home atmosphere and environments
of our girls are not often as free and congenial as they ought
to be.
The educated woman is not worse in her married or
social life than her uneducated sister, nor does she suffer
more in any of the complaints peculiar to women, or in
pregnancy, nor does she have more difficult child-labour than
her uneducated sister.
It must also be admitted that both our men and women
are often ignorant of the rudimentary principles of health —
of sex-hygiene, or antenatal and postnatal care, and this is
a great handicap in life. Somebody — perhaps the Univer-
sity or the heads of our schools — ought to make the rudi-
mentary knowledge of the rules of hygiene and health — sex
hygiene, balanced diet, first aid, antenatal and postnatal care
compulsory for our students — both men and women, if our
future generation is to be strong and healthy and hardy
enough to take a leading part in our country's social and
political life. Without this knowledge, mere culture or deep
learning is no good to our boys and girls. For, we ought to
know that a sound mind exists only in a sound body.
There are very few facilities for sports and physical
exercise for our women students, and many cannot and will
not take part in sports, and therefore I think Physical Train-
31
242
ing must be made compulsory for all students from the pri-
mary education stage to the University stage. I must say here
that if Compulsory Physical Training is to be successful, a
genuine interest in Physical Training has to be created not
only among the students, but also among the parents and the
managers of the teaching institutions. Without the co-ope-
ration of all these three groups of people, Physical Training
tends to become a mere farce. Last but not the least in
importance is the medical examination of students. It is
medical examination which points out the defects and defici-
encies and abnormalities in the student. The guardians and
the heads of institutions have to look into these matters.
In conclusion, I would suggest that our teaching insti-
tutions ought to take more interest in the physique of our
students. They ought to impart to them the knowledge of
the rules of hygiene, create a freer and more congenial
atmosphere, provide good and adequate — though not neces-
sarily costly — sports facilities and introduce medical exami-
nation and Compulsory Physical Training. Only then can we
hope to make our young men and women fit to take their due
share in the burdens of life.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
BY
RAJASEVASAKTA DEWAN BAHADUR
DR. S. KRISHNASWAMI AIYANGAR, M.A., HONRY., PH.D.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the Founder of
the Annamalai University, evinced his practical interest in
education when he made his first efforts to found a college
in Madura which found fruition ultimately in the starting
of what was the Sri Minakshi College in Chidambaram. As
is usual with Sir Annamalai Chettiar, it was a whole-hearted
effort as he is known not to do things by halves. It is his
efforts to make the college many ways a model institution
under the Madras University that brought about the acquain-
tance between us. The college rapidly advanced from step
to step, and had almost reached the position of being one of
the comparatively few fully equipped colleges in the Presi-
dency, when the agitation for a separate University for the
Tamil districts resulted in the appointment of a Tamil Uni-
versity Commission, which was to tour the Tamil districts
taking evidence and submit its recommendations in regard
to this. The University of Madras was seriously making
efforts to become a teaching University contemplated by the
Act of 1923. The normal development expected by the
sponsors of the new Act was the creation of the teaching
University at Madras, which would have become, with its
constituent colleges, a teaching centre like Oxford or Cam-
bridge, the affiliated colleges constituting more or less a
distinct section of this University, ultimately to become a
244 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
separate affiliating University. This course of development
was marked out for the Allahabad University and resulted
in the creation of the teaching University of Allahabad and
the affiliating University of Agra. The Tamil University
Committee went about making its enquiries in this view.
Differences of opinion soon developed as to the centre of
this new University and it became a matter of conten-
tion whether Trichinopoly or Madura should have this
honour. The majority of the members, however, were
opposed to the separation and did not favour it mostly on the
ground it would have tended to create a much less efficient
affiliating University than the Madras University was during
more than sixty years of its existence. In the course of this
enquiry and the discussions in connection with it, Sir Anna-
malai Chettiar's intention to develop the Sri Minakshi Col-
lege into a unitary teaching institution raised to the rank of
a University, was discussed. I took occasion, when the re-
port was got ready, to file a note that the recommendation
of the Committee against starting a new University in the
Tamil districts should not prejudice the question of the Sri
Minakshi College developing into a unitary teaching Univer-
sity. Whether this had any influence or no, the idea fruc-
tified in the foundation of the Annamalai University, and
took its character readily as a unitary, teaching University.
In the course of normal development in earlier years, it held
out promise of becoming a University centre of learning
very much like the German Universities of the old regime.
This position was due entirely to the active exertions all
round of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar.
The Annamalai University started under very favoura-
ble auspices, thanks to the active interest of this gentleman,
and set before itself two specific objects in view.
It was to be a residential unitary teaching University.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 245
Secondly it had laid itself out deliberately to
foster South Indian culture specifically, and work for the
special promotion of the study of the history, culture and
literature of the Tamils, involving, as it naturally should, the
promotion of the study of Tamil and Sanskrit in all their
branches to the highest specialised work possible.
Having regard to the active personal interest
taken by the Pro-Chancellor, there was every hope
that this double ambition would be realised to the full.
Courses were accordingly laid. During the earlier years
therefore work went on along the lines laid down and care-
fully selected appointments were made to fill the various
Chairs and, in respect of certain subjects, even provision
was made for sending out young men for training in various
branches of teaching under terms of indenture to serve the
University on their return. These early acts naturally
gave the best promise of realising the objects with which
the University started. Naturally in the present condition
of opinion in regard to University education, there came in
the external influences which led on to the expansion of the
University along new lines. Certain schemes like schemes
of agriculture and industry were brought in, to claim their
quota of attention and diversion of funds. We have
the fullest appreciation of the development so far in orien-
tal studies and institutions brought into existence therefor,
such as the Sanskrit and the Tamil Colleges, the College for
Music which promised to develop into a real academy of
music, a good library and numbers of up-to-date laboratories,
with a residential system and promotion of social life. We
feel certain that the distinguished Rajah Saheb who has
done so much already to promote this unique institution
would find it possible to put the University on the rails for a
fuller and a freer and a brighter development, his original
246
ambition. We congratulate the Rajah Saheb upon his
having completed his 60th year, and reaching his Sashti-
yabdapurti in orthodox parlance. Let us hope that he will
step forward steadily from this milestone to the further
Biblical three score and ten, to the more orthodox Sata-
bhisheka or the 80th year, and the real Vedic Satayush or
the 101st birthday.
Before concluding, however, we take the liberty of
appealing to the Rajah Saheb to exert his influence, both
among the wealthy members of his community and others
similarly happily placed, to secure if necessary their
co-joperation and good offices to place this University
beyond all need. It is his function as the original
founder of the institution to hold aloft the high
ideal. Promotion of the culture characteristic of
India involves an equal and impartial treatment of all
subjects coming within the purview of Indian studies.
Linguistic studies of the most general character imply,
as it does in distant foreign countries, the study of Sanskrit
language and literature essentially as a basic study, and
the understanding of the Indian culture as such, or of its
preservation and promotion on right lines, equally demand
the cultivation of its philosophy, history and the sciences
of India. In the realm of Sanskrit studies, South Indian
Sanskrit studies have a very important and peculiar role
to play in the study of Indian literature and culture. May
the Almighty God help him to fulfil his aims, and place
his own foundation on a permanent footing to achieve his
high cultural ambition. May the Almighty God shower
on Him His blessings to enable him to do this good work.
EVOLUTION OF STARS
BY
B. S. MADHAVA RAO, D.Sc., F.R.A.S.
Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Mysore,
Introduction
The first notable success of astrophysics was the theory
of ionisation of stellar atmospheres. Later work related to
constitution of stars dealing with problems of equilibrium
and energy transport leading to the mass — luminosity rela-
tion, which can be taken to characterise the second stage of
this development. As long as considerations relating to
energy-production were not tackled rigorously, there was
no hope of proceeding further and reaching the third stage
of explaining the mysteries of the Russell-Hertzsprung dia-
gram. The development of nuclear physics in the last few
years has made it possible to obtain definite results regard-
ing energy — generation. Just as in the first stage it was
the theory of atomic structure that helped in the develop-
ment, it is appropriate that in this third stage we should
invoke the help of nuclear structure. Some of the achieve-
ments of these latest ideas, their bearing on stellar evolu-
tion and the difficulties still to be surmounted are indicated
in this article.
It is a great pleasure to offer this as my humble con-
tribution to the volume commemorating the 61st birth-
day of one whose ideals in founding this University have
been as lofty and sublime in conception as the subject of
this article.
248 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
I. Internal constitution of stars
A general theory of the internal constitution of stars
has been shown to be possible on the basis of the laws of
gravitation, of radiation, of atomic structure and of simple
gas laws. The theory is not too complicated mainly on
account of the fact that the properties of matter in its
gaseous and highly ionised state in the interior due to the
enormous pressures and temperatures ruling there are
much simpler than in any other state.
The principle of mechanical equilibrium permits the
calculation of the pressure P at any point of a siar if one
knows the way in which the density e varies with the dis-
tance from the centre in other words if the "model" be
known.
In the simple gaseous ionisated state the mean
molecular weight H can be calculated from atomic theory,
and the equation of state for the perfect gas is also valid. For
a given model therefore the temperature T at any point can
also be calculated.
The next important consideration is that at the high
temperatures in the interior, radiation pressure is as im-
portant as gas pressure. Taking this into account and using
the fact that radiation pressure varies as the fourth power
of the temperature, one could calculate the internal tem-
perature of a star for any given model. The calculations
become particularly simple on Eddington's model for which
<><~28 that of water,
Pc=36X109 atm; T.~2'9X107 K for the sun.
To relate the above quantities with conditions at the
surface, one has next got to calculate the escape of radiation
from the interior. On general principles it is evident that
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 249
the heat will flow, inside the star, from regions where the
radiation pressure is greater to those where it is smaller.
This flow of heat however meets with a resistance due to
the opacity of the gas, and the co-efficient of opacity *
can be calculated as a function of P, v and T by applying
the general methods of the quantum theory of the inter-
action of matter and radiation. It is thus possible, start-
ing with pure theory, to calculate the luminosity of a star
of given mass and radius and built on a given model. It is
found that the luminosity increases very rapidly with the
star's mass-rather faster than its fourth power on the
average. For the same mass it changes but slowly with
the star's size (inversely as Vr) . Differences in the model
make surprisingly little difference in the luminosity. The
chemical composition makes little difference too except for
the abundance of hydrogen, the luminosity of a star of
almost pure hydrogen being less by a factor of 300. Apply-
ing this to the sun, an agreement between calculated and
observed luminosities is obtained if hydrogen forms 35%
by weight of the interior mass, the rest being heavy ele-
ments.
This conclusion that the luminosity of a star depends
mainly upon its mass is in effect Eddington's well known
"mass-luminosity relation," and it will be shown later that
it is really a consequence of the fact that the hydrogen con-
tent of a star does not vary at random for a given mass.
2. The Russell-Hertzsprung diagram.
The theory of constitution of stars described above
accounts for the close correlation between luminosities and
masses, but it gives no explanation at all of the equally
conspicuous relations connecting luminosity and spectral
32
250
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
class as is brought out clearly in the Russell — Hertzsprung
diagram, R.H.D. in brief. Experience has shown that, up to
a certain approximation, all stars are characterised by two
numbers which might be chosen in general as the luminosity
L and the surface temperature T. These at the same time
also define the radius of the star R, In the R.H.D. these
co-ordinates are plotted as log L and log T; alternatively
one could also plot log (R/R ) and log (L/L and call
O O
this the modified R.H.D. or the R-L plane. The diagram
shows (Fig. I) that stars favour only certain regions of
the plane. The great majority of the stars belong to the so
«* 1 t°3L/U* Bu>e
C.ACT
+y -
Fro. I. Showhif the relation
between m«s»c*, radii and lumi-
nosities of various stars and the
division of stars into the normal
start or ttw «tara of the mam
sequrncr. red giants (including
Ophrid variables) ami white
Udncludmg probably Wolf-
-1
-2
-80 -1.0
0.0
M.O
*?.O
^3.0
Fig. I
called main-sequence; their luminosities and radii increase
rather regularly with their mass, as also the effective tem-
perature. So the stars of this group range from hot and
luminous blue giants down to the cool and faint red dwarfs.
According to the best observations it is practically a sharp
line, and the stars belonging to it therefore form a one-
parameter group. Besides the stars of the main sequence,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 251
and to the right of them above lie the red giants (L large
T small) with L and R larger than for stars of the same
mass in the main sequence. In the R-L diagram these
form a separate branch (giant branch) branching off near
the middle of the main sequence. It should also be noted
that some particular stars located in this region possess a
property of periodic luminosity changes (Cepheid varia-
ables and others of long period) and represent the upper
boundary, in respect of L, of the giant branch. Again to
the left and below the main sequence are the white dwarj
states (T large, L small) corresponding to smaller lumino-
sities and radii than stars of corresponding masses in the
main sequence. Probably related to the white dwarfs are
the central stars of planetary nebulae (Wolf -Ray et stars)
which also possess small radii for given luminosities.
A proper understanding of this distribution of stars
in the R-L diagram is of fundamental importance for ques-
tions of stellar evolution and it can be seen from very
general considerations that this understanding depends on
a knowledge of the mechanism of energy production in
stars. In consonance with the theorem of Vogt and Russell
one must expect theoretically that under certain assump-
tions the state of a star is completely characterised by two
parameters and accordingly by its position in the R.H.D.
Further the matter which a star consists of is determined
by specifying its total mass and its chemical composition.
If now the original chemical composition of stellar material
be universally the same (and our knowledge of the abun-
dance relations of chemical elements makes this assumption
plausible) a difference in the chemical composition of stars
can only be a result of the energy-generating nuclear reac-
tions which on their part are determined by the state of the
252 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
star. Therefore there remain, besides, only the mass and
the age of the star as independent parameters.
The calculation of the empirical parameters L and T
from the mass and the parameter of chemical composition
assumes a theory of the internal constitution of the star.
On the theory of Eddington sketched in § 1 which assumes
the conditions of equilibrium and energy-transport as
fundamental but not the energy-generation, the mass-lumi-
nosity relation is obtained as a relation between two para-
meters, the stars of different luminosities in the main
sequence being also stars o( different masses. But it is obvi-
ous however that the mass-luminosity relation merely des-
cribes their uniform chemical composition. The principal
problem of the theory of nuclear reactions in stars is to derive
the dependence of energy-generation on chemical composi-
tion, and thereby elucidate the structure of the R.H.D.
3. Stellar nuclear reactions
The magnitude of the problem of energy-generation
inside a star can be best illustrated by considering the Sun,
a typical star. The Sun radiates 2 ergs per second per gram
of its mass which corresponds to a loss of 4,200,000 metric
tons per second, and since there is equilibrium between
generation and loss of energy, energy of the same
order must have continued to be generated throughout geo-
logical times during the last 2*109 years. Besides the Sun
there are stavs which thiow out nearly thousand times as
much energy. The question naturally arises: where does
this energy come from? According to the ideas of modern
Physics, there are four possible sources:
(i) Contraction of a star without change of chemical
constitution — the energy liberated is gravita-
tional energy.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME § 253
(ii) The building up of heavy atomic nucleii out of
lighter ones — the energy liberated is nuclear
energy.
(iii) Contraction by transformation of a part of the
matter into densely packed neutrons.
(iv) Complete annihilation of matter — energy liber-
ated is the rest energy of matter.
Of these the last source can be left out of account in
view of the fact that it has not been so far observed in the
laboratory, and even from a theoretical point of view the
discovery of the neutron and positron has shown that by
the equalisation of positive and negative charges only the
electron mass is transformed into radiation while the pro-
ton mass is unaltered. On very general thermodynamic
arguments it can be shown that the third source postulated
is improbable for normal stars but might be invoked for
explaining catastrophic phenomena. Thus we have to
make the assumption that during the life time of a star,
in so far as it is subject to our observation, only the first
two sources need be considered. Of these the first alone is
not sufficient to explain the production of energy as for
example, in the case of the Sun whose present rate of
radiation would exhaust this source in 4*107 years. One is
led almost by a process of exhaustion to the second as the
most likely one. Although this had been surmised some
years ago it is only the progress of nuclear physics in the last
few years that has made it possible to prove this surmise
and decide rather definitely which process can and which
cannot occur in the interior of stars. A careful analysis by
Bethe of all the possible processes has shown that the only
thermonuclear reactions which can occur at sufficiently large
rates at the temperatures of stellar interiors are those bet-
254
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
ween protons and the light nuclei!. In general terms one
might say that the energy production of stars is due entirely
to the combination of four protons and two electrons into
an a particle. As can be seen from Table I this formation of
four atoms of hydrogens into one of helium results in a dia-
mution of the combined masses of the interacting nucleii
by 1 part in 135. This simplifies the discussion of stellar
evolution in as much as the amount of heavy matter, and
therefore the opacity, r^es not change with the time.
TABLE Corrected and additional nutlear masses,
and binding energies.
NUCLEUS
BINDING ENERGY
MASS (MMU) REFERENCE
n1
1.00893
19
He8
3.01699
5.87
18
H*
4.025 4
0.6 ±1
He*
4.003 86
29
Li4
4.026 9
-1 ±1
He*
5.0137
-0.9 ±0.2
23
Li*
5.013 6
-1.6 ±0.3
Be6
6.021 9
-1.8 ±0.8
21
Be7
7.019 28
5.7
26
Be"
8.007 80
-0.08 ±0.04
28
B8
8.027 4
0.0 ±0.4
21
B»
9.0164
-0.5 ±0.2
21
C10
10.020 2
3.8
21
N"
12.0225 -243
0.0 ±0.9
21
N13
13.01008
2.03
19
0"
14.013 1
5.1
21
Table I
These reactions of hydrogen with the lighter nucleii
are shown in Table II which gives the energy evolution Q
of the reaction, its probability per second and also the life
time, all calculated for a temperature of 2X107 degrees,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 255
As has been shown by Bethe no elements heavier than
helium can be built up to any appreciable extent perma-
nently in the interior of stars under present conditions. An
extract from table II of reactions leading to He4 is given in
Table III, along with the average energy produced in ergs/gm
TABLE Probability of author reaelitri al J-/fl' drgtftt ••
•t AC lion
0<.Ml»
firx)
P(MC •'»
L\tt. roi *». *j«
H+-lt*M'-l**
153
Kef Id
ifi
125
138
u-io-*
1.2 10U yr
2 sec
H'4- II » II*'1
21 3
10 £
14.3
17-10"1
0.2 sec.
HfJ-t-H -»l i'*
(0.51
002D
227
•j 10-'
• day
H«-'+ 11 = 1 •**
(OJ)
0005/>
23,2
6 10"«
6dayi
4 t
31.1
7 10"J
t|'-f|| ml Hf*
4 -10*^
313
6 10'*
1 mm
Hcr + ll *• Bn
(0.5*
002 D
38 I
6 10-'*
2000 yr. .
Hr'+H-l^+Hf
24
10* X
38 t
4 10-»
15 mm.
t ^
2 D
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w^"*i/7r« T/M ofT"nM?T o'^,Ill^?i*Iuv*'T<.iDL"t.<*u/l?i?? for dJ** radiauon- f">™ K* <*fl. «*'-
:y tre lintwl mtrrlv lar the «akv n» dto-
Tkr Irnrrt In the column giving tlw trvfl wiJih mran X •ciprMmtnt*! V^JIK, O^r^Iculated for
<lipO»f radiatidi with struU npfoficcJurff J/4 l» 1/20 of b<} (12;, (? -quarfrupol* r« Ji .tion hq (I2«) ux
• Tbrgt rf »ciioiu,jrf not br lirvfd to orrur «nc« thf a product or on* of the rractuit* n un»nhir . Thcv
» u»4on
Table II
per second. As can be seen at once from this table it is
the nitrogen reaction alone which gives energy generation in
consonance with the observed data for the sun. We can
divide these reactions into three classes:
with the deuteron being next transferred into He4 by further
capture of protons. From the life time value in Table II
and energy generation value in Table III, this appears a pro-
bable reaction, but there is a possibility that this reaction
itself may be forbidden by selection rules.
256 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
TABLE Energy production in the sun for several nuclear reactions.
AVERAGE ENERGY
REACTION PRODUCTION «(erg/g sec.)
H'+H»«H« +«++/.* 02
H'+Hi=He« 3X10"
Li7+H»«2He« 4X10'*
3X10*
* "+/•" means that the energy production in the reactions following
the one listed, is included- E.g. the figure for the N^+H1 includes the
complete chain (1).
Table III
(ii) the reactions in which the light elements Li,
Be, B are involved
Li7 + H1 - 2 He4
Be9 + H1 - Li6 + He4
B11 + H1 - 3 He4
Li begins to be used up at about 2X106 deg, Be at 3 '5 X 106
deg and the isotopes of B at about 9X106 degrees. As seen
from Table II these light elements would "burn" in a very
short time, and moreover they are destroyed permanently
and will not be replaced. Thus for example, Be would act
in the following way
Be9 + H1 - Li6 + He4
Li6 + H1 - Be7
Be7 + E- = Li7
Li7 + H1 = 2 He4
(iii) N14 H1 - O15
which written out fully as a chain reaction is given in Table
IV. This is in fact the most important source of stellar
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 257
N13
Cl»H-Hl=N14,
NH+H1=O15,
O15
Table IV
energy and in it carbon and nitrogen isotopes serve merely
as catalysts for the combination. It can conveniently be
called the carbon-nitrogen cycle. As seen from Table II, a
given C12 nucleus will, at the centre of the sun, capture a
proton once in 2' 5 X 106 years, a given N14 once in 5 X 107
years. These times are short compared with the age of
the sun, and therefore the cycle will have repeated itself
many times in the history of the sun so that statistical
equilibrium has been established between all the nucleii
occuring in the cycle. Another important point about this
cycle is its very strong dependence on temperature viz. T18
and this has important astrophysical consequences.
The one thing that is common to all the above reac-
tions is the end product He4, the a-particle. Obviously
nothing can happen to it since the reaction He4 + H = Li5
is unstable because of the non-existence of Li5. The
33
258 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
a-particle appears to be the only thing stable in this micro-
cosm of changes, and if hydrogen be the "fuel of the stars"
helium is the ashes.
4. The Sun
As has already been remarked in connection with*
Table II it is the carbon-nitrogen cycle that keeps the sun
shining. This can be brought out in a more striking way
by answering the following question. Neglecting all nuclear
considerations regarding the cycle, which nucleus will give
us the right energy evolution in the sun ? or conversely ;
given an energy evolution of 20 ergs/g-sec at the centre,
and 2 ergs/g.sec at the surface, which nuclear reaction will
give us the right central temperature (~19X106 degrees)?
TABLE Central temperatures necessary for giving ob-
served energy production in sun, with various nuclear
reactions.
T
REACT ION (MILLION DECREES)
H'+H-He* (U6
2,1
2,2
3,3
9,2
5,5
15.5
18.3
32
Ne^+H-Na23 37
Table V
This calculation has been carried out in Table V. It has
been assumed that the density is 80, the hydrogen-concen-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
259
tration 35% that of the other reactant 10% by weight. It
is seen from the table that all nucleii up to boron require
extremely low temperatures in order not to give too much
energy-production; these temperatures (<107 degrees) are
quite irreconcilable with the equations of hydrostatic and
radiation equilibrium. On the other hand, oxygen and
neon would require much too high temperatures. Only
carbon and nitrogen require nearly, and nitrogen in fact
exactly, the central temperature obtained from the Edding-
ton integrations (19 X 106 degrees). Thus from stellar
data alone we could have predicted that the carbon-nitro-
gen cycle is the process responsible for the energy produc-
tion.
TABLE Comparison of the carbon-nitrogen reaction with
observations.
CENTRAL TEM-
PERATURE
(MILLION DEGREES)
CONTENT
ENERGY
LUMINOSITY
CENTRA L.
(PER-
INTE- PRODUC-
STAR
ERG/G SEC.
DENSITY
CENT)
GRATION TION
Sun
2.0
76
35
19 18.5
Sirius A
30
41
35
26 22
Capella
50
0.16
35
6 32
U Ophiuchi
180
12
50
25 26
(bright)
Y Cygni
1200
6.5
80
32 30
(bright)
5.
Table VI
The main sequence
The theory that the main sequence stars owe their
energy generation chiefly to the carbon-nitrogen reaction
is very satisfactorily verified from observational data. In
table VI a comparison of the theory with observation is
260 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTZAK
made in the case of five stars for which the data are suffici-
ently well-known. The last column in the table is calcu-
lated as the necessary central temperature to give the
correct energy evolution as observed. In the calculations
the N14 content is taken as 10 /o. The last column but one
gives the temperatures as calculated on Eddington's theory.
The agreement between the two columns is highly satisfac-
tory, the only exception being the star Capella which cannot
really be considered as belongirg to the main sequence.
Russell had suggested, long ago that the central tem-
peratures of all stars of the main sequence are nearly the
same although the luminosities of these stars varied by
factors of the order 10U. This is easily understood on the
present theory if we assume that in general all these stars
have the same energy source. In fact the very strong
dependence of the N-C cycle on temperature (^Tld)
shows that a small variation of the central temperature
brings about a large change in the luminosity.
As pointed out by Von Weiszsacker it is also possible on
this theory to understand the bend in the R'H'D (See
Fig. 1) in the region of the red dwarfs. The reaction
H + H — D + £+ already considered before plays a role in
this connection. Due to its weak dependence on tempera-
ture this reaction is not of much importance for the major
part of stars in the main sequence whose central tempera-
ture are ^ 2 X 107 degrees. In the region of smaller tempe-
ratures of the order 15X106 degraes and less, this reaction
appears to be concurrent with the N~C reaction and as
shown by Fig. 2. even of greater importance. The bend in
the main sequence is to be attributed to the weak depend-
ence of luminosity on central temperature in this region of
red dwarfs of mass (Ho^M nearly.
O
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
261
tcr4
*o •
T <IOf DEGREES)
25 —
FIG. The energy production in ergs/g sec. due to the
proton-proton combination (curve H-f-H) and the carbon-
nitrogen cycle (N + H), as a function of the central tem-
perature of the star. Solid curve: total energy production
caused by both reactions. The following assumptions were
made: central density = 100, hydrogen concentration 35
percent, nitrogen 10 percent: average energy production
1/5 of central production for H + H, 1/10 for N-f H.
Fig. II
The narrow width of the main sequence can be under-
stood if we observe that its stars are prescribed to lie in a
region which corresponds to certain allowed variations in
their chemical composition. These stars must satisfy both
the following conditions (a) they must not be so young
that their energy-generation is due either to contraction or
the burning of elements lighter than carbon and (b) on the
other hand they must not fail to possess hydrogen. We
describe gaints as those stars which do not satisfy (a) and
the white dwarfs as those which do not satisfy (b).
6. Giants and Variable Stars.
The central temperatures of these stars are less by a
factor 10 than those of main sequence stars, which also
262
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
amounts to low densities. Under these circumstances it is
impossible for the carbon cycle to work, and one has to
assume that the energy is generated either by contraction
or by the transformation of very light atoms. In either
case the giants must still be young stars. Since the elements
Li, Be and B are scarce on the sun and the earth it is plausi-
ble to assume that these elements have been burnt away in
normal stars but exist in abundance in very young stars.:
-1.0 0 +10 +'10 t-3O
Fir, Pulsating variables and different nuclear reactions.
Fig. Ill
On the assumption that the energy generation in giants
is due to reactions of the lighter elements, Gamow and
Teller have drawn in the R-L diagram calculated curves for
each reaction parallel to the main sequence (See Fig. 3). A
star which contains all these nucleii in large quantities would
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 263
stay along one of these curve as long as the correspond-
ing isotope was completely burnt out, and then make a
transition to the curve of next higher temperature and
finally land in the main sequence. On this picture such a
star should spend a comparatively long time within each of
these bands and undergo a more rapid gravitational con-
traction during the transition from one such region to an-
other. As is well known these variable stars from a one-
parameter sequence, all their characteristics being depend-
ent on the vibration period. Thus the knowledge of this
period fixes the position of the star on the R— L diagram.
In fig 3. the region of pulsating stars in shown by the shad-
ed area, the width of each area being proportional to the
number of stars observed. It is seen that there are definite
concentrations of the stars near the regions where the
nuclear reactions of light elements become import-
ant. The three regions corresponding to cluster, Cepheid
and long-period variables might be associated with the B10
arid Li, Be, and perhaps the D — reactions respectively.
Gamow goes even further in explaining the line of the
pulsating stars as a limit to the distribution of red-giants in
the R— L diagram. According to him this line is to be inter-
preted as the limit above which the evolution is purely
gravitational (until the star gets into the main sequence)
and below which it is due to nuclear reactions. Because of
the short time scale of gravitational contraction the number
of stars observed above this line must be statistically small,
and this explains the gap between this line and the main
sequence. The pulsative instability of the stars near this
limiting line can be explained as due to the conditions exist-
ing during the transition from the state of thermonuclear
evolution into the state of purely gravitational contraction.
264 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
This theory, charming as it is, meets with the difficulty
that the abundance of the lighter elements in red giants
does not appear to be sufficient to retard the process of con-
traction suitably, and it may be still necessary to assume
that either pure contraction and some other unknown source
of energy plays a part in the evolution of giants.
7. White dwarfs and Novae
In connection with the Vogt-Russell theorem it has
already been remarked that the mass and a parameter de-
noting chemical composition can be chosen as independent
numbers characterising a star. For stars in the region to
the left of the main sequence we can take the hydrogen
content as the parameter of this chemical composition in so
far as nuclear reactions are concerned. From the theory of
nuclear reactions it follows at once that a star to the left of
the main sequence can contain little or no hydrogen, for if it
did the state of high temperature and density would, inspite
of gravitation, induce sufficient energy generation to prevent
contraction.
Before understanding the evolutionary significance of
white dwarfs it is necessary to get some theoretical ideas
about them which, thanks to the work of Chandrasekhar,
are very satisfactory. They represent senility, almost the
approach to the final state of a contracting star in which
all the energy, gravitational, nuclear or what not, has been
exhausted and radiated away into space, and nothing more
can happen to it. Within them the electrons are degenerate
jammed together as closely as the quantum laws permit.
It has been shown that the radius and density of a star in this
state are determined by its mass (and H-content if any) . If
the mass of a star does not exceed the value Mo =5 - 7M /|x2
O
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 265
(^molecular weight and equal to 2 for no hydrogen) i.e.
1*4 M , the final state by contraction will be a sphere of
O
completely degenerate (partially relativistic) electron gas.
For such masses less than M , each mass gives a definite
O
value Emm for the final radius the least value 0 or Rum
corresponding to Mo itself. For masses larger than Mo the
critical conditions will not be reached, and as far as present
knowledge goes such a star might contract indefinitely.
Another interesting point in connection with stars of mass ^
Mo might also be noticed. For the mass lying between
5'7 M /M~ and 6'6 M /V2, the degeneracy of an electron
O O
gas will always begin at a certain stage while for still heavier
stars the electrons will always remain in the state of an ideal
gas. The evolutionary significance of these ideas will be
discussed in the last section.
As intermediate states between the main sequence and
white dwarfs are the novae, according lo ideas put forth by
Biermann. This theory is based on the following facts:
(i) For a normal nova outburst the energy generat-
ed is small as compared with the thermal
energy content of the stars.
(ii) The luminosity of a nova before and after the
outburst is the same within the limit of errors
of observation.
(iii) As far as the best observations go, the final state
after an outburst is intermediate bet-
ween the main-sequence and white dwarf
states. The first two observations which are
mutually compatible show that the outburst
does not materially alter the inner structure
34
266 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
of the star, and this shows that, in view of
(iii) the star was also in the intermediate
state before the outburst.
The origin of the outburst itself has been ascribed by
Vogt to the fact that the onset cf degeneracy would auto-
matically liberate the great quantity of radiant energy
previously trapped in the gas, since degenerate gas has
very small opacity.
8. Evolution of Stars
If we accept the evolutionary hypothesis and postulate
the energy sources as in section, 3 it follows that small and
large masses should have a rather different evolutionary
history, since the mass or a star during its whole life his-
tory is almost invariant changing by less than 1 per cent.
Consider first a star of small mass. This would start
from the main sequence, and for its further evolution the
H-content might be taken as the parameter. The energy-
generation would be due to the N-C cycle and the lumino-
sity would increase by nearly a factor of 100 as the H-con-
tent is decreasing. The existence of the empirical mass-
luminosity relation can be interpreted as a statistical corre-
lation intrinsically due to the fact that the star spends most
of its life time in the low luminosity part of its evolution-
ary track. This track based on the N-H reaction is shown
schematically in Fig. 4 for the sun. After the hydrogen
content has fallen below a certain limit the star will start a
contraction which steadily increases in speed. When the H-
contents falls to nearly 0*002 per cent the nuclear energy
liberation becomes negligible as compared with the gravita-
tional. The evolutionary track due to contraction, is shown
further in the same figure, and gives rise to a continuous
increase in luminosity during a comparatively long period of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
267
time. The last stage of contraction will now essentially
depend on the mass. For masses < 1'4 M the contractive
* 0
evolution begins to deviate because of the beginning of
the formation of a degenerate electron gas in the central
region. The rate of contraction will considerably slow
down, and the star reaches the white dwarf stage where it
acquires a long lease of life. Going still further in evolution
-SO -10 0 +1.0
FlG. ' Evolutionary track of a light star.
Fig. IV
after the white dwarf stage, the increasing exhaustion would
result in the outer non-degenerate layers becoming thinner,
and the star would shrink and grow fainter and cooler be-
coming "a yellow dwarf7' and ending as a "black dwarf/'
For stars with masses larger than 1*4 M (but small) the
O
process of gravitational contraction is not limited by any
268 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
maximum density and such stars are apparently destined to
unlimited contraction with central density and temperature
rising above any given value. Fig. 4 also shows, according
to Gamow, that white dwarfs are at present far from the
finite stage of contraction, as the difference between the
actual track for a star of mass M and the dotted track
O
R^Rmin indicates. Another very interesting suggestion
made by Gamow is that stars of mass between 5'7M /M<2
O
and 6*6 M /V2 can explain, while they are getting into a
degenerate state, the formation of "super-novae" by the
propess of neutron-formation.
We now come to consider the evolution of large masses.
The first stage of evolution for these viz., the red giant state,
and the transition through the pulsating state to the region
of blue giants in the main sequence appear fairly simple to
understand. The second stage as to what to happens to
these when they go over to the left of the main sequence
does not appear to be quite clear at present. If one postu-
lated that they met the same fate as stars of masses greater
than the Chandrasekhar-Landau limit of 1/4 M viz. con-
O
traction to arbitrarily large densities, we ought to find dense
states of large masses; but these have never been observed.
Two ways, perhaps not mutually exclusive, have been sug-
gested to meet this difficulty Gamow has pointed out that
such contraction cannot take place indefinitely because, on
account of the angular momentum of the stars, the centri-
fugal forces soon become large and cause the breaking of
such a massive star into several small pieces (see Fig. 5)
with the masses below the critical value. These pieces will
then continue to exist indefinitely in the form of white
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
269
dwarfs. Such an explanation would amount to the drastic
assumption that existing white dwarfs do not represent a
finite stage of evolution of a single star but are fragments
of the explosion of heavy stars. The other way is based
on the suggestion of Chandrasekhar that all stars of large
mass when they come near the region of white dwarfs
actually cast off their masses on account of excessive radia-
2J
Fio Evolutionary tiack of a heavy btar
Fig. V
tion pressure, as is observed in the Wolf-Rayet stars. After
casting off their mass, these stars would reach the white
dwarf stage. This suggestion like that of Gamow also makes
the white dwarf stage not a finite one but the result of a
catastrophic change.
270 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
While the results based on the carbon cycle energy-
generation can be considered quite satisfactory for the main-
sequence stars, the above considerations relating to giants
and white dwarfs are not quite satisfactory and there appear
some contradictions which will now be pointed out. The
first difficulty is presented by the existence of stars of very
high luminosity like the blue giant Y-Cygni near the top of the
main sequence (M=17 ) and the red super giant) C-
G
Aurigae. These giants radiate as much as 1000 erg/g. sec. or
more, and at this rate the preponderant initial hydrogen con-
tent would be completely consumed in 10s or even 107 years
O.i\ in a time much shorter than even the ape 109 years
usually piven to the stars). The simplest explanation of this
would perhaps be that these are comparative younsr stars
former! long after the separation of the galaxies (on the ex-
panding Universe hypothesis) . Tn view of the fact that even
at the present time the mass of interstellar matter is comTnen-
qiTvpto with that of the stars, there is perhaps intrinsically
nothin<* against such an assumption, But it has to face the
difficulty that in star-clusters to which a common origin is to
bo aserihod there exist together <*innts and faint main- sequ-
foch cannot certainly be eoually old. Moreover
only stars of front mass be younger than the
nnrl why should there not be stars to the right of
the mrnn sequence having low Ifiminositv and **oin«* over
of the solar tyne or fainter tvnes? The second
r rrx]nfOc, |o ^p, ^TVi^fo r]xv^v^ £neh n star havin^
of th^ <3iin, anrl nprfli<*i^<~* V»Trr1ro<^^n content wonlrl
for it** formnt?o^, throi^h t^»o nrocoss of normal
ovohi^ion at least 10n years i.e. period^ lonrf^r than the
orf^ ^^ fk<-» crplr|vif»s. TV>o pn^^e^fion of Onmow that white
dwarfs known at present rlo not represent the finite stages
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 271
of normal evolution of smaller masses but fragments of
larger stars broken into pieces would no doubt remove this
difficulty, but it would be hard to assume this unless it
can be shown independently that the present white dwarfs
are not the result of the normal evolution of a star of mass
< 1*4 M starting from the main sequence. Another way
O
of escape out of the difficulty suggested by DeSitter is to
assume that the white dwarfs are really older than the
galaxies, and being dense "hard nuts to crack" they actual-
ly came through the period when the galaxies were all to-
gether and had not begun to separate. This again appears
difficult to understand if the idea were applied to Sirius A
and Sirius B, components of a double star and the latter a
white dwarf.
In conclusion we might say that while we know why
the main sequence stars are there shining, we do not know
why the giant stars still shine, and why the white dwarfs
are already there.
REFERENCES
1. Russell-Dugan-Stewart— Astronomy II— Chaps. 15, 16
and Supplement.
2. C. F. von Weiszsacker — Astronomischc Hinweis auf die
Eigcnschaften der Elementarteilchen (report for the
8th Solvay Congress) .
3. H. A. Bethe— Phys. Rev., 55 (1939) p. 434.
4. G. Gamow— ibid., 55, 1939, p. 718.
5. Gamow & Teller— ibid., p. 791, p. 796.
6. H. N. Russell — 9th James Arthur Lecture, Science, 92,
1940, p. 19.
THE SOLILOQUY
BY
C. R. MYLERU, M.A.
Modern dramatic criticism, and also the practice of
present-day playwrights are definitely against the use of
soliloquies in dramas. They are condemned as old-fashion-
ed, childish and conventional. The soliloquy might have
coine in handy for Shakespeare to reveal the workings of
the mind of the villain lago, and also incidentally to indulge
in his poetic outbursts, but, is it natural, asks the twentieth
century dramatist. Do people soliloquise when they go shop-
ping or run to catch trains or even when they get married?
On these grounds all soliloquies have been completely banish-
ed from modern plays, and especially the realistic ones deal-
ing with every-day life. If an unwary playwright should
introduce one or two of these unfortunate soliloquies, he is
immediately branded as out-of-date, and medieval.
But before we examine the question in detail let us see
what is a soliloquy. It is the speech in which a character
speaks aloud without, or regardless, of the presence of hear-
ers, directly, to the audience. Very often in Elizabethan
plays we will have the villain for example laying aside his
mask and baring his soul to the audience in a speech deliver-
ed to them in confidence. We can also include under this
head the 'asides,' which are common in old plays. These were
the means employed by dramatists to take us down into the
hidden recesses of a person's nature, and to reveal the mo-
tives of conduct which could not be disclosed in the course
of ordinary dialogue. Such knowledge would be necessary
273
for the spectators to understand the characters and their
actions completely. The dramatist is at a disadvantage when
compared to the novelist; the latter can dissect his charac-
ters and reveal their inmost thoughts, but the dramatist can
have no chance of doing it. That is why the old playwrights
had recourse to soliloquies. (It is curious how even when
there is no necessity, some modern novelists, make use of
soliloquies in their novels!) While the characters are think-
ing aloud, we are permitted to over-hear what they say. It
should not be taken that they are addressing their remarks
directly to the audience, though some actors might recite
their soliloquies in that style.
The soliloquy played an important part in ancient Greek
Drama. In Aeschylus we have the bound Prometheus pro-
claiming his woes to the heavens, before the daughters of
Ocean come to comfort him. Even in Sophocles and Euri-
pides there are several long speeches which are spoken at
large in the manner of soliloquies; they are not directly
addressed to the chorus. But even when speeches are
addressed to the chorus, they are in the nature of confessions
of the inmost thoughts of the chief characters. In French
Drama also the same system is followed; the chorus has
shrunk to a single attendant for each of the chief characters,
who always accompanies his hero or heorine, and hears all
that is said by the chief figures. Thus the clever French
dramatists, while avoiding all semblance of the soliloquy,
profited by all its advantages. These confidants were
colourless creatures, drawn vaguely and existed for the
sole purpose of being talked to. Victor Hugo dismissed
these pale figures from his plays; he was therefore driven
back to the soliloquy. The argumentative monologue of
the king in "Hernani" is one of the longest soliloquies in all
dramatic literature. It is full of Hugo's swelling rhetoric
35
274 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
and soaring figures of speech. Shakespeare and Moliere,
born-playwrights that they were, knew instinctively how
valuable the soliloquy could be to them. They never wor-
ried about the naturalness or otherwise of the convention.
Whatever was acceptable to their audiences, they made use
of without any hesitation. In Shakespeare we find his chief
characters again and again revealing their intimate thoughts
and desires through their soliloquies. Almost Always these
are helpful in making us understand clearly the workings of
the mind of his more complex characters. If these soliloquies
were not there, we may not be able to follow some of the
actions of some of his more intricate creations. But for
these self-revealing passages we may not be able to under-
stand the character of some of his men and women. Shakes-
peare makes use of the soliloquy most in his "Othello." He
uses it again and again to let lago reveal his own villainy, as
if he did not want the groundlings to have any doubts about
the wickedness of his honest lago!
But neither Shakespeare nor Moliere distinguished
between the proper use and abuse of soliloquy. There is
soliloquy which reveals character, and that which informs
us about the further development of the plot. The former
is certainly on a higher plane, which is absolutely necessary
when depicting deep conflict of emotions or psychological
conditions. "It lets a tortured hero unpack his heart; it
provides a window to his soul; it gives the spectator a plea-
sure not to be had otherwise." Professor Bradley remarks in
his "Shakespearean Tragedy" "in listening to a soliloquy we
ought never to feel that we are being addressed; in this res-
pect, as in others, many of Shakespeare's soliloquies are
masterpieces; in some the purpose of giving information lies
bare, and in one or two the actor openly speaks to the
audience." Moliere was as bad Shakespeare in this res-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 275
pect. They did not even make sure that there was no
one else present on the stage, when some characters were
soliloquizing: Romeo overhears Juliet's soliloquy from the
balcony ; in Moliere's "Miser" also there are such situa-
tions!
The soliloquy has been defended ably by many writers.
William Congreve in his Epistle Dedicatory to the "Double
Dealer" puts up a stout fight in favour of soliloquies. "I
grant that for a man to talk to himself appears absurd and
unnatural: and indeed it is so in most cases; but the cir-
cumstances which may attend the occasion make great
alteration. It oftentimes happens to man to have designs
which require him to himself, and in their nature cannot
admit of a confidant. Such for certain, is all villainy; and
otlier less mischievous intentions may be very improper
to be communicated to a second person when a man
in soliloquy reasons with himself, and weighs all his designs
we ought not to imagine that this man either talks to us or
to himself; he is only thinking, and thinking such matter as
were inexcusable folly in him to speak. But because we are
concealed spectators of the plot in agitation, and the poet
finds necessary to let us know the whole mystery of his
contrivance, he is willing to inform us of this person's
thoughts; and to that end is forced to make use of the ex-
pedient of speech, no other better way being yet invented
for the communication of thought/' Victor Hugo in the
"Miserables" declared that it was wrong to believe that the
soliloquy was unnatural, because often a strong agitation
speaks out aloud. Prof. Bradley says; "Neither soliloquy
nor the use of verse can be condemned on the mere ground
that it is unnatural. No dramatic language is natural/'
It is curious how when modern audiences allow many
unnatural conventions on the stage, the soliloquy alone has
276
been consigned to the limbo of the past. In certain kinds
of plays like light-comedy, the comic-opera, the poetic-
play the fantasy etc., the soliloquy still plays an important
part. Only in realistic prose-drama is the soliloquy com-
pletely tabooed. But even here it can be allowed in certain
circumstances; for example when a mischievous character
is plotting his schemes, or a man is thinking aloud about
his engagements for the day, or a woman is cursing her
fate when things go awry nothing is so natural as to soli-
loquize. Merely because the Elizabethans used it, we
should not think it to be old-fashioned, and therefore re-
ject it. It was certainly a convention in those days to have
soliloquies in plays. At the present day it has become the
convention not to have soliloquies! Conventionalism either
way is not sound; will it not be better to leave it to the con-
venience and ability of writers to use what technique they
choose to make their plays effective ?
" THE ROAD TO MANDALAY "
BY
K. NAGARAJAN,
Along this fascinating road, for ages past, have passed
and re-passed, countless Indians from the coast of Coro-
mandel. This statement ignores in advance the criticism of
the meticulous-minded that Mandalay itself was only a
recent creation, having been built by King Mindon in the
attempted fulfilment of a dream. The road, however, has
always been there and led to Ava and Amarapura, whose
very names breathe romance. It held an irresistible lure
for Indians and, from the deltaic regions in the south to the
upper reaches of the Irrawaddy, travellers and traffickers,
bards and Buddhist monks, princes and peasants from all
over India have moved in an unending stream.
It all began long ago and the beginnings are lost in the
mists of antiquity. The trek across the Assam frontier must
have begun long before King Asoka sent his missioneries to
Burma to preach Buddhist gospel. There Buddhism found a
favourable field for growth. There it grew and flourished
and helped to link the two countries more securely than a
mere military conquest or political association could have
done. Tamilnad's connection with Burma is several
centuries old. Rajendra Chola, runs a well-authenticated
tradition, led an expedition to Burma and proved the might
of Tamil arms on the banks of the Irrawaddy. Not very
long ago, there were discovered outside the city walls of
278 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Pegu, two stone pillars erected by the Chola king to com-
memorate his victory. One of them used to stand in
front of the District Court of Pegu, a preserved monument.
There is a theory that Kidaram, one of the Chola con-
quests, was identical with Pegu and Kidaram is unmis-
takably a Tamil name. King Anahwrata, greatest of the
kings of the Pagan dynasty, for his greater glory, sent to
India for a wife and married Panchakalyani, a princess of
Vaisali, and Kyanzhitta, the builder of the beautiful
Ananda pagoda at Pagan, was her son. All Burma's
legends and folk-lore are derived from India; the names of
her towns and rivers — the Irrawaddy, for instance, and
Ussa, the ancient name of Pegu, which was colonised from
Orissa, (I am leaving out of account for the moment
Chauthalon, Burmese for 'single stone/ which Chettiars
have rechristened as Sivasthalam and made into the abode
of the God Subramania) — attest a long and almost integral
connection with India. The Talaings are believed to derive
from the people of Telingana, who crossed over in large
numbers, while the Corganghis doubtless came from Corin-
gha, near Coconada. Burma has always been hospitable to
her western neighbour, and it is undeniable that the inter-
mingling of Indian and Burman has been full, free and
complete. The Indians met a definite economic need; they
provided the drive and the organising energy which were
apparently beyond the easy-going art-loving Burmese.
India and Burma were doubtless meant to live in neigh-
bourly intimacy; the Geological Survey of India reveals the
interesting fact that the terrain of Upper Burma is very
similar to that of Assam. All things point to a close and
considerable contact between the two countries going back
to pre-historic times, a fact worth remembering at a time
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 279
when twentieth-century man would play at sundering
those whom God, in his wisdom, has joined.
In the unceasing stream of traffic with Burma have
mingled, for longer than one cares to remember, the Chetti-
ars or, to give them their traditional name, the Nagarathars
of the ninety-six oors. It is a far cry from their sun-baked
homeland in the south country to the basins of the Sittang
and the Salween. It is true that nowadays one can cross
over in the space of a few hours; one can board an Imperial
Airways liner or a K.L.M. flying boat at Calcutta and land
at Mingladon aerodrome in time for breakfast at the Strand
Hotel on Rangoon's river-front or to do an early stroke of
business in Moghul Street or Fychte Square. But the
'temerarious' souls among the Chettiars who would essay
the (to their minds) not unperilous flight across the Arakan
Yomas or the pretty paddy-fields of Hanthawaddy, can be
counted on the fingers of one hand. Air-travel is still a novel
form of locomotion and the Chettiars are not bitten by the
modern speed-bug and they do not long to get there before
anybody else. Life is long, at all events, reasonably long
enough, and undue haste, when you come to think of it, is
undignified, and only upsets the digestion and discomposes
the nerves. They prefer to go about their business in the
way their ancestors did and for the thrill of putting a girdle
round the earth in lightning speed they have no taste.
This does not mean, however, that the Chettiars are
not adventurous. Adventure for the sake of adventure is
not their metier. But of risks, whether physical or finan-
cial, in the realm of business, they are wholly unafraid.
They have all along been true to the old saw which exhorts
the business man to seek his fortune by trading beyond the
seas. In the old days, before the turbine screw was in-
280 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
vented, these merchant adventurers worshipped the tribal
gods, knelt for a blessing before their elders and, bidding
farewell to their family and friends, set sail from some
Coromandel port and, hugging the coast, reached Rangoon
after many weeks, the discomforts of the voyage by no means
diminished by their enforced subsistence upon the home-
made rice and curry, rendered flat and tasteless by the act-
ion of the sea-wind. In this way, they traded with Malaya
and ultimately found their way to the Gulf of Martaban, on
whose shores, by all accounts, the first Chettiar firms were
started. Once landed, they opened their ledgers and com-
menced business, sustained by an infinite trust in Heaven
and the confidence of the local population, to whom their
proved integrity was the main passport. Wherever they
went, they carried with them the sense of hospitality for
which their community is noted and the mild, gentle-
mannered Chettiars soon found an abiding place in the
affections of the Burmans. They usually laboured for terms
of three years and then returned home for a three-year
period of rest before going back to resume their business
beyond the seas.
Herein lies the romance of Chettiar business. Romance
and banking! It may seem a strange combination, as
though the bamboo-mats on which they squatted could
turn into magic carpets on which one could fly
and the figures in their ledgers could turn into
fairies and knights-in-armour. But if grit and
guts, the readiness to take risks, great and small and the
determined quest for the goods which make for beauty,
quality and independance in life are the essence of romance^
the Chettiars had it in ample measure. At all events, with
no hint of the Biblical exhortation, they succeeded in
making two blades of grass grow where there was only one
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 281
or none before. And that is their magnificent record in
Burma.
It all followed in the wake of the opening of the Suez
Canal. On the quayside at Port Said stands a statue of
Ferdinand de Lesseps. The statue, with equal propriety,
could stand in front of the Sule Pagoda Wharf or the Brook-
ing Street jetty in Rangoon. For de Lesseps was the
wizard who brought prosperity to Burma. Inspired by the
researches of the Saint Simonites and with the active
assistance of his friend, the Khedive Mohamed Said, he set
to work and, undeterred by opposition or ridicule, succeed-
ed in cutting open a canal, of which Napoleon had dreamed
and of whose immense possibilities Palmerston had more
than a hazy notion. The canal was opened in 1869 and
that dates the commencement of Burma's commercial
prosperity. The markets of the West were clamouring for
rice and more rice, far more than the East could supply.
Lower Burma had a plentiful rainfall and was admirably
suited for the cultivation of rice but she had never till then
grown more than what was necessary for domestic con-
sumption. But when the canal was opened she sat up and
took notice. There were vast areas of malaria-ridden swamp
awaiting the operations of the pioneer. An immediate pro-
gramme of land reclamation on a colossal scale was taken in
hand.
All this meant money and a lot of it at that. Govern-
ment was either unable or unwilling to give the financial
backing needed but they actively encouraged the employ-
ment of private-owned capital for the purpose. The
Chettiars came forward and advanced the capital required
and enabled to open up the province to agriculture. Thanks
to their timely aid, cultivation went up a hundredfold: as
36
282 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
much as seven million tons of paddy were cultivated every
year of which nearly half was regularly exported. Rangoon
harbour was crowded with shipping waiting to carry the
nutritious paddy stocks to the markets of Europe. All
Burmese economy, in the lasi analysis, is uaseci on agricul-
ture and nearly ninety per cent of the population depend
upon the land for their livelihood. Profits went up and there
was prosperity all round, and the smile on the Burman's
face grew larger and the lilt of his pwe dancing livelier.
It is only fair to add that the Chettiars and other
Indians shared in these benefits. The Chettiars had a
remarkably developed banking organisation which played a
very important part in the economy of Burma. In the
words of Sir Harcourt Butler, " Without the assist-
ance of the Cheitiar banking system, Burma would
never have achieved the wonderful advance of the last 25
to 30 years. The Chettiars provide the necessary finance
to the agriculturists in practically every village in the Pro-
vince, and while enabling the Burman to greatly increase
his production, they have, at the same time, undoubtedly
inculcated ideas of thrift and economy by their insisting
on regular payments as regards both principal and interest.
The Burman to-day is a much wealthier man than he was
twenty-five years ago and for this state of things the
Chettiar deserves his share of thanks I feel confident
that whatever future developments of banking may do for
Burma, the Chettiar will always hold his own and prove
himself in the years to come, as he has done in the past,
the real backbone of the Banking system throughout this
Province/ The Burman was not wanting in appreciation
either. Chettiar firms were dotted all over the province
and the utmost friendliness prevailed between the Chettiars
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 283
and the Burmese. In spite of the high profits which they
were enabled to earn, the Chettiars retained their charac-
terestic simplicity and spent large sums in charity. To them
might have been addressed Burns' lines:
To catch dame Fortune's golden smile,
Assiduous wait upon her;
And gather gear by every wile,
That's justified by honour:
Not for to hide it in a hedge,
Nor for a train attendant,
But for the glorious privilege
Of being independant.
"And", I may add, with apologies to the spirit of Robert
Burns for the baldness of the amending prose, "for bringing
a ray of sunshine into the drab lives of their poorer fellow-
men."
We have good authority for saying that most of the
charitable institutions in Burma, barring those of a religious
character intended to secure spiritual merit, were presented
by Indians; and in this laudable effort, the Chettiars have
done their bit. In their own homeland, they habitu-
ally spend large sums of money for the extension of the
amenities of life. Until recently, these were of a stereo-
typed character, such as, tho building of tanks and temples
(these latter according to the most exuberant Dravidian
formula), of choultries, where the wayfarer could get food
and shelter, and the promotion of fairs and festivals, be-
loved of the peasantry. South Indian art and architecture
have in them some of their most discerning patrons, and
though the rococo palaces in which an earlier generation
delighted may not have been the last word in architectural
284 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
beauty, they, at any rate, provided the artisans and labour-
ing men of Chettinad with the means of livelihood. On
occasion, the Chettiars will fling their money about and
forget to count the cost and organise a festival and turn
the countryside over to gaiety and general jollification.
As they did, for instance, when the Nagarathars of the
ninety-six oors decided to celebrate the honour of heredi-
tary Rajah conferred on the subject of this memoir, Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar.
For, on a memorable April afternoon in 1929, in the
village of Kovilur, in the heart of Chettinad, occurred a
remarkable gathering of clans. From every one of the
ninety-six oors they came, flocking to participate in the
honour which was being done to the man who, more than
anybody else, had helped to put his community on ^he social
map of India. The broad, water-besprinkled streets were
hung thick with festoons, over which dangled innumerable
fairy lamps in every shade of the rainbow, over rows and
rows of tables, laden with the best cheer which the country
could afford. Men of light and leading from all over the
presidency had assembled to join in the demonstration, and
the Chair was appropriately filled by Rajah Sir Annamalai' s
old friend, The Right Hon'ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastriar, whose
appreciation of the Rajah's public spirit had been heighten-
ed into positive admiration by .his magnificent endowments
in the cause of education. For it was a well-known fact
that the Rajah had changed the direction and quickened the
tempo of the eleemosynary activities of his community.
Bearing in mind the establishment of the Minakshi College,
and its early conversion into the nucleus of the Annamalai
University, the Right Hon'ble Srinivasa Sastriar had previ-
ously sent a telegram of congratulation which, as conveying
§
I
tt
8
O
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 285
the general sentiment, could not have been better expressed
— "A noble deed nobly rewarded."
The Kovilur meeting was a landmark in Nagarathar
history. Never before, within recent memory, had there
been such a gathering of clans, or such a demonstration of
unrehearsed affection for a leader of the community. Rajah
Sir Annamalai, however, did not rest on his laurels. It will
not be proper or possible to treat of the other benefactions
of the Rajah or of his other services in the public cause
within the limits of this article. His services to the com-
munity in regard to their interests in Burma — and, in this
particular, they were identical with the interests of the
country in general — can more appropriately be indicated
here. It was not very long before a situation arose which
laid under contribution Sir Annamalai's untiring energy and
practical wisdom for the preservation of their carefully built-
up interests in Burma and to this end, the Rajah devoted
himself fully, freely and unreservedly.
When the Statutory Commission visited India, Sir John
Simon conceived a bright idea and that was that Burma
should be seperated from India. He was charmed with the
province, its vernal woods, flowing rivers and its forests of
virgin teak, all her untapped natural resources, and as a
quid pro quo for the pleasure he had received, resolved
on the snapping of old ties. The idea, once broadcast,
took root, grew and became a rather noisy bee in the bon-
nets of a few people. Separation became a burning ques-
tion at the time of the Round Table Conference. There
were many in Burma who looked with definite disfavour
on the idea. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Premier, pres-
cribed a test which met with general approval. He propos-
ed to leave the decision to Burma herself. In a historic
286 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
declaration, he said, "The first step is to ascertain whether
the people of Burma endorse the provisional decision that
separation should take place The people of Burma
will be in a position to decide whether, or not, they are in
favour of separation from India. His Majesty's Govern-
ment consider that the general decision might best be taken
after a general election at v/hich the broad issue had been
placed before the electorate" and, he expressly stated, that
in the event of Burma deciding to remain within the Indian
Federation, "it should be remembered that if an Indian
Federation is established it cannot bo on the basis that the
members can leave it as and when they choose/' It was a
time when generous ideas were in the air and the principle
of self-determination so presented for practical action was
calculated to satisfy all parties. Indian leaders considered
it the best way of solving the problem and stood aside, wait-
ing to see the sequel. An election was fought on the broad
issue propounded by the Prime Minister and it resulted in a
resounding victory for the anti-separationists. This was a
rather smart smack in the face for those who had sv/orn that
the Burmese, as one man, were clamouring for separation.
Doubts were cast — vague, indefinite elusive uncertainties,
impossible to lay hold of and assail — on the manner in which
the election had been run. It was alleged that the issue had
not been properly placed before the people and His Majesty's
Government decided to ask the Council which had been elect-
ed to decide afresh on the issue. They gave their verdict in a
special session of the legislature convened for the purpose
in February, 1935. 37 of the elected representatives voted
for remaining within the Indian Federation, while 31 voted
against, but by a piece of jugglery to which legislatures with
a strong nominated bloc are peculiarly susceptible, by add-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 287
ing the votes of non-official members, the figures given above
gave place to 47 for, and 37 against, separation.
Before this, a memorandum signed by 44 of the elect-
ed representatives had been sent up to the Government,
pleading for retention within the Indian Federation. The
Burmese representatives who gave evidence before the
Joint Select Committee, including Dr. Ba Maw, sometime
Premier of Burma, were emphatically in favour of "the
federal alternative as being in keeping with the clear man-
date we have obtained from the country."
And yet separation was decided on. The question was
hotly debated in Indian circles whether India should not
enter the field against separation, and the general decision
was that India should not queer the Burman pitch by any
action on this side of the Bay of Bengal. The Nattukkottai
Chettiar Association in Burma was greatly perturbed, and
it was mainly as a result of Rajah Sir Annamalai's attitude,
which was in conformity with the general view of the Indian
leaders, that the Association stood aloof.
Detachment in regard to the issue as to separation did
not dispose of the matter. The recommendations of the
Joint Select Committee gave rise to apprehensions that the
future of Indians in Burma would be gravely jeopardised.
There was no cleavage of opinion in any particular among
the Indians in Burma as to the dangers inherent in the posi-
tion envisaged by the Joint Select Committee, and it was
decided that steps should be taken to safeguard the posi-
tion of Indians in Burma. An All-Burma Indian Conference
was held at Rangoon on the 29th and the 30th December,
1934, and it was presided over by Mr. Mirza JVTohamed
Rafi, Mayor of Rangoon who had been associated with the
288 RAJAH SIR ANJVAMALAI CHETTIAR
Burma Round Table Conference. Mr. S. A. S. Tyabji, who
was recently in India at die head oi a Delegation from
Burma to protest against the Iiido-Burma Immigration
Agreement, was the Chairman of the Reception Committee.
Various resolutions were passed and a Delegation was
appointed to proceed to England for the purpose of making
representations to His Majesty's Government with a view
to securing adequate safeguards.
The Delegation left for England in February 1935.
Meanwhile, The Government of India Bill had been pub-
lished and the apprehensions expressed at the Rangoon Con-
ference were found to be justified. The provisions enabling
the Burmese legislature to impose restrictions on the rights
of Indians to enter Burma and on the right of alienation of
land were calculated to cut at the root of Indian business in
Burma. That Indians would be subject, in the future, to
highly discriminatory treatment was a conclusion from which
there seemed to be no escape.
From the start, it was clear tJnat the position called for
careful handling. The delegation held several discussions in
Bury Street among themselves and the task of negotiating a
satisfactory amendment oi the Bill fell upon the shoulders
of Rajah Sir Annamaiai Chettiar.
Rajah Sir Annamaiai actually arrived in London on
February the 23rd, and lust no time m getting into touch
with the India Office and leading members of Parliament.
He met the Right Hon'ble the Secretary of State
and Mr. R. A. Butler, the Under Secretary, both of whom he
was able to impress with the strength of the Indian case.
He also took an early opportunity of meeting Earl
Winterton and discussing with him the questions agitating
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 289
the Delegation. Very early in the proceedings, the dele-
gation had the advantage of a thorough examination of the
position with Lord (then Sir Malcolm) Hailey, and it look-
ed as though modification was possible of the clause relat-
ing to land alienation and, as to Indian immigration, all that
the Government apparently had in mind was the confer-
ment of the right to restrict the immigration of unskilled
labour into Burma.
In addition to the two points indicated already, Sir
Annamalai was definitely of the opinion, that it was a matter
of the first importance to Chettiars, that they should have
separate representation in the Burmese legislature. The
enormous interests which they owned in Burma were held
to justify the reservation of a seat for the Nattukkottai
Chettiars' Association, Burma.
While in London, Sir Annamalai's attention was
drawn to a serious omission in tiie safguarding provisions of
the Bill. While a certain degree of security in regard to the
carrying on of trade and business and connected matters was
guaranteed to British Indian subjects, no such safeguard
was provided in the case of subjects of Indian States simi-
larly situated in regard to Burma. Knowing the commit-
ments of the Chettiars of the Pudukotah State, and of the
large numbers of men from the States of Western India who
had been carrying business in Burma for generations, Rajah
Sir Annamalai was quick to realise the gravity of the omis-
sion and he forthwith took the matter up with the Secretary
of State. The omission was repaired by the Government
themselves introducing the necessary amendment.
Several informal discussions were held with the India
Office authorities who displayed, in the words of the Rajah,
"a gratifying readiness to appreciate the Indian case and to
37
290 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
do what they could do to safeguard Indian interests in
Burma." His discussion with Mr. Geoitrey Peto, M.P.,
Mr. Kirkpatrick, M.P. arid the Right Hon'ble Major Hills
were particularly helpful.
The discussions disclosed that die Government were not
unalive to the risks involved in leaving the clauses on land
alienation unrectified. These clauses were so framed as to
give the Burmese legislature freedom to promote legislation
prohibiting the sale or mortgage of lands to persons who
were not agriculturists. Sir Annamalai drew pointed
attention to the large accumulations of land in the hands of
Indians, as a result of circumstances, purely fortuitous.
To any one who knew the real position, it was crystal clear
that land was the last thing which the Indian business men
wished to own in Burma, and that it was their main pur-
pose and preoccupation to get rid of the lands which had,
so to speak, come unsought into their possession. Rajah
Sir Annamalai was able to convince the Secretary of State
that Indian landowners in Burma were not land-grabbers
and that, though as landlords, they had been markedly con-
siderate to their tenantry with whom their relations were,
on the whole, extremely cordial, they did not fancy the
role which accident had thrust upon them. He pointed
out that the restrictive legislation foreshadowed would result
in an artifical restriction of the land market and a serious
reduction of land values. He suggested that the desired
protection of agriculturists from the consequences of their
improvident dealings with land could be achieved by pre-
venting the sale or mortgage of land in the hands of the
agriculturists to anyone who was not an agriculturist him-
self. The suggestion commended itself to the Secretary of
State and the clause in question was amended in the sense
indicated.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 291
Clause 340 disturbed the delegation a good deal. It
began well, it conceded to Indians the right to reside in
Burma and to carry on tiade or do business, without any
restriction whatsoever: it put the Indians exactly in the
same position as subjects of the United Kingdom in
regard to these and cognate matters — but with a differ-
ence. The clause contained a proviso that all the rights con-
ceded by the clause were subject to "any restriction on the
right of entry" or "any condition lawfully imposed as a con-
dition of entry' ' which the legislature of Burma might
impose. Therein lay the rub. The clause seemed designed
to have the effect of taking away with one hand what had
been given by the other. Representations were made to the
Secretary of State about the unfairness of such a provision
and the reply was given that it was felt that there was an
uneconomic excess of cheap, unskilled Indian labour which
flooded the Burmese market and that the clause was
designed only to enable legislation restricting the immigra-
tion of unskilled labour from India. Rajah Sir Annamalai
and Mr. Haji drew attention to the fact that there was
nothing to show that Indian labour was assuming menacing
proportions but, on this head the Government was firm;
but, at the same time, they made it perfectly clear that it
was not at all their intention to strike at other Indians, who
would be at perfect liberty to come and go as they please.
This assurance was repeated at the formal interview which
the Delegation had with the Secretary of State.
The delegation was strongly of the opinion that, in that
case, the matter should be placed beyond the possibility of
doubt by a suitable amendment of the proviso. Lord
Winterton and Mr. Godfrey Nicholson were good enough to
table amendments in the sense that the Burmese legis-
lature may promote legislation designed to restrict the
292 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
immigration of cheap unskilled labour. When the clause
came up for discussion, the Attorney General, Sir Thomas
Inskip dealt with Lord Winterton's amendment and observ-
ed that "it passed the wit of parliamentary counsel or drafts-
men to devise a form of words' ' which would adequately
define the phrase "unskilled labour" and that therefore the
best plan would be to instruct the Governor to reserve any
Bills which contain racial discrimination and to reserve also
Bills which contain restrictions upon professional or busi-
ness men who, while India and Burma have been united,
have carried on business in either country." Sir Samuel
Hoare, the Secretary of State, referring to the discussions
which he had had with the delegation said that he was ablq
to convince them "that the best way of meeting their
anxieties was to adopt the method of the Instrument of
Instructions." After such a full and clear statement of
intention, the delegation felt that there was no further need
to be anxious on this score. Moreover, when the Instru-
ment of Instructions was under consideration in the House
of Commons, in November 1936, Mr. Butler observed that
the fears entertained "on this score by Indians who wished
to enter Burma may be quietened in view of the contents of
Paragraph XX of the Instrument of Instructions." He
added that "the reason that we cannot make a simple rule is
that we have to make this differentiation in regard to
unskilled labour while, at the same time, we do not want
to stop the free entry of Indians in general." It was assum-
ed that these assurances given by such high authorities
would, in the words of Mahatmaji "have the effect of pro-
missory notes." The delegation had not the slightest
suspicion then that a day would come when these assurances
would be ignored and that Government would take its stand
on the letter of the law which was, after all, like advancing
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 293
a plea of limitation to defeat a just debt. It may be a pro-
missory note, but some people always ask, "Is it in the
bond?"
Rajah Sir Annamalai, while he was in England, pleaded
for separate representation of the Nattukkottai Chettiars'
Association in the Burmese Legislature. He was able to
present his case with such reason and moderation that the
Government readily accepted his suggestion. In moving
the amendment Mr. R. A. Butler, the Under Secretary of
State said "The Chettiar Association have a very important
position in Burma. It is composed mainly of merchant
bankers, who perform services absolutely vital to Burma.
It occupies a very important position in the national life and
performs duties which Burma can ill afford to lose."
It may be worth recording in this connection that after
Rajah Sir Annamalai had left, Mr. R. A. Butler told the pre-
sent writer (who had the privilege of being associated with
the delegation and particularly with the Rajah all through)
that it was a pleasure to conduct talks with the Rajah who
had always "put his case moderately" and hoped that his
labours will be appreciated in India.
Mr. Butler's hope was justified. On his return to India
the Rajah was the recipient of letters and telegrams expres-
sing the warmest appreciation of his work.
A special meeting of the Nagarathars was held at
Kovilur where a resolution expressing the community's
appreciation and gratitude was formally passed. The
Hindu was appreciative and stated in a leading article "that
the concessions that have been gained are valuable. They,
in fact, make it clear that the authorities in England are
convinced that every one of the claims made by Indians is
wholly justifiable."
294 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Since separation new problems have arisen and the
Rajah has always been ready to tackle them as and when
they arose. In 1937, an attempt was made to tax agricul-
tural income which had accrued to Indians in Burma in
1936. This was indefensible as, under the Indian Income-
tax Act, agricultural income is excmnt from liability for
income-tax and in the ' previous year, ' which was the
accounting year Burma was a part of India. The Rajah was
almost the first to perceive the point and he took the matter
up in his capacity as the President of the Nattukkottai
Npcjarathar Association with the Central Board of Revenue
and also submitted a memorial to His Excellency the
Governor-General-in-Council. It is gratifying to be able to
record that the Government of India directed the cancella-
tion of the levy.
Land legislation became a vexed question in Burma and
came to be taken in hand in 1938. The question was
whether occupancy rights were to be given to Burmese
peasants and what steps should be taken to protect them
from the consequences of their improvident dealings with
their land. The System of landholding in Burma is ryot-
wari and virtually modelled on the Madras system. Rajah
Sir Annamalai Chettiar and his fellow-Nattukkottai
Chettiars were in entire sympathy with the promotion
of schemes calculated to improve the economic position of
the Burmese peasant. But they pleaded that the methods
adopted should be such as to achieve the object and at
the same time be above reproach. He cited the example of
the Malabar Tenancy Act and indicated that the remedy
lay in the direction of providing for something like an
option of renewal on a fair and equitable rent, to be settled
by the Revenue Officer assisted by a kind of local jury, and
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 295
for equitable enhancement. The main thing to be guarded
against was unconditional or improper ejectment. One
point which Sir Annamalai has always stressed is that the
Indians ought to be prepared to part with their lands in
their possession at the earliest opportunity — a view in which
the Indian community are in entire accord.
Many and various are the practical problems which
Separation has brought to the fore and these require to be
studied with care and dispassion. Rajah Sir Annamalai
keeps an alert and watchful eye on them and has been ever
ready and willing to take steps for their preservation.
The need for vigilence and vigorous action has never
been greater than at the present moment. We have all heard
of the Indo-Burma Immigration Agreement which was
recently concluded between the Government of India and
the Government of Burma. The whole matter is, in a
manner of speaking, subjudice, but there can be no harm
in saying that the whole country is cursing it by bell, book
and candle. The strongest criticism to which there has,
so far, been no answer is that the agreement runs counter
to the assurance given in and outside Parliament that the
checks on Indian Immigration would be limited to the case
of unskilled labour.
A public meeting was held in Madras on the 28th of
July to condemn the agreement. Sir Mahomed Usman pre-
sided and expressed his disapproval in no uncertain terms.
Kumararajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar, Rajah Sir Annamalai's
son, who has already made a name for himself by his
philanthropy and public spirit, subjected the agreement to
a scathing analysis. A strong and influential Committee
has been appointed to take steps to obtain a rectification of
the agreement. Rajah Sir Annamalai, naturally, is on this
296
Committee where his intimate first-hand knowledge of
affairs is found to be of great practical help. Along with
other members of the deputation, he waited on His Excel-
lency the Viceroy and presented the case for India forcefully
and yet fairly.
A Delegation from Burma was in Simla recently and
Bombay and Bengal have taken up the matter vigorously.
It is hoped that the joint labours of the various bodies which
have taken up the matter will result in the substitution of
an arrangement which will be in consonance with justice,
equity and good conscience. Sir Annamalai's own feeling is
that "someone has blundered". The Burmese people acting
in consullation with Indians would have been able to pro-
duce an arrangement fairly and reasonably reconciling then-
different claims. The Burmese, he is convinced, have noth-
ing but the liveliest affection for the Indians, based upon an
intercourse which goes back through the ages and will not
readily consent to cut the painter regardless. They are not
at all likely to contemplate with equanimity the cessation of
the free flow of thought and commerce which has charac-
terised the relations between the two countries. And, as
for the Indians themselves, they can never forget what
Burma and the Burmese have meant to them, and whatever
happens, mingling with the wind in the palm-trees and the
tinkle of the temple-bells, the .voice of the kindly Burmese
people will be wafted over the waters of the Bengal Bay.
"Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the flyin' — fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China
'crost the Bay!"
THE LIBRARY MOVEMENT IN INDIA— SOME ASPECTS
BY
K. NAGARAJA RAO M.A., B.L.
The Library Movement means the education of the
masses with the aid of Libraries and the scope of the sub-
ject is confined to popular public libraries and other subjects
like the Commercial, Special, National, University, Prison
and Hospital Libraries are excluded. The oft-quoted dictum
of Carlyle 'The true University of these days is a collection
of books" is only a half truth. "A collection of books is
neither more nor less than — a collection of books, no more
a library than a heap of bricks is a building. The books, qua
books are little or nothing — they must be made productive
by the work of the Librarian, books selected, classified and
catalogued and intelligently displayed. That is a library "
(Stanley Jast: — Libraries and Living, page 4).
It wa* in the year 1910 the modern Library Movement
began in our country when that enlightened ruler and
sagacious statesman, the late Sayaji Rao Gaekwad
brought the American Librarian, Borden to introduce
and plan modern libraries in his state. To him belongs
the credit of having inaugurated the Library Movement in
our country. Libraries were long ago recognized as im-
portant auxiliaries to any system of national education in the
European countries and the State financed and maintained
libraries which became effective instruments of adult educa-
tion and centres of learning. On account of the cultural
value and immense influence on the people the library
38
298 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
movement in the West converted a great majority of nation-
alities into literate citizens who were fully able to appreci-
ate the significance of political and social rights they were
capable of enjoying under democratic governments. A
brief review of the progress of Libraries in a few European
countries may help us to understand the problem better.
Belgium is the oldest country to have developed the
public library in the 14th and 15ih centuries. So eariy as
1772 Maria Theresa opened the Library oi the Dukes oi
Burgundy and in I7i*2 the National Convention decreed
4 'There shall be close to every school a puohc library and a
small museum of national history/' The Teaching League
took an active part in the i^tn century, in Ib20 every Com-
mune was obliged to start a library li i|5 oi the electoral
body demanded it. in li)2y for a population ol 8 millions
there were over 3*8 million booKs and 2,188 public libraries.
Equally interesting is the progress ot Jbuigarian Libra-
ries which were tounded in Ibob and pavea the way ior
tuture democracy. ufclhe Jruoiic Libraries were miniature
departments ot j&ciucaiion, wao appointed teachers, provid-
ed poor students with text books and clothing, tounded the
Bulgarian Academy oi Sciences at Braila jtfuigarian
national drama and theatre were lostered within the wails
of the libraries —ttostwicK — l Popular Libraries of the
World ; pages 36 and 37. Portions of state lands were set
apart out oi revenues, of which the libraries were maintained.
In 1920 68 per cent of the population of the Soviet Union
were illiterate and the work of the Commissariat of Educa-
tion was the education of adult population and "creation of
centres for the liquidation of illiteracy; political, cultural
clubs and reading rooms (Lenin Corners); workers and
peasants' houses; permanent and itinerant libraries;
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 299
quick learners help the slower; semi-illiterates the illite-
rates/' Good (W.T.) "School Teachers and scholars in
Soviet Russia" pages 61-63. Thus over ten million people
were taught to read and write and the love of books was
such that even in lobbies of Cinemas there is a Reading Room
to keep the visitors occupied in the intervals of performances,
and the number of literates has come up to 90 per cent in
recent times because the Soviet Libraries were an active
social and educational force,
In England the Public Library Act was passed in 1850
and from that time onward the state has undertaken the
maintenance and control of libraries. By 1927 with the
benefactions of Andrew Carnegie the whole country was
covered with a network of county libraries, the next stage
being the establishment of Regional System of Co-operation
and National Central Library. Sir Frederick George Ken-
yon, Director, British Museum, in his Message to Indian
Library Association states "You in India can profit by our
experience. It may take generations to form a library sys-
tem to cover this vast country. The lesson of Librarians is
mutual help and common service to entire nation and man-
kind."
When compared to this state of affairs elsewhere the
Library movement may be said to be still in its infancy in
our country. Judged by the literacy test in the last decade
which is only 8 per cent for the whole of India (though a few
states fare better) the gulf separating the educated and the
uneducated is so enormously wide and no society or nation
can be said to be civilized or enlightened under such condi-
tions.
The Indian peasant is steeped in ignorance, superstition
and bigotry in addition to his proverbial poverty. A com-
300 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
pulsory (not optional as it is now) system of primary edu-
cation can surely eradicate the evil but without the aid of
libraries, even this will be useless. The Government
Reports of Education Departments have often deplored the
lapses into illiteracy in the stages of primary education. The
dictum of Loe Strachey (Editor of the Spectator) — "To
educate people and not to provide them with tools to work
with (books) is obviously an absurdity, if not a crime' ' still
holds good. The only solution and immediate need of the
hour is the establishment of village libraries whereby the
wastage of money on primary education could be avoided
and full benefits be reaped by the villager. The economic,
cultural and political advancement of our country is closely
connected with the education of the masses and libraries
play the most important part in this nation-building activity.
It is for the State to maintain and build up as many libraries
as possible or to initiate legislation to enable local authori-
ties to raise funds by taxation.
Let us examine if this movement is entirely foreign or
if there are traces of libraries in our country in ancient days.
Long ago our venerable sage and lawgiver Manu declared
that to carry knowledge to the doors of the poor was the
greatest act of charity a nation could be capable of doing
and knowledge was imparted in very ancient times by word
of mouth before the days of printing.
Literature and learning were the sole monopoly of the
priestly classes who carried the whole of the Vedas in their
memories and were thus Ambulatory Librarians. Even to
this day we find traces of them in the Dwivedi and Trivedis
of Gujarat. The secular literature was spread by the bards
who were entertained at royal courts and sang the exploits
of warriors. It was from the amalgamation of these epics
we get the Mahabharata.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 301
From the accounts of the Chinese pilgrims Fa-hien,
Hiuen Tsiang and I-tsing of the 5th and 7th centuries we get
some description of libraries in the Universities of Nalanda,
Taxila and Pataliputra. The Nalanda University had a
library in a nine storied building with 300 apartments.
In the Inscriptions of Nagai published in 1928 (Hydera-
bad Archaeological Series No. 8 pages 7 and 40) under the
Chalukyan king of the llth century we find "Equipment of
a Library (Sarasvati bhandara) with Librarians who were
called Sarasvati bhandarikas." There were six of them who
with six other teachers were teaching a body of 252 students.
King Bhoja is said to have had a big library.
Under the Mohammadan rule we find emperors taking
interest in Hindu books and Kalilah Damnah was translated
into Persian as Anwar-i Suheili. Jalaluddin, founder of the
Khilji dynasty, appointed the reputed poet and scholar Amir
Khusru as his Imperial Librarian and raised him to the
status of a peer. In the Bahmini dynasty there was a big
library at Ahmednagar. Mohammad Gawan who lived in
the 15th century was the Andrew Carnegie of those days.
He was a minister and poet who built a number of libraries.
At Bijapur there was a library under the Adil Shahi kings.
Fergusson an English architect who visited the place
in the 19th century concluded from the ruins that it must
have been a fine library.
Among the Moghul kings Great Akbar was an enthusi-
astic bibliophile, who acquired the library of his minister
Faizi and also the Library of the Gujarati king whom he
conquered. It was in his reign we have the practice of
illuminating books with pictures and much attention was
paid to sumptuous bindings. The recent work of historic
importance throwing light on miniature painting and book
302 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
decorations of the ancient Persians is that publication of the
Oxford University Press under the editorship of Pope (Sur-
vey of Persian Art, Volume III). Humayun also was a
lover of books. There seems to have been some system of
classification also. Books were divided into three groups
(1) Poetry, Medicine, Astrology and Music, (2) Philology,
Philosophy, Sufism, Astronomy and Geometry, (3) Com-
mentaries, traditions, theology and Law. It is too much to
expect that the equipment, methods and ideals of modern
Library service were prevalent in our country long ago.
Coming to recent times in the pioneer State of Baroda
there are over 1,100 Village Libraries for a total of 3000
villages in the State and the system of State grant is as
follows. In District towns the Government gives a grant
of Rs. 700 provided the people raise Rs. 700 and local boards
contribute an equal sum of Rs. 700. In the case of less im-
portant towns the amount is Rs. 300 and for villages 100
with equal contributions from the people and local boards.
Similar rules apply for buildings also (Rs. 1000). On mar-
riage occasions a small fee is collected for libraries. The
travelling libraries are maintained solely by Government.
With its network of village and town libraries, Baroda is
the most advanced state in our country and serves over 82
per cent of the state population.
Another American A. D. Dickson reorganized the Libra-
ries of the Punjab in 1915 and started training classes. In
1929 there was a Librarians' Club in Lahore which ultimate-
ly developed into the Punjab Library Association and
Modern Librarian is the leading journal in the field now,
In 1932 the Indian Library Association was formed which
has held four conferences. The compilation of a Union
Catalogue of Scientific Periodicals, a Scheme for inter-loan
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 303
of books, expansion of Dewey System to suit Indian subjects
are some subjects on which it is at work. It has also taken
up the establishment of provincial copyright libraries in the
provinces.
Much useful work has also been done by the Library
Associations of the Provinces of Madras, Bombay, Bengal
Bihar and United Provinces. The Andhra Desa Library
Association has been organizing libraries amongst the
Andhras north of Madras. The All Kerala Library Associa-
tion is doing much in the States of Travancore and Cochin.
The Governments of the Punjab, Bombay, Bihar, United
Provinces and Madras are doing some efforts for establishing
libraries in rural parts; but still much remains to be done
and there is enough scope ror private philanthropy to under-
take this work of national reconstruction.
THE CARTESIAN 'COGITO'
"A Critical Evalution"
BY
P. S. NAIDU, M.A.,
ivimd-maUer dualism, it has been argued, is the
hiduen rock on wmch many systems 01 European thought
have been wrecked, it has raised so many insoluble pro-
blems that one looks aghast at the dead wall to which one
is led up ii' its implications are uncritically accepted.
Courageous attempts have been made to break through this
wall by denying the one or the other element in the
dualistic partnership, or by reducing one to the status of a
mere function or even an appearance of the other. But
these attempts have been sorry failures. What is ejected
out of the front creeps in by the back door. From Plato
down to Bergson dualism has persisted in some form or other.
Mind and Matter; thought and extension; substance and
attribute ; reality and appearance ; phenomenon and
noumenon; — these are a lew of the many forms which the
dualism has assumed. Of these mind-matter dualism is the
most refractory type. We do not propose to tackle this pro-
blem in this very short paper, but shall attempt to deal with
something which is much simpler, but at the same time very
important for a general understanding of the problem in its
proper perspective. We shall deal with the metaphysical
origins of this problem in Cartesian philosophy.
Dualism of mind and matter has been a most
unwelcome legacy to the long line of European thinkers. It
305
haunted the minds of philosophers and psychologists, and
produced bizarre hallucinations and strange delusions. Its
remote origins are, no doubt, lost in the dim past of ancient
Greek speculations, but its immediate ancestry may be
readily traced to the 'father of modern philosophy'. Renes
Descartes it was who gave it philosophic standing, and since
his time it has been a thorn in the side of the philosopher.
There are critical thinkers who believe that it is not the
method of doubt, not the 'cogito ergo sum\ but the dualism
of mind and matter that is the foundation for Cartesian
philosophy. It is a datum, and not a deduction, say they.
The steps in the proof, though styled deductive, by which
Descartes passes from the self to the external world on the
one hand, and to God on the other, are so many immediate
intuitive apprehensions, and not syllogistic deductions.
Each step in the demonstration, Descartes himself holds,
shares the compelling character of the 'cogito'. We are pre-
pared to admit this, but we are forced to agree with the critic
who says that unless a dualism is postulated as a pre-condi-
tion of the demonstration, the conclusion cannot be obtained.
Descartes contends that the 'cogito' is an axiom in the
strictest mathematical sense. Even so, all that the Cartesian
deducation can establish is that there is a material world and
that our knowledge of it is not deceptive. How that know-
ledge is possible at all is not made clear.
The whole difficulty arises out of a subtle unanalysed
fallacy in the 'cogito' itself. When Descartes argued, "I
think ; therefore, I am, " he created an unbridgable gulf be-
tween the subject who thinks and the object of his thought.
Thereafter a reconciliation between subject and object could
be attempted only through some such highly mechanical
and artificial device as the 'Deus ex machina' of Occasiona-
lism.
39
306 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
The situation became so distressing that Spinoza had
to adopt very desperate measures to rescue the toundations
of metaphysics. As an alternative to occasionalism
Spinoza chose the device of raising the methodological
principle of universal Cartesian doubt to the status of a
meta-physical principle. He stated it in the form so well
known to us, 'All determination is negation.' But in doing
so he emptied his central metaphysical concept of all con-
tent. It is true that dualism of the Cartesian type is elimi-
nated here, but the conception of the absolute which
Spinoza arrived at by thinking away all its determinations
is so significantly empty of any content that a learned
philosopher remarked that it is 'the empty idea of being,
which idea is indistinguishable from the idea of empty
being.' If, therefore, we exclude from the absolute com-
pletely the positive element which the relations of the
finite supply, we must find ourselves confronted by an un-
knowable absolute — an absolute which because it leaves
the finite unexplained is philosophically useless, and which
because it excludes the finite from itself is faced by it as an
other, and so ceases to be absolute. This is the final con-
clusion if we accept the rigorous exclusion of determination
championed by Spinoza and others in the same line of
philosophic thought.
But, even so has Spinoza succeeded in maintaining con-
sistently the position reached by systematic deduction from
his metaphysical principle? Alongside his empty absolute he
postualtes 'God' with innumerable auspicious qualities. The
dualism which Spinoza sought to overcome by reducing
thought and extension to the subordinate status of attributes
of the absolute now reappears in another form. And this
persistent dualism may in the last resort be traced to the
Cartesian 'Cogito'.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 307
How are we to break through this dualism? Leibnitz,
the third in the line of European rationalistic succession,
attempted to resolve the difficulty by taking up relation into
substance itself, and by attempting to reconcile the idea of
substance as a continum with that of substance as com-
posed of discrete elements. We have seen already that
Descartes created a gulf between subject and object, and
then struggled to bridge it by interactionism. The cartesian
system is predominantly logical, and so efficient causation
has no place in it. Yet efficient causation is introduced by
Descartes and made to function in an illogical manner. In
Spinoza efficient causation has no place at all. Has not
Spinoza definitely thrown out interactionism, and chosen
logical ground and consequence instead of cause and effect
as his guiding principles? But this discarded element
suddenly makes its appearance in the Spinozistic doctrine
of modes. Leibnitz shrewdly noticing these defects in his
predecessor's systems, proposed to take up efficient causa-
tion into his principle of sufficient reason. But in the
Monadology of Leibnitz the principle of contradiction plays
an important part. And Leibnitz is unable to bring this
principle into harmony with efficient causation. And finally
we are landed in the grand Leibnitzian doctrine of 'Pre-
established Harmony'. Moreover the Leibnitzian denial of
the reality of space is in response to the demand made by
the very definition of the Monad itself. The philosophical
quagmire into which our thinker lands himself may be traced
to his incapacity to resolve the two principles of contradic-
tion and efficient reason in a higher synthesis. If he had
treated these as merely two aspects of self-consciousness he
would have had no difficulty at all in his metaphysics.
And that takes us back to the beginning of our story.
The blame for all the ills that European rationalism is heir
308
to may be laid at the door of Descartes. The Cartesian
Cogito, and the assumption that the rationality of the
universe may be deduced from this principle are the
sources of all these difficulties. It was open to Descartes
to have made the right start by taking the rationality of
the universe or the veracity of God as the indispensable
first principle or the unquestioned datum. Then the scio,
and not the cogito would have been the ruling doctrine in
Cartesianism. And in the scio Descartes would have
found such a vital union betwen subject and object
as would have made the dualistic position absolutely impossi-
ble. The cogito necessarily resolves into a subject who
perceives his own ideas which may or may not be true repre-
sentations of the reality outside, whereas in the scio we have
a subject who know:; objects. Ropresentationism could
have been completely avoided by making the fact of know-
ledge instead of the fact of thinking the central point in the
datum.
The cogito with interactionism as its prop challenges
parallelism and brings this into prominence, and finally
evolves into pre-established harmony. Throughout the
course of this evolution the principle of efficient causation
championed by science is making its appearance at critical
points in a most inconvenient manner. All these unrecon-
ciled and irreconcilable logical and psychological principles
may be resolved in a higher synthesis if we make 1 know'
instead of 1 think' the starting point for a rationalistic
philosophy.
ORIGIN OF BURMESE COMPETITION IN MADRAS
RICE MARKET
BY
B. NATARAJAN, M.A.,
Lecturer in Economics, University of Madras.
For a long time the city of Madras and the coastal
districts to the north do not appear to have been self-suffi-
cient in the matter of food supply. An English writer of
the 18th century refers to its dependence on foreign supplies
of food grains and the consequent vulnerability to an econo-
mic blockade:
"Madras, with most other places on the Coast of
Corromondel (which is in general barren and does not
produce grain enough for the subsistence of its inhabi-
tants) is obliged to be yearly supplied from the more
fertile coasts of Orissa and Bengal, with vast quantities
of rice, which is the chief food of the most of the people
in the East Indies; so that an Enemy that is superior at
sea, may easily distress them very much, by taking the
vessels laden with rice coming from the Northward."1
Among the records of the East India Company we find
statistics of the import of "rice, wheat and all other grain
and pulse" from 1796-97 to 1828-29. These statistics pre-
pared by the elder Mill, in his capacity as the Examiner of
1. A Narrative of the transactions of British Squadrons
in the East Indies during the late war : By an Officer who served
in those Squadrons (1751) , p. 30,
310
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
India Correspondence, does not give the import figures for
rice separately, but it is certain that the bulk of it consisted
of rice. The following figures give the periodical averages
of import in quantity and value of grains from "the several
ports of Bengal to the several ports and places on the Coro-
mandel coast" from 1796-97 to 1828-29.2
Years
Period Average No. Average No. Average
Years of Bags of Maunds Value
Rs.
1796-7 to 1800-1
5
3,56,189
7,12,378
6,93,047
1801-2 to 1805-6
5
5,55,495
11,10,990
11,12,813
1806-7 to 1810-11
5
6,24,916
12,49,812
13,29,812
1811-12 to 1815-16
5
3,55,124
7,10,247
7,12,208
1816-17 to 1820-21
5
97,732
1,95,464
1,95,464
1821-22 to 1825-26
5
2,87,794
5,94,364
8,63,735
1826-27 to 1828-29
3
39,364
78,306
1,24,523
A closer study of the statistics shows that these imports
came to meet a real want since they had been the heaviest
in years when the Presidency or parts of it were experiencing
a drought or famine, as in 1806-7 and 1807-8, in 1812-13
and 1813-14 and in 1823-24 to 1825-26. The imports were
confined to the city of Madras (and its vicinities including
Chingleput and North Arcot Districts) and to the northern
districts such as Godavary, Kistna, Vizagapatam and Gan-
jam. In the south, Tanjore was acting as a great granary and
was even exporting to Ceylon. On the West Coast, Canara
2. Compiled from the Report of the Select Committee of the
House of Commons, 1832, Appendix No. 109.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 311
was exporting rice to Arabia and Bombay.3 The Ceded
Districts received their supplies mainly from Mysore. The
markets of Tanjore and Canara would have met the internal
demands had there been an adequate development of in-
land communications. However, up to about 1825 rice im-
ports from Bengal were regular. " A large fleet of dhonies
regularly plied between the Coromandel Coast and Bengal
conveying salt to Calcutta and returning with cargo of
grain. Their chief resort was the port of Coringa from
which place grain could be distributed not only throughout
the Northern Circars but also through Hyderabad.4
In the twenties, a new source of supply for rice sprang
up from Burma, which ultimately displaced Bengal as an ex-
porter. It subsequently assumed such proportions during
the economic depression that prevailed in the Madras Presi-
dency during the years 1825-545 that an analogy as to its
effects can be found only in the Burmese imports of rice in
the recent depression. History repeats itself.
The development of rice trade in Burma reads like a
romance. In 1826 the provinces of Arakan and Tenasserim
were annexed by the British. At that time they were so
thinly populated and undeveloped that it was seriously con-
3. Evidence of Mr. Hodgson to the Select Committee of the
House of Commons, dated May 1830.
4. Henry St. G. Tucker : Memorials of India Government,
p. 461.
The important part played by the port of Coringa (near
Cocanada) in the commercial intercourse with Burma is seen from
the fact that even to-day Telugu labourers from whichever part
they come are called Corangees by the Burmese.
5. Thomas and Natarajan : Economic Depression in the
Madras Presidency (1825-54), (Economic History Review, Vol.
VII No. 1.)
312 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
templated whether they should not be restored to the Burman
king. But in the subsequent thirty years the two provinces
witnessed unparalleled economic development under the
aegis of British rule.6 Vast tracts of virgin soil were brought
under the plough and sown with paddy. The total increase
in the cultivated area in Arakan alone between 1826 and
1855 was 250 per cent.
STATISTICS SHOWING THE GROWTH OF PADDY CULTI-
VATION AND LAND REVENUE IN ARAKAN (1826-55)
Area of assessed
Year
cultivation
Land Revenue
(Acres)
Rs.
1826
66,227
2,32,250
1835
133,952
5,28,320
1845
233,769
6,84,550
1855
353,885
12,77,290
A similar development took place in Tenasserim also,
where the land revenue from cultivated area rose from
Rs. 26,760 in 1825-26 to Rs. 8,33,000 in 1855-56. In 1843
the acreage under cultivation was 1,00,657. In 1855-56 it
rose to 1,81,681. Meanwhile population also grew but not
at a pace to substantiate the truth of the Malthusian law.
While the density per square mile increased from 5*5
and 2-5 in 1826 to 20 and 7 in 1855 in Arakan and Tenas-
serim respectively, the area under cultivation increased at a
faster pace in the newly developing country.
6. Col. A. Fytche, Chief Commissioner, British Burma and
Agent to the Governor-General : Memorandum on the compara-
tive progress of the Provinces now forming British Burma under
British and Native Rule, 23—8—1867.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 313
An increase in the two factors of production, land and
labour, under British political organisation resulted in in-
tense exploitation of resources. Till then these provinces
had few ports of importance and the number of vessels which
called at those ports were few and far between; now they saw
the rise of Akyab in Arakan and Moulmein in Tenasserim.
The former reached a population of 20,000 during the period
and the latter from a fishing village became a port of 60,000
inhabitants. In 1855 the value of trade of Arakan amounted
to Rs. 187,69,980 and that of Tenasserim to Rs. 83,63,050.
The increased production of rice found an outlet in the
markets of Madras and northwards.
A number of factors helped to give a fillip to the Bur-
mese export trade in grain. Firstly, ine iandnoiders in Bri-
tish Burma had numerous advantages over those in Madras,
The swamps of Arakan required but little manual labour to
ensure abundant crops. The land tax was no more than a
fourth of what it was in most parts of the Presidency.7 Waste
lands were granted on very tavourable terms. Lands were
divided into 5 classes according to fertility and were given
rent-free for periods varying from 4 to 34 years. After that
assessments starting with a minimum of 6d. per acre
were levied and they increased at a progressive rate within
a period ranging from 8 to 64 years as the case might be,
until the maximum of Is. 6d. per acre was reached. Even
at that stage one-fourth of the holdings was permanently
held free of assessment.8
Secondly, the prices that ruled in the markets of the
Madras Presidency were higher than those obtainable in the
7. Madras Public Works Commission Report (1852), p. 129.
8. Nassau Lees : Land and Labour of India (1861).
40
314 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
home market; and the higher the price in the Indian market
due to scarcity or famine, the greater the incentive to export
from Arakan. Thus, for instance, in 1846 rice was selling
at Arakan at 1 rupee per maund while in Madras it fetched
1 pagoda per maund; in other words it was 2l/2 times as
great.9
Thirdly, the freight charges from Arakan to Madras
were not considerable. Paddy ireight took the position oi:
a ballast to vessels which returned to Madras to take salt
to Calcutta. Freight facility was even a greater advan-
tage in those days when inland communications were uu-
developed.
Fourthly, grain from Arakan was a commodity on the
free list, except in tne port oi Maaras, where it was suoject
to a duty oi i> per cent. Tne home grown produce, on tne
other hand, was subject to a duty oi «i per cent
ad valorem on ail mter-porxai shipments as well as
on internal transit oi grain irorn one place to another/0 Xiua
was an important factor in keeping supplies from Tanjore
and the southern districts ott the markets northward
of Madras. The "protection oi distance" that domestic pro-
duction would otherwise have enjoyed was thus denied to
them.
Finally, the frequent i amines to which the country was
subject in those times disposed the Goveinment to en-
courage tins import trade, mspite oi tne iact tiiat tney were
last wedded to iaissez jaire. in 1824 when famine threat-
ened the Presidency, Sir Thomas Munro, the then Governor,
9. Friend oj India, 8—1—1846.
10. CIV Regulation II of 1812 ; Sections 4 and 17, clauses 8
and 13.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 315
threw the official laissez faire policy to the winds and said
that State interference was permissible when "the lives of a
great population are at stake."11 He therefore recommended
a reduction in the price of salt taken to Bengal on condition
that the controllers of the carrying trade agreed to return
with a cargo of rice.12 This was in effect a bounty to the
Arakan trade. Next year, finding thib inadequate, he
granted a direct bounty of Rs. 30 per garce of rice imported,
which according to his estimate involved the Government an
expenditure of 3 to 4% lakhs of rupees per annum.13 This was
a temporary measure, but it no doubt introduced the thin
end of Burmese competition. When these preferences were
repeated in 1832, as the coming famine of Nandana year
(1833) cast its shadows before,14 they opened the flood-gates
of foreign competition.
The Arakan imports which thus came to succour stayed
to compete with local production. Although the cheap im-
port was not a cause of the depression, it was one of those
factors that kept the prices low and held up economic re-
covery unduly. In 1843 the Collector of Rajahmundry
drew the attention of the Board of Revenue15 to this disturb-
ing element and the Board, convinced that it was an import-
ant factor deserving their consideration,16 addressed the Dis-
H. Minutes of Sir Thomas Munro, 23—1—1824. Also, vide
B. Natarajan : Economic Doctrines of Sir Thomas Munro, Father
Cartv Commemoration Volume.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. From the Government of Madras to the Board of Revenue,
In Consultations, 17—12—1832.
15. Settlement Report of Rajahmundry District for Fasli, 1252-
53.
16. Proceedings of the Board of Revenue, 3 4 1844.
316 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
trict Collectors of Ganjam, Vizagapatam, Masulipatam and
the Collector of Sea Customs at Madras to make detailed
enquiries into the subject. In 1844, Sir Henry Montgomery,
who was appointed to enquire into the causes of econo-
mic depression in the Northen circars, wrote in his report:
"The present price of paddy will not be exceeded so long as
the unrestrained import of Arakan grain is permitted, for
no sooner does the price of home produce begin to rise to a
standard remunerating the landholders than the market is
flushed with this foreign rice and home-grown grain is a
drug. The evil to this is annually increasing and demands
speedy correction by the imposition of suitable restrictions
to this importation."17 During the 10 years between 1833-34
and 1843-44, the total value of paddy and rice imported into
Madras Presidency from Arakan was Rs. 1,08,14,248 of
which Rs. 62,43,540 was the share of the six ports north of
Madras, and Rs. 45,70,708 the share of Madras.18
The Arakan trade in rice just at this time received a
fillip from another source. The Supreme Government at
Calcutta passed the Act VI of 1844 with the object of abolish-
ing the sayer or the transit duties that were hampering in-
ternal trade and of bringing the customs tariff at Madras in
a line with the other ports of India.19 But this measure far
from removing the inter-portal duty within Madras Presi-
dency had the effect of raising it so as to conform to the All-
India customs tariff; and therefore still kept off grain from
districts like Tanjore and Canara which could come mainly
by sea, as inland communication was in a parlous condition.
This inter-portal duty imposed by the new Act was not
17. Montgomery Report, (Mss) 28—5—1844.
18. Madras Government consultations, 16 — 2 — 1846.
19. Notification of the Government of India, 16—3—1844.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 317
only inequitable, being a uniform rate on rice and paddy,
it also amounted to 10 to 15 per cent ad valorem on rice
and 20 to 30 per cent on paddy and acted as "a tax heavy
enough for protection " to the foreign interests.20 Further,
although the said act authorised the levy of a higher duty
on foreign goods or goods brought in foreign bottoms,21
its provisions were inapplicable to imports from Arakan
as Arakan was then under Bengal Government and there-
fore was a British province and "not strictly foreign."
The question of giving the home-grown grain some
protection with a view to relieve the distress of the peasants
thus received an added force. But the Government was
against it.22 They held that prices in the home market
were not materially influenced by imports, "as foreign grain
to any extent has been imported hitherto only when prices
were high."23 Further, they believed that the inferior
quality of Arakan rice as an article of food would always
act as a limitation on its consumption on a large scale The
most weighty consideration, however, was that such a res-
triction by cutting off the supplies of an essential article of
food in times of famine, would, they feared, aggravate its
horrors. Although more than one Collector suggested that
at such times the prohibitive duties might be relaxed,24 the
Government preferred to watch the working of the Act VI of
20. From the Collector of Ganjam to the Board of Revenue
21—8—1845.
21. Sections 16 and 17.
22. Madras Government Consultations, 2 — 2 1846.
23. Madras Government Consultations, 16 — 2 — 1846,
24. From the Collector of Rajahmundry to the Board of Rev-
enue, 11—12—1845. In Consultations 26—12—1845; from the
Collector of Vizagapatam to the Board of Revenue, 29—11—1845,
In Consultation, 8—12—1845.
318 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
1844 for one or two years more. In 1848, the continued
downward trend of agricultural prices at home convinced
them of the necessity to take some action inspite of all
doctrinaire opposition to Protection. Hence the Act VII
of 1848 was passed, which made the imports of grain from
Arakan liable to a protective duty. But this did not have
the intended effect, on account of evasions. Vessels taking
salt to Chittagong after unloading at that port obtained port
clearances in anticipation cf goods to be shipped at some of
the adjoining ports and then with great facility ran into
any one of the ports of Arakan and took a complement cf
rice cargo. With the document for port clearance obtained
at Chittagong they entered the Madras port free of duty.25
Thus on account of irregularities at the Customs Office at
Chittagong, Arakan rice evaded the duty imposed by the
Act of 1848 and flooded the Madras market "greatly to the
prejudice of the Madras grower."26 The Madras Govern-
ment addressed the Government of Bengal on the subject,
requesting the latter to correct the irregularities. But the
Act itself did not remain on the Statute book for long. In
1858-59, the preferences and discriminations based on the
old colonial system were done away with and the whole
tariff underwent complete revision. The necessities of the
Mutiny again raised the tariff wall, but all these measures
were of little avail when Burma was annexed to the Indian
Empire, Although subsequent growth of population and
development of communications and irrigation works im-
proved the lot of the Madias ryot, the price for his produce
25. From the Board of Revenue to the Government of Mad-
ras, 20—4—1851.
26. From the Board of Revenue to the Government of Madras,
5—5—1851,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 319
was determined by the prices prevailing in Burma.27 The
export duty on rice levied in later days undoubtedly had
the effect of worsening the position of Madras in relation to
Burma. The free import of Burmese rice in Madras had dis-
astrous effects during the recent depression. But the pheno-
menon is a century old.
27, P. J. Thomas : Recent Trends in the Price of Rice in
Madras (Paper to the Indian Rice Committee) .
THE ROLE OF A UNIVERSITY
BY
A. S. PANCHAPAKESA AYYAR, M.A., I.C.S.,
BAR-AT-LAW, F.R.S.L.,
District Judge, North Arcot.
A university differs from a high school, secondary
school, elementary school, guild school, and other sucn insti-
tutions engaged in the same mission oi education, in that it
caters, or ought to cater, to the cream of a nation's intelli-
gentsia, including therein of course, the leaders in every
form of art, and not merely people who think. Naturally,
five striking things will be found in it.
The first will be the nature of its alumni. These will
be carefully selected in an ideal university, only those fit to
profit by university education being taken, and all those lit
to profit being someiiow gathered together. In the univer-
sity of Nalanda, for instance, there was a preliminary test
of ability, corresponding to the responsions in Oxford, in
which it has been left on record, by Yuan Chwang, that 70
or 80 per cent would fail. There will, of course, be no out-
cry regarding the 'slaughter of -the innocents/ as, in a well-
constituted society, all will agree that those innocent of
knowledge should be refused admission, at the outset, instead
of being admitted and slaughtered, alter a good deal of waste
of time, money and energy. Since the idea will
be to collect the very best talents in the nation, even those
who cannot afford to pay, but are eminently suitable for
university education, will be sent up by local committees
321
to undergo the kind of education, whether in arts or in
science or in fine arts or applied science, they are suited for.
In an ancient Indian University, the problem was simple, as
every student, rich or poor, had to beg for his food, as the
daily routine. It is obvious that no modern country can
afford to allow its geniuses and men of talents to run to
waste. Of course, everybody will have a right to be admit-
ted to a school and there should even be compulsory educa-
tion up to the school final standard, for both boys and girls in
a combined literary and vocational fashion. Universities
alone will cater only to select and suitable persons.
The second distinguishing feature will lie in the asking
and anwering of profound questions. Here, too, Yuan
Chwang remarks that, in Nalanda, they engaged in discus-
sions from morning till night, the old and the young mutu-
ally helping one another, and tutors unable to answer ques-
tions being obliged to hide themselves, for shame. Natu-
rally, the conscript classes, common in some Indian Univer-
sities, will disappear, and Upanishadic classes, of free dis*
cussions between tutors and pupils, will take their place.
It follows that a professor cannot have a herd of students,
and that the maximum he would be allowed to attend to
would be only 10 to 12, so that individual attention and
personal discussion would be easy.
Thirdly, teachers and students will live together in the
hostels, and have a kind of family relationship, as in ancient
India, students attending on the teacher and he on them,
mutual nursing in time of sickness being one of the inci-
dents. Thus, they will grow to understand and love one
another, and the relationship will cease to be one of
routine, as is too often the case now. Perfect equality and
a love of freedom and independence will be the hallmark
of students and professors alike. Of course, several hygie-
41
322 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
nic, moral and religious precepts would also be thus taught,
besides good manners, and the ancient Indian ideal of get-
ting three-fourths of one's education (viz., one-fourth from
the teacher, one-fourth from the fellow students, and one-
fourth from oneself, the remaining one-fourth having al-
ready been supposed to have been given by the parents at
home) will be realised.
Fourthly, there will be a periodical and careful weed-
ing out of the unfits and misfits among the students, admit-
ted by error, and of the unfits and misfits among the profes-
sors, appointed by error. As Kautilya remarks, a student
or teacher without the requisite equipment or discipline is
no good. Discipline is of two kinds, artificial and natural,
and the study of arts or sciences can bring maximum profit
only to those who are possessed of such mental faculties
as obedience, hearing, grasping, retentive memory, discri-
mination, inference, and deliberation. A pupil not posses-
ing such faculties will not only not profit by university
education, but will also diminish the profit derived by the
rest, like one rotten tooth or fruit spoiling the healthy teeth
or fruits. As Kautilya remarks again, natural discipline
alone will count vitally, artificial discipline, that is, disci-
pline by punishment, sufficing only to correct acquired
errors, something like imported cases of plague being cura-
ble by superficial methods, like fumigation, exposure to
sun, etc., endemic cases not being curable in those ways.
Just as unfit students should be periodically weeded out, by
notices to quit, which would be no disqualification whatever,
by itself, for civic or othei employment, professors and lec-
turers who are found, in practice, to be useless for teaching,
should also be given notices to quit, from time to time, un-
less they are found fit for research work, in which case, they
should be put on that work. Even the best of truths come
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 323
to nought, when taught by incompetent teachers, just as the
best of seeds will come to nought if sown at the wrong sea-
son by a person ignorant of cultivation.
The fifth feature is that a university education aims not
so much at making a man capable of earning a living,
which very necessary job will be taken on by the high
schools, but at producing first-rate scholars and men and
women of culture devoid of prejudice of caste, class, colour,
creed or country; people who welcome knowledge from
whatever quarter it is got; who have no false values either
regarding themselves or about things around them; and who
are valuable members of society and servants of humanity,
ready to place their knowledge, experience, reason, wealth
.,-nJ ntTenrjth at tT'<o clispr- ;•] of thr;r MV?\v-boincrs, and to
help the poor, the ignorant, the oppressed, the wicked, the
degraded and the depressed, to get out of their miserable
state, and thus leave the world a shade better than they
found it. They would not swear either by matter or by
spirit, and would be so harmoniously developed in body,
mind and soul, that, while regarding this life as a field of
action and sacrifice, thev will not accept either the extreme
view of one school that life in this world is a myth, and, so,
we need not make any effort to improve it, or the extreme
view of another school that death is the end of everything
and that we should concentrate merely on eating, drinking
and making merry or other selfish activity as long as we
live.
If we survey the Universities of India to-day from this
point of view, we may be disposed to cry out with Bernier:
"Is it possible to establish m India model academies and col-
leges properly endowed? Where shall we seek for founders,
or, should they be found, where are the scholars? Where
are the benefices, employments, offices of trust and dignity
324 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
that require ability and science, and are calculated to ex-
cite the impulses and hopes of young students, which are
likely to be given to the products of these academies and
colleges?" In a nation like ours, overrun with a cry for
communal representation in every benefice, employment,
office of trust and dignity requiring ability and science,
where the best, even though absolutely free from communal
prejudice, caste superiority complex, racial arrogance etc,
are forced to await their communal turn, and allowed to
rust till then, it is obvious that the last difficulty mention-
ed by Bernier is a colorsal, and almost insuperable, one.
Alas, for knowledge, as Kama exclaims in Kama Bhara of
Bhasa, mere lapse of lime is enough to make it not only use-
less, but out of date and pernicious, and while the best man,
classified communally in spite of himself, is waiting for his
turn, he may not remain the best when his turn comes, and
may, indeed, be among the worst by then.
At present, in many universities all over the world,
more attention is paid to the material side, and less to the
spiritual side. Most research is for destructive purposes,
like the discovery of deadly weapons against present and
future enemies, than for constructive purposes. And nation-
al or racial arrogance is tacitly encouraged, even books on
history and science being vitiated by this virulent germ. Nor
is the education imparted by the professors of our modern
universities always of the broadest variety or imbued with
a desire to expound Truth in its thousand facets. Indeed,
sometimes, it reminds one of the education imparted by
Aurangazeb's old tutor.
The emperor Aurangazeb had an old tutor, Mulla Shah.
Hearing that his pupil had become the emperor, the old
Mulla rushed to see him, expecting huge rewards and
appointments. Aurangazeb refused to see him for 3 months.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 325
Finally, he was so pestered by the Mulla that he saw him,
but only to tell him the following home truths: — "Pray, what
is your pleasure with me, Mulla ji? Do you pretend that I
ought to exalt you to the first honours of the State? Let us
examine your title to any mark of distinction. I do not deny
that you would possess such title if you had filled my young
mind with suitable instruction. Show me a well-educated
youth, and I will say that it is doubtful who has the stronger
claim to his gratitude, his father or his teacher. But, what
was the knowledge that I derived under your tuition? You
taught me that the whole of Frankistan (Europe) was no
more than some inconsiderable island of which the most
powerful monarch was formerly the King of Portugal, then
he of Holland and, afterwards, the king of England. With
regard to the other sovereigns of Frankistan, such as the
king of France and him of Andalusia, you told me that they
resembled our petty rajahs, and that the potentates of
Hindustan eclipsed the glory of all other kings, that they
alone were Humayuns, Akbars, Jehangirs, or Shah Jahans,
the happy, the great, the conquerors of the world and the
Kings of the world,* and that Persia, Uzbek, Kashgar, Tar-
tary. Cathay, Pegu, Siam and China trembled at the names
of the kings of the Indies Admirable Geographer! Deep-
ly-read historian! Was it not incumbent upon my precep-
tor to make me acquainted with the distinguishing features
of every nation on earth, its resources and strength, its mode
of warfare, its manners, religion, form of government and
wherein its interests principally consist, and, by a regu-
lar course of historical reading, to render me familiar with
the origin of states, their progress and decline, the events,
incidents or wars owing to which such great changes and
*These are the meanings of the names of the sovereigns.
326 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
mighty revolutions have been effected? Far from having
imparted to me a profound and comprehensive knowledge
of the history of mankind, scarcely did I learn from you the
names of my ancestors, the renowned founders of this
empire. You kept me in total ignorance of their
lives, of the events which preceded and the extraordi-
nary talents that enabled them to achieve their extensive
acquisitions. A familiarity with the language of the sur-
rounding nations is necessary in a king, but you insisted
on teaching me to read and write Arabic, doubtless con-
ceiving that you placed me in an everlasting obligation for
sacrificing so large a portion of the time to the study of a
language wherein no one can hope to become proficient
without 10 or 12 years of close application. Forgetting how
many important subjects ought to be embraced in the edu-
cation of the prince, you acted as if it were chiefly necessary
that he should possess a great skill in grammar and such
knowledge as belongs to a Doctor of Law, and thus did
you waste precious hours of my youth in the dry, unprofi-
table, and never-ending task of learning mere words.
Were you not aware that it is during the period of
studenthood that the memory is so retentive that the mind
receives a thousand wise precepts, and is easily furnished with
such valuable instruction as will elevate it with lofty con-
ceptions and render the individual capable of glorious deeds?
Can we read our prayers or acquire knowledge of the law
and the science onlij through the medium of Arabic? May
not our devotions be as acceptable, and solid information
communicated as easily in our mother tongue? You gave
my father, Shah Jahan, to understand that you instructed
me in philosophy, and indeed, I have perfect remembrance
of your having, during several years, harassed my brain with
idle and foolish propositions, the solution of which yields no
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 327
satisfaction to the mind, propositions which seldom enter
into the business of life; extravagant reveries conceived with
great labour, and forgotten as soon as conceived; their only
effect is to fatigue and ruin the intellect, and to render the
man head strong, intolerant and insufferable. Oh, yes, you
caused me to devote the most valuable years of my life to
your favourifcu hypotheses and systems, and, when i leiL you,
I could boast of no greater knowledge in the sciences than
the use of many absurd, obsolete, arid uncouth terms calcu-
lated to discourage, confuse, confound and appal a youth
of the most virile understanding; terms invented to cover
the vanity and ignorance of pretenders to philosophy; of
men, who, like yourself, would impose the belief that they
transcend others of their situation in wisdom, and that their
dark and ambiguous jargon conceals many profound myste-
ries known only to themselves. If you had taught me that
philosophy which adapts the mind to reason, and will not
suffer it to rest satisfied with anything short of the most
solid arguments; if you had inculcated lessons which elevate
the soul and fortify it against the assaults of fortune,
tending to produce that enviable equanimity which neither
insolently elated by prosperity nor basely depressed by
adversity; if you had made me acquainted with the nature
of men; accustomed me always to refer to first principles, and
given me a sublime and adequate conception of the universe
and of the order and regular motion of its parts; if such, I
say, had been the nature of the philosophy imbibed under
your tuition, I should be more indebted to you than
Alexander was to Aristotle, and should consider it my duty
to bestow a very different reward on you than Aristotle re-
ceived from that prince. Answer me, sycophant, ought you
not to have instructed me on one point at least, so essential
to be known by a king, viz., on the reciprocal duties between
328
a sovereign and his subjects? Ought you not also to have
foreseen that I might, at some future period, be compelled to
contend with my brothers, sword in hand, for the crown and
for my very existence, such as, you must well know, has been
the fate of the children of almost every King ot Hindustan.
Did you ever instruct me in the art of war, how to beseige a
town, or draw up an army in battle array? Happy for me
that I consulted wiser heads than thine on these subjects!
Go. Withdraw to thy village. Henceforth, let no person
know either who thou art or what has become of thee."
How to avoid such useless and pernicious teaching?
First of all, incompetent teachers, like this Mullah, should
never be appointed as professors, and, ii appointed by error,
should be weeded out, as unfits and misfits at the very
earliest opportunity. Secondly, proper text-books, in the
language of the pupils, carefully selected by well-known
scholars of repute, should be prescribed in all subjects.
Thirdly, regimentation in education should be avoided, and
the aim of education should be clearly laid down as the deve-
lopment of human personality and culture, instead of pro-
viding for future "hands" in factories, "bayonets" in war,
and what not. Fourthly, there must be periodic exchange
of professors between universities in the same country and
in different countries. And lastly, there must be an inter-
national board of world-famous scholars to periodically
inspect, through some of its members, and report on the
workings of all universities every five years, persistently bad
or useless universities being liable to be closed down on such
reports.
THE NAGANANDA HERO IN MODERN TIMES
BY
P. PANCHAPAGESASASTRI, SIROMANI, M.O.L.
•
Of the several famous plays in Samskrt, King Sri
Harsa's Ndgdnanda stands unique; for it presents a blend of
the principles of the two great religions of India, namely,
Hinduism and Buddhism and presents a hero, Jimutavahana
by name, whose dominant characteristic is a matter of dis-
pute between two schools of Rasa. Anandavardhana finds
him a Santa hero. Dhanika would have him a Daydvlra.
Rules of Samskrt dramaturgy require fthat Love or
Heroism should be the dominant Rasa in a drama. In this
play neither is prominent; nor are they clean forgotten.
Srngara is fully developed in the first three acts. Jimutava-
hana is not desirous of conquest. He spurns material wealth
and worldly pleasures. Noble deed of benevolence and self-
less acts of charity affl^ and <ttTwt are his ideals and these
two virtues form the cardinal tenets of Buddhism as well as
Hinduism.
Srngdra and Vlran not being the main Rasa, what then
is the Rasa of the play one has to enquire. The Ananda-
vardhana school claims Santa to be the chief Rasa but
Dhanika claims Jimutavahana a Daydvlra.
In this paper an attempt is made to show how the two
views may be easily reconciled.
A resume of the story at this point will be helpful.
Jimutavahana, a Vidyadhara prince, banishes himself from
42
330 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
his kingdom and spends his life in the forest in the service
of his aged parents. In a Gaurl temple there he meets
Malayavati, a Siddha princess. Love at first sight, separa-
tion and reunion with consent of parents occupy the next
acts of the play. Mitravasu, the brother-in-law of the
hero, butts in during the honey moon with the news of the
invasion of Jimutavahana's kingdom by Matahga, his foe.
The loss is welcome to the hero. He dissuades Mitravasu
from marching an army against his enemy.
One day, strolling on the beach, the hero sees a ser-
pent, named Sankhacuda, on his way to satisfy the appetite
of Garuda. Moved with pity the hero offers himself; but
the serpent would not permit the substitution. But fortune
favours the hero. Sarikhacuda steps aside to worship
Siva preliminary to sacrificing himself to Garuda and
Jimutavahana steps in quickly, dons the red garments and
is therefore taken up by Garuda for his victim. On his
return Sarikhacuda finds Jimutavahana gone and begins a
search with the help of the blood streak on the road while
on the way Jimutavahana's family join him in his search.
They trace him only to find him all but dead. Sarikhacuda
tells Garuda the story of the substitution. Immediately
Garuda repents his cruelty and promises to abstain from
killing serpents thenceforward. The Goddess Gaurl hears
the piteous moan of MalayavatJ and helps Jimutavahana
back to life. Garuda for his part, succeeds in getting Indra
to bring back to life the serpents he had eaten. With this
general rebirth, the prince becomes the king of the Vidya-
dharas.
Now for the reconciliation of the two views. Ananda-
vardhana defines Santa as the "bliss arising from the control
of desires/' By knowing the Truth or by Tattvajfiana (i.e.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 331
the transitory nature of all life) the seeker after the Truth
controls desires. He is moved by compassion for others.
His frame of mind then is that of a Santa and therefore he
is prepared to sacrifice his transitory life for the good
of others.
This Santa is prominently present throughout the play.
The play opens with a reference to Jimutavahana's doings
to keep his people contented and happy. He feels he has
done all he should and proposes to go to the forest to render
service to his parents. He crowns his deeds of charity with
the giving away of the Kalpaka tree and renounces his king-
ship to do his duty by his parents in spite of advice to stay
on. When his brother-in-law gives him the bad news that
his foe was in occupation of his land he is most unconcerned.
He has no foes other than his passions. The brother-in-law
offers to go upon the foe but Jimutavahana answers that he
pities Matanga, for he has been conquered by his passion for
wealth and adds he is more to be pitied than punished. The
brother-in-law receives this advice in derision and is ad-
monished by a reference to the Sun who, even while in the
act of setting, is the object of praise by many because He
expects no return for His services from the several object?
He enlightens and His life-long endeavour is doing good to
others.
The hero sacrifices his person to save a serpent. Here
again he does so because he knows life is transient. A
soldier dying in battle is no hero; for he sacrifices himself
in hope either to get victory and become more famous or
to get to a better Loka. Even Sahkhacuda offering his life
to Garuda is no hero; for he does so in fear of the royal
command. If he hesitates to permit Jimutavahana to step
into his place, it is because, as he himself says, he wants to
332 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
safeguard the honour of his family. Without a knowledge
of the Truth none can be a hero. Jimutavahana has
nothing but contempt for Vasuki with two thousand
tongues, for, not even one of the tongues was useful to
make him say that he would sacrifice himself first before
agreeing to an arrangement for the death of his subjects.
He ascribed this failure on the part of Vasuki to
love for his own filthy and perishable body. Verily did
Sarikhacuda admire the conduct of the hero opposed as it
was to that of great sages like Visvamitra.
Jimutavahana offers to be the prey for Garuda in place
of Sankhacuda. When he is away for a minute he dons the
red robes and offers himself to Garuda. Garuda gulps him
little by little. Jimutavahana enjoys as more and more bits
of his flesh are taken by Garuda. No pain results; but
great joy is felt by the hero. His countenance beams with
gratitude to the devouring Garuda, the benefactor. Garuda
marvels to see the beam in the eye of his victim and stops
eating further. But Jimutavahana eggs him on to eat
the remaining flesh and drink the effusing blood. Then
Sankhacuda appears. This disturbs the hero for he is
afraid that he might not succeed in sacrificing his entire
body. His mother who felt that his beauty was being muti-
lated he answers there can be no beauty in what is called
a 'body' as a 'body', according to him, consists of nothing
but fat, bones, flesh and blood.
In each one of these points Jimutavahana shows he
has mastered the Truth arid he is realising his Self. The
hero is not content with his own knowing the Truth and
acting thereon. But he would try to convert others who
come in contact with him to the realisation of the Truth.
On this basis he got Garuda out of the darkness of Ignor-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME . 333
ance in which he was. The hero thus shows himself a
true Santa in having realised the Truth and having renounced
first the desire for wealth, then kingship and later sacrificing
his body. Here is Santarasa in its perfection.
Others argue that, though the hero renounced his
kingdom and sacrificed his life he cannot be called
a true Santa. A true Santa, according to them,
would seek solitude for purposes of meditation with a view
to final freedom from birth. But Jimutavahana does not
like the solitude of the forest and rejects it as it does not
afford him an opportunity to serve and help his fellow crea-
tures. He is mad for a life spent in duty to parents and
social service. Again, a true Santa, though he would like
to do good to others, would never persist long in any course.
But Jimutavahana persists in doing good to others from
first to last. He insists on saving Sankhacuda even
against his wish. He argues with him and seeks every
means to do him service. He takes advantage of Sankha-
cuda's temporary absence and steps into the slaughter-slab
in his place. When Sankhacuda comes back Jimutavahana
feels his noble purpose was about to be defeated. He prays
for thousands of births in preference to final emancipation
so that he may do social service.
Again a true Santa cannot be a lover. But the hero
falls in love with Malayavati and his Srngara with her is
fully developed in both its aspects (Vipralambha and Sara-
toga) in the first three acts of the play. Lastly if Jimuta-
vahana had been a true Santa he should have ended his life
and attained Moksa. He should not have been restored to
life and reinstalled as king with Malayavati as his queen.
Therefore Jimutavahana is rather a Dayavira (i.e. a
cosmopolitan philanthropist keen on doing good to others)
334 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
and not a true Santa. Vlrarasa is of many kinds. In all types
of Vlrarasa "enthusiasm" is a common feature. If heroes
like Rama in the Mahdvlracarita who are keen on conquest
are called Yuddhavlras, Jimutavahana who is persistent in
doing good to others may be called a Daydvlra.
The case is thus one of Santa versus Daydvlra in the
Ndgdnanda. But the two views may be easily reconciled.
Seen from the view point of the Mahay ana school of Bud-
dhism this Daydvlra is Santa itself. King Sri Harsa, the
author of the play, lived when Hinduism and Buddhism had
learnt to accommodate each other in the same land and Harsa
himself in the latter part of his life is said to have had a
leaning towards Buddhism, So in this play, the author,
with a view to illustrating the main doctrines of Buddhism
3f|flr and <rfta$R — selected a character reputed in
legend for his benevolence and generosity as the hero of
the play and portrayed him as Bodhisattva himself. So in
this Buddhist play the hero's characteristic is Sama accord-
ing to the Mahayanist view.
According to Mahayanists, emancipation is achieved by
what they call STfrrTRnrcfT or Discriminative Knowledge
and this STfWRftffiT gets to be strong by what they call
wrarcRrar and SffiTRfacfl (i.e. "acts of compassion and
benevolence"). A true Mahayanist having attained the
JWroRftar would not desire Emancipation for himself. He
would like to have it only after the whole universe gets it.
According to the Mahayanists, Buddha himself has not yet
attained Emancipation as tBe universe has not yet got it.
Moved by unbounded compassion to his fellow creatures, a
Mahayanist is keen on deeds of charity and benevolence to
others for they are only an expansion of his Self.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 335
Viewed in this light, Jimutavahana may be called a
true Santa not only because he has attained the snrnTKfiKTT
(i.e. he has realised the 'transcientnes^' or the 'voidness' of
the universe) but also because of his great anxiety to find
out opportunities for social service. His obstinate persis-
tence to work for universal good and his longing for newer
and newer births are more easily explained. A Mahayanist
is per force led by his own logic to court a long series of
births in order to help the universe to Emancipation.
Jimutavahana's perpetual advice to Garuda who devoured
him is based mainly on this Truth. He knew that Garuda's
sacrifice of his life in the absence of sifRTRfacir or True
Knowledge would not help him to Emancipation. As a true
Mahayanist he was anxious that Garuda should live well,
reform himself, use his kingly influence on his subjects and
help himself and them to attain True Knowledge.
The objection to the hero's wedded life may not be
valid. The objection to wedded life is that its distractions
may hinder Tattvajnana. But there are shining instances
like the great Janaka who realised Tattvajnana even as a
householder and a king with all the wealth of a great king.
Jimutavahana, endowed with a very strong feeling of re-
nunciation from birth, enjoyed married felicity in perfect
detachment. When Mitravasu's father told him that he had
chosen Jimutavahana as his son-in-law did not Mitravasu say
that he was glad because the bridegroom was every
way noble; but sad because he was likely to abandon his wife
immediately he got an opportunity to do a philanthropic
deed? True, Jimutavahana was very much attracted by
Malaya vati; but even within ten days of the wedding he
abandoned her as he had a noble chance of saving Sarikha-
cuda by sacrificing his life. Did he not feel that his wed-
ding with Malayavati was useful to him and that it helped
336 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
him to two red garments in which he became immediately
acceptable to Garuda? In this case Srngdra subserved
Santa and ennobled it. Again he felt that the joy caused by
the touch of the slaughter-slab was superior to the joys of
wedded life. Who can hold that in Jimutavahana's case
wedded life was an obstruction to Tattvajfiana? Though he
was newly married, he rose above worldly temptations and
became, in Garuda's words Bodhisattva himself. Perhaps
this was the truth the poet sought to emphasise when he
introduced the scene of Jimutavahana's married life which
he could have avoided with perfect ease.
. The objection that if Jimutavahana were a true Santa
he ought to have ended his life and attained Nirvana has
already been answered. He was not a Hinayanist who
would care only for his own Emancipation. He was a
Mahayanist and so he prayed for many births to help others
also to attain Tattvajfiana. So he was, at the end of the play,
restored to life. As in this case so in many other works
Indian writers do portray the tragic element in life but the
last scene does not end in death; for according to them, death
in one life is but the beginning of another in a series of lives
the soul has to pass through before attaining Emancipation.
Further, the poet shows here a truth that good actions al-
ways bring a reward greater than expected. Jimutavahana
sought to save one serpent by sacrificing his life; but he
actually saved his own life and also generations of serpents
of the past and of the future. Jimutavahana, the Dayavlra,
is thus not different from Jimutavahana, the Santa.
Further, even without bringing in the Buddhist way
of thinking, critics like Anandavardhana establish that
Jimutavahana, in spite of his great enthusiasm, is only a
Santa and not a Vira. They contend that the essence of
Santa is complete negation of 'egoism' while the Vira is
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 337
essentially 'egoistic.' Jlmutavahana's enthusiasm is of a
peculiar kind. It is free from "egoism" because all his
actions are utterly selfless. His enthusiasm free from 'ego-
ism' is not opposed to Santa but it nourishes it. Jimuta-
vahana is thus a Santa par excellence.
Lastly opinions that Santa cannot be a Rasa in poetry
and drama have no place as many works like the Nagananda
have Santa not only as one of the Rasas delineated in them
but have it as the dominant Rasa. From the Nagananda and
similar works critics have established that like Srngara and
Vira Santa also may be the main Rasa in poetry and drama.
Jlmutavahana's is a life consecrated to service for
others. As if to remind us of old world heroes the illustri-
ous Founder of this University, Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar, has striven hard and saved well in order to serve
nobly. He has been an example of service and sacrifice.
If Jimutavahana gave away the Kalpaka tree, the Rajah
has planted a tree of Knowledge and given South India a
temple of Learning so that all irrespective of caste or creed
might enjoy the fruits thereof. In the service of his coun-
try and his countrymen the Rajah has established choultries
to feed the poor, provided filtered water to ward off disease,
built hospitals to restore those stricken with disease to
health and happiness and renovated and con-
structed temples to lift them to God. Above all he has
helped generations of people to all kinds of education so that
the thirsty might drink deep of the fountain of Learning, cast
off mental as well as physical dirt and reach heaven by scal-
ing the heights of Knowledge. May he live long to pro-
mote the ancient culture of this land and continue to sup-
port in an ever increasing measure all Samskrt studies in
this part of the country !
43
THE ANCIENT INDIAN THEATRE
BY
PROF. K. R. PISHAROTI, M.A.,
Maharaja's College, Ernakulam
Every genuine drama is intended to be staged and the
true dramatist conveys his appeal through a double medium,
the ear and the eye. He is a complete master so far as the
former is concerned; but as regards the latter, the nature
and equipment of the theatre and its varied accessories no
less than the artistic skill of the artistes constitute very
serious limitations on the work of the dramatist. Hence
every true artist will certainly take stock of the varied
Visual aids he can command, when he conceives and perfects
his work of art. The appreciation of a drama cannot have
any pretence to completeness, unless and until one knows
also the nature of the stage and its equipment where the
drama is to be presented. This aspect of the study of the
drama it seems, has been completely forgotten and with it
we have also forgotten our theatrical traditions, even if we
had any. The question therefore deserves to be asked: had
we any such tradition? The answer to this question is defi-
nitely in the affirmative. On the theoritical side we have in
the first place the valuable work of Bharata, called the
Natya-£astra and in the second place the numerous stage
directions, found scattered about in the extant Samskrit
plays, though unfortunately no serious attention seems to
have been paid to them in interpreting dramas. On the prac-
tical side we have the peculiar mode of acting; Samskrit dra-
mas which is current in Kerala even to-day. These necessarily
339
would show that we perfected a stage technique long long
ago, though we did not care to keep up the stage tradition
living, except in Kerala. The subject, then, is very import-
ant and it has a practical bearing in that it helps us to appre-
ciate our national heritage of dramatic literature better; but
it is at the same time not an easy one to deal with. A full
and detailed exposition of the subject requires an intensive
study of the following: (i) The Ndtya Sastra of Bharata;
(ii) the chapters dealing with Natyagrhas, in the various
Silpa-sastras; (iii) a stud;/ of the existing Ndtyagrhas,
particularly those in Kerala figuring as an adjunct to our
temples (iv) the reconstruction of the stage and the theatre
from the stage directions available in the older dramas; and
(v) the study of the acting, as it now obtains in Kerala.
It is proposed to make an attempt in the following pages
to set forth the information that we get from the Ndtya
Sdstra, so far as our theatres are concerned.
According to Bharata, the theatre may be rectangular
or square or triangular in shape. We could easily
conceive of the former two types of theatres,
but not the third type. The triangular theatre
must have been very rare and that is also the im-
pression that we get from Bharata. Following the usual
practice of Samskrit writers, these three types are again
classified under three heads of Uttama, Madhyama and
Adhama, as well as Jyestha, Kanistha and Avara. The size
of the theatre may vary widely: there are two units of mea-
surement laid down for Ndtyagrha, namely Hast a and Danda,
and of these Hasta itself varies from 24 to 32 Angulas. This
will give us some idea of the practical differences in the size
of a theatre. It is laid down that a theatre may have one
of the following measurements: 108 or 64 or 32 Hastas, the
breadth being given only for the rectangular theatre which
340
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
is half the length. For the square theatre there is no need
to give the breadth and from the description of the triangu-
lar theatre it appears to be an equilateral triangle. From
the measurements given it would be seen that the rect-
angular theatre may be of three dimensions: 108 by 54 or
64 by 32 or 32 by 16 Haslas or Dandas; the square theatre,
108 or 64 or 32 Dandas or Hastas per side. The big-
gest theatre will thus be the rectangular theatre of 108 Dan-
das, and the smallest one will be the triangular theatre of
32 Hastas. Hence from the point of view of size we have
six kinds of theatres and from the point of shape, three types
or in all we may have eighteen types of theatres. Of these
eighteen kinds, Bharata lays down for human beings the
rectangular theatre of the medium size, that is the theatre
having the measurements 64 by 32 Hastas, or the square or
triangular theatre of 32 cubits, while the theatre of major
measurements is reserved for Gods. And in fixing up the
medium theatre for human beings, he is guided by practical
considerations. For, when the theatre is very long, the
effect of intonation will be lost upon the audience at the
extremity, which, indeed, play a great part in representa-
tions. Similarly, when the theatre is very small, words,
when spoken loudly, would be reverberated and echoed. As
regards facial expression also there is defect: when the
theatre is very big, it is not properly caught by the audience,
and, when too small, the effect is lost. Thus Bharata's pre-
ference of the medium type of theatre is perfectly normal
and natural.
All the parts of the theatre with which we are now
familiar are found mentioned by Bharata also: we have the
green-room, the stage and the auditorium, the size and dis-
position of which change according as the shape and size of
the theatre differ.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 341
The green-room is locateu in ihe nindermost extremity
oi the theatre, as ii is even now; ana it is separated irom toe
auditorium by the stage, and has no direct entrance irom
that. In the rectangular theatre of 64 Haslas, the green
room will be 16 by 32 Haslas according to one school, or &
by 32 according to anothei school (See Pi. I Fig. i) . That
is to say the breadth of stage will be 1|8 or 1|4 of the whole
length of the theatre. The latter seems the more authentic
of the two opinions, for the Samskrit dramas have generally
a large number of characters taking part therein and second-
ly only a few characters are on the stage at the same time;
and, therefore, unless the green room is pretty big, it must
necessarily be very crowded. Again, the practical conven-
tion, obtaining in these parts, indicates the same thing. For,
the green room itself has to be partitioned into two, one for
ladies and the other for men; otherwise they have to be
promiscuous in the same place, which is not consistent with
our sense of decency, irom the green room there are to
be two entrances into stage, and between the two entrances
there will be the wooden panel, composed of two horizontal
wooden pieces and four vertical ones, as Abhinavagupta-
padacarya would have it. This wooden panelling is called
by the term Sad-daruka (See PL I Fig. ii) and in actual
practice it corresponds to the pre-scenium of the Grecian
theatre. The Sad-daruka forms the ornamental background
against which the actors act. In the square theatre (see PL
II Fig. i) the green-room has one-fourth the length of the
theatre as its breadth: that is, its size will be 8 by 32 Hastas.
and as before it occupies the hinder-most part of the struc-
ture. As before here also, there is the Sad-daruka. The
shape of the green room in the triangular theatre does not
appear to be clear. Apparently it must be of the shape
either of a triangle or a trapeze (See PL II Fig. iii) . If it
342 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
be the former, its size will be 16 Hastas a side and will be
an equilateral triangle. From the point of view of the refer-
ence to doorways, it seems that the stage must be located
right in the centre of the triangle as in the case of the square
theatre, thereby creating an irregular rectangular green
room behind at the base of the triangle
The stage is the most important part of the theatre,
and about this fuller details are available, thought it cannot
be said to be complete or very clear. The stage is found
divided into two sections, the front called the Rangapitha
and the back, called Ranga-sirsa.
The Rangasirsa in the rectangular theatre lies between
the green room and the Rangapitha (See Plate I, Fig. i).
Regarding its size, there are two opinions. According to
one commentator, it will be as big as the Rangapitha itself
and the two together will be as big as the green room.
According to the other school, it will be half the size of the
green room and these two together will be as big as the
Rangapitha. Thus based upon this difference, the Rangasirsa
of a rectangular theatre will be either 8 by 32 or 16 by 32
Hastas. Whatever its size, the Rangasirsa stands between
the green-room and the Rangapitha, and it serves as the
ante-chamber for the green room and the back room for the
stage. Though the actual function of the Rangasirsa is not
very clear, it appears evidently to be the space where the
actors in costume can await their time of appearance
and from where the actors could be prompted. In
other words, this part of the stage area gives
the actors some space for taking rest, prevents
them from being exposed to the audience on their
arrival on the stage and serves to beautify the stage, for it is
flanked in front by the elevated Rangapitha with its wings,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 343
called Mattavarini, (See Plate I, Fig. i). Hence one may
assume that one has to descend from the Rangapltha to the
Rangasirsa, which latter seems to be on a level with the
green-room. From the point of view of the audience, the
most prominent feature of the Rangasirsa will be the Sad-
ddruka which stands right in the centre and from the point
of view of the actors it serves as the tiring room.
The Rangasirsa in the rectangular theatre (See Plate II,
Fig. i) differs from the same in the square theatre, in that
while it is co-extensive with the green room and the stage in
the former both in front and back, it is co-extensive with the
green room only in the latter but not with stage, if we
may accept the interpretation of the commentator. This
supports our interpretation to some extent regarding the
purpose of the same. It may be pointed out that the
Rangasirsa becomes a useless thing in the square theatre,
unless its purpose is as we have made it out. Here also it
is said there must be the Sad-daruka. It will be noticed
that, while in the rectangular theatre the Rangasirsa is co-ex-
tensive with the green room, it is not so in the square theatre
(See Plate II Fig. i). Here arises an interesting question
as to how to screen off the sides beyond the stage proper. If
it is not screened off, this could be of no use to the actors con-
cerned, as we have explained it, and if it is to be screened,
how is it to be done and with what material? Are we to locate
here the Mattavarini which in the rectangular theatre is co-
extensive with the front line of the stage, but here with the
back line? It may possibly be that the numerous pillars
mentioned in the course of Bharata's text might serve as the
Mattavarini: but presumably the subject is not clear.
Coming to the triangular theatre, we have no information
regarding the Rangasirsa. As a matter of fact, Bharata does
not speak of any Rangasirsa for this kind of theatre.
344 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
From what has been said it will be clear that the Ranga
consists of two portions, the front portion, called the
Rangapitha and the back portion called the Rangasirsa which,
so far as we now could make out, serves the purpose of a
tiring room for the actors in costume.
The Rangapitha or the stage proper is the most import-
ant part of the theatre. At the back of the stage the audi-
ence sees the ornamented Sad-daruka and on either side the
Mattavarinis the ceiling of the stage being held up by beauti-
fully wrought pillars, adorned with all the skill cf the
sculptor and the painter. We also learn from the descrip-
tion that the stage is on a level different from that of the
green room on the one side and the auditorium on the other.
The Rangapitha in the rectangular theatre (See Plate I,
Fig. i) stands between the Rangasirsa and the auditorium
and extends throughout the whole breadth of the struc-
ture, thirty-two Hastas long and eight Hastes broad. At
either extremity of the same are the Mattavarinis, (See
Plate I, Fig. i) which are adorned with four pillars, eight
Hastas square and one and a half Hastas high. To the height
of the Mattavarini must the stage be raised; and this raised
space, or the front of the stage, is to be constructed of wood
or burnt brick and adorned with dovecots, altars with rail
patterns, floral designs etc: in other words, this forms an
ornamented foot-board. It will thus be clear that the
Rangapitha will be one and half cubits higher than the floor
level. The question now is this: whether the Rangasirsa is
to have the same level with the Rangapitha or with the
green room. We have already explained that ii ought to be
on a level with the green-room, so that it might be used also
as a tiring room for the actors. There are of course differ-
ences in views on this subject, noticed bv the comir^?tor,
but unfortunately the text is hot clear. However the text
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 345
makes one thing very clear: that the actors' part of the
theatre must be of two levels and that the green-room must
be of a lower level: it is described as Sailaguhdkdra.
The disposition of thf> siage in the square theatre (See
Plate II, Fig. i) is strikingly dui'erent. The stage is compos-
ed of the four square bits in the centre when the whole floor
area of the theatre is divided into sixty-four equal parts; and
when this marked out we get a plot of ground, twelve by
thirty-two Hastas. Behind this and in continuation thereof
there is the Rangasirsa (See Plate 11, Fig. i) measuring four
by Uiiiiy-iwo Hastas and still behind is the green-room
adornea with the Sad-daruka and measuring eight by thirty
two hasias. It will be seen thus that the Rangapltha stands
right in the centre in the square theatre, (See Plate II,
Fig. ii). As regards the triangular theatre, the directions
are still meagre. The text lays down that the Ranga-
pitha must be located in the centre and that it must also be
a triangle (See Plate II, Fig. iii). This suggests that the
green room of the shape of a trapeze will be located at the
base of the triangle and from the inner side of the trapeze
will jut oat the stage of the shape of a triangle. As before,
here also there might be two entrances into the green room,
the interspace being flanked by the usual Sad-ddruka, cor-
responding to the praescenium of the Grecian theatre.
The auditorium takes half of the rectangular theatre,
(See Plate I; Fig. i.) the other half being utilised for the
green room and the stage. Reference is also found made to
the different levels in this half, the stage being one and half
Hastas higher than the green room. Here, then, the green
room and the auditorium will be on the same level, the stage
being on a higher level. The elevated nature of the stage
thus enables the audience to see clearly what happens on
44
346 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the stage. In the square theatre on the other hand, the
area set apart for the audience is slightly over a third of the
whole structure, the area of the same being twelve Hastas
by thirty-two, (See Plate II, Fig. i). To make up for the
lesser seating space in this kind of theatre, provision is
made ior gallery arrangement, (See Plate 11, Fig. i) each
tier rising by a cubit and a half, (See Plate II, Fig. iv) the
gallery itself being built of bricks and wood. This is a
particularly interesting feature, in as much as here have we
the earliest reference to a galleried seating arrangement. In
the triangular theatre, there is no speciiic mention of the
auditorium. There is certainly no gallery arrangement for
seating; but it is worth while to mention the fact that unless
some such arrangement is available the seating capacity will
be very little. iNow comparing the rectangular theatre and
the square theatre as regards the disposition of the stage and
the auditorium, it will be found that while the stage is higher
than the auditorium in the former, the auditorium is higher
than the stage in the latter. This, then, is a unique point of
difference.
The stage, as has been described, has clearly four divi-
sions: the green room, the back stage, the front stage, and
the auditorium. We have also seen that there are two
speciiic features on the stage namely the Sad-daruka and the
Mattavarinis, the former figuring as the ornamental back-
ground for the stage and the latter figuring as the ornate
sides of the stage. We also learn from the text that the stage
has its own roof and the stage area is adorned by a number
of graceful pillars. There is, however, given no direction
which would show that the auditorium had any roofing
or that it had any enclosure. One is inclined to think that
there was none: otherwise there would certainly have been
some reference to side doors from the green room. In these
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
347
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348 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
features our theatre bears some resemblances to the
Grecian and Roman theatres, which we may now notice
briefly.
The arrangement of the Athenian stage is very simple:
it consisted of a round orchestra, and a low rectangular
skene with a projecting Paraskenia and a low platform stage.
Between the skene and the auditorium lies what is termed
the Prosckenium which is understood as the back wall of the
stage in front of which the actors act or as pillars in front of
the stage between the actors and the audience or as the
stage. In these respects this agrees with our theatre, parti-
cularly in our having the Mattavdrini and the Sad-daruka.
In early days the skene alone formed the stage, the audi-
torium not forming part of the theatre: the two were dis-
tinct parts. But, when the Romans borrowed the same,
the two were connected together, the paradoi — the passage
— being closed by what is termed Vomitoria. In the Roman
theatre we find a roof over the stage which became an orna-
mental one when the whole structure including the audi-
torium came to have roof. In this respect also this agrees
with our theatre. Thus when we compare our theatres
with the Grecian and Roman theatres, there is something
which is common ; and the resemblances become striking
when it is further pointed out that we do not know the exact
function of the Mattavarmi and the practical basis of the
differentiation between the Rangaslrsa and the Rdngapltha.
Bharata's text also emphasises that the structure must
be adorned with sculptures and paintings. Ample provision
is found made for music, both instrumental and vocal, (see
Plate I, Fig. i, for the seating of musicians) . The structure
must again be accoustically perfect and must have excellent
ventilation. It will thus be seen that when Bharata lays
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 349
down the nature of the ancient Hindu stage, he does so with
a practical eye into the details — an aspect that is proved by
the discovery of a pre-Christian cave at Ramgarh, (See
Plate I, Fig. iii) carrying an inscription which has been
rendered by Prof. Jules Block thus:
Poets venerable by nature kindle the hearts, who. . . .
At the spring festival of the vernal full moon,
When frolics and music abound, people
Thus(?) tie around their neck garlands
Thick with jasmine flowers.
—(ARA. 1903-4).
SOME HINDU ECONOMIC IDEAS AND PRACTICES
BY
V. G. RAMAKRISHNA AIYAR, M.A.
We often claim as original many ideas and practices
which were known to our ancestors. Those who study the
economic thought in the nations of antiquity are often struck
by its 'modernism*. A sympathetic study of the ideas and
practices of the ancients is necessary for intelligent and
sound progress. The religious books of ancient India — the
Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Smritis, the Puranas and
specific treatises like the Arthasastra of Kautilya are replete
with information bearing on many a modern economic con-
troversy. Economic thought of ancient India, in terms of
modern economic science is badly needed as a service to
human knowledge in general and as a step towards a pro-
per understanding of the indigenous problems. It will be
of course, unscientific to try to reconstruct a full fledged
economic science out of material supplied by past experi-
ence and ideas. But nobody can deny that for the study
of specific economic problems like collectivism, currency
regulation, Social Policy and Finance, we may refer with
advantage to past experience.
The Hindus have always taken a less materialistic view
of life which has, therefore, retarded their industrial pro-
gress to a large extent. Moral or religious codes have
usually played a greater part in shaping their thought and
outloook. Oriental economic ideas, it is interesting to note,
were developed at a time when the civilizaion of the West
was in its infancy. The economic concepts of the Hindus
351
are the ideas of an ancient civilization based upon an agricul-
tural economy and they were drawn from the writings of
priestly law-givers. The lives of the people were largely
determined by these writings, and these writings have come
down to us exerting a powerful influence even on our time.
A study of Hindu economic ideas and practices is therefore
useful.
The central idea of Hindu Government and education
was the fulfilment of the law. Such a situation meant a
minute regulation of everyday life and it follows that the
material for this study is mostly drawn from rules of conduct
or laws. A study of those regulations of the Hindus which
are significant as indicating the character of their economic
thought shows that the following subjects were the most
important. Agriculture, occupations, interest and usury,
labour and wages, property taxation, inheritance, weights
and measures, adulteration, monopoly and the poor.
Among the most striking regulations of the Brahmanic
law were those concerning interest and usury. Money lend-
ing by the higher castes was closely restricted. Brahmins
and Kshatriyas could not lend at interest. In case of loans
made without security, the following terms were legal; for
gold, double value, i.e., 100 per cent; for grain treble the
original price; anything sold by weight might be sold at
eight times the original value. Various kinds of interest
payments were distinguished; there might be compound,
periodical stipulated, corporal and use of pledge — corporal
interest bein<5 that paid in labour, use of pledge referring to
cases in which the lender made use of some security like
cows, for example. Thus the fact is apparent that among
the ancient Hindus, interest was closely connected with some
concept of a just price. At the death of the king or the jubilee
352 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
year interest should cease, a tabula rasa when debtor and
creditor should be equalised.
Among the ancient Hindus, there were careful regula-
tions against false weights and measures and against adult-
ration. Provisions against speculation and monopoly were
even more stringent. Competitive markets were practically
impossible, and so we see even to this day that there is no
one price in the Oriental shop, and so these minute regula-
tions about weights and measures were necessary lest the
consumers should be exploited. According to the Insti-
tutes of Vishnu, the King was to keep the whole produce of
mines. By Brahmanic law, a hired workman who abandon-
ed his work before the term had expired, was to pay the
whole amount of stipulated wages to his employer and a
fine to the king. On the other hand, if an employer dismiss-
ed a workman whom he had hired before the expiration of
the term agreed upon, he must pay the full amount of the
wages stipulated and a fine to the king, unless the workman
was to blame.
As regards the economic significance of the caste system,
it was, as an Italian economist puts it, 'division of labour
gone to seed/ It stood for rigidity of society and for perma-
nent inquality among social classes — an attitude which
(means a point of view in economic thought. The four
castes had specific functions in society. That some elasti-
city was possible in the social system of the ancient Hindus
appears from the fact that in the time of distress each caste
might follow the occupation of one below it. In general,
however, the most severe separateness was to be maintain-
ed. In the earlier stages of national development, the
principles underlying the structure of the Greeks and the
Romans were the same as those of the Hindus. In India,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 353
however the distinctions became rigid and stereotyped; in
Europe society was soon able to throw of? the shackles.
The growth of the caste system, the organisation of
rural India on the basis of village communities, and the
fatalistic outlook on life of the Indian cultivator reflect the
strong influence of Geographical environment, past and
present.
The insistence of the Holy Books of Hinduism upon
the sacredness of the cow can be traced back to the time
when the economic feature of the early Aryan pastoralists
of India's savannahs was bound up with the preservation
of their cattle. Although with the rise of cultivation, this
early necessity has long since vanished, so tenacious is tra-
dition that the whole creed of cow worship with its elabo-
rate ritual and legend still persists. A religion which once
aimed at promoting the survival and betterment of its
devotees, now under changed conditions hinders the material
progress of India's agriculturists. Owing to religious scruples
concerning breeding, control and slaughtering, stock-raising
on modern scientific lines for milk, beef or even for hides and
tallow is almost unpractised. In India there are more than
twice the number of cattle in the U.S.A. and yet except
for erratic and meagre supplies of milk, they are of no use
as a source of food. As draught animals, their value has
been depreciated by centuries of uncontrolled breeding and
lack of care and attention, and when dead either through age
or disease, their hides are small and inferior in quality.
Allowed to wander at will, they are a nuisance to the far-
mer and his crops.
Economics, Geography and Religion are much more
closely connected than we usually suppose. In India where
45
354 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
everything is done on a superlative scale, religion has for
thousands of years dominated man's mind so completely and
absolutely that it has become an integral part of everything
the Hindu says and thinks and does and eats. In other coun-
tries, too, religion has often interfered with the normal deve-
lopment of life but not to the extent we find in India. The
priestly caste of the Brahmans was the first to live upon the
products of other people's labour, whether bestowed as
voluntary gifts or sacrifices to the gods. His was a perilous
life. For the reverence and sanctity accorded to him as
representative of the god was easily upset. In a very real
sense, his income was 'payment by results'. He must deliver
the goods, produce rain or fair weather when needed, for
the crops, stop pestilences and other troubles. Something
could be done by skilled prophecy, e.g., he could 'produce'
rain when rain was coming and perform effective rites of
fertilisation in spring time. But any calamitous failure
was taken to prove incapacity or malice. Even to-day the
ordinary Hindu agriculturist recognises his dependence
upon the natural resources and the fecundity of
Nature for his successful livelihood. It is not too much
to say that this fecundity of nature was the first consi-
deration in the great religions of the world, whether of
Ra, Zeus, Ammon, Mithra or some other sun-god or some
female deity of fertility, such as cybele or ceres or Shakti.
All the chief Hindu festivals relate to points in the sun's
progress during the year and this sun-worship cannot be
detached from the worshipful regard to the generative pro-
cesses in the vegetable and animal world. Earth has been
regarded by the Hindu as the mother-element, and the idea
of the mother-goddess has prevailed in India from ancient
times. The modern current slogan 'Bharat Matha Ki Jai'
points to the persistence of this belief.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME , 355
The account given in the Golden Bough of the worship
of Adonis indicates how far the older magic had survived
in the early religions of the East. The "Gardens of Adonis"
were "baskets or pots filled with earth, in which wheat,
barley, lettuces, fennel and various kinds of flowers were
sown and tended for eight days chiefly or exclusively by
women. Fostered by the sun's heat, the plants shot up
rapidly, but having no root, they withered as rapidly away
and at the end of eight days were carried out with the images
of the dead Adonis and flung with them into the sea or into
springs. The rapid growth of the wheat and barley in the
gardens of Adonis was intended to make the corn shoot up;
and the throwing of the gardens and the images into the
water was a charm to secure a due supply of fertilising rain.
In India this custom still survives and is observed methodi-
cally all over South India soon after the harvests. Thus
we find a reciprocity of services between God and Mammon
religion and industry. The gods gave protection against
enemies in war, promoted vegetation and animal fertility and
gave luck' in agriculture. In return the people got treasures
for their temples, food and other necessaries and comforts
for themselves. In India a large increasing part of such
treasures as did not rust or decay came to be deposited
in the temples. The wealth and leisure thus secured to the
temples and the priestly castes stimulated among them the
beginnings of culture in literature, science and the fine arts
of music, sculpture, architecture, painting, dancing, etc. thus
laying the foundations of many of the higher crafts and indus-
tries that spread in secular life.
ATREYA RAMANUJA: HIS LIFE AND WORKS
BY
PROF. R. RAMANUJACHARI, M.A.
Atreya Ramanuja, popularly known as Appullar, was
the spiritual guru and the maternal uncle of Vedanta
Desika, the renowned scholar and outstanding exponent of
Vi6istadvaita Philosophy. In the line of Sir! Vaisnava
Acaryas commencing from Bhagavan Ramanuja, the author
of Sri Bhasya, Atreya Ramanuja was the fifth. His pre-
decessors in that office were his own father, grand-father and
great-grand-fcthcr. Thus Atreya Ramanuja and his lineal
ancestors enjoyed the proud privilege of being the accredit-
ed exponents of Visistadvaitic thought to the four succes-
sive generations that followed Bhagavad Ramanuja. Some
of the most eminent thinkers and men of letters of later days
were also scions of this illustrious stock. The celebrated
Gopala DeSika of Kumbakonam and the poet Venkatadh-
varin may be cited as examples.
The materials for writing the biography of Atreya
Ramanuja are disappointingly scanty. It is, however, learnt
on reliable authority that he was born at Conjivaram in the
year 1220 A.D. (in the month of citra of the year Vikrama) .
At the close of each chapter of Nydyakulisa he refers to him-
self as the son of Padmanabharya. His father must also have
been known as Rangaraja, as is evident from the traditional
account.1
1. Caitrardrasambhavam kancyam Rangarajagurossutam |
Suprati^thamsamatreyam Bamanujagurumbhaje 1 1
357
His great-grand-father, Pranatartiharacarya (also called
Kadambi Accan), a nephew of the celebrated Bhasyakara
was his most trusted and loyal disciple. He was an able
exponent of Visistadvaita Philosophy. So great were
Pranatartiharacarya' s scholarship and his powers of argu-
ment and exposition that he was named Veddntodayana (the
Udayana of Vedantic thought).
Along with Sudarsana Bhatta, whose Sruta-Prakasika
(a commentary on the Srl-Bhdsya) , Tdtparya-Dlpikd (a
gloss on the Veddrtha-Samgraha) , and Suka-Pakslya are
remarkble for their learning and polemic ability, Atreya
Ramanuja studied the Srl-Bhdsya and other vedantic works
under the eminent Vatsya-Varadaguru. From his own
father, Atreya Ramanuja learnt the inner significance oi the
mantras held sacred by the Vaisnavites. He was a bold and
original thinker. In recognition of his extraordinary skill in
dialectics, the title * Vadi-Hamsambuvaha ' was conferred
upon him.
Tradition, as preserved by his descendants, speaks of
him as che author of three books, of which Nydyakulisa
alone is now available, the others having been irretrievably
lost. It is a matter for great regret that even the names
of these books have been forgotten. In his Tdtparya-
Candrikd, the famous gloss on Ramanuja's Gltabhdsya,
Vedanta Desika quotes in the course of his comments on
verses 14 and 15 chapter XVIII, Acarya Vadihamsambu-
vaha as saying :
Vaisamye sati karmanamavisamah kim nama kuryat
Kimvodarataya dadita Varado vaiichanti cet durgatim.
krtL
Evidently this is a quotation from one of the missing
books. Judging from this fragment, one is led to believe
358 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
that the work from which this has been extracted was, in all
probability, a religious lyric, (stotra) in praise of the Lord.
Vadi-hamsambuvaha was fortunate in his pupil. His
nephew and disciple, Vedanta Desika again and again speaks
of his own extraordinary good luck in having had such a
preceptor and expresses his deep sense of gratitude for what
his guru had done for him. In one place, he says that his
guru trained him as the trainer of birds would train a par-
rot.2 In another context in the same work, he owns that in
his writings he is merely giving outward expression to
what his Acarya had inscribed in his mind.3 Even when
due allowance is made for Vedanta Desika's self-effacing
modesty, the fact still remains that he owes much to
Atreya Ramanuja. Readers of Rahasyatraya-Sara will
remember that its author refers to a great knack that
his uncle and guru had of expressing highly abstract
thoughts in an exceedingly simple manner with the aid of
homely similes that enabled the listener to go straight to the
heart of the matter. To explain the mystic significance of
the pranava he would ask his pupils to remember the oft-
quoted verse from the Ramayana:
" Agratah pray ay au Ramassita madhye sumadhyama j
Prsthatastu dhanuspanih Laksmanonujagama ha"||
First went forth Rama; Sita with her delicate waist, in
the middle; Laksmana, bow in hand, brought up the rear.
2.
u/r<3r£ri&&9tr.
(Rahasyatrayasara) .
3. QeveirVefru uifiQp&ir GpffajririL €SffSfr€^u^.Q\un
w. — (Rahasyatrayasara)^
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 359
The three letters of the Pranava, respectively stand for
the Lord, His consort, and the individual soul.4
The author of the Gitd declares that he who shrinks
away from God thinking that He, by His infinite perfections,
is far above finite souls is the worst of men (naradhama).
Atreya* Ramanuja was likewise convinced that we should
approach the Lord in the spirit of the gopis of old who enter-
tained no doubts about His accessibility. He used to express
his agreement with the passage in the Gita which condemns
faint heartedness on the part of the devotee.5
Nyayakulisa (the Thunder-Bolt of Reason) is a stan-
dard work on Visistadvaita Vedanta. It is frequently refer-
red to, and cited as an authority, by Vedanta Desika in his
Niiaya-Siddhanjana, Nydya-Parisuddhi, Tattva-mukta-
ka!a,pa and other works. It is written in stiff prose inter-
snersed with karikas used whenever sententious summaries
or pointed exposition are needed. In each of the thirteen
sections into which the book is divided, the author tackles a
definite philosophical problem and establishes the stand-
point of ViSistadvaita after refuting the views of the rival
philosophical systems. II is highly polemical and shows
the author's mastery over the entire range of Indian
thought. A perfect master of the art of controversy, his lo<nc
is invincible, a veritable thunderbolt (kulisa) to his philo-
"
5.
— (Rahasyatrayasara)
360 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
sophical opponents. A brief indication of the topics dis-
cussed may be given.
From the point of view of Vedanta the most important
problem is perhaps the question whether the Upanisadic
texts which speak of what exists as a fact (siddhdrtha) ,
Brahman or Atman, are authoritative or not. If, as the
Prabhakara school of Mimamsa maintains, something to be
done (kdrya) is the ultimate significance of every proposi-
tion, the Veda must have such a thing (/cdrya) or an action
for its final import. The entire body of the Upanisadic
texts dealing with Brahmam or Atmam would lose all valid-
it^, and the ground would be cut from under the feet of the
Verlantin. Hence, the first chapter addresses itself to the
task of refuting the Prabhakara view.
To prove that the Vedas are in their very nature
(svatah) valid, the author, in the manner of the Bhdtta
Mimamsakas, seeks to establish m the second chapter the
doctrine known as svatah-prdmdnya-vdda (the self validity
of knowledge). In demonstrating this position the main
controversy is with the Naiyayikas who are advocates of
paratah-prdmdnya-vdda (the theory of validity from out-
side) .
In the third chapter, Ramanuja repudiates the Prabha-
kara and the Advaitic accounts of error, known respectively
as akhydti and anirvacamya-khydti, and maintains yathdr-
tha-khydti, a doctrine peculiar to the Visistadvaitin. Accord-
ing to this view all judgments reveal only what exists (sat).
Vadi-hamsambuvaha establishes, in the fourth chapter,
the thesis that jndna is self -luminous (svayam-
prakasa). The ground is prepared for this doc-
trine by the refutation of the views of Kumarila
Bhatta, Murari Misra and the Naiyayikas in regard
to this matter. Jndna is like the lamp which dis-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 361
pels darkness and reveals objects and does not require for
its own manifestation another lamp. By its conjunction with
objects, jndna reveals objects; but, in regard to its own mani-
festation, jndna does not depend upon another jndna.
Unless the view that God is inferred (dnumdnika) is
abandoned the scriptures would lose their validity. If god
is known through inference, then, on the well-known princi-
ple that the £astras are valid only with regard to matters
lying beyond the scope of the other pramanas (Aprdpte
sdstram arthavat) , in respect of God, the scriptures would
become futile. To establish their prime usefulness Atreya
Ramanuja refutes the Nyaya theory that God is anumanika.
Next he shows that the soul is an entity different from
the body, senses, mind (manas) , vital breath (prdna) and
intellect (buddhi), that it is distinct from every other soul,
that it is an agent (/cartd), that it is a knower and the
object of self -consciousness (aham-pratyaya) . As a
preliminary to the establishment of this thesis, he sub-
jects the Carvaka and the Advaitic conceptions of the soul
to a rigorous examination.
For a proper understanding of Vedantic passages, such
as, "Satyam, Jnanam anantam Brahma," it is essential that
the true nature of sdmdnddhikaranya (the grammatical co-
ordination of words in a sentence) must be grasped at the
very outset. Consequently the author takes up for consi-
deration the definition of sdmdnddhikaranya furnished by
the grammarians, examines the interpretations put on it by
the Bhedabhedavadins and Advaitins, and in the end esta-
blishes what he considers the correct interpretation. Sdmd-
nddhikaranya is defined by the grammarians as follows: —
Words having different pravrtti-nimitta (reasons of applica-
tion or significations), but referring to an identical object
46
362 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
(i.e. words having connotational difference and denotational
identity) may be said to stand in the relation of sdmdnddhi-
karanya. Different words may stand in the relation of co-
ordination, if there are different reasons for their application
and if they refer to one and the same object. The first part
of this definition aims at showing that there can be no co-
ordination between synonyms like 'pot' and 'jar'; because the
reason for applying the term 'pot' to an object is not differ-
ent from that prompting the use of the word 'jar'. The
second part serves to point out that there can be no co-ordi-
nation between words referring to wholly different objects,
e.g., pot and cloth. It rules out such meaningless co-ordina-
tion as 'the pot is cloth/
The problem of causality which has evoked very keen
controversy is next tackled. The Nyaya-vaisesika view of
causality known as asat-karya-vada (the view that the effect
has no existence before it is brought into being, but orgi-
nates afresh) is subjected to a penetrating criticism and
sat-karya-vada (the doctrine that the effect pre-exists in its
cause in a latent form) established. The upanisadic text
declares that by knowing one thing everything becomes
known; and in illustration of this it cites the case of clay and
says that by understanding it all objects made out of clay,
such as jars and cups, are understood. Clearly, the idea
conveyed here is that when the material cause is known its
manifold effects are thereby known. And this would be
impossible if the cause and the effect were totally different.
The question of the precise nature of samdnya (uni-
versal) has long been the battleground of philosophers.
The Nyaya-Vaisesika elevates jdti to the rank of a distinct
principle. On this view, jdti is the generic property per-
ceptible equally in all the particulars (vyakti) of a class.
It is eternal, unitary, ubiquitous (anekdnugatam) and
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 363
directly apprehended. It is not a mere product of the
imagination as the Buddhists contend, but a factor of
reality existing out there in the objective world.
The tenth chapter takes up the question whether sakti
(potentiality) should be recognised as a distinct category
or not, and answers it in the affirmative after refuting the
Nyaya-vaisesika arguments in favour of the opposite view.
In this regard, the Vsistadvaitin is at one with the Bhattas
and the Prabhakaras.
In this chapter the Nyaya conception of abhdva (non-
existence, negation) is criticised and the view that abhdva
is not distinct from, but is merely a variety of, bhdva (exis-
tence, affirmation) is upheld. Prdghabhdva (anterior non-
existence) is only another name for the unending series of
previous states; dhvamsdbhdva (subsequent nonexistence)
is the name for the unending series of subsequent states.
If this theory is borne in mind, the scriptural passage "In
the beginning this was non-existent (asat)" could be
assigned its primary meaning.
The most prominent among the doctrines that differ-
entiate Visistadvaita Vedanta from all other schools of
Vedantic thought is its view that the entire cosmos compris-
ing souls and matter constitutes the body (sarlra) of Brah-
man. Jb'or understanding the exact significance of this
description of the cosmos it is necessary to know what pre-
cisely is meant by the term sarlra. In the Sri Bhdsya the
body is defined as follows: —
"That substance which, in respect of the activities in
which it can engage, is capable of being completely con-
trolled and supported by, and which exists for the sake of,
a conscious entity is the body of that conscious entity/'
364
The twelfth chapter discusses the question whether
this is a single definition or a collection of three definitions
and concludes that it is a single definition; for each of the
three definitions into which it is resolved is found to be de-
fective in some respect or other. Adheyatva, vidheyatva
and sesatva are all essential elements in the definition of the
body. That this is so would follow from a careful study of
the celebrated Antarydmi Brdhmana where the doctrine
that the universe is the body of God is clearly formulated.
Is it at all possible for the soul whose intrinsic nature is
to be self-luminous (svaprakdsa) to be entangled in samsara?
What is the conception of ultimate value? These are the two
questions Vadi-hamsambuvaha raises in the last chapter.
THE MODERN SUPERSTITION OF RACE
BY
DEWAN BAHADUR K. S. RAMASWAMI SASTRI, B.A., B.L.
4Race' is a magical word which means anything or noth-
ing and which Hitler alone, as the supreme head of the
much-advertised supreme race in the world, pretends to
understand. The so-called Nordic race has got long skulls
but so have many Negroes and the Ainos and the apes. For
a long time past we have had too much emphasis on the
physical basis of the concept of race. Generally the
character of the hair and the skin, and the shape of the nose
and the head and stature are emphasised. The famous
nasal index is the relation of the breadth of the nose to its
length. Long heads are called dolichocephalic and round
heads are called brachycephalic. We are also told about
the blood test and are informed that there are four different
kinds of blood when tested by serums. The properties of
these four kinds of blood are entirely unknown. Further
serologists say that these tests do not enable us to determine
race. Nor do we gain much from the colour gradations
viz., white, yellow, brown, and black. Further, there is
no really white, or yellow, or brown or black human being.
G. B. Shaw says with his usual cynical wit that a really
white man would be a horrible sight. What we have is a
gradation of tint.
This does not mean that there are no broad divergences
of physical features. But they form a slippery basis for
classification. The mystical belief in race based on such a
366 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
physical basis alone is sure to lead us into error and un-
proved and unprofitable assertions. We have every reason
to stand aghast at the pompous and current myth of the
Nordic race. But what shall we say of the endeavour of
English thinkers to find the roots ot British greatness in a
Germanic past, though to-day Britain and Germany are
the bitterest foes engaged in a deadly death-grapple?
Saxonism became almost a religion and the phrase kt Anglo-
Saxon" received unparalleled and enormous propaganda.
Even the battle of Hastings was rechristened as the battle of
Senlac. Bishop Stubbs said in his lectures on Early English
Hisiory "It is to Ancient Germany that we must look for the
earliest traces of our forefathers, for the best part of almost
all of us is originally German, though we call ourselves
Britons, the name has only a geographical significance. The
blood that is in our veins comes from German ancestors."
What is the good of identity of blood when there is non-
identity of heart?
The search for racial traits has gone on not only in the
realm of politics but also in the realm of art. The Germanic
races were supposed to have a genius for democracy. And
yet Germany herself is under the heels of a Dictator! Taine
went so far as to say; "vice and virtue are products like
sugar and vitriol/ ' This is surely eccentricity which has
gone beyond limits. Once we get into the labyrinth of
innate and inborn racial traits, there is no getting out at all.
Granting that there are same broad divergences of physical
characteristics among the major human groups, what can
any one infer therefrom about mental and aesthetic and
moral and spiritual characteristics being derived from such
physical traits? How can you affirm any relation of cause
and effect between them even if you are able to show any
degree of co-existence?
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 367
The race-enthusiasts have their counter-part in climate-
enthusiasts. These pin their faith to latitudes and longi-
tudes and altitudes. They explain, everything in terms of
heat and cold. We have, in addition to such race-mystics
and climate-mystics, a third brand of mystics — the food-
mystics. These are satirised in Samuel Butler's Hudibras
in the famous lines:
" Was ever Tartar fierce and cruel
Upon the strength of water gruel ?
But who can stand his fire and force
When first he rides, then eats his horse ? "
In addition to these mystics we have gland-mysticism.
The thyroid and other glands seem to have taken the place
of the goods of old. We must thus steer clear of all these
discordant and dangerous types of selfish and materialistic
mysticism. Religious mysticism leads to gentleness and
peace and love but these mysticisms, and especially race-
mysticism, lead to brutality and war and hate.
In fact, theoretically speaking a race may be composed
of many nations, and a nation may be composed of many
races. The race concept is a museum-concept. It is
not a live concept at all. But the nation-concept is a
living concept. Sir Arthur Keith says well that several
hundred years of a common history and a common way
of life have often welded divergent races into one nation.
We must get out of the clutches of a merely materialistic
anthropology. We must not try to gauge the contents of
brains by measuring the length or the breadth or the cir-
cumference of the skull or talking learnedly about
diameters of skulls or cephalic indexes. Warring groups of
men have often been welded into a culturally homogeneous
group by the iron-hand of Time. In such homogeneity
368 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
cultural fusion is of greater importance than physical
fusion.
The concept of race is thus a mere modern superstition,
Yet in its name, thousand? of Jews have been massacred or
exiled or suppressed in Germany and elsewhere. In its
name, the Nordic race is out to "civilise" the world and
build universal peace on the basis of universal war! Ger-
many is to-day a dreadful whirlpool of racialism and nation-
alism and militarism. If one admires the German, he calls
him Nordic ; if one hates him, he calls him a Hun !
I plead for a recognition and realisation of the mental
and moral and spiritual elements as being far more import-
ant and vital than the purely physical elements in the con-
cept of race. I plead for the subordination of Kidtur to
Culture. I plead for a self-manumission from the tyranny of
the absolutist and occult and mystical ideas of race. The
cultural pattern is of much greater importance than the
physical pattern. Spinoza says well: "In regard to intellect
and true virtue, every nation is on a par with the rest and
God has not in these respects chosen one people rather than
another." Why should we disturb the supposed deceased
anthropoid ancestor of Homo Sapiens? Let us get on with
ourselves as we are:
" Act, act in the living present
Let the dead Past bury its dead ".
I deprecate also the modern tendency to exalt in the
name of science the biological fusion of races. Even science
declaims against free and unrestrained and promiscuous
cross-fertilisation of races. The data in respect of this matter
are so uncertain that different scientists draw different and
diverse and even contradictory and mutually destructive
inferences from the same data. The data themselves are
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 359
often so doubtful and unverifiable and unreliable. Even if
some of them are clear there are other hidden and unknown
factors whose efficacy is unknown. Much more tangible and
effective than the fusion of blood is the fusion of cultures.
The basic culture, if it is strong, assimilates congruous ele-
ments in other cultures with which it comes into contact
and is invigorated and strengthened by such contacts.
Let us thus clearly realise that the race-concept must
be lifted from a Zoological concept to a cultural concept.
The Zoological concept will lead to clashes and conflicts.
The cultural concept will lead to contacts and connections.
The former leads to such phrases as "the white man's
burden", "the yellow peri]'5 etc. But the latter leads to
mutual respect and mutual assimilation. It does not create
superiority and inferiority complexes as the former has
always done and is doing and is sure to do hereafter as well.
When very unequal cultures meet there may be a possibility
of the domination or supersession of one culture by another.
But where fairly equal but diverse cultures meet, there will
be no such trends but there is sure to be assimilation and
enrichment.
Modern India has come into the clutches of the tentacles
of the race-concept. It is supposed by some persons that
all the Brahmans in South India are Aryans and that the
rest are Dravidians! But taking the tests of hair and skin
and stature and nasal index and cephalic index, as propound-
ed by the anthropological experts, many Brahmins will
have to be classified as noii-brahmins, and many non-brah-
mins will have to be classified as Brahmins! Dr. Risley
says that the original Dravidian inhabitants of India were
persons whose "stature was short, complexion very dark, hair
curly and nose broad". Most of the South Indian non-
brahmins do not correspond to this description. We have got
47
370
Dravidian (raits in North India and Aryan traits in South
India, and we have got Dravidian similarities in Brahmins
and Aryan similarities in non-brahmins, if we attach much
importance to the anthropological emphasis on physical
characteristics. The "Dravidastan" protagonists are not
really supported by the experts in the science of anthro-
pology.
I am therefore disposed to attach little importance to
the physical patterns in the Indian race-concept and much
importance to the mental and moral and spiritual pattern in
the concept. Tested by such a test, all the Indian commu-
nities belong to one cultural pattern, even though different
sections pursue different religions. They pursued only one
religion viz., Hinduism, till conversions to other world-reli-
gions made headway. But the cultural unity has not really
been broken by religious diversity in India. Ahimsa and
Bhakti and introspective meditation and deep faith and
spirituality are found in the Indians en masse despite the
diversities of denominational religion. Mr. Jinnah's reference
to two nations has no real basis. It is not religion that is the
real basis of nationhood. The real basis is the cultural
nexus. Thus the population of India belongs to one race
and one nation and one culture, and Indian unity is indivi-
sible and invincible.
THE FUSION OF ARYAN AND DRAVIDIAN ELEMENTS
IN MALAYALAM LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
BY
P. SANKARAN NAMBIYAR, M.A., (HoNS.).,
Professor of English, Maharajah's College, Ernakulam
The subject of this paper has several facets, of which it
is proposed to deal with only one at present.
In Malayalam there exists a peculiar variety of literary
dialect, called "manipravaiam", the like oi wiucii has not yet
been met with in any other language in India or elsewhere0
Numerous works of superb poetical excellence are extant in
that dialect, and the period of its heyday has been reckoned
by many scholars as the Golden Age in the history of Mala-
yalam poetry. It is, however, significant that the works so
far discovered in that dialect are confined to certain parti-
cular literary genres,— their authors being mostly the Brah-
mins (Namboodiris) of Kerala. Apart from the appreciation
of classical poetry in Malayalam, a thoughtful study of the
dialect under reference would be of help in understanding
the true nature of the fusion of Aryan and Dravidian
elements in the language and literature of Kerala.
The name "manipravalam" is familiar to all as connot-
ing an admixture of Sanskrit and Dravidian works in poetic
diction. In Malayalam, however, it has a restricted and
distinctive sense. Here, for one thing, only such words are
counted as Sanskrit as are used in their original grammatical
forms— declined and conjugated exactly as in Sanskrit— all
372 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Sanskrit words shorn of tneir Sanskritic terminations being
treated just as Malayalam words merely.
A combination of "native" and "loan" words in their
original grammatical forms may sound somewhat odd or
bizarre in other languages. Imagine, for instance, the open-
ing lines of "Paradise Lost" written in a dialect which is a
mixture of English and Classical words inflected exactly as in
the respective languages from which they are derived some-
thing like this: —
Of hominis disobedience et the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal gustus
introducat mortem into the world
HC # $ $ $
Canta, Heavenly Muse !
But in the high-class "manipravalam" of Kerala, there
is absolutely no such discoid or clumsiness ol enect; and tnat
is the beauty and wonder of it! Sanskrit words, with their
original declensional and conjugational forms intact, are so
artistically welded with words of pure Dravidian descent as
to yield the effect of "linked sweetness long drawn-out." An
authoritative treatise on the subject, entitled "Leela-
tilakam", which is believed to have been written nearly six
centuries ago, sets forth in detail the rules relating to the
choice and arrangement of Sanskrit and Dravidian words in
poetry. Its authorship is attributed to a Kerala Brahmin
(Namboodiri) , who was evidently an illustrious scholar in
Sanskrit and Dravidian language alike, and possessed an
intelligent command of the grammatical and critical
apparatus of Sanskrit. In the first section of the book, deal-
ing with the characteristics of "manipravalam", he takes
special care to emphasize that the selection and marshalling
of Sanskrit and Malayalam words should be guided by con-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 373
siderations of smoothness and euphony. "Manipravalam",
if it should justify its name, should present such a pleasing
array of Sanskrit and Dravidian words as to be hardly dis-
tinguishable from each other. It should indeed be a neck-
lace strung with rubies and corals — the ruby (mani-) being
Malayalam, and the coral (pravalam) Sanskrit, according
to "Leelatilakam". They merge almost imperceptibly into
one another, thanks to their mutual likeness in tone and
colour. Such a smooth and easy amalgamation of Aryan
and Dravidian elements is the supreme test of standard
"manipravalam". Rare or unfamiliar words should be
sedulously avoided in both languages, and words of common
occurrence in them should be preferred, — the true criterion
of success in diction being Rasa (sentiment) . It is interest-
ing to note in passing that the best "manipravalam" is that
which embodies more of Malayalam and less of Sanskrit
words, and is marked by outstanding Rasa. Such, be it
remembered, is the dictum laid down by the Brahmin
author of "Leelathilakam", and such indeed "manipravalam"
actually was in its palmy days. Examples of it are legion in
the literature of the centuries immediately preceding and
succeeding "Leelathilakam". Gradually, however, the
sound precepts of "Leelathilakam" came to be discarded, and
"manipravalam" deteriorated into an incongruous medley
of harsh-sounding and out-of-the-way words indiscrimi-
nately taken from Sanskrit and Dravidian languages, the
Sanskrit element predominating over the Dravidian, in
flagrant violation of all sense of proportion and harmony.
It had been explicitly stated by the author of "Leelathila-
karn" that the diction in which Malayalam words were com-
paratively small in number, and rasa was deficient, was
positively inferior. Likewise, if either the first half or the
second half of a quatrain, or its last line, were to consist
exclusively of Sanskrit words, then too, the diction was con-
374 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
sidered to be definitely inferior. (By the way, the term "mani-
pravalam" was generally applied to verses written in
Sanskrit metres those written in Dravidian metres being
known as 'paattu.").
It is a particularly unique feature 01 the ancient "mani-
pravalam" oi Kerala that it admitted pure ^iaiayaiam words
declined and conjugated with, Sanskrit terminations, as if
they were pure Sanskrit words. This could not have possi-
bly happened in any language in the world! Hlven the pecu-
liarities oi Sanskrit syntax were copied in pure Malayalam.
Thus the words for "food" and 'sleep ' m iviaiayalarn (oonu,
and urakkam) are seen declined as a compound, Sanskrit
Dual Accusative. . . . uoonurakkauj'. The verbs, ''pokkam-
chakre", "pinnitethas", seen m an old uSaridesa-kavya?> are
really Malayalam verbs conjugated like their counterparts
in Sanskrit. "Kezhantee" is a SansKrit Present Participle
formed from the Malayalam verb, "Kezhuka" (to weep).
Sometimes, the qualifying and the quaimed words are dec-
lined alike as in Sanskrit, instances of such singularity of
behaviour of "native" words in "manipravalam" may be
seen scattered about in the older poems, but not in the later
ones, as the genius of the Malayalam language began to
assert itself more and more in the course of its evolution.
At first, no doubt, Sanskrit Grammar superimposed itself
on Dravidian; but before long Sanskrit came to be stretched
on the Dravidian '^Procrustes bed", from which, however,
it came out well adapted to the disposition of the Dravidian
tongue.
In other words, the Aryan with his cultural superiority
was domesticated by the Dravidian, in this land of Parasu-
rama. The history of "manipravalam" is the history of the
fusion of the two races, and it shows how the Aryan and the
Dravidian took to each other more kindly in Kerala than,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 375
perhaps, in any other province in South India. Here in
Kerala, it is abundantly clear from linguistic and literary
evidence (let alone, for the present, evidence furnished by
other departments of human activity) that the Aryans and
the Dravidians endeavoured in right earnest to come together
as closely as possible in a spirit of mutual trust and goodwill.
It is their mutual adjustments and compromises in this pro-
cess that are reflected in 1he development of our "manipra-
valam."
Mention has already been made of the fact that the
authors of most of the "manipravalam" works hitherto
known are Brahmins (Namboodiris) who are generally held
to be Aryan in descent. There is ample internal proof in
their writings to establish that they were profoundly erudite
Sanskrit scholars, and that nothing could have been easier
for them, if they so desired, than to give expression to their
poetic talents through the medium of pure Sanskrit.
Equally easy would it have been for them to write exquisite
poetical works in pure Malayalam (as, indeed, the author of
that most beautiful of all Malayalam poems, "Krishna-
Gaatha", did) — the command of pure Malayalam displayed
by them in their compositions being even to-day the envy
and despair of our poets. Yet they chose to write their best
poems neither in pure Sanskrit, nor in pure Malayalam, but
in the particular dialect which is a sweet admixture of both.
And they interlarded their diction profusely with words
in their original Sanskrit grammatical forms, sometimes
levelling even pure Dravidian words to such forms. If
their intention was merely to write for the delectation of
members of their own community, it is obvious, they
would have more naturally written in Sanskrit, just as the
Norman-French authors of England during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries generally wrote in the Norman-French
376 RAJAH SIR AAWAMALAI CHETTIAR
language, rather than in pure English, the language of the
"natives" of the country. Evidently, it was not the object
of the Brahmins to write poems meant exclusively or
mainly to be read by members of their own community.
On the other hand, they were presumably more interested
in leading by the hand the other less learned classes on to the
fair fields of classical literature. This is the reason, as one
may rightly infer from the peculiar character of the com-
position in "manipravalam," why we notice so many ele-
ments of popular fascination in them. Sanskrit vocabulary
and grammar, administered in short and sweet doses, would
be taken in by the average reader without much effort. He
would thus be initiated into the intricacies of Sanskrit
Grammar in the course of his joyous poetical studies, almost
without his own knowledge. Who can deny that it was pre-
cisely what the authors would have rejoiced to see? There
is a common notion prevalent among our people that the
Brahmins of Kerala were persistently hostile to the Sanskrit
education of other communities; and many traditional stories
are also current in support of such a notion. But the fact
about "manipravalam", sought to be explained in this paper,
should not be lost sight of in any discussion of the above
notion. We are not talking of Vedic studies, but only of
secular Sanskrit education. And it would be worth while to
consider in a purely academic spirit how far the Brahmin
authors of our "manipravalam" works could be regarded as
enemies of popular Sanskritic studies.
There is one fact more to be borne in mind in a survey
of "manipravalam". This literary kind has hitherto
witnessed the output of no serious epic or dramatic com-
position, but only of Champoos, Sandesas and other lovelyrics,
and didactic and devotional verses and versesequences galore.
Champoos are Kavyas written partly in prose and partly in
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
377
verse. In the " manipravalam" champoos, however, the
place of prose is taken by verses composed in various Dra-
vidian metres! This curious feature cannot reasonably be
attributed to the contempt which the Brahmin authors of
Ckampoos felt towards the Dravidian verse-forms, as some
critics nave alleged, but to their desire to propitiate Mala-
yalee readers by offering them in plenty something which
was familiar and dear to them through long usage. To
them the so-called prose of ckampoos would thus be an addi-
tional source of attraction. Above all, ckampoos deal with
stories or episodes taken from the Ramayana and the Maha-
biiarata, which were already well known to the people, or
with events of topical interest, or with an imaginary story
intended merely as a frame-work for academic delineation
of the passion of love. lu the Sandesas (message-poems)
which in technique are modelled exactly on Kalidasa's
"Cloud Messenger", the first half is taken up by poetical des-
criptions of places and scenes of the Kerala country, so fami-
liar to the reader, and the second half by a reminiscential
delineation of all aspects of love. The lyric poetry in "mani-
pravalam" can, in respect o± quantity, quality and variety,
easily stand comparison with that of Elizabethan English
literature. The heroines in most of the lyric poems in
"manipravalam" (including the tiandesas) are non-Brah-
mins. From all these facts, it would not be wrong to make
an inference about the popular character of "manipravalam"
works.
There is a theory that "manipravalam" is traceable to
the comic compositions of the poet Tolan, meant to be recited
by the Clown (Vidooshaka) in Koothu and Kootiyattam, as
old as the first century M.E. But in those compositions the
obvious aim of the author was to produce comic mirth by;
incongruous combinations of Sanskrit and Malayalam words,
48
378 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
and by the parody of Sanskrit verses and Sanskrit diction.
What a far cry from such buffonery of Tolan to the poetical
heights of Champoos like the Ramayana, Bhasha-nyshadha,
Bana-yuddha, Kama-dhana, Chellor-nadhodaya, Raja-
ratnavaleeya, Koti-viraha, etc. to Sandesas like Unnu-neeli-
sandesa, and to the lyric fragments scattered about in "Leela-
tilakam" and others being published and yet to be published
from old-palm-leaf manuscripts (some of which the author
of the present paper has edited and is still engaged in edit-
ing). Surely, one cannot help exclaiming when face to
face with this fertile field of Malay alam poetry "Here is
God's plenty".
The sweetness and harmony of "manipravalam" persist-
ed right down to the period of Thunchath Ezhuthachan
(eighth century M.E.) who has been been called the father
of modern Malayalam in the sense in which Chaucer has
been called the father of Modern English. By his time the
tendency had become marked to free Malayalam from its
subordination to Sanskrit. "Manipravalam" had been defi-
nitely vitiated by indiscriminate thrusting-in of discordant
Sanskrit words, and by the callous neglect of the pure Dra-
vidian element. Naturally there followed a reaction in
favour of the latter. Thus in modern Malayalam, the Dra-
vidian element has come to its own. Of Sanskrit vocabulary,
there is much even to-day in the Malayalam language —
much more than in other Dravidian languages. But the
genius of the Dravidian language has ultimately triumphed
in Malayalam too !
Rev. Caldwell is right when he says: — "One of the most
marked characteristics of the Malayalam language, as we now
find it, is the quantity of Sanskrit it contains. The proportion
of Sanskrit words adopted by the Dravidian languages is least
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 379
in Tamil, greatest in Malayalam." Likewise, the interming-
ling of Brahmins and non-Brahmins has been more intimate
in Kerala than in the other parts of the Dravidian country,
whereof our "manipravalam" is but an index. At the same
time, it has to be added, to avoid the possibility of a misunder-
standing, that the Dravidian element is the bedrock on which
our language and literature have been built up to-day. What
Archbishop Trench has said about the respective contribu-
tions of Anglo-Saxon and Latin to the making of English is
applicable to Malayalam, if we substitute Dravidian for
Anglo-Saxon, and Sanskrit for Latin, and read the passage
as follows: — "All its joints, its whole articulation, its sinews
and its ligaments, the great body of articles, pronouns, con-
junctions, prepositions, numerals, auxiliary verbs, all
smaller words which serve to knit together and bind the
larger into sentences, these, not to speak of the grammatical
structure of the language, are exclusively Dravidian. Sans-
krit may contribute its tale of bricks, yea, of goodly and
polished hewn stones, to the spiritual building, but the
mortar, with all that holds and binds these together, and
constitutes them into a house, is Dravidian throughout."
The same is true of the indigenous strength and importance
of our society , however much and in whatever ways Aryan
influences may have contributedHo its moulding in the course
of the centuries of contact between the two great races on
this side of the Western Ghats,
VIGNETTES FROM THE HISTORY OF THE
CHIDAMBARAM SHRINE
BY
PROFESSOR C. S. SRINIVASACHARI, M,A.
I. EARLY TRADITIONS,
The great Sabhanayaka Shrine of Chidambaram (par
excellence, the Kail) round which the ancient town has
clustered and to which our Annamalai University and settle-
ment bear a strong spiritual filiation, goes back to the earliest
days of Saiva and Vaishnava reaction against the dominance
of Jainism and Buddhism in the land. According to tradi-
tion, the temple was of divine origin, and its nucleus was
divinely installed. Its most ancient votaries, Vyaghrapada
(He of the tiger foot) and Patanjali (He of the serpent form)
held to be an incarnation of the thousand-headed Adisesha,
form the earliest links in the religious traditions of the
shrine.
The legendary account of Patanjali is closely connected
with the mystic dance of the Lord Siva, which taught a les-
son to the proud Rishis of the Taruka forest, puffed up with
conceit of Vedic learning ( and held by a commentator to be
followers of Mimamsa) , made them alive to the great glory
of Siva converted them into His fervent devotees. Vya-
ghrapada, the son of a Brahman hermit living on the banks
of the Ganges, was advised by his father to go to Tillai, a
vast wilderness covered with trees of that name (Excoecaria
Agallocha) and find the Parabrahma (Supreme Spirit) in
381
that sacred spot. He bathed in the Sivaganga tirtam and
worshipped a Lingam established under the shade of a ban-
yan tree by its bank, and thus arose the shrine of the Muias-
thana, the earliest nucleus of the temple. Vyaghrapada soon
found that he could not climb the lofty trees in the early
dawn, to select fresh flowers for his daily worship of the
God, prayed to the Lord and got from Him the boon that his
feet and hands might become those of a tiger, armed with
strong claws and he be furnished with tiger's eyes, so that
he might easily climb and see the flowers in the dark of the
dawn; he thus became known as Hhe tiger- footed and six-
eyed'; and a part of the present town came to be known as
Tiru-Puliyur (Sacred Tiger Town) ; and also Perumbarra-
puliyur.
Some time later, the great Adisesha assumed the form
of half -man and half -serpent, in order to see once again Siva
performing the mystic dance in Tillai, and there met
Vyaghrapada. He also made for himself a hermitage
nearby and installed a Lingam by a tank, which continue to
this day as the Anantiswara Shrine and the Nagacheri tank,
at the west end of the town. Likewise, Vyaghrapada had
installed a Lingam of his own at a little distance towards the
south-east of the Mulasthana.
The traditions of these two great devotees go back to
times earlier than the epoch of the legend of the Pallava
King who was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Sivaganga
tank and changed his previous name of Simhavarman into
Hiranyavarman (the golden-bodied) as a consequence. He
repaired and added to the nucleus shrine. This early royal
patron of the shrine has been equated with the Pallava ruler,
Simhavarman II, (or III) who reigned probably between 550
and 575 A.D.1 One of the later traditions of the place has
382 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
called this king a Chola (Stanza 12 of the Koyilpuranam) .
The picturesque story of his being commissioned by Vya-
ghrapada to guard Vyaghrapura and his being given the flag
of the tiger-crest, is embodied in the Koyilpuranam of
Umapathi Sivacharya, a Saivite scoliast of the later
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. He is said to have
belonged to the Dikshita community and his samadhi in
Korravangudi (between the Chidambaram railway station
and the University campus) can even now been seen.
Umapathi is the author of a good portion of the basic
literature of Saiva Siddhanta, viz., the eight works beginning
with the Sivaprakasa; he has also given a graphic account
of the life of the great Sekkilar, the author of the Periya-
puranam, (Liber Sanctorum) and of the work of Nambi-
Andar Nambi in his two compositions, entitled "Sekkilar
Nayanar Puranam," and "the Tirumurai-kanda-puranam."
The former of these two deals with an age when the memory
of the great Chola rulers, Kulottunga I (ace. 1070), and
Kulottunga II (ace. 1133), must have been relatively fresh
in Umapathi's mind. Therefore, his account of Sekkilar, who
was a contemporary of these kings, can be held to be much
more historical in its perspective than the other work deal-
ing with Nambi Andar Nambi, whose age can be fixed at the
early eleventh century, if not at the close of the tenth.
Umapathi became the supreme theologian of the Tamil
Siddhanta and is held to have learnt his wisdom from his
master, Maraignana Sambanda, who belonged to a lower
1. Hiranyavarman was a surname of Mahendravarman I as
mentioned in an inscription at Conjeevaram — Subject Index to
the Annual Reports on South Indian Epigraphy 1887-1936 (1941),
p. 27, Col. 1.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 383
caste and was expelled from his own community for having
partaken of food with his master. He forms the last of the
quartette, known as the Samaya-Kuravar and the Sanihdna
Achdryas of the Saiva Siddhanta Darsana. His Koilpurdnam
embodies legends which are in point of time long antecedent
to those of the Saiva Nayanmars, described by Sekkilar and
Nambi-Andar Nambi and may be said to constitute a por-
tion of the oldest epoch of South Indian Saiva legends.
Arumuga Navalar of Jaffna, a great Tamil scholar and Saiva
pietist of the last century, edited the Koilpurdnam and gave
his own valuable commentary on the significance of the
mystic dance of the Lord. According to one opinion, the
comprehension of Patanjali among the earliest devotees of
Siva indicates the absorption in the Saiva teaching of the
system of Yoga thought of which he was the founder.
II. LATER TRADITIONS.
Most striking among the numerous associations of the
'Great Four' among the Saiva saints, is the legend connect-
ing the temple with Manikkavagaga's victory over the
Buddhists in the great disputation, described in the sixth
canto of the Tiruvddavurai Purdnam, which is an amplifica-
tion of some sections of the Madura Stalapurdnam. Therein
we read how the great Saint of Vadavur was summoned
from his retreat to confute the aggressive Buddhistic teachers
who had come over to Chidambaram with the king of Ceylon
at their head. The Chola King urged the saint to vanquish
the Buddhistic disputants in an irrecoverable manner,
saying that it should be the Saint's care to establish the
truth of the Saiva wisdom; and afterwards it would be his
royal duty to extirpate the Buddhists. Manikkavagaga
vindicated the supreme power of Siva "seated as the Teacher
i;i the shade of the beautiful banyan tree, teaching the laws
384 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
of right/' and as the Dancer in Tillai's beauteous golden
iiaii with the girdle of the tiger skin (i.e., human passion)
wrapped round him and wearing the serpent necklace (i.e.,
the guile and malice of mankind) and crushing under his foot
the Demon Muyalagan, which is the embodiment of human
depravity. This disputation might refer to the last epoch
of the struggle of the Saivites with the Buddhists who con-
tinued to linger for a number of years in isolated centres in
the Tamil country, like Negapatam, and received frequent
reinforcements from Ceylon. The legend can be attributed
to about the ninth century.
\et another attractive and heartening legend which has
grown round the shrine is that of Nanda, the Adi-Dravida
saint, wiio obtained final beatification in front of the Danc-
ing Lord, passing into eternity when in a state of ecstatic
devotion. The story of Nanda's piety is a very popular
theme; and snatches of songs from the Nandanar Charitra
Klrtana of Gopalakrishna Bharati are on everybody's lips
in the Tamil country. The klrtana story has deviated in
several respects from the version given in the Periya-
purdnam. The inclusion of Nanda among the traditional
Sixty-three Saints should be regarded as being supple-
mentary to his inclusion in a decade of Sundaramurthi
.Nayanar's Tevaram, which can be ascribed to the first
quarter of the ninth century A.D. The legend is certainly
older than that date. Stressing on the great moral value
of this legend, one can repeat the words of Sir William
Wilson Hunter, when extolling the shrine of Jagannath,
that as long as the towers of Chidambaram exist, so long will
there be in the land "the perpetual and visible protest of the
equality of man before God."
In addition to the great prominence enjoyed by the
shrine in the Tevdram hymns, and particularly in the writ-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 385
ings of Manikkavagaga whose Tiruvagagam (Holy Utter-
ance) was said to have been first recited in the temple itself
and whose Tiruchchitrambalakkovai was composed in its
honour, one can note the pleasing and intensive association
of the shrine with the redaction of the Tamil hymnal literature
under the patronage of the Chola monarchs. The whole of
the Tevdram hymns, being the first of the collection of works
held to be canonical by the Tamil Saivas, was put together
in one book by Nambi Andar Nambi (cir.? A.D. 975-1035),
an Adi Saiva Brahman of Tirunaraiyur. This collection is
known as the Muvar Adangan Mural and was divided into
seven books by Nambi. He comprehended the two works
of Manikkavagagar into an additional eighth book, and a
number of Tiruvisaippds by nine different authors and the
Tirumandiram of Tirumular as the ninth and tenth books.
The Chola king requested Nambi to put together one more
book, consisting of miscellaneous poems and including some
of his own works. The Pcriyapurdnam was added, later on,
as the twelfth book. Nambi Andar Nambi invented the
peculiar metre and music according to which the great songs
of this collection have since been sung. With the help of
the Chola Abhaya Kulasekhara Maharajah, he composed, in
front of the Kanakasabha, the metre for all these — a divine
voice having proclaimed that the knowledge of the metre had
been already communicated to a maiden born of the family
of the blessed Tirunilakanta Nayanar, who was thereupon
brought before the shrine and made to give out the songs
with appropriate notes and music. The Chola monarch had
all these Tirumurai songs with their appropriate pan,
engraved on copper plates and then had them formally
recited in the orthodox manner in the shrine of God
Tyagaraja of Tiruvarur.
49
386 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The Periyapurdnam of Sekkilar is replete with fanciful
and miraculous legends; but it is possible to trace in it the
various epochs in the religious history of early Saivism.
The poet was angry that the courtiers of the Chola monarch
should admire a heretical Jaina work, the Jlvaka Cinta-
mani and the king thereupon requested him to write down
the lives of the Tamil saints. Sekkilar then went over to
Chidambaram and composed in the beautiful thousand-
pillard mantapa of the shrine, his famous Puranam, which
reached a total of 4,253 stanzas. It was recited before the
Chola and expounded by the author from day to day for a
whole year, it was claimed to be a veritable Fifth Veda in
Tamil and given its place as the twelfth book in the Saiva
Canon. The author was honoured with title of Tondar-
Slr-Paravuvar (the singer of the glories of the saints) — and
adorned with the crown of knowledge (Gnanamudi) and
saluted by the Chola monarch. Umapathi's account of this
must be "read in the original for one to realise the gusto
with which that author celebrates this epoch-making event in
the history of South Indian Saivism." The Chola monarch
referred to was Anapaya wTho covered the Perambalam with
fine gold and who is equated with Kulottunga II.
The Tiruvilayadal Puranam of Perumbarrapuliyur
Nambi can also be associated with Chidambaram, as its
author was the spiritual disciple of a certain Vinayaka who
belonged to Maligaimadam in Chidambaram and who per-
haps assumed the name of Puliyur Nambi to indicate his
devotion to the shrine of Nataraja. This work is held to be
far more authoritative arid truer to history than Paranjoti's
much later version of the "Sacred Sports", as has become
evident from its text as edited by Dr. Mm. V. Swaminatha
Iyer, ' the Prince of Tamil Scholars.'
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 387
Thus we find that, in the hymnal age of the history of
Saivism, Chidambaram played a most important part. In
the next age of the development of Saiva Siddhanta which
has been termed the 'exegetical period' in the evolution of
Tamil literature, we witness again the close association of
the shrine with one of its four great teachers, Umapathi
Sivacharya. The detailed complex of the Siddhanta philo-
sophy is very difficult to understand; but a sort of incom-
plete sectarian organisation early grew round its literature
and its monasteries which have been efficiently functioning
as schools of theology and learning in which the monks are
trained and priests learn their art. A number of thesef
monasteries are situated in the Tan j ore delta and several of
them have filiations with Chidambaram.
III. THE CHOLAS AND THEIR PATRONAGE OP THE SHRINE.
The Temple goes back in its nucleus to Pallava times
though no records even of the early Cholas of Tanjore, not to
speak of the Pallavas, are forthcoming from the place.
Copies of inscriptions belonging to the twenty-fourth year
of Rajendra Chola I (1012-1043) and the forty-seventh year
of Kulottunga Chola I (ace. 1070) are found on the temple
walls; two short records Jhat are claimed to belong to the
tenth century Cholas have been discovered in the local
Anantiswara shrine; but the earliest genuine inscription
engraved in the great temple is dated in the third year of
Vikrama Chola (1118-1133),
But we have other evidence that the earlier monarchs
of the Vijayalaya dynasty of the Tanjore Cholas were great
patrons of the shrine. The Brahadisvara Temple at Tanjore
seems to have been an offshoot from the Nataraja shrine.
Parantaka I, Vira Narayana (A.D. 907-947), the great
ancestor of Raja Raja Chola (985-1013 A.D.), was distin-
388 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
guished for his devotion to the Chidambaram shrine; and he
either built or repaired the golden hall at that place. Raja-
raja was equally attached to God Kanakasabhapalhi; and
very probably he owed his titles, Sri Rajaraja and Sivapada-
sekhara, to the authorities of the Chidambaram shrine, which
is designated the Temple (Koyil) in the Tevdram hymns,
the Tiruvisaippa and the Periyapurdnam. The name Ada-
valldn (one who is able to dance) was given to one of the
principal deities in the Tan j ore Temple, from that of the
Chidambaram deity. Several variants of this particular
designation are found in the inscriptions; and from two of
them (Nos. 65 and 66 of the Tanjore inscriptions) it is clear
that "the names of the god as well as of the temple at
Chidambaram, and their various synonyms, were very com-
monly borne by men and women during the time of Raja-
raja." The chief deity of the Tanjore Temple was known
as Adavalldn, as well as Dakshina Meru Vidangan. These
two names are applied in the Tiruvisaippa to the Chidam-
baram deity and subsequently to the Tanjore god.
The wall round the innermost shrine, comprehending
the Rahasya, the Chit Sabha and the Kanaka Sabha and the
other prdkdra wall enclosing the Mulasthdna shrine, are
both known by the name of Vikrama Solan Tirumdligai.
The inner of the two walls is also known as Kulottunga
Solan Tirumdligai in four records; perhaps it was built by
the father KulSttunga, and either repaired or rebuilt by the
son, Vikrama who might have called it after his father.
Certainly, Vikrama should be credited with the construction
of the outer prdkdra wall. Perhaps also, the Mulasthdna
shrine was renovated about this period and its inscriptions
were transferred to the prakara wall of the innermost en-
closure.
Most of the inscriptions refer to the Chola kings of the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries and later dynasties. Mostly
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 389
they register grants of lands for temple service and offer-
ings and for the maintenance of feeding houses and agra-
haras in the locality. All land gifts made to the temple
were required to be engraved on its walls. Up to the time
of Vikrama Chola these were made out in the name of
Chandeswara, evidently pointing to the earlier importance
enjoyed by the Mulasthdnc shrine, with the image of
Chandeswara by the side of its Linga. It may be remarked
at the same time that the Tcvaram hymns have been always
sung only in the shrine of the Mulasthana. The prominence
given to the Nataraja shrine in later inscriptions accounts
for the substitution of the caste committee of Dikshita priests
in the place of Chandeswara, and this change suggests one
of the reasons why the Dikshitas have come to be regard-
ed as the practical owners of the temple.
Besides Parantaka who covered the Dabhra Sabha
with gold, we find a Chola Princess, Kundavai, who belonged
to a later age, claiming credit for a similar act. Kulottunga I
is mentioned by his title of Jayadhara in an inscription in
the shrine, which is of some historical value. Kulottunga II
is held by his court poet to have covered the Nataraja shrine
with gold ; and this credit, as in the case of the inner pra-
kdra wall, may well be shared between his father Vikrama
and himself. The prasastis of Kulottunga II tell us that he
"wore the crown in such wise as to add lustre to Tillai-
nagar." An inscription of his seventh year from Tirup-
purambiyam (350 of 1927) explicitly mentions, for the first
time, his renovation of the temple and town of Chidam-
baram, though in a record of his third year, he gets a title
based on this achievement. Kulottunga is said, in this ins-
cription, to have worshipped the Dancing Siva of Chidam-
baram, in company with his queen, and to have removed
the little God Vishnu from the court-yard of the sacred hall
390 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
of Tillai; he claims to have built numerous structures, in-
cluding gopurams with seven tiers and also the shrine of the
Goddess £ivakami Amman, which "delighted her heart so
much by its size and its splendour that she did not think any
more of the sacred mountain (Himalaya) that gave birth to
her." These are recorded in briefer form in the Rdjardja
Solan Via and in the Takkaydgapparani and much more
detailedly in the Kulottunga Solan Via, of the famous poet,
Kavichakravarti Ottakkuttar, whose memory is kept green
even to this day, not only in literary tradition, but also in
the name of the village Kuttanur on the banks of the Arisil
river in the Tanjore district.
The hundred-pillared hall to the west of the holy tank
is claimed to have been built by one Naralokavira, alias Pon-
nambala Kuttan, a feudatory of Kulottunga I and of his son
Vikrama, whose epigraphs share some of the best literary
qualities of the Chola imperial prasastis. The powerful
Kulottunga III (1178-1216) has several inscriptions of his,
engraved on the temple walls which credit him with the con-
struction of the mukhamantapa of the Nataraja shrine and
the gopura and the enclosing verandah of the Sivakami
Amman shrine. Even in the declining days of the Chola
power in the thirteenth century, we find that Chidambaram
enjoyed patronage at the hands of both the Chola over-
lords and their vassals. The most prominent figure in this
connection is naturally Kopperunjinga, a contemporary of
Raja Raja III (1216-1246) and an over-grown feudal vassal
of his. This chief who belonged to the family of Kadava-
rayas and ruled from Sendamangalam in the middle of the
present South Arcot District, became an independent ruler
in 1243 and counted his regnal years from that date. His
titles included the name of Alagiyasiyan and Kanakasabha-
pathi Sabhd Sarvakdrya Sarvakdla Nirvdhaka, — a title that
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 391
was justified by his close association with the shrine. Several
of his epigraphs are found on the temple walls. He is credit-
ed with the construction of the east gopura of the temple
according to a trilingual inscription from Tripurantaka in
the Kurnool district, wherein we read that he decorated the
four sides of the tower with "booty acquired by subduing
the four quarters." It is on both sides of the gateway of
this gopura, in the panels of the projecting pillars, that we
find rich sculptures of dancing figures depicting the 108 pos-
tures, described in the Bharatiya Natya Sastra. 93 of these
have descriptive labels in grantha characters engraved on
them. These have been illustrated with the corresponding
verses occurring in the Sastra, in the Annual Report for
South Indian Epigraphy for 1914. The book on ' Tandava
Laksanam or The Fundamentals of Ancient Hindu Dancing
(by B. V. N. Naidu, P. S. Naidu and O. V. R. Pantulu,
1936) , gives a very instructive account of the sculptures of
the dancing figures represented in the gateway of the east
gopuram as well as those found in the gateway of the west-
ern gopuram. The 108 classic postures seem to have been
sculptured on all the four gopurams, but the explanatory
labels are found only in the eastern and western towers.
In this connection may be mentioned similar figures of
dancers and musicians, sculptured in continuous relief all
round the basement of the thousand-pillared hall and in a
well-preserved ring running along the basement of the
pillared and storeyed corridors enclosing the courtyard of
the Sivakami Amman shrine. Kopperunjinga's inscriptions
are also found on the walls of the Tillaiamman temple2 (Sri
2. This ancient temple was renovated about three decades
ago by the family of our Raja Sahib.
392 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
K5yil of Piclari Tiruchchitrambala Makali). The tradition is
that the Goddess who represented an earlier indigenous cult,
was danced out of the Tillai shrine by God Nataraja in his
famous Urdhva-Tdndava dance in the Nritta Sabha of the
temple which has been deemed by Fergusson to be a most
precious piece of workmanship in sculpture and as contain-
ing dancing figures, "more graceful and more elegantly exe-
cuted than any other of their class, so far as I know in South-
ern India." In the Bhimesvara temple at Singarat5pe, a
suburb of Chidambaram, we find another inscription of
Kopperunjinga. One of his chiefs Sola Kon, alias Perumal
Filial, set up three pillars in the great shrine for the merit
of his master.
The powerful Pandyas of the thirteenth century who
overshadowed the Cholas, continued the role of their prede-
cessors. Jatavaraman Sundara Pandya I (ace. 1251) was
anointed victor-hero and celebrated the Tulabhdra cere-
mony at the great shrine; and epigraphs of his found engrav-
ed on the eastern and western gopuras, describe some of his
achievements. A few of the succeeding Pandyas performed
likewise in Chidambaram their abhisheka and commemo-
rated their victorious campaigns. It is noteworthy that the
Pandya fish-crest is engraved in the ceiling of the gateway
of the great southern gopura.
Among the benefactions to the temple made in those
days may be mentioned the foundation of feeding-houses
and the initiation of systematic ceremonial offerings of food
to the God known as pdvddai, observed even to this day,
according to which boiled rice of a determinate quantity is
spread evenly over a plank measuring about 6' x 4'. in front
of the God and distributee! among the priests. One of the
earliest feeding-houses of which mention is made, was the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 393
Arapperunjelvi Solai, in the western street called Mudi-
kondaperumdl Tiruvldi, perhaps named after Kulottunga III,
who took the crowned head of the Pandyas. The settlement
of the Sola Saliyars (or weavers) who are even now a nu-
merous community of the locality, is mentioned in a
Pandya record of Maravarman Vlra Pandya (ace. 1262).
Another grant of Jatavarman Sundara makes mention of an
agrahdra donated to 108 learned bhattas settled in a village
known as Vikrama Pandya Chaturvedimangalam situated
on the western side of Perumbarrappuliyur, who were to
be maintained from the income of the village of Puliyan-
gudi. A similar record mentions the grant of 116 veils of
land m Adur, alias Jananathanallur, to 108 Brahmans who
were to pay four kalams per veli every year to the temple
of Tiilainayaka. Yet another record speaks of a shrine built
in honour of Alagiya Tiruchchitrambala Udaiyar at the
hamlet of Korravangudi (alias Pavithramanikkanallur)
near the University campus.
IV. THE VICISSITUDES OF THE TEMPLE UNDER LATER RULERS
The association of the Vijayanagara monarchs with the
temple is sufficiently striking, though not as intense as in
the case of the Cholas and the Pandyas. King Devaraya II
(1422-1446) has an inscription, dated Saka 1349 (i.e.,
1428 A.D.) on the north wall of the Karpaka Vinayakar
shrine near the west gopuram, which should interest the
student of history as it embodies an account of the method
by which temples were then supported and controlled by
rulers. It should be a matter of common knowledge that
the great Krishnadeva Raya built the north gopura about
Saka 1438, i.e., 1516 A.D., in commemoration of his vic-
torious northern campaign and advance in triumph to Sim-
hadri-Pottunuru where he planted a pillar of victory, after
50
394 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTJAR
which he made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Ponnambalam
and ordered the building of this tower. A striking and well-
formed stone image of his is still preserved in a niche on
the western side of the gateway of this gopura. Achyuta-
raya was noted for his many benefactions to the shrine of
Govindaraja. The Pasupatiswara Temple at Tiruvetkalam3
(renovated about a quarter of a century ago by Diwan
Bahadur Rarnaswamy Chettiar, an elder brother of the Rajah
Saheb of Chettinad) contains an epigraph dated Saka 1488,
recording the grant of that village (the village adjoining the
University on the east), by Achyutappa Nayak of Tanjore
for the merit of his overlord, King Tirumala I. Later Vijaya-
nagara rulers like Sriranga II (1578-1586) and Verikata I
(1586-1614) are mentioned in some epigraphs in the temple;
one of them on the south c/dpura, dated Saka 1510 (A.D.
3. This village is credited by local tradition as being the
place of Arjuna's penance and the present by God Siva
of the Pasupatastram to the Pandava hero. The temple it-
self dedicated to Siva has been sung by Saint Appar and Saint
Sambandar. The latter refers to the village as being situated
near the sea, where the chanting of the Vedas and the perform-
ance of the Vedic sacrifices went on ; and the former describes the
shrine as the abode of the Veianar, i.e., the Hunter, Siva as Kirata.
It is held by learned opinion that the image of Kiratarjunamurti
in this temple shows unmistakable affinity with Pallava stone
sculptures of the seventh century A.D. ; and there is reason to
believe that it is the same image that Appar saw and the presence
of which led him to celebrate the temple in his hymns as the
abode of Vetandr. There are two other images of remarkable
value and antiquity in the temple, namely, those of Arjuna and
Parvathi. The image of Arjuna is later, but may not be far
removed in point of time from that of the Kiratarjunamurti
(Vide '.Three South Indian Metal Images— A Study' by T. B.
Nayar, 1934, Annamalai University Journal, Vol. Ill, No. 1).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 395
1588), makes mention of Namassivaya Udaiyar, the superin-
tendent of all the small services in the shrine. The student
of Tamil literary history may remember, in this connection,
Guru Namassivaya, who devoted himself, at the instance of
his teacher, Guhai Namassivaya to holy work at Chidam-
baram and composed the Paramarahasya Malai, the Cfnda???-
bara Venba and other works. The head of the mutt found-
ed by Guru Namassivaya continues to enjoy temple honours
even at the present day.
A ruler of Cochin, Maharaja Rama Varma of the family
of Seraman Perumal Nayanar, has left a record in the tem-
ple, dated Saka 1498, providing for food offerings to the God.
An epigraph of Saka 1515, (i.e., 1593) informs us that the
districts of Devamandala Sirmai and Viranarayana Sirmai,
Terkunadu, Vadakkunadu, the five villages grouped round
Asuvur, and all others that had been enjoyed by the temple
of Chidambaram from early times, had been made tax-free
and fresh provision was made for a huge quantity of food
offerings daily under the name of Kondamandyakan Katta-
lai.
Achyutappa Nayaka of Tan j ore, as mentioned above,
made a gift in 1566 of the village of Tiruvetkalam to the
Tirumulasthana temple at Chidambaram for the merit of
the Vijayanagara King, Tirumala Ray a and also several
further endowments to it. Two other epigraphs of Saka
1493, refer to a gift of land made by one Alagapperumal
Pillai to Chidambareswara for the merit of Achyutappa. It
can be safely asserted that the temple received further en-
dowments during the lifetime of that Nayak. Virappa
Nayak of Madura is credited with having built the outer-
most stone-faced wall of the Chidambaram temple,
which is even now called Virappa Ndyakan madil.
396
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
So the temple flourished, if any good flourishing could
have been possible in the dark days that followed the disrup-
tion of Nayak rule in Tanjore and Gingee, the weakening
of the Maratha Raj in Tanjore and the assertion of Muslim
and European dominance in the Carnatic. During his south-
ern campaign (1677-78), Sivaji is said to have contemplated
the restoration of many Hindu shrines that had fallen on
evil days; and we have evidence that he reconsecrated and
enlarged the shrine of Tiruvannamalai and restored the ce-
lebration of the great Kdrtliigai festival. Sivaji occupied the
Chidambaram district in the course of this campaign. He
stayed for some time in the neighbourhood of Chidambaram
and Bhuvanagiri (literally, Bhuvanekaviran Pattanam) for
effecting a reconciliation with his brother, Vyankoji of Tan-
jore, with whom he spent some time on the banks of the
Coleroon; but we do not know of any gift to or association
with the shrine effected by him. In the darker days of the
eighteenth century we have got only to note that the temple
suffered serious reverses in the course of the Anglo-French
wars in the Carnatic and later during the invasions of
Haidar Ali of Mysore.
In 1749 the ill-fated expedition of Captain Cope against
Devikottah had to take shelter in the Chidambaram pagoda
on its retreat. In 1753, the French took possession of it as
well as the neighbouring Bhuvanagiri which was then a large
weaving centre and partly fortified. They were in occupa-
tion of the shrine for several years till 1760 and buttressed the
outer walls with bastions and embrasures and otherwise
greatly strengthened the western gopura gateway. The im-
portance of the French occupation of the temple lies in its
conversion into a military base. A sketch of the fortifica-
tions planned, begun and carried out to some extent by
the French, is given by the eighteenth-century historian,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 397
Robert Orme, (Vide Vol. Ill of his History of 'Indostan, be-
ing a Collection of maps and plans to accompany that work . .
Plan entitled 'Chillambarum and showing the fortifications
intended and begun by the French) and is well worth a
close study, as it discloses the alignment of the bastions and
batteries projected for strengthening the outermost wall, as
well as for the utilisation of the storeyed corridors that lined
the inside of the second wall and that have now gone to ruin
in many portions. In January 1754, there was an abortive
attempt made by the English to force the French garrison
which held the pagoda to surrender it; but the attacking
party was completely routed. It was only in 1760 (20th
April) that the English and their Nawab Muhammad All
Walajah Bahadur, were able to secure the surrender of the
town and the fortified pagoda. A party of English troops
combined with a body of men under Krishna Rao, the kille-
dar of Tyagadrug, pressed on the place from the south and
north respectively, while two eighteen-pounder cannon were
taken up the Coleroon on catamarans from the English
squadron lying at anchor off Devicottah.4
4. The chiefs of Devicottah, known by the hereditary title
of Sola Kon, corrupted into Sdl_agandr flourished since the time
of the powerful and dreaded Solagan, chief of that Island fortress
under Krishnappa Nayaka of Gingee (Cir. 1600) . He was attack-
ed by Raghunatha Nayak of Tan j ore as being a rebel and taken
captive along with his family and thrown into prison. He was
very cruel in his punishment of victims ; and his cruelty has been
described by Father Pimenta, who perhaps visited his fortress.
Yagna Narayana Dikshita has referred to the sons and relatives
of this Solaga in his work. Solaga and his descendants had an
intimate association with the temple and claimed the right to be
crowned in the Rajasabha in the thousand-pillared mantapa. The
present representative of the family, who is a poligar, lives in
an adjoining village in the jungle at the mouth of the Coleroon,
398 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
We may suppose that there was an intermission of the
worship, services and festivals in the shrine during the
period of its military occupation by the French. Nor was it
destined to enjoy unbroken peace even after its recovery by
the English for the Nawab in 1760. In the course of
the Second Mysore War (1780-1784) when Sir Eyre
Coote marched to the southward from Cuddalore in
June 1781, preparatory to engaging Haidar All, he
attacked Chidambaram whose fortified pagoda had been for
some time under the occupation of the enemy. The latter
had taken care to surround the pettah on the west side of
the temple with a mud wall; and the place was garrisoned
by about 3,000 poligar peons. The pettah was quickly occu-
pied by the English who burst open the outer gate on the
west by a vigorous fire but found further advance into the
pagoda impossible (18th June 1781). Thus the first attempt
of the English to capture the fort failed and Coote retired
to the neighbourhood of Porto Novo, where he gained the
glorious victory that turned the tide of this critical war.5
Devicottah was abandoned after some time and has completely
disappeared under water, except for some small relics. It is per-
haps identifiable with the Jalkotta of the Muhammadan historians,
who described the Muhammadan invasions of South India in the
fourteenth century.
5. The fortified pagoda of Chidambaram was the main
objective of Coote in the campaign that culminated in the great
victory of Portonovo. The failure of the English to carry the
pagoda by assault to which reference has been already made is
well described by Colonel H. C. Wylly, C. B., in his Life
of Sir Eyre Coote, K.B., (1922 page 220) . The small number of
Europeans in his force and his natural desire to save them for
more important enterprises had made Coote endeavour to take
the Pagoda with sopoys and small artillery. The failure of Coote
and the repulse of his forces greatly elated Jahan Khan, the cap-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 399
It was in this period of trouble that the sacred Idol of
Nataraja was removed from the Ponnambalam shrine and
taken over to Tiruvarur for protection under the Raja of
Tanjore. An inscription in grantha characters in the form
of a 'sloka' in the thousand-pillared mantapam refers to this
fact and says that it was in the year Saka 1695, Kali 4874
(in the month of Mdsi Krishnapaksha, mula nakshatra,
thriyothasi thithi) that Nataraja came to Chitsabha from
Tiruvarur.
V. THE TWIN VISHNU SHRINE OF GoviNDARAJA6
It may be, perhaps, instructive at this place to trace the
fortunes of the twin shrine of Govindaraja associated froir.
the early times with Sri Sabhanayaka. We know that the
Vaishnava deity was praised in song by two of the Alwars,
Tirumangai and Kulasekhara and that the worship of the
God was in those days conducted by the Tillai Muvayiravar.
The Vishnu shrine was held in veneration by the Pallava
tarn of the enemy troops; and the latter so magnified his success
that Haidar All at once made up his mind to destroy the English
power. He made a forced march of 100 miles in 2% days and
placed himself between Coote and Cuddalore and began to fortify
a position, hemming in the British army into an equilateral
triangle formed by his camp, by the sea and the Porto Novo river
In the battle the British fleet which was in the roads could not
take any part except a small schooner; towards evening when
his troops had begun to retreat, Haidar took shelter in Chidam-
baram but Coote's cavalry was numerically too weak to pursue
the enemy.
It was in Chidambaram also that Haidar confined some English
prisoners that he later on sent to his capital.
6. A connected account of the Vaishnava shrine was given
for the first time by Dr. S. K. Aiyangar, the veteran historian,
more than two decades ago in connection with an important suit.
400 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
monarch who was a contemporary of Tirumangai and pro-
bably Nandivarman II, and was known by the name of Tillai
Tiruchchitrakutam. The Tirukkovaiydr of Manikkavacaga
informs us that the God was in a recumbent posture and
rested on Adisesha and that his shrine was adjacent to
Tiruchchitrambalam in front of the Siva deity. Further, we
learn from Vaishnava literature that the Vishnu deity was
thrown into the sea and the shrine itself was vacated in
order to enlarge the courtyard of Sirrambalam by a Chola
monarch, who is called SennikulSttunga in the Life of Rama-
nwjo. by Pillailokam Jiyar. This monarch has been identi-
fied with Kulottunga II, known also as Anabhaya and Tiru-
nirru Sola (1135-1146) and this act of the Chola has been
described by the poet, Ottakkuttar in two of his works. The
date of this act of desecration has been proved by
an elaborate process of reasoning by Rao Saheb
Pandit M. Raghava lyengar, to be 1127 A.D. (Saka 1049).
The great Vaishnava Apostle, Sri Ramanuja, certainly heard
of this desecration of the Vishnu shrine and of the subse-
quent transportation of the image by some bhaktas to Lower
Tirupati. Some time after this, he went over to the latter
place where he had the image consecrated and enshrined.
We hear of the next great reconsecration of the Vishnu
shrine in the temple in 1539, in the reign of Achyutaraya,
under the inspiration of a famous Vaishnava teacher, Dod-
dacharya alias Mahdcharya of Sholinghur. This was effect-
ed, according to the Prapannamritam by one Ramaraya of
Chandragiri, incorrectly supposed to be a brother of Krishna-
deva Raya, but in reality a lieutenant of Achyuta who actu-
ally consecrated the shrine. This is further supported by the
Vdsudeva Charitai (composed in 1543 A.D.) of Varadaraja,
in which the author says that Govindaraja worshipped by
the devas, with Uma's Lord dancing by his side, was res-
COMMEMORAriON VOLUME 401
tored to his former shrine and praised by Achyuta in some
verses. We know further that Achyutaraya built several
parts of the Vishnu shrine; and the words used by Varada-
raja in his book seem to imply that it was rebuilt after the
old model, having perhaps been abandoned all the time.
This writer might have actually witnessed the reconsecration
ceremony itself. The alleged restoration of the shrine by
the Brahman general, Gopanarya, associated with Kumara
Kampana, in the task of the restoration of Srirangam and
Madura in the fourteenth century is incorrect.
In Saka 1565, i.e., A.D. 1643, Sriranga Raya of the
Aravidu dynasty, then ruling from Vellore, renovated the
mukhamantapa and the gopura of the shrine and the
vimanas of the goddesses Pundarikavalli and Sudikkodutta
Nachchiar and also of the mantapa in front of Tiruvazhi
Alwan (Inscription No. 271 of 1913) and gave away five
villages in rent-free grant for the benefit of the Sri
Vaishnavas of the place.
Krishnappa Nayak of Gingce (Cir. 1600) was a zealous
patron of Vaishnavism, like his master Venkatapathi Raya
of Vellore. He settled definitely the bitter controversy that
had been raging over the question whether the shrine of
Vishnu should have the Vaishnava symbols placed in front
of it, to which the Saiva priests strongly objected. Accord-
ing to the Jesuit writer, Father Pimenta, who has given
a succinct account of what he saw in the temple when
he visited the place in 1597, the protest ended in the violent
death of some of the objectors and the work of construction
was carried on to its conclusion. The Sanskrit work, Pra-
pannamirtam, claims that the Vaishnava scholar Maha-
charya defeated in scholastic disputes the Saiva scholars of
Chidambaram, among whom was included even the famous
51
402 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Appayya Dikshita, so well known for his devotion to God
Nataraja.
In the last decade of the eighteenth century, tHere arose
a renewed dispute between the two shrines, leading to the
stoppage of the worship in the Vishnu shrine for some years
and even the walling up of its entrance. It was settled by
the arbitration of the Nawab's faujdar of the district and
confirmed by a parwana of Nawab Omdut-ul-Umarah
Bahadur of the Carnatic, dated 1797, which defined the
respective rights and claims of both the parties.
After the establishment of British rule over the district
when swords were turned into plough-shares and battle-axes
into pruning hooks, the disputes between the two shrines
were fought out in the law courts, off and on, with varying
fortunes. Now the main points of contention have been
settled fairly amicably and the managers of the two shrines
have agreed to work harmoniously, largely through the
mediating efforts of the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad, who reno-
vated the ruined mantapa in front of the Vishnu shnne,
repaired the shrine itself which was in a dilapidated condi-
tion, reconstructed the qopura and the vimdna over the
Garbagraha and reconsecrated the sannidhi itself in the
summer of 1934.
Thus we may summarise the vicissitudes in tKe fortunes
of the Govindaraja Shrine in these words : " In the eighth
century, the Vishnu shrine was consecrated by a Pallava
ruler, — most likely Nandivarman II — praised by Tiru-
mangai Alwar. In the first half of the 12th century, it was
desecrated by a Chola, most likely Kulottunga II ; in the
first half of the sixteenth century, it was renovated by
Achyuta Raya of Vijayanagara; and towards the close of that
century it received the patronage of Krishnappa Nayak of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 403
Gingee; and later it was further enlarged by Sriranga IV,
In 1934 the shrine itself which was in a ruined condition was
renovated at a considerable cost through the munificent
generosity cf the Rajah Saheb of Chettinad, as noted above.
Thus it appears from the history of the shrine that it has
been fated to undergo a critical change in its fortunes every
four centuries.
VI. THE GROWTH OP THE TEMPLE IN RECENT TIMES.
Lord Valentia, an English nobleman of high rank, who
visited the shrine in 1803, gives a very good picture of the
temple as he saw it then: He thus wrote: — "The gateway
by which we entered had lately been repaired by a devout
widow, at the enormous expense of forty thousand pagodas.
The whole of ilia architecture hud a more ancient appear-
ance than Tan j ore or Ramiseram. Facing the entrance they
were erecting a portico of one hundred fluted pillars, in some
parts three, in others five deep; the roof was not yet laid on.
We then proceeded in a winding direction to the entrance of
the most holy temple. This building is more ancient, and
the style much purer than the others around it; even the
carved figures shewed in the artist a more just attempt at
proper action than is to be found in the rest. A small temple
facing us on our return, was of the same architecture and the
carved figures had equal merit." This last was evidently
the Nritta Sabha.
The widow referred to above, was the wife of the great
philanthropist, Pachaiyappa Mudaliar of Conjeevaram
(1754-1794), who was Dubash for some years for the East
India Company at the T^njore court and who devoted his
extensive wealth for religious and educational charities,
including among them large benefactions and kattalais for
the Sri Sabhanayaka Shrine. He started in 1791-92 the
404 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
second Brahmotsava of the shrine, by name Ani Tiruman-
janam, which he arranged to be celebrated on an equally
grand scale with the Arudhra Darsanam. He built the car-
stand, renovated the temple cars and revived the car
festival which had fallen into desuetude for some time.
He arranged for the starting of a Sanskrit seminary at
Chidambaram and persuaded his rich friend, Manali
Chinniah Mudaliar, grandson of the famous Dubash of
Lord Pigot, Manali Muthukrishna Mudaliar, (who construc-
ted in Madras the shrine of Chennakesava Perumal and
Chennai Malleswaraswami about 1763) to endow large
benefactions to the Sabhanayaka Shrine, which included
the maintenance of flower gardens and the plating with
silver of the Panchdksara steps leading into the innermost
sanctum.
Pachaiyappa had also planned the reconstruction of the
east gopura which had become dilapidated; but as he died
before he could undertake the work, his widow and his sister
who carried out his will, took care to complete that injunc-
tion, as noted by Lord Valentia. A stone image of Pachai-
yappa and another of his sister and mother-in-law, by name
Subbammal, are to be found in niches on the southern side
of the gateway of the east gopura. The many-sided chari-
ties of Pachaiyappa were first detailed in a number of songs
about 1840 by great Tamil scholars like Malavai Mahalinga
Iyer, Head Tamil Pandit of what was then known as the
Madras University, subsequently the Presidency College,
and Mahavidwan Sabhapathi Mudaliar of Conjeevaram.
Likewise, the rich Nattukottai Nagarathar community
comprehended a thorough renovation of the great shrine in
their schemes of reconstruction of South Indian temples; and
a considerable sum of money was devoted to this purpose by
the family of the Rajah Saheb which began the work of re-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 405
construction in the seventies of last century on a lavish and
magnificent scale, and the lesult has been the renovation of
all the gopuras, the restoration of almost every shrine to
greater grandeur of appearance and ornamentatiorif, includ-
ing the gilding of the roof of the Kanakasabha, the repair
of the enclosing walls, the broadening of the stone steps
and corridors of the sacred tank and above all the con-
struction of the magnificent corridors round the second
prakara, recalling to mind the spacious splendour of the
Rameswaram corridors. Besides these the charities of the
family have provided for a number of ubhayams and
kattalais in the temple and for the reconstruction of the cars
and for the provision of a great quantity of lamps, vessels,
vahanas and other appurtenances, many of them of silver,
for use in the service of the deities. There was a great con-
secration ceremony conducted under the auspices of this
noble charity in 1891. The work of renovation in several
other parts of the temple was continued for over a quarter
of century after this date. Three generations of the family
of the Rajah Saheb have devoted themselves to this great
task of the restoration of this ancient shrine to more than its
pristine glory. Metal images of the parents of the Rajah
Saheb, holding ever-burning lamps in their hands have been
installed in the Kanakasabha, in token alike of their religious
devotion and magnificent generosity.
The Rajah and his elder brother, Diwan Bahadur Rama-
swamy Chettiar, have likewise developed the town and
increased its amenities for cultured life. Schools for the
propagation of Vedic and Agamaic learning and for the
revival of Tevdram singing and studies, and magnificent
choultries, which have practically thrown into shade and
idleness, by their huge feeding, earlier foundations,
406
and Gorakshaialas and flower-gardens may also be
mentioned among their many-sided benefactions.
Modern amenities like the well-equipped high school,
started a quarter of a century ago by Mr. Ramaswami
Chettiar, the protected water-supply which has scared
away foul diseases like cholera and elephantiasis from
the town, also due to his generosity, and the building of a
town-hall for the expression of the common life of the citizens
and named after the Rajah Saheb, as Annamalai Town Hall
these show to what extent the Rajah's family have devoted
themselves for the exaltation of the shrine and the improve-
ment of the town, to which has been added practically
another town and temple of learning in the shape of the
University settlement, which may be called the most expres-
sive of the Rajah's innumerable and wide-spread charities
and may be claimed to be the most potential for good as well
as the most fruitful among them all. It will not there-
fore be inappropriate that the Rajah of Chettinad should be
honoured, like his royal and semi-royal predecessors in the
patronage of the temple, with the titles of Sivapada Sekhara
and of Kanakasabhapathi Sabha Sarvakdrya Nirvdhaka.
Let us hope that, under the Rajah's fostering care, the twin
towns of Chidambaram and Annamalainagar, the one con-
serving the culture of the past and the other endeavouring
to realise the aspirations of the Tamils and their cultural
development, may grow in strength and usefulness and ex-
pand, as of old, so as to take in all the neighbouring hamlets
like Sivapuri (reminiscent of the settlement of Jaffnese
Saivites7 taking refuge from persecution in their own
home) Vikrama Sslanallur and other surrounding villages
as it did in the golden days of Chola rule.
7. A part of Chidambaram, round the tank of Gnanaprakasar,
a scholar of the 17th century, has been associated with a Jafinese
settlement ; and God Kanakasabapathi has ever been their chosen
deity.
STELLAR DISTRIBUTION.
BY
DR. H. SUBRAMANIA AlYAR, M.A., PH.D.,
Professor, Maharaja's College, Trivandram,
and
Government Astronomer
AND
REV. 0. R. WALKEY.
The major problem in modern astronomy is that of the
stellar distribution, representing the form and extent of our
Universe — the great assemblage of stars, clusters and
nebulae segregating towards the Milky Way as their funda-
mental plane.
The problem has been approached in various ways: —
The individual distances of special types of stars, for inst-
ance, the cepheid variables, whereof the regular period
of variation is directly related to their intrinsic luminosity,
which combined with their apparent brightness gives an
accurate measure of the distances of these usually very
remote objects. Though lying near to the galactic plane and
at great distances, their number is too small to fix the form
of our Universe. With cepheid distribution is associated
that of the globular clusters, wherein the periods of the faint
cepheids have determined the distance of these remarkable
objects. The globular clusters, however, do not exceed
more than some ninety in number and are found to lie in all
directions within a sphere enveloping our galaxy, and so are
408 RAJAH 5IR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
no guide to the actual form or density prevailing within the
Galaxy. Another line of study lies in deriving the distances
from the known mean luminosity of stars of various spectral
types. Then, again, the stream motions found to prevail in
certain directions have revealed other characteristic
features of our Universe. Another promising method, and
that considered in this paper, is the star density, or num-
bers of stars down to various magnitudes per square
degree, in different parts of the sky. The studies made at
Mt. Wilson Observatory have (contribution No. 301, 1925)
been incorporated with the exhaustive star counts by Van
Rhijn and published in 1929 (Pub. Kapt. Ast. Lab.
Groningen, No. 43,) detailing the number of stars per
square degree according to galatitude (the galactic latitude
measured from the galactic equator) towards the north and
south galactic poles, and for galongitude (galactic longitude)
reckoned eastward along the galactic equator from its inter-
section with the celestial equator in Aquila.
The abridged Tables la — e give, for the photographic
magnitudes 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18, the star density in numbers
per square degree at each 30° interval of galatitude (P) and
at every 30° in galongitude (*), the latter being the aver-
age values for the three 10° intervals of galongitude centred
at the given directions. This smooths out the effect of
local inequalities, whether of condensations (bright
patches) or of obscuring clouds (dark patches). The aver-
age for each whole circle of galongitude round each galati-
tude parallel is given in the final column. It may be
remarked that galactic latitude —2° is actually the richest
belt; but, as this is the evident effect of the actual galactic
clouds, the values for P^O0 should give the truer represen-
tation.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 409
In order to derive the forms of these stellar spheroids,
it will suffice owing to the uncertainties in our premises to
assume a generally uniform distribution of the stars, and we
therefore take the cube roots of the density numbers to con-
note the relative boundaries of the respective spheroids in the
several directions. These values appear in Table II a~~e for
the same magnitudes as in Tables I a~~e) with the quantities
for the whole circles in the final column, as before; the inter-
mediate directions, however, in galongitude are confined to
the significant directions M5Q° —330° and AGO0 -240°, viz.,
the lines approximately towards and away from the galactic
centre, and those at right angles thereto. On the assump-
tion of average uniform distribution of these stars in space,
the numbers in Tables II a~e represent the outlines of their
containing spheroids. The ratios between the values for
the corresponding points for the several magnitudes in
such case define the relative proportions of the spheroids
between each three — magnitude stage.
Combining the like galatitudes N. and S. of the
galactic equator, we derive Table Illy giving the correspond-
ing ratios for each magnitude considered. The last two
columns give the overall ratios for the range of 12 magnitudes
— from 6th to 18th pmg — both for triple and for single
magnitude ranges.
The Table shows that the distance ratio has a slight but
steady increase between each magnitude as the galactic
equator is approached; while, at the same time, there is a
falling off in this ratio with increasing distance down the
magnitude scale.
The planes of condensations found by Van Rhijn from
the star counts vary with their brightness, and hence with
52
410 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
their numbers. For the lucid stars, i.e., to 6th (phot)
magnitude, the north pole of their plane lies at (1900)
al88°'2(12h--33m), H-26°'5. This difference indicates the
trend of the stars from the local Cluster into those of the
main galactic stream, as their distance increases. These
spheroids are plotted in Figures 1 a— b and 2 a— b, showing
their forms respectively on the galactic plane and that
vertical to it; the outlines for the 12th ping are repeated in
the "b" diagrams, these latter being on a smaller than the
"a" scale, in order to embrace the much greater expanse
in the 15th and 18th pmg In both sets of diagrams the
actual X/N values have been plotted for each 10° intervals
of galongitude and galatitude (for the latter, even closer
within the P±:20° zone and derived from the Van Rhijn
tables for these closer intervals) rather than for just the 30°
intervals appearing in the abridged Tables I and II. The
vertical sections in Figs. 2 a— b are chosen along the per-
pendicular planes U50°— 330°, [approximately towards and
away from the galactic centre (A3260)] and 60°— 240°,
crosswise, viz., along the path of galactic rotation. The
noticeable "dents" here and there in the vertical sections
are evidently due to the presence of obscuring clouds: in the
12th pmg outline, at ^330°, P±10° (Ophiuchus) and ^150°,
P— 15° (Taurus); in the 18th ping, a like effect appears at
A240°, P+20° (Antlia). Conversely, the apparent "bulges"
predicate bright galactic patches as that at A60°, P~~10°
(Lacerta) for the 18th pmg, and that extending at A330°
southward in galatitude from P-10° (Sagittarius to Grus)
for the 12th pmg. The vertical outlines for the 18th magni-
tude (Fig. 2 b) at X240° and 330° are farther out than their
opposites (compare the right and left hand sides in the
figures). This shows a distinct "trailing", due, may be, to
galactic rotation and also the presumed arm towards the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 411
galactic centre. The same effect appears though to a lesser
extent, in the 15th magnitude.
Having derived the comparative forms, the next step is
to interpret their scale in distance units. In this connec-
tion, we may adopt the results obtained at Mt. Wilson
(Contr. No. 281, Seares, 1924) deriving Table IV (a) and
quoted by Russel Dugan and Stewart, "AsLronomy" p. 665,
where the distances near the galactic poles are stated to be
about tnree-quarters of those tabulated, and at the galactic
equator an eighth greater than tabled. This table may be
expressed empirically by the formula R— 9 (l'46)m,
where ra is the tabulated (visual) magnitude and R the
distance in radials ; a radial is the distance represented
by a parallax of 1" arc, or 206,265 astronomical units
(19*lbX1012 miles), and commonly known under the
uneuphonious and somewhat inaccurate term "parsec". The
mean luminosities follow in the last column from the
consequent relation L=81/l'2m.
The galactic planar values appear in Table IV b, where
the formula has been extrapolated down to the 18th (visual)
magnitude, while the intermediate values are entered for
the photographic magnitudes 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18, for
which Tables I and II are entered. The first two
columns in Table IV b give respectively the visual and
photographic magnitudes related by the formula, visual
magn.— 0-3+0*9 (phot magn.). The fourth column gives
the corresponding parallaxes (ft). The final column gives
the mean luminosities (L) of the stars of each magnitude
following from the consequent empirical rule L— 100/r 2W ;
whence it appears that there is a decline of 2% -fold or I'D
magnitude in real brightness with every 5 magnitudes
decline in apparent brightness.
412 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
Though it is well known that the apparent brightness
(magnitude) of a given star is no index whatever of its
distance, yet, taking the stars in their thousands down their
successive magnitudes, their average distances may be accept-
ed, as tabled. In order to correlate the distances in Tables IV
with those implied in Table II a— e and illustrated in Figs. 1
and 2, we may compare Ihe star density prevailing in our
part of the Galaxy. By "star density" is meant the number
of stars in a given volume of space, as distinct from "stellar
density" which concerns the density conditions prevailing
within any given star itself. Recent studies, summarized by
Bok (Ap. Jiil. Monograph, "Distribution of the Stars". Univ.
Chi. Press, 1937) indicate an overall mean density from 0*05
down to 0'04 solar mass per cubic radial. Within our Local
Cluster (see later) the star density ranges from about 0*06
solar mass per cubic radial in our neighbourhood;
i.e., 17 cubic radials per solar mass (cp. "Concise
General Astronomy", Walkey and Aiyar 1940, p. 238)
down to 60% of this in its outer regions (cp.
Oort's finding, 0*038 solar mass per cubic radial, Bok,
loc. cit.). Adopting 0*04 star density, or 25 cubic radials
per star as an overall value, we have, for a 5:1 oblate
spheroid, the simple relation between its volume
and its apparent superficial area as seen by us from
within, viz., between 4/i5^R3XO'04=:4^(57-3)2. Where R is
the equatorial radius of the spheroid (5 times the polar
radius). This yields a round value of 110 radials repre-
sented by a star density of one star per sq. deg. The conse-
quent polar scale being 64 radials for the same star density in
the Tables I and II,
_ -"»
The outline for 12th magnitude approaches the bound-
ary of our Local Cluster, some 1500 radials across, and
having its north pole at (1900)^^178° (llh-52m),
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 413
S=+31°-2 (Scares, Mt. Wilson Cont. No. 347, 1927). This
assemblage of stars evidently embodies an inner core
represented by what is known as Gould's Belt, outlined
mainly by the two great helium (B type) star groups of
Orion and Centaurus-Scorpio, and which seem to indicate
a circulation icund a centre over 200 radials away in
Carina, and just possibly marked by the supergiant star
Canopus (see "Concise General Astronomy", as above,
pp. 269-272). The reality of the group motion in Cen-
taurus-Seorpio has recently been questioned (Smart, M.N.,
R.A.S., Vol. 100 p. 60, 1939). The evident existence, how-
ever, of the Local Cluster should predicate the probability
of some circulatory motion within itself — the B type stars
in particular show such a tendency (cp. G. Stromberg,
Mt. Wilson Cont. No. 492, 1934) . This core, tilted some 18°
with the main galactic plane, flattens this slope to within 13°
(C. Me Cuskey. Ap. Jnl. Vol. 89 p. 575, 1939).
Though doubted by some, the existence of such a cluster
is evident, a general galactic rotation has been established
mainly from the apparent radial velocities of the globular
clusters— at a speed of some 170 jniles sec. round the galactic
centre, 10,000 radials away in the direction (1900)al7'!-40m,
S-30° (^326°, P0°), so Plaskett and Pearce conclude (M.N.,
R.A.S., Vol. 94, p. 679, 1934). More recently, the gtobular
clusters are themselves found (Camm, Ap. Jnl. Vol. 89, p. 45,
1939) to rotate round this centre; allowing for this rota-
tion, that of the Local Cluster is accelerated to some 250
miles per second. The shearing effect of this latter rotation
is apparent in the elongation and lopsidedness in the length-
wise and crosswise sections in Figs. 2 a-b., along the path of
rotation, which is towards Cygnus. This is borne out by
the independent studies summarized by Bok (Ap. Jnl,
414 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Monograph, as above), finding our cluster to be elongated
in the approximately same direction, viz., the line,
A62°-242°.
These studies also show that the star density, which is
constant up to about 600 radials out from the Sun in other
directions, drops rather suddenly from 200 radials until
800 radials in the perpendicular direction line, i.e., towards
and away from the galactic centre. The resumption in this
direction of the normal star density at 800 radials out marks
the main galactic densities beyond our Local Cluster.
Table IV(b) however, lakes no account of the since dis-
covered absorption of light within our gaiaxy; tor wnich the
most acceptable overall value may be taken to be that deriv-
ed by Stebbins (Com. Nat. Acad. Sc. No. Ill, 1933) as
Orl*o6 (^28%) loss for every " Kiloparsec " viz., 1000
radials, traversed. Incorporating this effect, the revised rule
for distance (in the galactic plane) becomes R—10
X(l-45) m-°0036 This relation is plotted in Fig. 3 to
derive the revised values of Table V in place of those in
Table IV b, The luminosities (Table IV a) remain unaffect-
ed since the absorption affects the apparent brightness only.
Did the absorption and distribution functions hold so
far the stars at the galactic centre, 10,000 radials away,
would 'appear of 22nd (visual) magnitude. Such, however,
is not the case. The polar and equatorial distance scales
have been adjusted in the diagrams Figs. I a— b and 2 a— b
to the relation pointed out under Tables IV incorporat-
ing the absorption distances given in Table V. The resulting
trend towards a 1: 5 flattening bears out, for our part of the
Universe, and generally, the discoid form adumbrated by
Sir William Herschel for what was then deemed to be our
whole Universe.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 415
Again, we may derive from Tables II a— e and V, the
(direction (k) and distance (Re) of the centroids of the dis-
tribution spheroids on the galactic plane, in Fig. I a— b, by
simply (within present limits of accuracy) treating each 10°
galongitudinal sector as a triangle of area N% with its 10°
apex at the Sun and its centroid f (N1/3) out, whence, sum-
ming the moments N%XI (N1/3)=ifN round the circle, we get
tan AC in the usual way. The distance Re of the centroid
follows by dividing the resultant by SN$ (viz., the total area) .
The results appear in Table VI, giving both the direction and
distance of the centroid in each case, together with the
increase-ratio for the last three-magnitudes intervals.
With the exception of the 9th phot. mag. (where local
effects evidently prevail to deflect the direction,), there is
a progressive trend eastward in the galongitude of the
centroid with increasing distance. This is doubtless due to
the increasing effect of the main galactic distribution as we
leave the Local Cluster. To this is evidently due the
sudden outward shift of the centroid between the 12th and
15th magnitudes, where the change is about double that
between the other intervals. This is because the Local
Cluster seems to disappear beyond the average distances
of the 12th magnitude stars.
Next, we compare the mean "xXN values at the
galactic equator in Tables II a— e for the five pmg's 6, 9, 12,
15 and 18, the increase-ratios in Table III, with the Table V
values for R corresponding to the equivalent visual
magnitudes, read from the curve in Fig. 3, together with the
increase-ratios for these latter over the same 3— magn inter-
vals. The comparison appears in Table VII.
The first two columns in the Table give the photogra-
phic and visual magnitudes, the next two columns give the
416 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
cube-rooted densities and their equivalent distances
by the equatorial conversion factor 110 (see under
Table IV b value of 110 for star density of one).
The fifth column gives the three — magn increase-ratio
(Table III), while the last two columns are read from Fig. 3,
as stated, representing Table V. The agreement between
the distance (cols. 4 and 6) for these independent lines of
approach is a measure of the correctness of the adopted den-
sity of 0'04 Solar mass per cubic radial, and the absorption
factor ('00036 mag/1000 radials), while the agreement
between the ratios (cols 5 and 7) shows how far correct is
the assumption of approximately even star density, taking
the stars on the whole within their magnitude spheroids.
It should be noted that, in view of the dispersion in
actual parallaxes about their mean for a given magnitude,
the mean distance in radials for such magnitude is actually
greater than entered (Tables IV, V) as correspondent to the
mean parallax. To give a simple example; the mean of the
five parallaxes 0"' 08, -09-10, '11, '12 (a dispersion 20% on
either side of their means) is O'lO, corresponding to 10
radials distance; whereas the mean of their corresponding
distances 12%, 11%, 10, 9Ki, 8% radials is 10*235 radials
or 2*35% more than would appear in the Tables. This dis-
crepancy lessens as the number of intermediate measures
increases.
In conclusion, it should be remembered that the
evident, but at present unknown, inequalities of light-
absorption prevailing along the galactic belt, necessarily
vitiate any detailed findings which, therefore, must not be
pressed beyond their general aspect.
w
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME 423
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Fig. 1-a
425
426
68°
150°
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Fig. 2-a
SECTIONS OF STAR SPHEROIDS
\60o goo 400 _ »xx aoo, too iufai. 100 200 300 400 500
100 iOO JUO 4OO WO OOU\
athwart ^ galactic
away from > centre
240°
athwart ) galactic
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Fig. 2-b
A
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150° ...
athwart I galactic
away from ) centre
A
240°
330°
athwart I galactic
towards C centre
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Fig. 3
(Magnitude — Distance)
m— 0-00036
R~10 (1-45) ; m= Visual Mag.
Photographic mag.~10/9 (Vis. Mag.)~y3
Visual Mag.=:0-3 + 0-9 (Photo. Mag.)
427
Magnitude
The left hand curve and margin
show tenfold enlargement
**/
GALACTIC COORDINATES.
BY
DR. H. SUBRAMANIA AjYAR, M.A., PH.D. (LONDON).
Professor of Science, Maharaja's College, Trivandrum
and
Government Astronomer
AND
REV. O. R. WALKEY.
INTRODUCTORY
From the first appearance of accurate star catalogues,
star positions have been recorded in the order of their passage
across the meridian or successive culmination at the highest
points of their celestial path — once every 23 hours 56 minutes
nearly. This so called "right ascension" is measured as
time eastward from the point where the Sun's ecliptic path
ascends across the celestial (i.e. sky trace of the terrestrial)
equator. The height of each star's culmination marks its
declination, measured in degrees etc., north or south of the
equatorial line.
iw
What spoils this useful method, however, are the move-
ments of this equatorial reference and the secular drift of the
ecliptic (terrestrial orbital) plane's intersection with the
celestial equator, due to the various motions of our Earth and
their perturbations. The?e entail some 300 terms in com-
puting the "ephemerides" or reduction of a star's actual
position at a given date. This is the case even after the
429
simplification by Bessel's Tables, published early in the 19th
century, wherein the reduction numbers provide for the
aberration of light, nutation in latitude and longitude along
the ecliptic, and the precession of the equinoxes. These
tables welded the shackles of this recurrent toil of Sissyphus,
whereof the hill gets a little steeper at every epoch. So, the
observations of Lacaille, Bradley, Mayer and Lalande
(1750-1800) were imprisoned within the wabbling cage of
terrestrial co-ordinates at mean epochs.
In seeking an alternative, one might imagine a confer-
ence of deputies from the members of the Solar System,
presided over by those from the Sun, to decide the question of
star positions. In such a conference, the claims for our
terrestrial coordinates would soon be outvoted by the greater
claim submitted for the orbital plane of either Jupiter or
Saturn, or, better still, the invariable plane of the Solar
System (lying in between these two) : or again, the equato-
rial plane of the Sun as the ruler of our Solar system and
reckoning along from its intersection with the invariable
plane.
FUNDAMENTAL PLANE.
We have, however, in common with the other worlds,
an even more fundamental plane of reference, namely the
fundamental plane for all the solar systems in our Universe,
and marked out by the Milky Way or Galaxy.
Reference to such a plane would fix the star positions
once for all, with only their annual variations to be worked
out, namely, aberration, parallax and proper motion; the
first two, in virtue of our orbital revolution, and the third
due to the stars' own motion. The Sun's motion in space
would set up a cumulative change, easily allowed for. As
things are now, hours, if not days, of work are needed to
430 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
disentangle the motion of a star, against the work of minutes,
when referred to the galactic plane which is the more
natural reference for stellar motions. To take an example,
the laborious calculations for the century and a half from
1800-1950 have impressed on the star £ Orionis a total motion
of 7 minutes 36*85 seconds in R.A. and & 31 •()" in declina-
tion— a total motion of 114'* 4 or 6864", whereas the actual
annual proper motion of this star (according to the General
catalogue 1936) is 0"' 000— exactly zero— Whence the
labours of reduction through the 150 years are spent to
produce an entirely fictitious result.
Right ascension and declination coordinates are
unavoidable for determining the position of the Sun, the
Moon and the planets and the "clock" stars. A good star
map suffices for the coordinates needed to find stars in an
equatorial telescope. Though precise galactic positions are
needed for any such star catalogue when replacing the
shifting equatorial coordinates, approximate star positions
can be derived from an accurate network of galactic
coordinates at conveniently close intervals. We here adopt
the contractions "galatitude" and "galongitude" for the
galactic latitude and longitude respectively.
Sir John Herchel (Outlines of Astronomy, 1849) writes
thus of the galactic circle: "The circle is to sidereal
astronomy what the invariable ecliptic plane is to planetary
astronomy". Unfortunately this circle is not precisely
defined in the sky, and various poles have been found for it,
according to the particular object referred to, though these
are in close agreement.
HISTORICAL.
The first reference to the galactic plane was by
Sir William Hershel (Phil. Trans., collected Science Papers,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 431
Vol. 1, 1875) in his well-known section of the sidereal system
in a plane at right angles to the galactic circle having its
north pole at the then R.A., (a) 186° (12h— 24m), declina-
tion (8) +32°.
Later on, F. G. W. Struve (Etudes d' Astronomic
Stellaire, 1847), mainly using Bessel's catalogue within the
zone±15° decimation adopted the G.N.P. (1875) at R.A.
12*1— 38m declination+Sr-S. Sturve, as well as Sir John
Hershel (outlines of astronomy, 1867), analysing the star
counts of Sir William arranged the star gauges according to
the distance from the north galactic pole, then taken to lie
at R.A. 12*-47m (191%°), declination+270 (Outlines of
Astronomy 1851).
In 1862, Argelander (Bonn Durchm. Ill) adopted a
galactic pole at (1800) R.A. 12h-36m declination +28° -5
based on the counts of that notable catalogue of 324,000
stars. This however, limited to stars north of declina-
tion—2°, covered only just over half the galactic circle, omit-
ting the southern and most relevant part of the galaxy.
Heis, using the Bonn Durchm, adopted (1855) «12?l-40m
5+27° for his Atlas celestis, and catalogue (1872) .
The first extensive use of galactic coordinates was that
by A. Marth (Mon. Not. R.A.S. 33, 1872-73) who, setting the
G.N.P. at (1880) a!2^40m, 8+30°, reduced the galactic
coordinates for the leading stars in or near the Milky Way.
Twenty years later (Mon. Not. R.A.S. 53, 1892-3), he
applied these same coordinates to all stars down to 6*0
magnitude on the Harvard Photometry and 6 '2 magnitude
in the Uranometria Argentina, within 20 degrees of the
Galactic equator; Among others, K. Lundmark and 0. Jaske
adopted Marth's data for their drawings of the Milky Way.
432 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Houzeau (Uranometria-Generale, 1878) placed the
pole at (1880) ai2h-49m, 8+27° -5; This pole was adapted
by Seeliger (Sitz. d. Math. Phys Akad. Wissen, 14, 1884).
Next year, Gould (Uranometria argentina 1879) made
his classic study, based on the galactic clouds, placing the
pole at (1875) al2h-41m, 8+27° -3.
Two years later Schoenfeld (Viert. d. Ast. Gesell, 16,
1881), revising Houzeau's data placed the pole at (1880)
al2h-41m, 8+28° -7.
Wolf (Pub. Ast. Obs. Konigstuhl. Heidelberg I 1902)
used the galactic nebulae to place the pole at (1875)
<xl2h-53m, 8+28° -7.
Next in order, we have Newcomb's exhaustive study
(Carnegie Inst. Pub. No. 10, 1904), based on 47 Galactic
clouds, together with Heis' star Atlas (1872) and Gould's
Uranometria, whence he placed the pole at (evidently
1875), a!91°-l, 8+26° -8 including the well-known Cygnus-
Aquilae Branch, excluding which the 42 remaining galactic
clouds gave al920'8, 8+27° "2 as the pole.
Two years later, Kobold (Der Baudes Fixsterne —
systems, 1906) derived the pole at (1880) al910'2, 8+28° "0
for 33 bright galactic patches, based on Houzeau's work,
already mentioned. Stroobant (Annales del' Obs. R.De.
Belgigue, 11, 1908) placed the pole at (1900) a!2h-46m,
8+28°.
Professor J. C. Kapteyn published (Gron. Pub. 18,
1908) an extensive table of galactic coordinates, using
Gould's pole, above stated, reduced to epoch 1900, and read-
ing to the nearest whole degree at 10W interval in R.A., and
1° in declination.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 433
Prof. E. C. Pickering (Harvard Annals 56, 1912) pub-
lished galactic tables for each 40m(10°) in R.A. and 10° in
declination, the coordinates reading in degrees and minutes
of arc. A converse table reading equatorial coordinates
from the galactic was also giveft for the like 10 square
degrees network. The pole adopted was at (1900) R.A.
12^-40m(190°), 3+28°; which apparently is the adoption of
Argelander's pole reduced to epoch 1900.
In the same year E. Hertzsprung (Ast. Nach 4600,
1912) published findings of the galactic pole for various
celestial objects segregating towards the galactic plane, such
as eclipsing binaries types O and N stars, giant (c, ac type)
stars, cephied variables and the Gaseous nebulae. The
various poles appear in Table I.
Herschel's pole («12/l-47m, S+27°) was adopted in a
compact galactic table by Walkey (Mon. Not. R.A.S. 74,
1914) giving the coordinates to the nearest 0°*1 at intervals
of 1 hour around the 24 hours in R.A. and at each 10°
from+90 ° down to— 90° in declination.
Un .
In the following year, R. T. Innes, a consistent advocate
of galactic coordinates, and one who published numerous
examples in their application, published (Union Obs*
Johannesberg, Circular 29, 1915) a table of galactic coordi-
nates in degrees and minutes at 20 minutes (5°) intervals
in R.A. and 5° in declination. Innes adopted Newcomb's
branch-included pole viz., a!91°*l, S+26°*8, assuming this
for the 1900 epoch. He gave also the parallactic angle-viz.,
the angle of intersection between the parallels of galatitude
and declination at each interval, or between the vertical of
galongitude and the R.A. meridian (measured anticlockwise
from the galactic to the terrestrial circle) . While giving the
declination from+900 down to— 90°, the right ascensions
55
434 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
were condensed into the first 12 hours, the coordinates
for the remaining R.A. hours being derived by reversal.
C. V. L. Charlier of Lund Observatory (1916) derived
the pole of the B (helium) type stars at (1900) al84°'3,
8+28° '7; but these stars belong rather to our Local
Cluster inclined at some 13° from the galactic plane. Then-
pole does not enter into our present consideration.
W. Gyllenberg. (Medd. Lund, Ser I, IV, 1916) found
the pole of the 0 type stars at (1900) "12" 45™, 8+27° "1.
A Pannekock published (Annals Leiden, XI, 3, 1920) a
table set to Marth's (1880) pole at «12'1 40m, 8+30° giving
the galactic coordinates for each 20m (5°) in R.A. and 5° in
declination.
Graff (Ast. Nach 5090, 1921), basing his studies on
photometric measures of the galaxy, placed its north pole at
(1925) <*12h50TO, 8+26° -7.
In a study of star counts, F. H. Scares (Mt. Wilson
Contr. 347, 1927) found the pole from counts of stars (indi-
cating 143 million stars) down to the 18th magnitude, to lie
at (1900) «193-6, s+26°'7.
These star counts were reviewed by P. J. Van Rhijn
(Gron. Pub. 43, 1929) in the light of fuller data (estimating
216 million stars to 18th phot, magn.), and he set their pole
at (1900) al2" 55-4'", S+25°'29'. Accompanying tables
give separately the galatitude and galongitude to the nearest
whole degree for each hour from Qh to 24h R.A. and every
degree in declination from pole to pole. Van Rhijn's pole for
stars (say 6000) down to the 6th phot. magn. was placed at
(1900) al2h33m, S-H26°-5, these bright stars are however
too local to carry galactic significance.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 435
In the same year, P. Emanualli (Publ Specola
Vaticana, 14, App. I, 1929) published extensive tables set
(as Inne's above-mentioned) to Newcomb's branch-included
pole al91°'l, S+26°-8, taken to be for epoch 1900, and giving
to the nearest 0°'l the coordinates for each 10m (2V20) in
R.A., (together with a subscribed table of interpolation for
each minute) from Oh to 24*1 and for each degree in declina-
tion from 0° to +90° and then from 0° to -90°. A supple-
mentary table gives the co-ordinates (to nearest degree) at
1 minute R.A. and 1 degree declination intervals round the
N and S galactic poles viz., R.A. 12 to 13 % hours, declina-
tion+20° to +34°, and R.A. Qh to 1%*, declination
-20° to -34°.
A research by R. Trumpler (Lick. Obs. Bulletin 420,
1930) on 334 open star-clusters, which objects segregate
towards the Milky Way, found their pole to lie at (1900)
a!92°-6, 8+27° -7.
The most extensive table published of galactic coordi-
nates is one by J. Ohlsson (Lund Annals 33, 1932) giving,
as closely as 0°*01, the coordinates at each 4m(l°) of R.A.
from Oh to 24h and for each 1° in declination from the equator
to the pole, southern declinations to be obtained by reversal
of the tabular entries. The parallactic angle also appears,
together with a subsidiary table for conversion to another
galactic pole. At the back of the work is reproduced a
chart by W. Gyllenberg showing stars down to the 4th
magnitude, set to galactic coordinates, the equatorial reticule
being superposed for conversion. The mention of such
chart leads us, in concluding the historical aspect, to the note
on other graphs or charts for deriving galactic coordinates.
A graph published by Nort (Recherches Utecht, VII,
1917) was based on the pole at (1900) R.A. 12M3m, decli-
nation+27°.
A
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81-1 Si *** /** «*? '*» "* '3'*
s*i n sv* 77.7 ** a* w i£
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438 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Another graph is that published by J. A. Pearce and
S. N. Hill (PubL Domin. Astro-Ph. obsey, Victoria B.C.,
Vol. IV, No. 4) based on the Harvard pole at (1900) <490°,
8+28°.
Maps of the constellation boundaries in galactic coordi-
nates were published by O. Seydl (Publ. Obs. Prague, 5,
1928) using the Harvard pole, «190°, H-280.
An interesting set of graphs were published by
Dr. J. M. Baldin of Melbourne (Mon. Not. R.A.S. 89, 1929),
enabling one to read off galactic coordinates, or equatorial,
the one from the other, also the distance and position angle
of the Solar apex (<xl71°, 8+28°). The galactic pole adopt-
ed is again the Harvard one at «190°, 8+28°.
DEPARTURE POINT.
A table of galactic coordinates entails the choice of a
departure or zero point for galongitude. Various fixed points
have been adopted or proposed. Marth, Kapteyn, Pickering
Walkey and Van Rhijn adopted the ascending node of the
galactic circle on the celestial equator in Aquila with the
galongitudes measured eastward thence towards Cygnus
Cassiopeia etc. along the galactic equator. This departure
point is chosen for a fixed epoch (1900) so as to avoid pre-
cessional changes. Innes and Emanuelli, overlooking this
epochal fixture, criticised this choice needlessly on the false
charge of precessional change. They chose their zero from the
galongitude of Prof. W. W. Campbells' solar apex at (1900)
<*270°, s+30°, as symmetrically dividing as much of the
stellar motions as reflect our Sun's motion in space. This
point lies some 23 degrees farther, along the galactic equator
from the other zero point.
S. Wicksell, investigating proper motions (Medd. Lund
Ser II 12, 1915) and W. Gyllenberg, on the distribution of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 439
O type stars (Mell. Lund. Ser. II 13, 1915 and I, 75, 1917),
measured their galongitudes from a point on the Milky Way
approximating to the principal vertex of peculiar motion
-(1900)al8/l, 8+18° (so Charlier, Cal. Lect. 1926)— which
choice has the advantage of symmetrical division of the stars'
peculiar motions.
The International Astronomical Union, which in 1922
(Trans I A.U. Vol. I, 1922) adopted the ascending node of
the galactic on the celestial equator, changed their zero
galongitude to the star a Cygni (1900), «20>l 38m, S+44°'9,
lying just north of the galactic circle.
C. V. L, Charlier (Medd Lund II, 14, 1916 and 19, 1918)
on the other hand directed his zero galongitude approxi-
mately towards the anticentre of the Local Cluster represent-
ed by the brighter B type stars, at (1900) <*245° 33'
H-550 37'.
Lastly P. Collinder (Lund Annals, 2, 1931) measured
the galongitude of the open star-clusters from Shapley's
centre of the globular clusters (Mt. Wilson Contr. Nos. 152,
157, 1918) approximately at «17/l 30771, « -30°.
Fortunately, whatever galongitudinal starting point be
chosen, the conversion from one departure to another — with
the same pole — involves merely changing all the galongi-
tudes by the difference in galongitude between the two
origins, the galatitudes remaining unchanged.
CHOICE OF POLE.
The fore-going account of various poles found for the
galactic plane, and the consequent uncertainty within
narrow limits, entail the choice of the most representative
position where on to base any table of galactic coordinates.
440 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTlAR
The most relevant findings appear in Table I (given at
p. 445) all reduced to the 1900 epoch.
These points are likewise plotted in Fig. I following
covering an area of 8 degrees (32 min.) in R.A. and
4 degrees in declination. The figure includes (as falling
within its area) some poles excluded from Table I, being
ineligible for deriving the mean.
Considering the independence of the researches and the
diversity of the objects concerned, the concordance in their
poles is remarkable, and indicates the cosmical significance,
of the galactic concentration and fundamental plane thereby
defined. The findings for the Galactic Belt or Clouds (Milky-
Way) are grouped together and yield a simple mean of
(1900) al91°'7, 3+27° -3, Newcomb's pole tabulated is the
weighted mean of his two findings, both with and without the
branch, the former being given double weight.
Next follow the Star-count poles, whereof those based in
the B.D. (covering about half the galactic circle) as also
Scares' should each carry half the weight, of Van Rhijn's
revision (which includes that by Scares). These weights
yield a mean at (1900) al92°'4 S+26°*5.
The third group, comprising specific galactic objects
yields a mean pole at (1900) 0492° -3, 3+27° '3. It should
be remarked that the trend of the eclipsing binaries, and
consequently their pole may be the mere illusion due to a pos-
sible parallelism of their orbital planes with the galactic in
which the association of these systems with the galactic belt
would be the mere selection by eclipses due to our line of
sight within the galaxy. Their pole therefore, lying far
away from the rest, has been assigned only half weight in
the given mean. Combining these means, we get a final
value for (1900) "192° -1, S+27°'0. In view of their
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 441
general agreement, the weighting of certain results makes
no appreciable difference from the simple unweighted mean
of the twenty entries, yielding 191° * 9, +27° '2. We may
therefore accept the north pole of the galactic as lying for
epoch 1900, at <xl92° (12h-48w) , 5+27° -0. It is noteworthy
that the mean of each group agrees with this value in whole
degrees. This point appears (as it happens) at the exact
centre of Fig. I, the area covering the various poles men-
tioned. It is unfortunate that general usage of the Harvard
pole at a!90°, 8+28° and consolidated by Ohlsson's exten-
sive tables based thereon, led the International Astrono-
mical Union (1935) to adopt this pole which, as shown by
the open circle in Fig. I, lies outside the run of the plotted
poles and fully two degrees away from what must be
accepted as the true pole.
FORMULAE.
We may now consider the process of transition from
equatorial to galactic coordinates.
Fig. II, illustrates the outside of the celestial sphere
with its north pole at P and crossed by the galactic equator
with its north pole at G. The point C with equatorial coordi-
nates «, 8, needs to be transformed to its galactic coordinates,
P, A, where A is the galongitude measured along the galactic
equator from Q its zero point of intersection with the celes-
tial equator. The intersection of the latter with the ecliptic
is at Y the zero of right ascension the positions of P, Q and Y
being for the 1900 epoch. We need to solve the spherical tri-
angle PCG— whereof PC— 90 -8, also PG, or the inclination
(0 of the galactic to the celestial equator being 90° less the
declination 27° of G i.e., (90°— 27°) =63°. The R.A. of G,
we know, is 192°, that of Q is 282°, while that of Y is 0° or
360°. The R.A. (a) of C in the figure is measured as usual
eastward from Y (hence round behind the sphere) to C.
56
442 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Hence angle CPG— «— 192 J ; in our figure as drawn, the
R.A. and declination of C are roughly 20h ; 45°.
By the usual formulae:
Cos CG-cos CPG-sin PG'sin PC+cos PG'cos PC
Q r^-'sin CPG^sin PC
Sin PGC -- : — •===? -
sm CCr
which in our nomenclature becomes.
Cos(90°-P)=sin 63°-ccs(a-192°) sin (900-8)+;
cos 63° -cos (90°-8).
Whence sin P=sin 63° -ccs(a-192°)cos 8+cos 63° sin 3
=0-89101 cos (a -192°) cos 8+0 -45399 sin 8.
sin(«-1920)-sin(900-8).
Also, Sin(90--*)= \n(90/p) - L
Cos i =
COS P
Introducing an auxiliary angle v—CP&~(a— 282°)
or (<*+78°), we may transpose these formulae into the per-
haps more convenient forms:
tan x=r 0*45399 tan y+0' 89101 tan 8 sec Y and sin
P=0- 45399 sin 8 0' 89101 cos 8 sin Y which is fully given by its
sign. The quadrant of * ir> fixed by the sign of tan \ while *•
and Y both fall either in the first or fourth quadrants, or in
the second and third quadrants.
GALACTIC PARALLACTIC ANGLE.
In modern studies, the proper motions (!*) mainly
according to spectral type, need frequently to be referred to
the galactic plane. This entails the transposition of the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 443
direction (ty) of the proper motions from the celestial north
polar zero to the galactic (north) pole. This is simplest done
in correcting ty by the parallactic angle-called <p by Ohlsson.
The value of <P the angle PCG in Fig. 2- or the angle which
the R.A. meridian makes with the galactic polar vertical, is
found directly by the formulae.
sin cos^ 0-89101 cosA
smCp^ c~os8 ' =- cos*
Hence we derive the angle (M) of the direction of \l
measured anti-clock-wise form the north galactic polar
vertical, viz., co=T|)+cp.
Otherwise, the direction °> may bo found direct (as
ty from resolving n« and n$) by getting the components of M-
parallel to and vertical to the galactic equator.
Thus \&~(v>a cos <P+u8*sin <P) Sec. P.
and n(3~(^S cos <p-f*a sin <p).
all symbols (expressed in seconds of arc na—
cos 8 as usual.
Fig. 3 illustrates the application.
Partly because the parallactic angle <p is actually needed
for proper motions and so applies to individual stars, and
partly because if applied to the R.A. and declination reticule,
these would need to be taken at closer intervals than here to
be really useful, this parallactic angle has not been computed
for the present table. It can be readily computed from the
formulae here given or from the table given in Ohlsson's
tables, already mentioned.
COORDINATE TABLE.
Owing to limitation of time and space, also pending the
verdict of Astronomers, the coordinates have been calculat-
444 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
ed to the nearest 0 *1 only and at intervals of 20m (5°) in
R.A. and 5° in declination, as suliicient for the present pur-
pose. A general acceptance would then justify computa-
tion to (say) 5m intervals in R.A. and 1° in declination — it
should be noted that 4m (1 ) intervals, though closer would
involve only five-eights of the work, since the whole degrees
are symmetrical about the chosen pole. The galongitudes
are measured from their adopted zero at the intersection of
the celestial and galactic equators in Aquila (4282° ^0°).
Adoption of the Solar apex ("270 ^30) reduces all galongi-
tudes by 23 °* 2, while <* Cygnus as zero involves reduction
by51°'0.
In order to save space and repetition the practice of
some previous tables has been adopted so that the upper and
left hand margins enter respectively the R.A. arguments up
to 12 hours and from the north to the south pole in declina-
tion, while the lower and right-hand margins combine the
arguments from 12 hours to 24 hours R.A. and from pole
to pole in declination, though with the decimation signs
reversed. Hence, to use the table beyond 12 hours R.A.
(i.e. using the lower margin) , the ^ values need to be chang-
ed by ±180° and the P values reversed in their sign. For
convenient use the final R.A. hours column in each page has
been repeated to open the following page; whence too the
table begins with the 12 hours/ 24 hours column duly invert-
ed and the changed ^180 and P as just described, so fol-
lowing on into the earlier hours in R.A.
Since the popular adoption was confessedly tentative,
awaiting a more certain derivation, it is now submitted that
the mean position here derived from the numerous inde-
pendent researches may be taken as good as ever likely to be
found. Hencc-forth, popular usage need no longer condone
the use of a manifestly wrong position — however great the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 445
wrench from custom and laboriously compiled tables. For-
tunately, the commendable fore-sight in adding auxiliary
tables in Ohlsson's extensive tables, abovementioned, has
(with the implied provision of needful change) provided
for the easy transition to any other pole from that
(190°, +28°) there given.
Should, what is at present deemed a vain wish, ever be
realised in the adoption of galactic coordinates for the stars
in general, the order of their cataloguing should best follow
Sir J . Herschei's method of distance from the galactic north
pole — though in each star's order of increasing distance
there-from, rather than by zones. While, with the present
terrestrial coordinates, the order of R.A. is, by its very
nature, the proper catalogue order, galongitudes carry no
such significance in any galactic list. Whereas galatitude,
do carry a real significance in the steady increase of star
density towards the galactic plane, while a like decrease sets
in onward to the south galactic pole.
TABLE I.
1900
a 8
Galactic belt (7)
1. Herschel (1851) .. i92°-3 +26°'5
2. Houzeau (1878) .. 192°*5 27°*4
3. Gould (1879) .. 190° -6 27° '2
4. Schoeiifeld (1881) .. i900-6 28°'6
5. Newcomb (1904) .. 192° -0 27° '0
6. Houzeau-Kobold (1906) .. 191°-5 27°'9
7. Graff (1921) ., 192°. 2 26° '8
446 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
1900
Star Counts ( 4) a s
8. Argelander B.D.* (1862) .. 190° '2 +28° '0
9. Heis B.D.* (1872) . . 190°'3 26°'9
10. Scares (1927) .. 193°'6 26°'7
11. Van Rhijn (1929) .. 193°'9 25°'5
Galactic objects (9j
12. Wolf (1902) nebulae .. 193°'6 +28°*6
13. Hertzsprung eclipsing Binariesf. 188° * 2 25° * 8
14. Hertzsprung (1912) a-ac-stars. . 18U°'l 26 '3
15. Hertzsprung type 0" .. 190°'7 26°'9
16. Hertzsprung gaseous nebulae .. 192° * 7 28° *1
17. Hertzsprung type N stars . . 194° '2 27° *4
18. Hertzsprung Cepheid variables . . 195° * 9 26° * 8
19. Gyllenberg (1916) type O stars. 191° "3 27° '1
20. Trumpler (1930) Open clusters. 192° '6 27°*7
The entries of table I above appear in order
of their date of investigation, under each of the
three groups, Galactic belt, Star counts and Galac-
tic objects. All positions are reduced to the 1900
equinox. Newcomb's pole, presumably referring to 1875
epoch, has been reduced accordingly to 1900, for which the
branch included result is given double weight (thus giving
the main stream 3: 2 weight) Argelander's and Heis' results
(*) based on the B.D., (so omitting nearly half the galactic
belt and that the southern and most significant section) are
assigned half the normal weight. So too Spare's result
incorporated with Van Rhijin's is assigned half the weight of
the latter. The eclipsing binaries (f) pole too, for the reason
stated already should carry alike reduced weight. Hertz-
sprung's poles for his six set of galactic objects are entered
in their order of increasing Right Ascension. The simple
unweighted means for each group are respectively 191 f°7
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
447
+27° -3, 192° -0+26° '8, 192° -0+27° -2, combining to a mean
value al91°'9 $+27° '0. The simple mean of all twenty
entries together yields the virtually like value of
191° '9+27* 2 the close agreement of which with the
weighted mean (192°-1+27°'0) quoted in the text, shows
the striking concordance in the negligible effect due to
weighting.
Figure 1
(Interior of Celestial Sphere)
rf
28
if
,19*
189 ia
*12
»•
•4
1*7
•2
(i
•6
19
D *
"3
•18
#
»$
10
«i
14»
*
*„
13*
28
26
XIII 56n
52 rr
48tn
40 rr
36rr
The above diagram (on polyconic projection) shows the
twenty (1900) polar positions entered in Table 1, and
covers an area of eight degrees in (1900) R.A., from
12h 32m to 13h 4m (lower margin) or 188° to 196° (upper
margin), by four degrees (+25° to +29°) in declination.
The seven Galactic belt poles are denoted by squares, the
four star-count poles by stars, while the poles of the nine
galactic objects appear as circles; all are shown solid and are
numbered in their order of descriptive entry in Table I.
Besides these, are shown Van Rhijn's pole (12H 33m+26'5°)
for the 6th magn. star counts, also Stroobant's pole,
(12h 46m+28°) adopted for the galactic belt and evidently as
the mean of Houzeau's (2) and Schoenfeld's; (4) The addi-
tions appear in open figures and are not numbered since they
448
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
are excluded from Table I, not being original findings. The
I.A.U. i.e., Harvard, Pole (12H 40m+28°) evidently the whole
degree derivation from Argelander's reduced to 1900 epoch
(8) appears as an open circle standing outside the run of the
other poles. The position finally adopted (I2h 48m+27°) —
which as it happens, coincides with the weighted mean of
New-comb's poles (5) is shown by the large circle at the
exact centre of the diagram.
Figure 2
(Exterior of Celestial Sphere)
P = North celestial pole.
G = North galactic pole.
C ~ Point for transposed coordinates.
Q = Ascending node of the galactic on the celestial
equator (1900); *=0.
*?= Ascending node of the Ecliptic on the celestial
equator (1900); a=0.
a = Right ascension of C.
P = Galatitude of C,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 449
f a I Y3°
Y = Auxiliary angle= } a-282°
8 = Declination of C
i= 63° ~ inclination of the galactic to the celestial
equator.
A = Galongitudo of C.
<P = Galactic parallactic angle.
Figure 3
(Interior of Celestial Sphere)
H> == Star's proper motion.
ia = „ in right ascension.
M-8 = „ in declination.
^ = „ in galongitude.
f^P = „ in galatitude.
<V = galactic parallactic angle.
^ = direction of ^ in terrestrial coordinates.
CD = qp+ip~directiv;n of v> in galactic coordinates.
57
450
The ddtted lines illustrate the algebraic equation
between terrestrial and galactic coordinates, thus: —
cos <P-XM+ML.
\i$~H& cos <p-na sin q>- (Mn-nR.)
Whence nA2-f|ip2- (ji8 sin <p)2+(n<* cos q^)2
+2^8 sin qpjia cos qp+ (u3 cos qp)2+(Ma sin
-2^8 cos <P ^sin q>.
~^«2 (sin2qp+cos2
THE CULTURAL VALUE OF LANGUAGE
BY
A. C. SUBRAMANYAN, M.A.,
Lecturer in English, Annamalai University.
The Emperor Aurangzeb is said to have complained to
his tutor Mulla Shah, that the teacher had wasted precious
hours of the emperor's youth 'in the dry, unprofitable, and
never-ending task of learning mere words/ The study of
the structure and mechanics of language is not a barren and
profitless memorizing of dull declensions and confusing
conjugations. It is not a mere matter of musty documents
and mouldy dialects. The devoted study of language brings
the students into contact with the living stream of human
consciousness whose beginning no man knows and whose
end no human intelligence can predict. For, modern research
has conclusively proved that language is a magic speculum
in which are mirrored the fortunes of communities and of
nations, their greatness and their littleness, the width and
variety of their life or the narrowness of their outlook, their
tastes and their preferences, their beliefs and their doubts,
their culture and their degradation.
Properly understood language is not merely a means of
communication between living beings including within its
scope signs and gestures. It is neither the mere expression
of thoughts by means of words, nor the instrument to hide
one's thoughts as the diplomatist, Talleyrand, would have
us believe; nor the subterfuge of the emptyheaded to hide
the absence of thought as the Russian, Soren Kierkegaard
452 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
maintains. To the logician, Jevons, language is a mechanical
aid to thought and an instrument of record and reference.
Language is no doubt a staff for the average mind; but it is
a constraint on genius. To Madam de Stael, the queen of
the Paris salons, language is a treasured toy which animates
the spirit like music or strong liquors. Often we speak in
order to satisfy the craving for sociability. Primitive peo-
ple often regarded words as potent weapons which could
compel the powers to do good or evil. They believed in the
efficacy of charms and incantations to bring about evil to
their enemies or prosperity to themselves and their belong-
ings. The psychologist regards language as a form of human
behaviour. In short, language is the sum of the speech
habits of a nation, changing and varying in the course of
centuries, enriched by the experience of individuals and
nations, continuously flowing and growing, ever advancing
to fresh woods and new pastures, a department of human
activity as varied as life and as comprehensive as human
intelligence.
The very existence, or the reverse, of a refined and culti-
vated language spoken over a vast area throws light on the
government and society of a country. France in the Eigh-
teenth Century was the home of a polished and brilliant
language while England in the Thirteenth Century was split
up into a large number of dialect areas. This is due to the
social and political conditions that prevailed in the two coun-
tries. In the Eighteenth Century, France had already
enjoyed a long period of settled and centralised government;
it had an absolute monarch at the head whose court was
the centre of art and refinement. The English court of the
Thirteenth Century looked for culture towards France and
did not care much for the native tongue. The people lived
in isolation, their narrow interests being confined to their
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 453
parochial homes. Small wonder then that the English peo-
ple did not have a common standard language at that time.
The absence of a common language indicates yet another
feature viz., the human geography of an area. The linguis-
tic configuration of South India with Malayalam west of the
Ghats, Canarese in the Mysore plateau, Telugu in the North
East and Tamil in the Eastern plains bears witness to this
truth.
Climate, social habits, religion> science and even indi-
vidual genius have left their unmistakable traces
on language. Close and glottal sounds are more in
evidence in the language of a cold country while open sounds
are more numerous in the speech of warmer lands.
The vocabulary of a people is necessarily limited by the facts
of their experience and it is significant that many Indian
languages have no word for ice while they have many for
the sun. An analysis of the phonological structure ot any
language can prove without a doubt the influence of cli-
mate on human speech. The history of language shows
that dialects have been broken up and levelled into some
sort of standard speech, by war, by large national festivals,
by an exogamous system of marriage and by improved
means of communication. Standard language reflects in no
little measure the work of Dante in Italy, of Chaucer in
England and of Luther in Germany. Modern writers in
Tamil and other Indian languages have contributed a good
deal to the form and expressiveness of their langu-
ages. Standard English is a resultant of the songs of the
mediaeval minstrels of the fall of feudalism, of the rise of
towns and of the strong and centralised Tudor government.
Standard speech in Germany bears witness to the influence
of the common life of the soldiers coming together from
different parts of the country, to the influence of the officials
454 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
transferred from place tc place and even to that of the
touring companies of actors who wandered through town
and village. Universities, public schools, royal courts and
fashionable society have all helped to chasten and enrich the
language of a nation.
Social outlook and social usages find a very clear reflec-
tion in the form and development of the Sanskrit langua^.
Though Sanskrit has to its credit the first grammar in the
world and the most scientific phonetic system, over no other
tongue docs the dead hand of ancient authority lie so heavy
as over Sanskrit. Instead of setting forth the nature of the
language, grammar assumed powers of direction and control
and enforced such rigid laws that a large number of its
speakers were driven outside its pale. Authoritarian
thought in matters of language contributed to the rise of
languages derived from Sanskrit. Testimony to this is borne
by the Sanskrit drama wherein king, courtiers and learned
men speak in one tongue, while women, children, servants
and common people use vastly modified forms. The
stratification of class dialects and the later rise of derived
languages prove the rigidity of the social codes among the
speakers of early Sanskrit.
The study of a language reveals equally well the religion
and philosophy of a people. Words like church, temple,
mosque, synagogue, koil and kshetra throw a flood of light
on the religious ideas of the people. Church comes from
Greek KuriaJcon, Lord's house, and the word was probably
taken into Germanic by the mercenaries who served in the
East, Temple comes from Greek through Latin. In Greek
Temeros meant a sacred enclosure, a piece of ground cut off.
Synagogue again comes from another Greek word meaning
congregation. The word mosque comes into English from
Arabic through French and Spanish ; the original Arabic
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 455
word Masjida means a place of prayer. The Tamil koil means
a prince's house, while the Malayalam kshetra denotes a field.
A place or an abode, a place set apart, a place of prayer, a
meeting place, a congregation are therefore found implied
in these terms. In English, the influence of Latin Christia-
nity is most clearly marked. It is evident in a large number
of loan words, in the changes in the meaning of indigenous
words, in new coinages and in the very structure and syntax
of Old English prose. It is not surprising to find that Eng-
lish as it is to-day has been profoundly affected, by the great
religion which its speakers profess. But when we think of
the debt of modern English to the philosophy of Greece and
especially to the genius of Plato we are filled with wonder.
The English word 'quality' goes back to the Latin qualitas
which is the translation of a Greek word qoiotes coined by
Plato to mean "whatness or of-what-kind-ness" i.e. the con-
cept represented by the Sanskrit word guna. By this Plato
separated in thought the characteristic feature from an ob-
ject of which it formed the distinctive sign. Again Plato
was the first to use the Greek equivalent for analogy, anti-
podes, dialectic, enthusiasm (the state of being filled with a
god), mathematical, synthesis and system. Method, music,
philosopher, sophist, theory, type and irony (simulation of
ignorance) will not mean what they do but for the genius of
Plato. But the new meanings he gave to the words 'idea'
and 'ideal' are the most remarkable of all. Before Plato the
word 'idea' meant the form and semblance of a thing, being
cognate with idein, to see. Cicero translated this into
'species' a word connected with specere, to sec and speculum,
a mirror. By an extraordinary effort of thought Plato
made it possible for us to separate our ideas, notions,
thoughts and semblances of them from the things themsel-
ves. According to Plato matter is but an imperfect copy of
456 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the ideas or archtypes or perfect spiritual types. These
alone persist for ever and these alone are real
Just as language sets forth the good points of a people
it also lays bare their ignorance, worldliness, contempt and
hatred. The degeneration of meaning which words like
knave (lad), villain (peasant), boor (farmer), varlet (serv-
ing man) and menial (one of the household) show, is elo-
quent of the treatment that peasants and labourers received
at an earlier time. The present meaning of 'prejudice' re-
minds us of man's proneness for wrong impres-
sions while ' resent ' and ' retaliate ' show that he is more
keen to take offence at injury than to be alive to benefits done.
The disrepute into which the words 'simple' and 'innocent'
have fallen show how ready the average man is to
deceive rather than be deceived. The word 'miscreant'
(misbeliever) shows the Westerner's animus against the
Moslem and 'assassin' is only another form of 'hashashin'
a Moslem fanatic intoxicated with hashish. The word 'dunce'
is derived from the name of the wittiest of school divines,
Duns Scotus, and records merely the popular prejudice
against schoolmen. It is no credit to Hindu humanity that
it should have given to English, the word 'pariah* and a new
meaning to the word 'untouchable.'
If, therefore, language furnishes us with a dependable
key for unlocking the treasures of past thoughts, manners,
habits and ideas; if it preserves for us the inner, living his-
tory of man's soul and the evolution of his consciousness;
if, in short, language is a mirror not only of the outer circum-
stances but also of the inner working of individual and na-
tional life; then, the study of language can never be barren
or poor in interest; nor can it be lacking in great humanising
and cultural valuo to those who devote themselves to its
study with patience and enthusiasm.
THE NATTUKKOTTAI CHETTIARS AND THEIR
BANKING SYSTEM
BY
DR. B. V. NARAYANASWAMY NAIDU, M.A., B.CoM., PH.D.,
BAR-AT-LAW.
The indigenoub bankers play a very important part in
the economic life of India. The indigenous banking busi-
ness is a purely family concern and has become a hereditary
calling in particular classes and communities. The Nattuk-
kottai Chettiars are one of the most remarkable banking
communities in this presidency ana most of them live in
the Ramnad District and the Pudukkottah State. The most
important centre is Cheilinad. ^Geographically this tract
is an undefined area; but in the regulations that bind the
caste of the Chetti community, it is mentioned as the area
lying soui/ij of the Vellar river, east Piranamalai — a moun-
tain peak that has given its name to the neighbouring vil-
lage in the north-west corner of the Ramnad district — and
west of the sea. A look at the map shows that this tract
which, the Ciiettis say, they selected for their home from
the time of their migration from the Chola kindom, lies
partly in ike Pudukkottah State and partly in the Ramnad
district. They have settled down in 78 villages, 20 of which
are in Pudukkottah and 58 in Ramnad."1 The Chettiars
are called Nagarathars from the fact that they are grouped
for social purposes into nine Nagarams or townships. At
1. Madras Banking Enquiry Committee — Evidence Volume
III— page 1170.
58
458 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the head of each of these townships there is one temple.
The nine temples are: —
Ilayaihakudi, Mattur, Vairavankoil, Iraniur, Pillayar-
patti, Neiuam, Iluppakudi, Suraikudi and Velangudi. Their
population according to 1921 census was 40,500 and the
caste is divided into twenty five 'golhrams' for purposes of
marriage and adoption.
They have extensive banking business in various places
in the Madras Presidency and in the City of Madras, Ceylon
Indo-China, the whole of Burma, the whole of the Malay
Peninsula and in parts of Sumatra. Nattukkottai
Chettiars have been conducting their business for centuries
on certain well-recognised principles and methods. They
have high reputation for honesty and the fact that their
methods fiave stood the test of time clearly proves that
they have been conducting their business on right princi-
ples. They are born bankers and in the words of Mr. E.
Thurston "the Nattukkottai Chcttis, in organization, co-
operation and business methods are as remarkable as the
European merchants the simple but strict training
which they give their boys, the long and tedious apprentice-
ship which even the sons of the richest among them have to
undergo, rmke them very efficient in their profession and
methodical in whatever they undertake to do."
The young Chc-tti bo>s from the age of eight get train-
ing in tiie double entrv system of book-keeping. The
banks are known in Tamil as 'Thavanaikadai' or 'Vaddi
kadai.' Agents am appointed to branches every three years
and they arc paid salaries in addition to bonuses on profits.
A few months prior to the expiry of the period of an agent,
his successor is sent to him to take charge and learn the
work. The agent who is relieved returns to Chettinad,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 459
settles account and after a period of rest seeks re-employ-
ment. The agents and staff live in the place of business in
close proximity to the borrowers and are in constant
touch with the private lives of the borrowers. Hence they
are able to lend to persons without security. In a paper
read at the Royal Society of Arts, London, Mr, M. M.
Gubbay, C.S.I., late Controller of Currency and Financial
Secretary to the Government of India spoke of Nattuk-
kottai Chettiars as follows: —
A special type (of indigenous bankers) is that of the
Chetti community in Madras. It is known that in many
cases accounts can be maintained with these Indian banks
on which operations by cheques are permissible and that
funds lie with these bankers on time deposits at rates much
above those which are available from the banks. I see
no reason to doubt the commonly accepted view that both
because these private bankers can afford to pay attractive
rates of interest as well as because their requirements as
to security aro less- rigid, their participation in the finan-
cial life of the community, as a whole, must be on a very
extensive scale. Further, they are in intimate daily touch
with those with whom they transact business and follow
the doings of their clients with a closeness which is deni-
ed to the banjcs. There must be accumulated with these
private bankers a store of knowledge and experience of
the standing, the moral as well as financial capacity of
individual Indian traders and Indian trading firms, their
business connections and relations on which if fully organis-
ed and systematised might possibly quite suitably rest an
expansion of credit facilities from the banks. Thus they
fulfil one of the three postulates of credit, namely, proxi-
mity of the lender and borrower. They lend money to agri-
culturists for payment of their kists, domestic expenses and
460 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
they also finance merchants and traders. They are able to
do extensive business because "they grant easy conditions,
lend at any time of the day without reference to hours of
business They also collect money according to their
convenience but do not insist on the prompt and punc-
tual payment on the due dates as the banks."
Chettiar firms in Burma and Malay States are large
concerns carrying on banking in several places. There are
about 95 firms working in Burma, and, as a class, Chettiars
in Burma have no appreciable business apart from bank-
ing and money-lendinc;. They have given money for vari-
ous charities. They have founded a. residential school at
Kaube (1929") near Rangoon and they have endowed a
lectureship in Banking and Commerce in the Rangoon Uni-
versitv. Chettiars in Burma set apart a definite percent-
age of thoir commercial profits for private charity and for
making gifts to temples.
In December, 1927, when Sir Heroourt Butler was the
Governor of Burma ho said in a public speech that Burma
owed a groat deal to the Chettiars. Addressing them he said,
"You represent a verv important factor indeed in the life of
this province. Without the as?*istaneo of the Chettiar
bankiiv svstem Burma would never have .achieved the
wonderful advance of the last 25 to 30 years. The Burman
to-day i? a much wealthier man than he was 25 years ago;
and for tins state of affairs tho Chettiar deserves his share
of thanks."2
In December, 1929, the public of Rangoon in their
address presented to the Hon'ble Rajah Sir Annamalai
Chettiar of Chettinad referred to the part played by the
2. Report of the Burma Provincial Banking Enquiry Commit-
tee, 1929-30 Volume I page 189.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 461
Chettiar in the growth and development of agriculture and
trade in Burma in the following terms: —
"None can realize better than the people of this pro-
vince the part which Chcbtiyars have silently played in the
development of agriculture and business and it is a tri-
bute to the upright system of Chettiyar banking and money-
lending that no other system of finance has yet been evolv-
ed which is capable of giving to agriculture and business
in this province the impetus and stability which Chetti-
yars have achieved."
The Committee appointed by the Government of the
Federated Malay States in Kuala Lumpur observed about
Nattukkottai Chettiyars' banking in their report in con-
nection with the failure of the scheme of Government
loans for purely agricultural business as follows: —
"These people have an apparently inexhaustible capi-
tal; their sole reason for existing is to borrow and lend
money; they are mild and gentle in disposition; among
Europeans and Asiatics they bear a good name for honesty
and even for kindliness to borrowers. It is a well known
fact that where those money lenders know a Malay of good
standing, they often lend him money merely on a note
with no security at all. As they have been bankers for
centuries they know their business. No government fund
can hope to compete with them except to a very restrict-
ed extent. They live or their agents live amongst their
borrowers and can lay a finger on the pulse of any man's
business should they care to lay it. They are men of
business, not a Government Department, and they know
their business as professionals and not as amateurs."3
3. Written Evidence of the Nattukkottai Nagarathars Associ-
ation, Madras.
462 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The Assistant Commissioner of Income-Tax, Madura,
supplied to the Banking Enquiry Committee, information
about the wealth of the Nattukkottai Chcttiars and he
estimated the total at about Rs. 80 crores.4
(a) Money-lending (own capital) employed in business: —
Rs.
Karaikudi First Circle . . 9% crores
Ka^aikudi second circle
Karaikudi third circle
Sivaganga Circle
Total
(b) Investments in houses and jev/els: —
"The Nattukkottai Chetti invests largely in
houses and jewels, although this is practically dead capi-
tal, the reason being that his credit is built on a peculiar
tasis. It is the value of his house, the jewellery he
possesses and the lands that he owns that determine his
credit in the eyes of his own caste-men as well as of
others who wish to invest their savings with him. The
first instinct of a Chetti who hns amassod money is to con-
struct as 1-i s a house as he can. Wo mav see numerous
massive, spacious and fine buildings in Chcttinad, in an
architectural style uniqu^ in its own way. In Devakottai
alone thc^o ?rc said to bo 300 houses costing not less than
a lakh each and the Officer has seen personally not less ~,
than 100 or them. The total amount so spent in houses is £>f
estimated al 6 crores and in jewels another amount of 4
crores . . 10 croar,,
(c) Money-lending capital of the Chettis in
Pudukkottnh State, many of whom do business in British
India, i.e., :n Burnui and aho in this Presidency.
There are 20 villages with a population of
12,000. They are exceedingly rich and finance businesses
in South India, Burma and other places. Capital esti-
mated at 14 crores , . 14 crores
Houses 2% crores and jev/els 2 crores . . 4% crores
4. Written Evidence o{ Mr. A. Savarinatha Pillai, Assistant
Commissioner of Income-Tax Southern Range. M.B.E.C. Vol. III.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 463
Rs. Croro.s
(d) Investments in agricultural lands, house pro-
perties, rubber gardens, tea estates, coconut plantations,
etc., in Federated Malay States, Ceylon, Burma and other
places.
The ownings in distant places can not even be
approximately fixed as there is no information available,
but it is understood that the Chettis have very valuable
possessions abroad in the shape of rubber plantations, tea
gardens, coconut gardens in Federated Malay States, Sai-
gon, Ceylo : and in Burma where agricultural lands are
also extensively owned. In this Presidency the landed
properties owned by Chettis and acquired by them mostly
in the course of money-lending business arc scattered about
in numerous districts. Some of them have large carda-
mom plantations in Iravancore hills. Once upon a time
there was a craze among Chettiyars to invest in lands
and the sentiment of being landed magnates appealed
to them and they acquired portions of zamindari
estates, etc. Now, however, they have stopped this kind
of investment as they do not iind it profitable. Many
Devakottai assessees have a large portion of their assets
locked up in this form and ere at a disadvantage. The
total asset,* in the shape of immovable landed properties
can be taken at Rs. 15 crores." . . 15 crores
Total . . 79Vfe or 80
crores
roundly5
The aggregate amount of owned capital rolling in
business among Nattukkottai chettis is Rs. 50 crores. The
borrowed capital is estimated roughly at 50% of owned
capital or at Rs. 25 crorcs of which Rs. 8 crores belong to
Chettiar men and women. Hence owned capital is Rs. 58
crores and borrowings is Rs. 17 crores. The working capital
of indigenous banks, on the whole, both in the Presidency
and outside is estimated at Rs. 75 crores.
The Assistant Commissioner of Income-Tax gives the
number of assessees in the four circles of Karai-
kudi I, II, III and Sivaganga, who with their owned and
borrowed capital do business locally and outside. The
5. M. B. E. Report: Evidence Volume III; page 1173.
464
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
owned and borrowed capital for 2882 assessees are
Rs. 2483-19 lakhs and Rs. 1481-62 lakhs. The difference of
nearly 13 crorcs between the figures arrived at through
investigation and by regular assessment to income tax may
be due to the inclusion in investigation of those who are not
assessed to income-tax.
The amount invested in business in the Presidency can
be seen from the following statement submitted to the
Committee by the Assistant Commissioner of Income-
Tax.—
Name of
circles.
Number of
bankers
doing
business
Amount of
Capital
invested in
Borrowed
Capital
in lakhs.
Volume of
business
in lakhs.
Expenses
in lakhs.
lakhs
locally .
Chettinad.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
Karaikudi I
33
238-82
108-72
347-54
10-77
n
14
59-03
123-89
182-92
13-31
HI
74
101-75
53 43
155-18
5-11
Sivaganga
15
113-78
58-90
172-68
3-85
Total
136
513-38
344-94
858-32*
33-04
Trichinopoly I 21
43-85
22-45
66-30 2-59
do. U 12
12-44
2-21
14-65 0-79
Dindigul 19
11-97
25-23
37 20 1-99
Madura, North 4
0-65
2-30
2 95 0-22
South 8
18-93
17-53
36-46 4-52
Virudhunagar 10
6-17
5-51
11-68 0-78
Tuticorin 22
17-82
10-76
28 58 1-52
Tinnevelly H
12-42
28-22
40-64 2-69
Total 107
124-25
114-21
283-46 15-10
Grand Total 243
637-63
459-15
1,096-78 48-14
*Distribution —
Rs
Local money lending
217-54 lakhs
Burma
313-64 „
Federated Malay States,
etc.
265-19 „
Ceylon
• • •
61-85 „
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 465
Thus the amount invested in this Presidency by 243
Nattukkottai Chettiar Bankers is Rs. 456 lakhs. The
major portion of the capital of those who do local business
in Karaikudi and Sivaganga is invested in Burma, F.M.S.
and Ceylon.
An indigenous banker who was questioned in the
Coimbatore District said that generally, if about a lakh of
rupees is to be the out-turn of business at least Rs. 75,000
should be the investor! capital. In his case, that has been
the proportion. His bank is now fifteen years old but the
origin cannot be traced exactly to ihe correct date. The
maximum expenditure incurred by this banker per year is
Rs. 3,500. He employs many clerks on decent salaries. In
the year 1929-30, Ins invested capital was Rs. 120,000 and
the out-turn of business was Rs. 2J,£ lakhs. Gradually this
amount began to dwindle; and the capital and business
out-turn for the years 1935 and 1938-39 respectively were
Rs. 80,000 and Rs. 125,000, and Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 100,000.
The banker who was examined was able to estimate
roughly the business done in the Coimbatore District.
Year. Business done.
Rs.
1929-30 .. l% crores.
1935 .. 50 lakhs.
1938-39 . . 20 to 30 lakhs.
The Agriculturists Relief Act of 1938 affected the
Chettiar banking business adversely. Roughly estimated
the loss incurred owing to the operation of the Act is Rs. 3%
lakhs. The loss was great in the Coimbatore District where
almost all the borrowers were agriculturists. Now busi-
ness with the agriculturists has been reduced considerably.
Loans are given only to 'A' class persons whose credit can be
relied upon.
59
466 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
DEPOSITS.
Besides his own capital, the Nattukkottai Chettiars'
capital consists mainly of deposits received from their own
relations and friends and to a small extent from the out-
side public. In times of stringency they are helped with
loans by the Imperial Bank and other big joint stock banks.
A feature of deposits made by persons of the Nattuk-
kottai Chctty community is the depositing of their funds
in different shops to avoid any risk. Deposits received by
various Nattukkottai Chettiars are mostly from their own
community. The Commissioner of Income-Tax Madura,
calculated from the figures given by officers in Chettinad
that the number of persons who derived income from inte-
rests on deposits alone were 823 and the amount so depo-
sited by them was Rs. 4*/2 crores. If the deposits of those
doing business were included, total deposits amounted to
nearly 8 crores. It is difficult to estimate the amount of
total deposits of the Nattukkottai Chettis. It is only
recently that the deposits from the public have dwindled.
The deposits are made in urban areas but not in rural
parts. In Madras and other places legal practitioners and
others who have dealings with Chettiars deposit their
moneys with the Chetti firms as a higher rate of interest
can be obtained. As in other banks, the normal rules of
keeping a proportion of deposits in cash or in forms readily
convertible into cash are not observed by Chettiars. So
long as the debtors were keeping up their credit, the
Chettiars found no difficulty in meeting the obligations of
their depositors. But when the borrowers began to
delay inordinately, the Chettiars found it difficult to meet
their obligations and slowly gave up the system of taking
deposits. Enquiry in Devacottah has shown that the Chet-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 467
tiars take deposits only occasionally; even then, deposits are
taken only from persons known to them and from their rela-
tions, who hold positions in the social sphere. The rate of
interest herein differs from the rate of interest on loans.
The one reason for their inability to take deposits is due to
the fact that they always entertain a genuine fear, unlike
joint stock banks, with regard to conditions of payment and
the impossibility of keeping the necessary fluid resources.
The deposits of Chettiars are of two kinds — (1) the
current deposit in which the 'Nadappu' rate of interest is
allowed (2) the 'thavanai' deposit, that is loans repayable
after a definite 'thavanai' or period of rest. The period is
two months in Madras and Burma and three months, six
months or one year in the Federated Malaya States and
Ceylon. If the 'thavanai' deposit is not demanded after
the expiry of rest, interest is added after completion of each
period of 'thavanai.1
The Chettiars adopt a current rate of interest ana-
logous to the Imperial Bank Rate and fix it every Tamil
month at each of the important centres — Madras, Rangoon,
Singapore, Penang and Colombo — at a meeting of the lead-
ing Chettiar bankers. The dealings between Chettiars
themselves are governed by the current rate of interest.
These rates are much higher than those of the Joint Stock
banks. The rates charged on 'thavanai' or fixed deposits are
called 'thavanai' rates of interest. "The relation
between parties in a thavanai transaction is that of a
lender and borrower, the loan is made for a fixed and cer-
tain period of two months at a rate of interest which is fixed
weekly by members of the chetti community for transactions
which may be entered into during the ensuing week; the
lender cannot demand repayment before the end of two
468 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
months for which he has lent the money; if he does not de-
mand it at such time and the borrower does not elect to repay
it, the loan is deemed to be extended for another full two
months at the rate of interest fixed by the weekly meeting
of the community for the then period and so on until the
money is repaid." Thus the thavonai deposits have con-
tinued in Nattukkottai Chetti accounts for a number of
years. As regards 'thavanai' rates, Rangoon 'thavanai' rates
are fixed for each week, while the F.M.S. 'thavanai' rate is a
matter for settlement by the parties concerned in each indi-
vidual case. Thus there is no fixed rate for deposits as in
Joint Stock banks.
LOANS.
It is generally said that the indigenous bankers
lend only indirectly to agriculturists — i.e., through
the village moneylenders but finance trade and industry
directly. This is truo of the Multanis, Marwaris and the
Kalladaikurichi Brahmins. They finance a considerable
portion of the inland trade on tho personal credit of the
merchants, who in turn give loans to ryots. They also ad-
vance on produce and discount liundis. But the Nattuk-
kottai Chettis lend to agriculturists direct and also finance
trade and industry. The Assistant Commissioner of Income-
Tax, Mad::ra, in his evidence to the Madras Banking En-
quiry Committee swl "It cannot be said that in South India
the Nattukkottai Chetti class of money lenders assist in any
specific manner the agricultural or trade enterprise. The
needy and the poor go to them for loans and if the borrower
happens to be an agriculturist, in that sense the Chetti
finances agriculture; or if he be a trader or shop keeper in
that sense alone the Chetti finances trade. There is no sys-
tem followed by Chettis to help agriculture or trade as a
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 469
profession in the Presidency, although in Burma Agricul-
tural enterprise is backed up by Chetti finance." But en-
quiry at Devacottah and Coimbatore has revealed that in
nine cases out of ten, the Chettiars lend to agriculturists.
About 10% of the borrowers are traders. That industry
also is financed by these bankers is true from the fact that
many cotton spinning and weaving mills in the Coimbatore
District have as their managing agents Chetti bankers.
The Chettiars have no set of rules or regulations in
common for being followed in the matter of loans. They
study the condition of borrowers carefully and this they
are able to do because they are in close proximity to the
borrowers From the enquiry it is found that their methods
of lending are as various as those of money-lenders.
In the case of the agriculturists as in the case of all
others, the bankers lend most commonly large sums of
money by means of pronotes which form the primary credit
instruments. There are printed forms of promissory notes
in Tamil and the borrower fills up the form and signs across
the revenue stamp affixed to the pronote at the right end.
No specific period of return is found in the pronote but
'thavanai' (the period of rest) is noted down. Generally
'thavanais' are for one year or half-year for purposes of
calculating compound interest. Sometimes two or three
persons jointly execute the bond. If after repeated persua-
sion by the banker the debtor does not return the loan, the
former filo^ a suit in a court of law. Usually the agricultu-
rist borrows in these parts — Coimbatore and Devacottah —
as in other parts of the Presidency in the months of Adi
(16th July to 15th August) to Masi (16th February to 15th
March) . The returning of loans is from Panguni to Ani or
16th March to 15th July. Agricultural operations— plough-
ing, sowing and harvesting — take place between July and
470 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
February and afterwards the marketing of crops is financed
by the bankers. The Tinnevelly bazaar rate of interest
which prevails in respect of transactions between one
banker and another will be interesting if studied in con-
nection with the period of loans given to agriculturists,
The bankers in that district deal mainly with traders and
the fluctuations in the rate of interest will show the
stringency of the money market for traders.
The particulars of Tinnevelly bazaar rates are as
follows: —
Tamil Month. Corresponding English Month. Rate of Interest.
11 Annas or 8V4%
9 „ or 6V4%
8 „ or 6%
8 „ or 6%
11 „ or 8V4%
14 „ or 10%%
1 Rupee or 12%
1 „ or 12%
1 „ or 12%
14 Annas or 10%%
13 „ or 9%%
12 „ or 9%
*Madras Banking Enquiry Committee Evidence Vol. Ill, p. 1164.
During 16th December to 15th January, the rate of
interest to traders begins to rise and the highest rate to
traders is during the period of Masi, Panguni and Chitrai
when the agriculturists do not require any credit for their
agricultural operations.
The pronote on personal security is the most-common
method of lending to agriculturists. Some Nattukkottai
Chettiars lend money on what is known as the kandu kist,
Avani
. . 16th August
to 15th
Sept.
Purattasi
.. „ Sep.
to „
Oct.
Arpisi
.. „ Oct.
to „
Nov.
Karthigai
.. „ Nov.
to „
Dec.
Margali
„ Dec.
to „
Jany.
Thai
„ Jany,
to „
Feby.
Masi
. . „ Feby.
to „
March
Panguni
„ March
to „
April
Chitrai
„ April
to „
May
Vaikasi
„ May
to „
June
Ani
„ June
to „
July
Adi
. - „ July
to „
August
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 471
or thandal system. Only small money lenders resort to
this system. When money is lent out, interest is taken in
advance and the borrower pays in equated instalments
daily or monthly. Default entails the payment of penal
rate of interest. The Devacottah and Coimbatore bankers
say that agriculturists borrow on this system. But as the
agriculturist gets his income in a lump at a certain period
of the year, it will not be possible for him to pay the instal-
ments daily or monthly easily. This system of kandu
loans will be very helpful to small traders.
Next 10 the pronote, the most common method of lend-
ing is the raising of loans on produce like rice or paddy,
tobacco leaves and cotton. If on the stipulated date the
money is not returned the banker persuades the agricul-
turist to sell the produce in his custody on that day at the
market price and pay back the loan. Sometimes the banker
himself sells the produce and claims from the agriculturist
the margin, if any, left over.
A still another method of lending which is not so com-
mon is what is known as 'pokkiarn' or 'othi' by which money
is lent out on the security of lands or any other immovable
property in lieu of which the banker enjoys the benefits of
possession of property till the money is returned or till a
maximum period of sixty years. If after sixty years money
is not returned, the property automatically becomes the
banker's when sued in a court of law. These are the differ-
ent types of loans prevalent among Nattukkottai Chettiars
in the Coimbatore District and in and around Devacottah.
True to the traditions of the great Nattukkottai Naga-
rathar families, the Rajah Sahib of Chettinad started, very
early in life, his individual banking business under the
472
name and style of "S.Rm. M.A." It grew in importance
and in a short time expanded into a number of branches.
As in the case of his charities, here also he turned
from the beaten track and to secure efficient control and
management, he converted his firms into Limited Com-
panies. In the course of the past ten years, a number of
trading concerns have been built up through his instru-
mentality which are all in a very flourishing condition.
These are the Bank of Chcttinad Ltd., The Chettinad Bank
Ltd., the Chettinad Corporation Ltd., South India Corpo-
ration, Ltd., South India Corporation (Madras), Ltd.,
Madura South India Corporation, Ltd., Burma Commer-
cial Corporation, Ltd. and Trichy and Tanjore Stores, Ltd.
These have 60 and more branches and are scattered all over
Indo-China, Malaya, Straits, Ceylon, Burma, British India
and the Native States. These are all handling a large
volume of business and are successfully run.
The Bank of Chettinad and the Chettinad Bank, besides
their banking business, own about 100,000 acres of paddy
lands in Burma and extensive rubber and coconut estates in
Ceylon and Malaya.
The Rajah Saheb owns several villages in South India,
the chief of which are an estate consisting of 116 villages
called the Chettinad Estate in the Chittoor District and
several villages in the Tamil Districts.
ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
BY
DR. N. RAJARAM,
Medical Officer.
The problem of medical aid in Annamalainagar began
when the Minakshi College, the nucleus of the Annamalai
University, shifted to its own building, the Arts Block, from
the premises of the Ramaswami Chettiar's Town High
School, Chidambaram, in 1923. About a hundred students
and four members of the staff came into residence in tempo-
rarily improvised structures. Communication with
Chidambaram was not easy, and the place itself was a
sandy wilderness with palm trees and prickly pear
and two small groups of huts. The Rajah Saheb,
with his usual solicitude for the welfare of the
students tackled the problem of medical aid to the resi-
dents of Annamalainagar by establishing a small dispen-
sary in one of the rooms with a part-time medical
officer and a compounder. The Sub-Assistant Surgeon and
Compounder of the Town Hospital visited the dispensary
thrice a week. They were also available for urgent calls.
^
The strength of the College grew by leaps and
bounds; and the number of residents grew consequently;
the more so as proper accommodation in the Hostel be-
came available. The part-time arrangements were found
to be inadequate and the dispensary was placed on a
permanent basis in 1926 with a full-time Medical Officer,
Compounder, attender and menials. The accommodation
474 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
was also increased by annexing another room for the
increasing store of medicines.
Successive medical inspections of the College and the
University revealed that in a very large proportion of cases
the students had defects in the eye, the organ of which they
should take the greatest care. To be of real help to the
students, the University deputed the Medical Officer for
training in the Minto Opthalmic Hospital at Bangalore in
1931. It then became necessary to increase the accommo-
dation and equipment by providing a dark-room and dark-
room equipment. Successive annual reports show that
these have been put to good use.
With the rapid increase in the strength of the Univer-
sity and as the University became more and more residen-
tial, the need for a good Hospital with provision for
accommodating in-patients began to be felt. The authori-
ties readily made arrangements for erecting a building for
the purpose and the present Hospital building with
accommodation for four in-patients and an isolation ward
was completed and occupied in September, 1936. The
equipment was increased by a grant of Rs. 2,000. To cope
with the additional work arising out of increased facilities
the staff was increased by taking in another compounder,
one more ward-boy and more menials.
With the admission of women students into the Uni-
versity and the starting of a women Students' Hostel, the
need for a Lady Assistant to help the Medical Officer
was felt. With the increasing number of the women stu-
dents the need became* greater and in 1940 a midwife was
appointed so that she might be useful to the ladies of the
locality and took charge in June 1941.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 475
The daily dispensing is mostly for minor ailments
such as disorders of the digestive organs, influenza, middle-
car-diseases, tonsil itis, eye-troubles, wounds and bruises.
Cases of pneumonia, fractures and dislocations come in
occasionally for treatment. The table below gives the
annual attendance at the dispensary during the several
years and may give some idea of the benefit rendered.
TABLE A.
Year. In-patients. Out-patients.
1940. 59 14,422.
1939. 52 12,985.
1938. — 12,811
1937. — 14,486
1936. — 12,151
It may also be mentioned that ever since its inception
the dispensary has been useful not only to the residents of
Annamalainagar, but also to the inhabitants of the large
number of villages all round. And all this medical aid is
given free of cost to everyone.
TAMIL CULTURE
BY
RAO BAHADUR C. M. RAMACHANDRA CHETTIAR, B.A., B.L.,
Commissioner. H. R. E. Board, Madras.
The culture attained by a nation is gauged by the civili-
sation which it has attained from the past. It is not the
production of a single day's work but is one which has been
built up step by step by a slow and steady development
of thought by its prominent sons. It has been preserved
in the literature and arts of the country in the customs
and manners of it? folk and has been nurtured by its educa-
tional institutions founded by its people. Educational insti-
tutions of pre-eminence are known as Universities in
Modern parlance. Universities in the West are the out-
come of a few centuries. But thoir development and expan-
sion have been quick and all-embracing especially during
the past one century. In the East, University education
has been a matter of ancient times, a heritage of centuries.
The Universities of Nalanda and Taxila are world renown-
ed, but political eruptions have over-flowed and submerged
them under their irresistible lava of repression. But cul-
ture did rot die having been nurtured in the minds of the
humble country folk and of the un-ostentatious learned
South India was more fortunately situated and the anci-
ent Tamil culture was preserved by the nature poets of
the Sangam age and by the patronage of the enlightened
imperial Cholas and Pandyas. After their fall, the holy
seats of Saivaism, viz., the hoary maths, protected it from
decline and at present the two eminent Universities, the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 477
out-come of modern civilisation, have taken the burden of
preserving our ancient heritage. In fact it is not only
the ordinary duty, but its main function for a University
to preserve the culture of a nation.
When the idea of a University was started about 85
years ago by the present Government their main object was
the trainii-g of students to befit them as clerks and officers
to run the affairs of the state. As ideas advanced further
modifications had to be introduced. The original object
merely required a system of examination of pupils to grade
them according to their attainments for various posts in
public service. Nobody thought that culture had some-
thing to do with University education. Knowledge became
wider and people felt a change in the angle of vision. The
heritage of the nation ought not to have been cornered and
screened in preference to foreign cultural ideas. Hence
research scholarships nnd professorial chairs were slowly
introduced. At the beginning, chairs for foreign arts and
sciences were preferred. With considerable difficulty and
delay, vernacular culture was recognised and introduced.
Readerships and studentships were established and a certain
amount of work is supposed to be done in this line in the
provincial University.
Tamil culture is great and its literature is vast. It
had been hidden in the minds of a few scholars and preserved
in the moth-eaten palm leaves hoarded in the nooks and
corners of the thatched houses of the village teacher and
in the dark niches of ancient maths. It had not reached
really the study room of the modern educated scholar with
its full import. There was an agitation in the country to
place it on a pedestal worthy of it. When the premier mer-
chant prince of Chettinad came forward to light the lamp of
478 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
culture near the Sacred Hall of Cosmic Dance, the Tami-
lians were overjoyed that the time had come when their
dreams would be fulfilled. Massive buildings for dispens-
ing learning amongst scholars arose and various subjects
of real merit were taught. Students thronged and a full
blown University sprang amidst green fields in the midst of
sacred soil trodden by the holy feet of the four great Masters
of Saivite culture. The people were immensely pleased.
Tamil was given a seat and Lecturers were appointed
and a course of study was instituted. Art, Music and
Teaching formed the various courses of study. But are
they enonsrh? One important branch of Tamil culture was
entirely forgotten. Tamil had developed two aspects of life,
secular and religious or philosophical. The secular aspect
is represented by the Pandits and Annamalai as well as
Madras have recognised and made sufficient provision for
it with enough patronage. But what about the religious
or philosophical aspect? Is it not hieh time for this aspect
to be studied, preserved and developed?
Tamil has evolved a comprehensive system of philo-
sophy known as Saiva Siddanta. The works of the four
great Acharyas and of Tirumular give a very well deve-
loped system of philosophy equal to none in the land.
They are far older than twelve centuries. In the 13th and
14th centuries of the Christian era various ideas enunciated
by the ancient saints were codified by the Saint Meikanda
Deva and his disciples. They have been consolidated into
a series of 14 sacred works. Nobody till now has render-
ed their full import in English and other world wide langu-
ages except by way of a few essays by Dr. Pope and by late
Nalluswami Pillai. Recently one or two treatises have
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 479
appeared in the shape of theses for University
degrees by a few scholars.
It may be said that there is a chair for philosophy at
the University of Madras and Saiva Siddanta being one
aspect of philosophy, could be very well studied there.
Those who know the real greatness of the system of Saiva
Siddanta can understand what sort of treatment could
be given to it at the hands of a chair which has specialised
in Vedantisin and allied subjects. True there is a sylla-
bus prescribed by the University for Saiva Siddanta.
But it must be noted that till now, no college in the
Presidency of Madras has undertaken to prepare students
for the examination in that subject. There are not enough
teachers to teach the subjects since no encouragement has
been shown to it till now. If such be the case, is it not
necessary to put forward a strong case for the study of this
important subject and to press for establishment of a
separate chair for it with the object of introducing study
and research work therein?
The Translation of various treatises on philosophy into
English, the writing of thoughtful articles, and the devo-
tion of a portion of the University journal for this study are
some of the necessary acts to be undertaken at once. A
chair, a readership and a few studentships should be
created without loss of delay. The only University which
can undertake this work is the Annamalai University since
it is wedded to nurture the culture of the Tamilians. We
hope that the Rajah Saheb the Founder of the University
will bestow his serious thought on the subject and will give
a practical turn to it thereby earning the praise and the
gratitude of his loving compatriots.
MODERN TENDENCIES IN TAMIL LITERATURE
BY
M. S. RAMANUJAM, B.A., (HoNs.)
The 19th century died away with its trail ablaze. The
political complacency of Britain received its first rude
shock and in the twilight was seen the hum of a new life.
1'he long lull of supine inaction in Tamil literature began
its downward inarch, and in the short spell it saw the birth
of new veterans, the growth of people into their full sta-
ture. The political subordination of India to the British,
regarding its cultural aspect, was a blessing in disguise.
Earnest savants of English birth and origin scintillated on
the Tamil sky and Tamil literature shall always bear the
long furrows made by their powerful plough. I mean
Dr. Pope and Bishop Caldwell. The birth and growth of a
new science, the Dravidian philology, proclaims in mute
eloquence, to the Tamils and the rest, the incalculable
worth of their indefatigable endeavours for Tamil learn-
ing and culture: needless to embark on a cataloguing of
their activities, magnificent and beautiful.
'~.3
The long streaks of the rosy dawn broke on us with a
golden promise and the literature of our language stood on
the throes of a new birth. The frigid cold of an extended
monotony was sought to be substituted with the fragrant
blossoms of a new spring and thus proceed our language
for 'fresh honours and pastures new.'
Modem Tamil literature, with its many offshoots,
though not without signs of hope and promise yet betrays
481
long lines on her face, signs of senility and stagnation.
Theories, really are they opinions, of varied hue, more
novel than useful have been propounded. They contain,
no doubt some grains of truth amidst sandy waste, but
yet they are not un-alloyed. A clear picture of the currents
and cross-currents in Tamil literature is as opportune as it
is necessary.
The history of Tamil Renaissance, must really be begun
with Processor Sundaram Filial, the author of "Manon-
maniam," a Tamil "literature" drama. The morning star
of the Revival, with his unerring instinct and deep intuition
to sense the charge of the atmosphere, had mingled in his
product both the old order and the new, silently leading us
to the threshold of the New Dawn. We feel not the change
he is working; the deliberate employment of the old meter
deludes us of his new spirit, "the spirit of revolution." It
is deep enough; he had poured the new wine into the old
bottle. "Manomnaniam" is but the properly punctuated
warning of the imminent ebullition of a new spirit, the
flowering of a fresh manhood. Sri Subramania Bharathi,
the poet of national awakening, who came close on his
heels, took up the trail and our literature has become a
ferment of confused changes. The impetuous youth in
him had the better of him; and was but too ready with ever
new suggestions and ideals; and their velocity and volume
refused to be bound within necessary literary limits. He
had not been partly responsible for the beautiful confusion
in our literature. Political pressure, visionary ideals un-
ceasing anxieties left his thoughts in a wilderness only to
be scattered, unsettled and riotous. His was the riotous
license of a prodigal son rather than the mellowed libera-
tion of a soaring poet. A careful and unbiassed, detached
and critical study of his poem is bound to reveal the pro-
61
482 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
gressive mellowing of his intellect and some of his early
songs do no little violence to Tamil literary forms. They
look like scattered rubies over a field (cf. his viruthams
and venbas are no more than puerile versifications). His
"Kannan Pattu" — not the whole but the majority, has
found proper haven. Some of them have attractive forms
and arresting ideas, touching the very fringes of the sub-
lime. Students of Modern Tamil literature, in their im-
patience fcr things novel, too often err on the side of indis-
criminate generalisations; for them the parts are the whole.
Instead of a scrupulous analysis, they view them as an
amalgam and grievously falter; in the midst of the wood
they fail to see the trees.
After Bharathi, Mr. Desikavinayakain Filial of Putheri
is the Tamil poet to be reckoned with in our literature. His
is a valuable contribution to an atrophied literature like
Modern Tamil. The significance of his poems lies not in the
deluding transparency of his form and style, but deeper
still. The fusion of the literary spirit with the comrnonfolk
dignity; the endowment of the common intelligibility with
a classic significance and cultured elegance; he has thus
with extraordinary success, evolved out a useful literary
compound. With Bharathi's literary morbidities and emo-
tional excesses well chistled; thfc classic age, its rigidity
hammered out, grammatical conventions relaxed, in its
pristine elegance and pure; Sri Pillai's vivacious imagina-
tion flooding the field with his effulgent rays; these have
made his poetry a regulated whole, where the parts har-
monise into a simple and significant unity, presided over by
a supreme imagination.1 "He recreates it and charges the
1. Translations from the "Light of Asia" and Gitanjali and
"The River "
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 483
fact itself with the Poet's own sense of ultimate values."2
He feels largely and intensely, thus they smoothly flow in
metric dance to merge into a general significance.
New patterns and textures have their attraction when
produced by a mil] and the mind of an artist as well. The
new-found glamour blinds lovers into a sense of security
and self-love. This promiscuous propensity has been res-
ponsible for the birth of a few heresies in the Tamil litera-
ture.
The heresy that matter is superior to the manner of
self-expression has not outgrown the stage of profuse pole-
mics. For either side the protagonists are not wanting.
There is also a liberal school of thought that strives to strike
a golden mean. Agreed as it is, it is idle to deny the im-
portance of form in literature as elsewhere. Do we not find
it a distinct pleasure, intellectually apprehended when we
quote a stanza from Kamban? Compare this mental state
with the frame of mind when we express Kamban's idea
not in Kamban's verbal form, but in our own language.
The difference in the effect is understandable. To be suc-
cinct, form is not a non-existing abstraction, but an inte-
gral abstraction that inheres in the poem as such.
Another heresy, too common with us, is simplicity of
style. The heresy of simplicity is being overdone. It is in
the "imperceptible blending of the plain with
the ornate that a great writer is distinguish-
ed. He uses the simplest phrases without triviality, and
the grandest without a suggestion of grandiloquence."
"Without overflowing full" is the law of simplicity, and
plainness does not mean frugality but unity. Intelligibility
2. Abercrombie: Epic, p, 54,
484 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
is an attribute of simplicity and intelligibility
in literature is different from apprehension in journalism.
The two offices differ in their material operation. In litera-
ture anything of worth shall be intellectually apprehended
to live the piece and be in the spell, while Journalism does
not share these elegant literary manners. Literature, in as
much as it is refined thought, is, by its very nature, pre-
cluded from making a common cause with the public pro-
phylactics-journals-which are incapable of being worked
up to those ecstatic regions of intellectual and imaginative
spring.
With the rapid march of political events an idea has
been set afoot that political education — an euphemism of
high danger in itself — could be easily had if a standardisa-
tion could be achieved in the field of letters; something
like a socialistic doctrine, but applied for a different pur-
pose; a case of political theory tried in literature. Not
going too deep into this 'standardisation' fover, we cannot
but be amazed at the sponsors of the idea. It is really a
brain-wave. In literature the instruments of operations
are too deHcate and subtle things, but never brittle. "Words
are not like iron and wood, coal and water, invariable in
their properties calculable in their effect. They are
mutable in their powers deriving force and
subtle variations of force from very trifling change
of position; colouring and coloured by the words which
precede and succeed; significant or insignificant from the
powers of rhythm and cadence/'3 The form of matter is
the form of thought and the thought is mutable with the
change in the subject-matter. Description varies from nar-
ration and the differentia is not supererogatory but suffi-
3. G. H, Lowe: Success in Literature, p. 135,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 485
ciently essential. "What are we to say to a man who spends
a quarter's income on a diamond pin which he sticks in a
greasy cravat? A man who calls public attention on him
and appears in a slovenly undress."4 This standardisation
is bound to bring things to a dead level, which is neither
proper nor preferable. Style is the man and the variety is
but the irrefutable assertion of Nature wedded to beauty
against the artificiality of mortal exertions towards a dead
uniformity.
The realistic school is the counterpart of the romantic
school in English literature. This school maintains with
little consistency that anything in literature must corres-
pond to the actual and real in nature. This, obviously un-
tenable, is the upshot; of a comprehensive ignorance of the
connotation of the term "Realism" as applied in matters
literary. Realism and intelligibility in literature almost
point at the same. Anything intellectually lived, felt and
enjoyed is a literary reality. We delect in Ilango's portray-
al of Kannagi and the burning of the beautiful city of
Madura. True, the emanation of the God of fire and his
implicit obedience to Kannagi are what we may call super-
natural. All the same we feel we are not in a strange
world when we skip over "Cilappathikaram." The genius
of the poet weaves into the body of his poem a strange ele-
ment, but in the high voltage of his imagination it turns
into a real light, contributing to the general significance.
This realism as apprehended imaginatively, sends a thrill
into our being; we pulsate with a new life of appreciation
and pleasure; we spring into regions of ecstacy and subli-
mity where life is a smooth-flowing stream of sweet dreams
and lovely ideals; it is a dateless world,
4. Ibid,, p. 125.
486 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Yet another controversy that has succeeded in generat-
ing more heat is the question of language and dialect. The
confusion of the distinct departments of these two has
led to strange notions about style. The impropriety of
raking up the dialect to the sanctimonious pedestal of a
language is a sure sign of its decaying manhood. The deve-
lopment of the Malayalam language provides us with the
needed corrective. Before the 10th century A.D. Malayalam
language was not born. The language of the Cheranadu
was Tamil, and by the passage of time, the local dialect of
Tamil hac! grown into a distinct language. Thus a long
sweep of land had been seceded to Malayalam, and Tamil
had boon harnessed to a tiny corner. This historical aspect
must ho truly grasped by Tamil critics.
The historical sonsc has boon sorely neglected to the
disadvantage of all. South Indian history, till very recent-
ly, had been but an anomalous hoap of disjoined specula-
tions. Thanks to the untiring efforts of Prof. P. T. Srini-
vasa lyonrar and Dr. S. K. Ayyangar, the ico is slowly
giving way. The want of an historical sensibility has been
the cause of too many wrong notions. The reactions of
unbridlod activities in English literature during the days
of the Reformation, to the utter disregard of the past, are
well-worth noting. "The worst of Renaissance, as of any
great general movement, was that ideas were taken up by
people who did not understand them. 'But one hath seen
and all the blind will see/ And the blind and the deaf
went on happily composing arguments about imagination
and poetry: so that before long in a century or two from
the beginning of the revival of learning, poets were ham-
pered, not by the ancients themselves, but by the doctrines
about the ancients."5
5. K. P. Ker: Form and Style, pp. 195, 196.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 487
Modern Tamil literature is an ocean of storms and
eddies. Ideas, ever new, ever changing enter the portals of
our language. Tamil is caught in the vortex of a struggle
between the old and the new. People read more about
literature than literature itself. They glean in their sur-
vey of alien literatures ideas often too attractive and novel
and there is a strong impulse for their indiscriminate appli-
cation into Tamil literature. Votaries of Sanskrit and
other learning, writing of modern Tamil literature neglect-
ing the peculiar genius of the Tamil language, are thinking
not of poetry in Tamil, but of such English or Sanskrit
poetry as was written by Shakespeare or Kalidasa and the
conflict of ideas and emotions continue, leading us no-
where.
The absence and the presence of imagination makes
all the difference between a good and a bad literature. Well
may the naturalistic school gloat on its religious convic-
tion that literature must inevitably reflect and radiate the
contemporary thoughts and movements, answering to the
lines and tones seen in nature. Obviously they fail to re-
concile their sense of frustration with the "higher reali-
ties" as squeezed into a poem — a poetic world, an imagina-
tive sphere. This "righteous disdain" for thoughts not in
tune with nature is partly a product of confused thought;
a false identification of two distinct qualities. This qualita-
tive confu?ion of imagination and exaggeration is responsi-
ble for this heresy "Not manipulation, but imaginative
transfiguration of material; not invention but selection of
existing material appropriate to his genius; and complete
absorption into his being; that is how an artist works."6
Exaggeration is morbid and sickening. The poetic world
6. Abercrombie: Epic. p. 53.
BHAVABHUTI AND MIMAMSA
BY
MlMAMSAKARATNA V. A. RAMASWAMI SASTRI, M.A.,
SlROMANI.
The identity of Bhavabhuti, the author of three plays in
Sanskrit, with Bhattomveka, the commentator on
Kumarila Bhatta's Slokavarttika and Mandanamisra's
Bhavanaviveka, is still a disputed question among the
students of Historico-literary Research in Sanskrit. A few
scholars who are not in favour of this identity theory
assert that Bhavabhuti is nowhere known as a Mima-
msaka. It is proposed in this short paper to collect certain
evidences from his dramas in older to show that Bhava-
bhuti is well-versed in the Purvamimamsa Sastra as he is
in other Sastras— Vedanta, Nyaya, Vyakarana, Sankhya
and Yoga.
In the prologues of the Uttararamacarita and Maha-
viracarita Bhavabhuti speaks of his Sastraic attainments
by the rare honorific epithet — TC^PPwrotr . It means
that he is well-versed in the three Sastras— <WBT« —
Vyakarana, WFRTW — Mimamsa and JRmw — Nyaya.
This reference would prove that Bhavabhuti is a master-
mind who has acquired high proficiency in the three
important Sastras— Vyakarana, Mimamsa and Nyaya.
Again, Bhavabhuti makes mention of his Sastraic erudi-
tion in the verse found in the prologue of the Malati-
madhava —
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 489
The utter disregard paid to the proper literary back-
ground, has been responsible not to a few inexactitudes in
our literature. The indiscriminate application of the can-
nons of western literary thought to our literature, without
a correct appreciation and deep acknowledgement of the
native genius of Tamil, corrodes this cherished progress
ever more.9 Literary, unity and respect for native forms,
with progressive but reasonable modification, in tune with
its genius, the recognition of a literary Tamil, evolved out
of the fusion of the classic and modern language, as apart
from the language too often indulged in by the Tamil
journals — these aspects need engage the ardent contem-
plation of every true Tamil lover and scholar. This done,
the first flesh of a dim dawn shall soon break into a broad
day light.
9. Tagore: Reminiscences, pp. 183, 184.
62
BHAVABHUTI AND MIMAMSA
BY
MlMAMSAKARATNA V. A. RAMASWAMI SASTRI, M.A.,
SlROMANI.
The identity of Bhavabhuti, the author of three plays in
Sanskrit, with Bhattomveka, the commentator on
Kumarila Bhatta's Slokavarttika and Mandanamisra's
Bhavanaviveka, is still a disputed question among the
students of Historico-literary Research in Sanskrit. A few
scholars who are not in favour of this identity theory
assert that Bhavabhuti is nowhere known as a Mima-
msaka. It is proposed in this short paper to collect certain
evidences from his dramas in order to show that Bhava-
bhuti is well-versed in the Purvamimamsa Sastra as he is
in other Sastras— Vedanta, Nyaya, Vyakarana, Sankhya
and Yoga.
In the prologues of the Utlararamacarita and Ma/ia-
viracarita Bhavabhuti speaks of his Sastraic attainments
by the rare honorific epithet — TORWn°w . It means
that he is well-versed in the three Sastras — V*$\9 —
Vyakarana, 3iwt«r — Mimamsa and wwrer — Nyaya.
This reference would prove that Bhavabhuti is a master-
mind who has acquired high proficiency in the three
important Sastras — Vyakarana, Mimamsa and Nyaya.
Again, Bhavabhuti makes mention of his Sastraic erudi-
tion in the verse found in the prologue of the
madhava—
491
He asserts that any powerful display of his knowledge
of the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Sankhya and Yoga
systems in a drama would not contribute to its success,
thereby implying that he is well-versed in all these
branches of learning but that he is not going to display his
Sastraic knowledge in his play. The term Vedadhyayanam
in the verse is worth our consideration. It does not mean
merely the memorisation of the Vedic texts, but a critical
and exhaustive study under a guru with the help of six
Vedangas and the Purvamimamsa Sastra, as c ^fwf irR^1
would mean the knowledge of the Upanisads or the Upani-
sadic teaching with the help of the Uttaramimamsa Sastra,
popularly known as the Vedanta Sastra. The correct
understanding of the Vedic and Upanisadic texts would be
possible only if the Vedic student studies these two
Mimamsa Sastras properly. So says Kumarilabhatta
about the indispensable nature of the study of the Purva-
mimamsa Sastra by a Vedic student—
ff
tftorar *v®fa n"
The true knowledge of dharma is arrived at by the
study of the Vedas with the help of its chief accessory —
Mimamsa Sastra. While speaking of the scope and nature
of tarka ?n the first Nyayasutra, Vacaspatimisra, in his
Nyayavari'tikatatparyatika, extolls the Mimamsa Sastra to
the high rank of the Vedas on the ground that it helps the
Vedic student to a great extent for properly understanding
them —
492 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
c frsrara
it
The first sutra ' sremt *$fa«ron ' in the Purvamimamsa
Sastra emphasizes the fact that the Vedic student should
not leave the residence of his teacher soon after his study
of the Vcdas without the study of the Purvamimamsa
Sastra. He understands no doubt, with the help of the
Vedangas, the meaning of those texts in which there is no
ambiguity or room for any discussion, but in instances
which admit of more than one interpretation he has to
resort to the help of the Purvamimamsa Sastra which
removes his doubt by correctly interpreting the passage in
question on the basis of certain well-accepted rules of inter-
pretation. This is the signal service that this Sastra
renders to the Vedic student who, after returning home
from his teacher's residence, is expected to marry and per-
form the duties of a true householder with a correct
understanding of their nature and significance with the
help of the Purvamimamsa Sastra. The sutra c srafcf
OTfaWHT ' literally means that the Vedic student after under-
standing the Vedic contents in a general manner with the
help of the Vedangas, the study of the Vcdas being intend-
ed for the correct knowledge of the Vedic contents, has to
stay at the residence of his teacher to investigate the
dharma — the chief import of the Vedas — by means of well-
established rules of interpretation.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 493
« This fact explains well that the study of the Purva-
mimamsa Sastra formed in ancient India an integral part
of the Vedic study; and it is no wonder that Bhavabhuti
who claimed birth in the family of great Somapithins and
pancagnis studied the Vedas and that his Vedic study
would not have been complete without the study of the
Purvamimamsa Sastra.
The description of his ancestors found in the prologues
of the Malatimadhava and the Mahaviracarita1 clearly
indicates that Bhavabhuti has inherited high traditions of
Vedic scholarship and practice of the Vedic sacrifices,
references to which are found in abundance in his dramas.
Dr. A. B. Keith has already collected and published some
of them in the J.R.A.S. (1914) in a short paper with the
title 'Bhavabhuti and the Veda! The following instances
taken from his dramas would give additional weight to the
view that Bhavabhuti is a great scholar in the Vedas, the
study of which he would have completed with the study
of the Purvamimamsa Sastra, as indicated above.
: WffiF:
II (M. V. Carita, Prologue).
: II
(Malatimadhava, Prologue) .
494 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
(1)
wfewfat
(U.R. Carita, I. 8 and M. V. Carita, IV. 33) .
This Verse explains the well established truth in the
the Purvamimamsa Sastra that a dvija householder
is compelled to perform at any cost the nitya and
naimittika karmas like Agnihotra and Uparagasnana in the
prescribed time till his death, lest he should be liable to
divine punishment.
(2) ^JT:_*lcRl q^ 3TRfof—
TOT: I
n
(M. V. Carita I, 38) .
When Rama was commanded by sage Visvamitra to
kill Tataka he was hesitating to act since he believed that
no woman should be killed under any circumstances. But
when sage Visvamitra persisted in his demand, Rama took
the opinion of the sage as final and acted accordingly. So
this verse explains the great truth (established in the
Purvamimamsa Sastra I. 3-3-4) that the opinion of a great
man which is known by the term atmatushti (intuitive
knowledge) is an authority on dharma just like the Vedas.
Sage Visvamitra, according to Rama, is a high personage
free from all human vices and his opinion is, therefore, an
infalliable authority on dharma.
(3) fl*.— gjifoft q|*:, ft* 3
(U. R. Carita, I. p. 42. N. S. Edn. 1911.)
Rama means by the term «awf*K'that the highly
eulogistic statements of the citizens about his administra-
tion should not be taken in their literal sense though they
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 495
are intended as words of praise and compliment. It is
established in the Purvamimamsa Sastra, (I. 2. 1) that
the arthavada section in the Vedas should not be taken in
its literal sense and that it mainly means the praise or con-
demnation of the thing enjoined or prohibited by the vidhi
or nishedha vakya generally associated with the arthavada
in question.
(U. R. Carita, III. p. 96).
Rama's remark (noted above) indicates what is esta-
blished in the Purvamimamsa Sastra regarding the joint
responsibility (adhikara) of the husband and wife in a
sacrifice (VI. 1.) '^taasiflwi?:1 that neither the
husband nor the wife can perform the sacrifice indepen-
dently.
These references to the Mimamsa doctrines and others2
to Vedic passages and sacrificial details abundantly found
in the three dramas prove that Bhavabhuti is a man of
high Vedic; learning and culture which he could not have
acquired but for his mastery over the Purvamimamsa
Sastra. Would these references not be sufficient to show
Bhavabhuti's leanings to Purvamimamsa Sastra?
2. (a) Vide the Uttararama Carita, (N. S, edition, 1911) .
(1) KRWrflft *ran (p. 12).
(2) arftfl— at ^ «niwf +?PftRwrwTrR[at (p. 53).
(a) SVSPR:— auftf sgq$:+frfgsto3 arorn* anw: I (P. 103).
(4) arrf^R^i + focg3Wt <Kfo (p. 114).
(5) *irRWR53 R+arwaclfo I (p. 153).
(b) Vide the Mahavira Carila, (N. S. edition, 1926).
(6) sr^r smr + i&jtt ^5^ ( (p. 20) .
to. ll? ^* ^ ^«ra*»wBr:-»PW iflr vm
VIDYA-DANA
BY
RAO BAHADUR K. V. RANGASWAMI AIYANGAR.
The endowment of a great place of learning by a
single munificent and far-sighted patron has been more
common in the West than in India. The great Colleges in
Oxford and Cambridge and some of the more important
universities in the United States sprang from individual
donations, and appropriately bear the names of their bene-
factors. In India we have had in modern times only two
instances of such foundations, both of which owe their being
to the enlightened liberality of two merchant princes, J. N.
Tata and the Rajah of Chettinad. The aim of the Indian
Institute of Science is narrower than that of the Annamalai
University. The Institute stands for applied science so far
as it relates to India's economic uplift. The Rajah's insti-
tution, on ";he other hand, is a University, dedicated to learn-
ing in all its aspects, and is not a mere research institute
specialising in applied science. The wider support from
the state, which these have received after they were
brought into existence, cannot take away from the honour
due to the wise founders for providing them.
In some other respects also the two institutions
differ. The driving motive of J. N. Tata was to devise a
powerful accessory for India's industrial progress. The
Tata Institute's aim is severely practical. Pure science and
knowledge for its own sake are out of the picture. Work is
entirely post-graduate. Instruction is subordinated to in-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 497
vestigation. It is otherwise with the Annamalai Univer-
sity. It has had within its programmes provision, as funds
allow, for applied science, and such subjects as oil-chemis-
try and sugar research have been suggested in schemes for
an extension of its activities. Primarily it is dedicated to
knowledge for its own sake, with such adjustments of aim
as are necessitated by environment and the principle of divi-
sion of labour among universities. Even when through the
pressure of financial restriction, some branches have had to
"axed," the development of the University on individual
lines, in which it can supplement the work of other uni-
versities, is receiving consideration. Its bias is to con-
serve a special culture, which has a claim on it geographi-
cally and historically. The location of the two academies
has been dictated by considerations which differ widely
and reflect the differing outlook of their respective founders.
For the Institute of Science any place, which possessed a
suitable climate and access to industrial potentialities was
good enough. To the new University for the Tamil
districts, which Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chetti-
nad provided, a location, sanctified by tradition and religion
was essential. It is noteworthy that the first locality to be
considered was Madura, which possesses both in an emi-
nent degree, and Chidambaram was finally selected, be-
cause it runs Madura close in these respects. Devout Hindu
as he is, the Rajah of Chcttinad has been true to Indian
sentiment in attaching the new educational foundation for
which he became responsible to a famous tirlha and temple.
T7I <V*
*or many centuries Indian practice made the teacher
the centre of educational activity. It was not a place but
a teacher that attracted pupils. Sometimes, many emi-
nent teachers, each of whom will be an attraction to my-
riads of students, gathered together in a single locality,
63
498 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
drawn to it by its pious associations. This was so in Kasi
(Benares). It has remained till to-day, the most eminent
centre of Hindu learning, because every great Hindu
teacher desires to live in its holy area, and most Hindus,
learned or unlearned, cherish the wish to drop their mortal
coil within its bounds. When Lord Cornwallis desired,
after the provinces of Karra and Allahabad had been ac-
quired by the East India Company, from the Emperor to
show the people of Hindusthan that the new power was
animated by sympathy for her religions and cultures, he
accepted the advice of Jonathan Duncan, the Resident at
Benares, to found in the holy city a great Sanskrit College.
It was to be under the special charge of the Governor-
General-in-Council, who would display their interest in
its work by reviewing its activities every year and making
all its staff appointments themselves. It is also note-
worthy, as characteristic of the Indian way of thinking,
that for many years hardly any eminent teachers in Kasi
could be found to undertake teaching in the new Sans-
krit College, which was so powerfully supported by the
Government. At last a modus Vivendi was discovered by
allowing the professors to impart instruction in their own
homes. In such conditions, the new institution was
virtually equivalent to the endowment of individual
teachers, which had boon a necessary feature of a system
in which the teachers taught without the expectation of
fees, solely from a sense of high duty.
Such attractions as a sacred shrine or tirtha offers to
teachers may be provided by capital towns of territories
whose rulers wish to be known as patrons of learning. As
"man is of all commodities the most difficult to move," it
would happen that even after enlightened kings pass away,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 499
the congregation of learned teachers in their capitals con-
tinues for a long time. In South India, Kancipura (Con-
jeevaram) enjoyed, from the congregation of sacred
shrines of all Indian religions and sects within its ambit,
in some measure the pre-eminent attraction of Kasi.
The monastery replaced the wandering teacher after
Buddhism established itself. The primary duty of the
Brahmana, according to Hindu varnasramadharma, was to
teach. This obligation remained even when he entered
the third and fourth stages of life (Vanaprastha and San-
yasa asrama). A learned ascetic will become a centre
for the diffusion of learning, by attracting a host of disci-
ples, who in their turn will become teachers. Books were
essential to proper learning, even in epochs in which the
cultivation of the human memory attained unheard of per-
fection. It would be more easy to collect them within one
building than allow them to remain scattered in the posses-
sion of individual teachers. Thus, the monasteries which
grew around Indian ascetics became in effect colleges of
learning, perpetuating the teaching of the original sage, and
preserving within their walls great collections of books. It
was exceptional for a Hindu ascetic to possess, as the
famous Kavindracarya did in the 17th century, A.D., a vast
library, without being a member of a matha.
The formation of colleges in monastic institutions be-
gan with Buddhism. It possessed an organization in its
monastic order, rules of discipline, and congregation
(samgha) which enabled it to display features of perma-
nence, so essential for the continued life of an educational
centre. The earliest groups of scholars and teachers, with'
a fixed habitation, that we can find records of in India are
500 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the Buddhist monks1. Long before the advent of Buddhism,
centres liko Benares (which attracted Hindus from all over
India) had Takshasila in the Gandhara country, (the meet-
ing place of Hindu and foreign scholars on the frontier, as
Peshawar to-day it, the meeting place of merchants from
within and without India) had congregations of scholars,
some of whom resided permanently in the towns. Many
famous personages were sent from distant places to study
at Takshasila. When the restraining influence of the power-
ful empires which met near the Indian frontier on the
north-west was withdrawn, and new hordes poured into the
area and invaded India, Takshasila lost its pre-eminence.
When Buddhism and Hinduism found homes over the seas,
places not far away from porls of embarkation (like
Tamralipti or Taroluk in the Ganges delta or Valabhi in
Gujarat) became convenient localities where Indians of
learning and acolytes from over the seas might come to-
gether. In South India, Kanci and Amaravati (near
Bezwada) came to have such attractions. The famous
Buddhist University of Nalanda, in which for ten centuries
not only Buddhists but even Brahmanas studied, and the
colleges of Valabhi came to distinction as university cen-
tres in view mainly of their proximity to sea ports. Once
they had established their name, as homes of pious and
learned activity, royal patronage came to their help. For
royal patronage of Nalanda we have not only the testi-
mony of the Chinese pilgrims, Hiuen Tsiang and I-tsing as
well as Hwui Li the biographer of Hiuen Tsiang, but we have
the evidence of the inscriptions. A hundred villages, and
according to another account 200 villages, are said to have
formed the permanent endowment of Nalanda. There were
occasional gifts and supplementary endowments by rulers
as well as ordinary persons, over and above the revenue
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 501
of the villages. The munificent donations of the Guptas
were emulated by the powerful Pala kings. Vast build-
ings, of which detailed descriptions exist in the accounts
of the Chinese pilgrims, were erected out of such gifts,
Besides the viharas, Nalanda possessed a colossal library of
manuscripts, which was a powerful attraction to the
Chinese pilgrims who made such prolonged sojourns there.
According to Tibetan accounts, the quarter in which the
Nalanda University, with its grand library, was located was
called the Dharmaganja (Piety Mart). "It consisted of
three grand buildir.gs called Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi, avid
Ratnaranjaka respectively. In Ratnodadhi, which wag
nine-storeyed, there were the sacred scripts called Prajna-
paramita-sutra, and Tantrik works like Samaja-guhya
etc/7 (Vidyabhushan, Indian Logic, p. 516). The great
university was not restricted to Buddhist studies; for,
Hiuen Tsiang studied Brahmanic scriptures at Nalanda.
One of its viharas was endowed for the continuance of Vedic
offerings like bali and earn (Bosch, cited in Nilakanta
Sastri's Nalanda, p. 175). The comprehensive nature of
its studies is shown in an enumeration by Hiuen Tsiang's
biographer: the classics of Mahayana and Hinayana, the
texts of "the eighteen sects", the Vedas, logic (hetuvidya),
grammar (sabda-vidyd) medicine (cikitsa-vidya) , works on
magic (Atharva Veda) and the Samkhya. We are reminded
that among the eighteen 'sippavidya' (silpa-vidya) , which
the Jatakas repeatedly say were taught at Takshasila were
such subjects as medicine and surgery, astronomy and
astrology, archery and military science, magic and divina-
tion, accountancy and commerce, and agriculture and cattle
raising. (Altekar, Education in Ancient India, p. 254 for
references) .
502 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The wealth of the library, its princely endowments and
its sumptuous and numerous buildings were excelled by its
numerical strength. The monks in residence are put at
anything between 3000 and 5000, of whom about 1500 are
represented as competent to expound the Buddhist scrip-
tures. The number of pupils and acolytes must have
been greater. The statement of Hiuen Tsiang (Records,
p. 65) that the number of residents was 3000, must refer
to the ordained monks only. It is probable that a con-
siderable number of students found their food and cloth-
ing, as they now do in pilgrim centres like Benares, at
choultries endowed by the laity in the adjacent town, or
in private houses. As the royal donations were lavish-
ed, as usually they are, on buildings, it is evident, that
with a traditional obligation to entertain all guests, the
Abbot of Nalanda must have been hard put, with the
endowments already named, to meet the expense of even a
frugal fare for all the inmates, permanent and casual. But,
this was quite in accord not only with monastic rules, but
with the Hindu tradition of brah?nacarya, which limited to
ascetic fare those engaged in the search for knowledge.
In a vast country, a few centres of learning like
Nalanda could not have, met even a tithe of the educa-
tional needs of the population. They must have been met
by the traditional gurukula system by which a guru
(teacher) taught and shared his meagre fare with his dis-
ciples, without expectation of any return. To teach all he
knew to a deserving pupil and to house and feed him were
religious obligations of the Brahman ic teacher. The num-
bers of those who could be taught in colleges attached to
Hindu and Buddhist monasteries, though very large, when
individual institutions are considered, must have consti-
tuted but a small part of the number to be taught. The
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 503
demand was more than the universities and mathas could
meet. It was therefore necessary to rely primarily on
individual teachers, particularly on those grouped or
gathered by accident or the lure of a tirtha or temple, in
some famous city, or living by themselves at their homes,
or moving about the country at the head of their pupils,
wandering, teaching and engaging in public disputations,
which often brought material recognition and reward to the
teachers from which they met the expense of feeding their
pupils. As such a way of life was open only to men, the
opportunities for the education of women, when the edu-
cation in the forest home became out of date, led to grow-
ing female illiteracy. The discontinuance of upanayana for
girls, to whom according to certain smritis, it had been obli-
gatory in the distant past (pura kalpa) was obviously due
to the impossibility of maintaining it in spirit and letter.
Village education, both primary and advanced, was pro-
vided for by endowed temples, mathas or viharas, or colo-
nies of learned men (agrahara). Such colonies were a
special form of endowment favoured by kings. As we
may gather from the names of donees in grants forming
agraharas, the beneficiaries were representative of differ-
ent sakhas or branches of the Veda, and belonged to differ-
ent gotras (septs). The object of the last provision was
to provide for intermarriage within the agrahara or
colony, so as to fix the inhabitants to it. When such colonies
were distributed through a province, they served as well as
schools do to-day.
The Hindu temple emerges in history as a place of edu-
cation later than the Buddhist or Jain monastery. A trend
began to manifest itself to regard the surplus income of
well-endowed temples as lawfully available for educational
purposes. The maintenance of pathasalas from temple funds
504 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
then begun. It was also more convenient to make educa-
tional endowments in the first instance to a temple, as there
was less likelihood, in an age of faith, of such funds being
misappropriated than funds set apart for secular objects.
A temple or a village community had also a continuity of
life, which exceeded that of the oldest ruling dynasty.
Hence, just as endowments for pious purposes used to be
made over to village communities or village guilds, so
endowments for education were also made to temples. The
problem of buildings for lecture rooms and libraries was
solved by using temple buildings. In Salotgi in Bijapur
district, for example, the minister ot the Rashtrakuta ruler
Krishna III endowed in A.D. 945 a college for about 200
students, who, along with the teachers, were housed, cloth-
ed and fed from the income of the endowment. The Col-
lege fell into ruin and was rebuilt by a pious and rich per-
son some generations later. (Altekar, op. cit. pp. 284-285).
The endowment ot the Sanskrit College at Ennayiram
(Ashtasahasram) in South Arcot is now famous. Its
details are disclosed in the South Indian Epigraphist's
Report for 1918. As many as 340 students were provided
for in this endowment, along with 16 teachers. It was
primarily a Brahmana college teaching the Vedas,
grammar, rhetoric, Mimamsa and Vedanta. We know of
smaller pathasalas attached to temples like Tirumuk-
kudal in Chingleput district (Epigraphia Indica, XXI,
No. 185) with 60 students, and Tiruvottiyur (Rep. on S. I.
Epigraphy, 1912, No. 212) with many more students.
These accounts relate to endowments of which the records
have been discovered by accident. The number of such
foundations must have been very large. Their existence
is not open to doubt, since none of the endowments which
have survived claims to be unique.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 505
The maintenance of both primary literacy and of higher
learning was thus due firstly, to the obligation to teach laid
on the first varna and to teach gratis', secondly to the obli-
gation to learn laid on the first three varnas, a vocational
bias being given to the studies of the second and third
varnas; to devolving the duty of free teaching on grihas-
thas and sanyasins, both of whom were restricted in regard
to the wealth they could own; to making pupillage ascetic
in its discipline and way of life, so as to reduce its cost; to
providing various means by which the hereditary teachers,
who had to teach free and feed their pupils, might be
remunerated indirectly or endowed, as by sacrificial fees,
and religious gifts (dana) ; and lastly, to the endowment of
monasteries and the foundation of colonies of house-
holders (grihastha)- who could both teach and perform
sacrifices. By the Hindu code of life, a sanyasin could not
own wealth, and a householder could not hoard more than
what was just enough for three years' expense.
All asramas for the Brahmana were thus dedicated to
spare living or poverty. If wealth came to him in any one
of the asramas, it could neither be hoarded up nor used in
luxurious living. It could only be expended for the benefit
of others, i.e., those whom it was the duty of the Brahmana
to teach free and feed free. One can appreciate, in the
light of these rules, the injunctions of the smritis (law-
books) giving the first varna alone the privilege or duty of
accepting gifts of a pious nature (dana-pratigraha) . The
acceptance of a gift (dana) meant undertaking certain
religious obligations which would purify the donor. Un-
less therefore the recipient of a gift had sufficient spiritual
and personal merit, the acceptance will prove a spiritual
drag on him. In works on Dharmasastra dealing with
religious gifts much stress is therefore laid on the deter-
64
506 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
mination of the fitness or unfitness of the donee. A gift
to an undeserving person will not only miss its mark by
not getting for the donor the anticipated spiritual merit
(puny a) but it will bring him load of sin (papa). The
burden of finding a deserving person is laid upon the donor
himself. It is noteworthy that among the qualifications
laid down in various smritis and puranas for a proper reci-
pient of a gift, birth is only one. Learning and every type of
virtue, must be possessed by the donee. According to
Vasishtha-smriti (III, 11-12) "an elephant made of wood, a
stag made of stuffed hide, and an unlearned Brahmana
are only nominally what they appear to be. In any king-
dom, if what is designed for the enjoyment of the learned
is used up by the unlearned, there springs fear for the
country and failure of the rains/' The acceptance of a
gift does not give the donee the power to make a bad use
of it. According to a verse of Manu, cited by Lakshmi-
dharain the Danakatpataru (p. 43 ed. Rangaswami) "the
Brahmana, who, having the qualification for receiving a
gift, receives but distributes it to the undeserving, to him
nothing should (thereafter) be donated; and he who
(having received a gift) merely hoards it (sancayam
kurute) and does not put it to pious uses, will not attain
ultimate happiness".
The result of the rules relating to gifts in the smritis is
two-fold: it compels the affluent e.g., kings, wealthy officials
and opulent merchants, to seek spiritual merit on various
specified occasions in which a gift to a deserving learned
and virtuous Brahmana leads to the acquisition of puny a
and the reduction of sin; and it also compels the recipients
to use the gifts so obtained not for selfish enjoyment but
for pious purposes and the fulfilment of duty as srotriya,
i.e., performing yajnas, studying and teaching. The elabo-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 507
rate rules defining the different types of gifts, as sixteen
major gifts (mahadana) etc., and laying down minutely
the numerous occasions on which the making of gifts is a
duty or a privilege to the economically well-endowed,
virtually ]eads to this, viz., provision of a wide stream of
benefaction whose benefits accrue ultimately to students and
acolytes. In this sense, all dana is really vidyadana, the gift
of knowledge. The drift of all the smriti rules on the sub-
ject is to provide for the public support of free education,
upto the highest standards possible. This is implicit in the
entire dana literature, and it redeems it from aridity and
ritualism. It is only those who view it superficially who
will miss its purpose and regard it as a cunning device to
make easy money for a privileged class.
Vidyadana is used in the Hindu smritis in another and
narrower sense. In that sense, a large chapter is devoted
to it in the Danakalpataru of Lakshmidhara, the learned
guru and prime minister of King Govindacandra of
Kanauj (A.D. 1109-1155). This chapter has been
"borrowed" intact and reproduced with minor additions by
later nibandhakarah (digest-writers) like Candcsvara,
Hemadri and Madanasimha.* The original work has
hitherto been inavailable, and seems to have been so for
centuries. In South India and the Dakhan, mediaeval
rulers relied largely on Hemadri's Danakhanda (which is
based on Lakshmidhara's) to justify or describe the value
of their frequent pious donations. At one time, to make
all the mahadanas (chief gifts) in accordance with
Hemadri was declared in inscriptions to be a duty admitted
*The works on Candasvara and Madanasimha are unpublish-
ed. I have used Mss. of these works in preparing my edition of
Dana-Kalpataru.
508 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
as such by every Hindu king. The incidence of the per-
formance of the "sixteen major gifts" <?r other minor gifts
was always the same, till the spirit of the institution was
lost, arid gifts were made, as a matter of routine, to per-
sons whose only qualification was birth, in the face of the
specific and clear warnings against the dangers of making
indiscriminate gifts, without making sure that the recipients
possessed besides birth the requisite spiritual, mental and
moral worth.
Vidya is explained in relation to the rules of gifts
(danavakya) as both learning and books. Bhatta Nila-
kantha in his Danarnayukha (erl. Chowkhamba, p. 244)
classifies vidyadana as (1) the Rift of books (pustakadand) ,
(2) the gift of pictures or ikons (pratimadana) and (3)
the gift of knowledge by teaching (adhyapanam) . The
last is dealt with in our digests nnr] smritis the duties of
the members of the first varna. The second seems to refer
to the gift of ikons of Vidya-devi or the goddess Sarasvati.
Nilakantha himself deals in his very brief section (cover-
ing only a page as against a wholo chapter of Lakshmi-
dhara's Danakalpata.ru and fifty closely printed pages,
pp. 492-542, of Hemadri's Danakhanda ed. Benares) with
only the merit of giving away some kinds of books. The
difference between the earlier arid later writers is signifi-
cant. The former wrote in epochs in which books, so neces-
sary for the preservation and propagation of knowledge,
were few and difficult to get, as compared with the heyday
of the Mughal empire in which Nilakantha wrote. Lakshmi-
dhara's eulogy of the valim of great collections of books (i.e.
manuscripts) will bring joy to modern bibliophils and libra-
rians. The calligraphist is raised to a high social position.
He is to be rewarded not only by gifts but with public
marks of honor. The stylus, writing material, indelible
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 509
ink and the writing desk are all meticulously described,
and with marked gusto. The completion of the transcrip-
tion of a great book was to be celebrated as a public event,
as the Italians of the Middle Ages used to celebrate in civic
processions the painting of a Madonna by a painter of
eminence like Cimabue.
Books become indispensable when the old methods of
oral instruction, for several years continuously, by a single
teacher, give place to instruction by several teachers, and a
change of literary form which makes books less easy to
memorise and to transmit orally. The multiplication of
books, anr! reliance on books in preference to the old pub-
lic disputations for the communication and publication of
new knowledge, will also explain the increased stress laid
on the gift of books not only to scholars and teachers, but
to temples and mat has. The praise of the new type of
vidya-dana is to be found in the later puranas and
upapuranas, from which the citations in the digests are
made. Even in such passage, the references to vidya are
so worded as to suggest both instruction and aids to study
in the way of books. The Mahabharata (Anusasana
Parva, LXTX, 6, cd., Citrasala) lays down that he who utters
(i.e., teaches) to a pupil the divine word (i.e. the Veda)
and the righteous (dharmyam) sastras (Sarasvati)
enjoys a spiritual merit equal to the gift of lands and cows."
The sentiment is repeated in another chapter of the same
epic (LXXV, thus: "Having studied the Vedas, if one gifts
it (by teaching) to a person able to discriminate between
right and wrong (nayaavit) he has discharged the great
duty of a teacher (gurukarma} and will, after death, revel
in Heaven." The gift of the knowledge of the different
sciences and arts (kala) either by teaching or by books is
repeatedly justified on the ground that a mastery of the
510 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
knowledge on which, for good and evil, the whole universe
'depends, should bo ensured to a supplicant:
Sastre yasmaj-jagat-sarvam samsritam ca subhasubham \
Tasmac-chastram praytnuna datavyam subhakarmana \ \
— Nandipurana.
The same sentiment is expressed in other words in the
Devipurana: —
Vidyaya vartate loko dharmadharma ca vindati \
Tasmad vidya sad deya drishtadrishtaphalarthibhih \ \
"Faith is dependant upon mastery of knowledge. Dis-
crimination of right and wrong is the gift of learning.
Hence, promulgate learning" repeats the same purana.
A list of the subjects to be taught, in which manus-
cripts beautifully transcribed are to be given away, will be
of interest. Such a list will include the Vedas and their
auxiliaries (anqani), the Siddhantas (Saiva and
Vaishnava doctrinal works), Moksha-sastra, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata, the tantras of Garuda, Bala and
Bhuta, Astronomy, Medicine, the 64 Arts (kola), poetry
(kavya), music and dancing, philosophy (atma vidya),
silpasastra (the Fine Arts), Agriculture, Logic (tarka-
vidya), Mimamsa, Dharmasastra and the Puranas. The
catalogue is merely illustrative and not exhaustive. The
intention is to make vidya synonymous with the whole
body of accessible knowledge. The gift orally of such
knowledge is to be made attractive by proper enunciation,
and musical intonation. The professional reader (an
artist who is commemorated in Bana's Harshacarita and still
survives) and his requirements are carefully described.
The sections on vidyadana, in the narrower sense, supply
material, till now not adequately utilised by those who have
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 511
written of ancient Hindu education. But, in the wider or
narrower senses of the term, the gift of knowledge was deem-
ed a paramount social duty, and was enforced not only by a
unique form of social organization into varna and asrama
but by an elaboration of the donative principle and its trans-
figuration till it became the fundamental basis of a system
for the preservation and transmission of knowledge. The
recognition by modern founders of colleges and universities
of this great social duty is all the more welcome in our
country to-day when the old systems have decayed and
with them has gone the sense of ancient obligation. But,
their number is still so inconsiderable that apart from
the spiritual benefits that a Hindu hopes to derive from
such enlightened munificence, a duty rests on us to com-
memorate so pious a service to learning as that of the Rajah
of Chettinad.
CIVIL LIBERTY IN WAR-TIME
BY
SIR K. V. REDDI, K.C.I.E., D.LITT., M.L.C.,
V ice-Chancellor, Annamalai University.
This subject is of great topical interest to India just
now. The importance arises out of the fact that on the
advice of Mr. Gandhi, Congressmen have started a
Satyagraha movement breaking the law of the land and
causing embarrassment to the Government during the pre-
sent critical time. The reason why this movement has been
started is not that Indian leaders were not consulted when
India joined the War. It is not based on the ground that
Britain has not yet granted Dominion Status to India. It
is based on the sole ground that liberty of speech and the
Press is being restricted. The Congressmen plead that the
liberty of speech and liberty of the Press are being restrict-
ed by the Defence of India rules and as Liberty of Speech
and liberty of the Press are of the very essence of Demo-
cracy they must assert their right to that liberty. These
arguments are absolutely untenable and perverse. They
plead "The British say they are fighting for the sake of
liberty, liberty of speech, of the Press, of Association and
of Faith. Why not the British Government allow us to
say what we want to say? We must be allowed to express
our opinions." Perfectly true. But liberty is not license.
There is a difference between the two. There -may be
occasions in the history of a nation when it will be almost
criminal to allow this full amount of liberty to indivi-
duals. Liberty is good, liberty is sacred, liberty is the
S13
birthright of everyone; but liberty abused, liberty turned
into license, liberty used for the advantage of the enemy
is undoubtedly criminal Mr. Gandhi and his Congress-
men do not seem to have recognised the difference between
peaceful times and wartimes. They do not seem to have
realised that full liberty of speech in wartime might cause
great rnisjhief. It may help the enemy to make use of it.
It is not necessary to detail how in every civilised country,
in every democratic country during the last war this liberty
of speech and liberty of the Press had to be curtailed at least
to some extent. Take for instance the country where
liberty is identified almost with God. The people of the
United States of America claim that their country is the
birthplace of democracy and that liberty of speech and of
the Press is of the very essense of democracy. They further
say that it is the priceless gift which their ancestors have
bequeathed to^them in their Constitution.
But let us for a moment examine what had happened
in America in the World War of 1914-18. Students of his-
tory are aware of the Constitution of America. When the
Constitution was drafted, what is known as the Bill of
Rights was introduced as an amendment to the Constitu-
tion and the Bill of Rights was made part of the Constitu-
tion of that country. The very first clause of that Bill is
this:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establish-
ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the Press; or of the
right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances."
But let us see what the United States of America and
their Congress have done with regard to the liberty of
65
514 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
speech during the war. The very Congress which is
prohibited by the Constitution itself to abridge the free-
dom of speech and of the Press passed a number of laws
in one way or other restricting the freedom. I shall instance
a few of these laws.
1. The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited the
"gathering and dissemination of information regarding
National Defences, which may be useful and utilised by the
enemy." "False statements intended to aid the enemy
and interference with military discipline, and with recruit-
ing or enlistment in the military services" were made penal.
The punishment provided for such offences were staggering,
the maximum being, a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment
for twenty years.
By the same Act any written or pictorial matter which
transgressed the provisions of the Act was declared non-
mailable, thus placing great restrictions on the freedom of
the Press,
The Espionage Act is still in force. In 1940 a new Act
was passed greatly increasing the penalties under it and
providing punishment for "harbouring or concealing any
person who has committed or is about to commit any
offence under it."
2. While the Espionage Act was under consideration
several amendments were introduced in both Houses
for Censorship but they were all rejected. In the same
year 1917, however, the Trading with the Enemy Act was
passed under which "direct power of censorship over
communication between the United States and any
foreign country" was granted to the Government. This
Act also imposed many restrictions upon Foreign Language
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 515
Newspapers. Such newspapers were prohibited from
"publishing any item concerning the Government of the
United States or any Nation participating in the War or
concerning the War itself, unless they had previously filed
transactions with the Post-Master General. Such items
were not only made non-mailable but also the distribution
of such items was made unlawful.
3. Next came the Sedition Act of 1918. Under this
Act "making a false statement to interfere with the suc-
cess of the National Forces, obstructing the sale of Govern-
ment Bonds, inciting various forms of disobedience in the
military forces, obstructing enlistments, disloyal abuse of
Government, the Armed forces and the Flag, language
showing contempt of the form of the Government of the
United States or the Constitution or the military forces or
the Flag or the Uniform of the Army or Navy, promoting
the cause of the enemy or displaying the enemy Flag, inter-
ference with production necessary to the conduct of the
War, advocating any of the prohibited acts and favouring
by word or act, the cause of any country with which the
United States was at war and opposing the cause of the
United States" were made punishable.
4. On the top of this there was the Conscription Act
which compelled people to join the Armed forces of the
Country. The American Protective League consisting
purely of private citizens was given various powers. There
were one Jakh of members for this League in 1917 and two
and a half lakhs in 1918. They watched and discovered
the ablebodied persons who were evading Conscription
Act. They made enquiries into suspicious activities. They
detected spies, Fifth Columnists, and persons likely to
commit sabotage.
516 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
5. TKe Congress of tHe United States also authoris-
ed their President to have absolute control over all com-
munications such as the Telephone, the Telegraph, Cable,
Radio and Mails.
These laws and activities were no doubt very much
represented in America where they value the liberty of
speech and of the Press so much. But the laws were obey-
ed by the bulk of the nation and those who infringed them
were severely punished. And yet these laws were repug-
nant to the very Constitution of the country. Several laws
affecting alients are even now being passed imposing enor-
mous restrictions on their liberty of speech and associa-
tion and even their rights to be employed in Mills and fac-
tories are being taken away,
Now, what is there in the Defence of India Rules
against the liberty of speech and the liberty of the Press
which goes beyond the laws of the United States, Mark
the words in the above Acts: "disloyal abuse of the Govern*
ment and the armed forces" "showing contempt of the
existing forms of government" "any statement which
would aid the enemy or which interferes with recruitment
or enlistment." These are punishable under the American
laws. Do our own laws go further than these. It would
be easily admitted that the Defence of India Rules are cer-
tainly milder than the laws of the United States which as
stated above worship the very idea of democracy and the
liberty of speech and of the Press, Why were these restric-
tions imposed in America which defies the liberty of speech
and of the Press so much. What was it that made the
United States pass these laws. The reason is simple and
clear. The liberty of the individual is nothing compared
with the safety of the whole nation. If a time comes when
to allow liberty of speech and of the Press to the fullest.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 517
exten? might mean 'the 'destruction of the country or the
subjugation of the whole nation to a foreign power no
government, with the slightest sense of responsibility can
allow such liberty to the individual The liberty of the
individual can never be more important than the liberty of
the whole nation. When a country is defeated and becomes
subject to a foreign power, where will be the "liberty" of an
individual? In fact, it is in the interests of the liberty
of the individual that such liberty should be curtailed if
by such curtailing the danger to the nation can be averted
or reduced, That is why, in times of war speeches and
newspaper publications which are detrimental to the in-
terests of the country are strictly prohibited. Various
nations enforce various degrees of restriction of the liberty
of speech and of the Press in times of war.
The present Satyagraha movement is based on the
ground that freedom of speech is not allowed to the
people. This movement is doing a distinct disservice to
our country. They will be giving a handle to Hitler to
magnify it and carry on propaganda that there is a great
revolution in India against the British rule and that Indians
are not behind the British in their struggle against Ger-
many. It will give him an impression that this country
is full of only passive registers and hunger-strikers and that
he will have an easy time in invading India. The policy
of satyagraha, if followed for some more months, may
result in a calamity. It is beset with grave dangers. It
would adversely affect recruitment to the Army. It would
reduce the collection of subscription to the War Fund. It
would obstruct the sale of War Bonds. The country's
powers of defence will thus be crippled. All this is likely
to happen if unrestricted liberty of speech and of the Press
which helps the enemy and endangers the safety of our
518
own country be allowed. Such a liberty in War time and
in a crisis like the present will be simply suicidal.
The law of all civilised countries protects the indivi-
dual from slander and libel even in peace time. Much
more, therefore is the necessity for the law to abridge in
wartime the freedom of speech and of the Press, which may
endanger the safety of the whole nation.
LEGAL BASIS OF INDIAN STATES
BY
PROF. K. R. R. SASTRY, M.A., M.L.,
Law Dept. University, Allahabad
Very often the basis of paramountcy comes in for
examination. Paramountcy of the British Crown over
Indian States "appears to present a peculiar case of con-
quest operating by assumption and acquiscence."1
In order to examine the question of legal basis of
Indian States it is necessary to remember that there are
at present 601 Indian States, principalities, estates and
Jagirs.2 They have been variously classified in respect of
their de jure and de facto Status:
Lord Oliver's classification is very sound: —
I. Quasi-Sovereign States with treaties in which
Sovereignty and rights of internal Government have never
been surrendered.
II. Those in which certain rights of interference
have been established by treaty and whose independence is
thus partial and subject to effective supervision.
III. Great number of petty States the Sovereign
Control of which has been taken over by the transference
of their vassalage from some other Indian Sovereign
1. Westlake, "Collected Papers," p. 214.
2. Vide Memoranda on Indian States, 1940.
520 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
States which previously exercised or claimed dominion over
them.3
In respect of their membership of the Chamber of
Princes, the Butler Committee divided them into three
classes. Sirdar D. K. Sen divided them into seven classes.
The Veteran Indian administrator A. B. Latthe suggest-
ed a three-fold classification in a dynamic setting: —
I. States which have or may have as full powers of
internal autonomy as possible^
II. States which have or may have the same
powers of full internal autonomy consistently with their
being grouped together to form such units of a Federation.
III. States which have limited jurisdiction and
powers of legislation even at present and are not entitled
by treaty or usage to full jurisdiction and unlimited powers
of legislation.4
GENERAL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.
Many Indian States had maintained an independent
existence for hundreds of years and some States as Tra-
vancore, Jammu, Orchha, and Hyderabad and many of the
Rajput and other States have never been conquered or
annexed. It is true that some of the Indian States "had
been able to establish themselves in a position of practical
independence, yielding only a nominal allegiance to the
Emperors of Delhi and were able later to secure recognition
from the British Power."
3. Foreword to K. M. Panikkar's work on "Relations of
Indian States with the Government of India, p. VII.
4. A. B. Latthe "Problem of Indian States," pp. 7 and 8.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 521
The Status of some important Indian States at
the time when Treaties or Sanads were contracted with
them may here be indicated.
At no time was Travancore conquered and the
"Treaties were on the basis of two Sovereign States con-
tracting with each other, one of which no doubt was much
more powerful than the other and obtained favourable
terms."5
Cochin though a friendly State had the Treaty of 1809
after Britain suppressed the insurrection against the Bri-
tish power.
The Nizam of Hyderabad vis-a-vis the Moghul
Power had the Status of the Elector of Brandenbury or
Bavaria. He was treated as a "perpetual Ally" — Nay, the
East India Company bowed in compliment by offering 'bags
of gold' to the Great Moghul till 1842-43.
The Mysore Ruler owes his Status to a restoration
made by Britain Solely in virtue of the powers of the
British Government got through Conquest.
The Gaekwar of Baroda, except with reference to the
province of Okhamandel and the island of Bate wherein
Sovereignty was obtained through the grant of the East
India Company, was de jure Sovereign in his territory
through the right of Conquest and through functioning as
the "farmer" of revenue of territories under the Suzerainty
of the Peishwa.
Gwalior had a separate existence in law since the
Treaty of Salbai (1782) and the East India Company enter-
5. Reply of Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar dated 5th August,
1940.
522 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
ed into a treaty of alliance and mutual Defence (1803)
with Scindhia.
Rising in his stature from a soldier of fortune to that
of a de facto and de jure Sovereign of territories conquered
the Holkar of Indore had once a Status in law sufficient to
exact tributes from Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kotah,
Bomdie, and Karanli.
Dhar rebelled in 1857 and it was later restored after
confiscation.
Bhopal's Status in 1817 was that of a Sovereign de facto
and de jure.
Orchha is the only State in Bundelkhand which was
not held in subjection by the Peishwa. The Treaty of 1812
recognizes the ancient Sovereignty of the "possessions"
of the Rajah of Orchha.
With reference to the Rajaputana States they were
taken into 'protection' by the East India Company in their
attempt to erect a "barrier against" the Pindarees. These
Rajput States had thrown off the Shackles of control by
the Moghul Sovereign at the earliest time when it got weak.
Udaipur had continued her Sovereignty in spite of plunders
and exaction of Chauth, while she was taken into the pro-
tective system. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Alwar,
had separate Sovereign existence when they became allies.
Maharaja Ghulab Singh's title to Jammu, Ladakh
and Baltistan was through conquest; he acquired
Sovereignty over Kashmir by purchase, (Vide Art I and II
Treaty of Amritsar, 1846).
The Phulkian States of Patiala, Jind and Nabba had
'Sovereign' existence. They got further territories from
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 523
the British Government through Sanads for acts of
loyalty during the Mutiny (1857-58).
Of the Orissa States (26) owing to administrative
grouping the Superior States of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj
had not received sufficient recognition in later Sanads
issued to them unilaterally.
The Kathiawar States have been classified into five
classes. The Company's Sovereignty over them had to
start with a dual source flowing from the Peishwa and the
Gaekwar.
The Mediatized Chiefs of Central India were formerly
under tributary obligations to Scindia, Holkar, or the
powers of Dhar and Dewas and sometimes to all these
chiefs. These chiefs owe their present individuality to the
big arm of Britain.
LEGAL THEORY
The legal basis of all Treaty and Sanad States thus
rests on prior Sovereign Status or rendition and restoration
by the Paramount Power. (Examples of the latter: —
Mysore, Jhalawar, Benares) .
There is authority in legal theory for the view that a
weak State which in order to provide for its safety places
itself under the protection of n, more powerful one and
engages to perform in return several offices equivalent
to that protection without however divesting itself of the
right of Government and Sovereignty, does not cease to
rank among the Sovereigns. (Vide Grotius, Pufendrof and
Vattel for this view)".
It can only be stated tHat Indian States— in different
degrees and varieties of internal Sovereignty — have long
524
ago lost their recognition as persons of international law.
With Shreds of Sovereignty intact, with Rulers who have
some rights of foreign Sovereigns while travelling abroad,
with subjects who are British Protected Subjects while
travelling outside their States, the Status of Indian States is
quasi-in ternational.
While such is their legal basis, it is quite another
matter— essentially political cum administrative — whether
in the present posse of affairs — national as well as inter-
national— paramountcy should continue to be a "hospital
with numerous patients incurable but undying." No
violence would be done to treaty, Sanad, or engagement
if the existing 601 States are reduced to 200 as many petty
estates and Jaghirs have been the results of British Protec-
tion. That would be a matter for determination and deci-
sion by a Royal Commission appointed by the British
Crown.
WAS ASOKA AN UNQUALIFIED PACIFIST?
BY
R. SATHIANATHAIER, M.A., L.T,
A MILITARIST
Hindu sara, the father of Asoka, was a warlike emperor
whose achievements fell short of the conquest of Kalinga
or Orissa and were to some extent neutralised by a
confederacy of Tamil princes — a league which was power-
ful till its dismemberment about 165 B.C. He died about
273 B.C., and Asoka's career as a militarist followed. Bud-
dhist literary tradition emphasises his bloody fratricidal
struggle to secure the imperial throne of Pataliputra, and
represents him as Chanda (fierce) -Asoka in contradistinc-
tion to his later role as Dhamma (pious) -Asoka. Even
those who discredit that tradition will have to regard him
as an undiluted militarist in the light of his own account
of the Kalinga war waged by him about 261 B.C.
THE GREAT CARNAGE
Asoka's Rock Edict XIII describes the terrible carnage
resulting from his war with Kalinga and regards its dire
consequences as inevitable on the ground that that country
was "an unconquered country." He docs not tell us why
he attempted a conquest unattempted by his father or
grandfather. Reading between the lines of the edict in
question we are justified in thinking that the Kalinga war
was one of pure aggression. The people of Kalinga are not
stigmatised in that record as rebels, and if they were rebels,
Asoka would have made their rebellion a peg on which to
526 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
hang his moralisirgs. Therefore the theory of Kalinga's
revolt is ruled out, and that emperor in the early period of
his reign was responsible for a war of unprovoked
aggression.
PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTION
The unmerited sufferings of the people of Kalinga and
particularly of those practising Dhamma threw Asoka
into a reflective mood. He sincerely wept over the woes
of Kalinga and realised the criminality of aggressive
warfare, What is the character of Asoka's repentance?
How far did he abjure militarism and turn pacifist? It
is generally supposed that he became an unqualified
pacifist, that his new role affected the military strength
of the Maurya Empire adversely, and that his successors
inheriting his unwarlike policy became its victims; in
short, Asoka's unalloyed pacifism destroyed the roots of
India's national existence. Our question is whether he
hankered after peace at any cost, whether he regarded
aggressive warfare alone as sinful, or all warfare includ-
ing the defensive and punitive varieties of it. If he was
only against aggression, all the deductions from the
wrong interpretation of his new role are untenable. It is
hard to believe that Asoka, a militarist to the core on
the eve of the Kalinga war, was transformed out of recog-
nition by that war, that consideration whipped the offend-
ing Adam out of him completely, that in his case reforma-
tion came in a flood, and that his "Hydra-headed wilful-
ness" disappeared without leaving its marks on him.
Apart from probabilities, what are the facts of the case?
A QUALIFIED PACIFIST
Several considerations militate against the assumption
that Asoka was transmuted by the Kalinga war into a paci-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 527
r>T
fist sans phrase. No doubt he became a sadder and a wiser
man and eschewed aggressive warfare. He gave much
attention to the establishment oi beneficent administra-
tive norms, particularly in Kalinga in order to heal its
wounds. His outlook on life changed substantially, and
the empire as a whole was the beneficiary of that change.
Still Asoka did not cease to be an imperialist. He never
contemplated the rendition of Kalinga, the conquest of
which had rounded off the Maurya Empire. In Rock
Edict. XIIT he says: "Devanampriya (Asoka) thinks that
even (to one) who should wrong (him) what can be forgiven
is to be forgiven .... (The inhabitants of) the forests . . .
are told of the power (to punish them) which Devanampriya
(possesses) in spite of (his) repentance, in order that they
may be ashamed (of their crimes) and may not be
killed."* In the special Jaugada Edict II it is said with
reference to the border tribes of Kalinga that "the king
will forgive them what can be forgiven." Further, Asoka
exhorts his descendants not to make any navam vijayam or
new conquest. Thus his new-born passion for dhammavi-
jaya, or conquest by righteousness (not by the sword), was
not undisciplined, but strictly controlled by the needs of
an extensive empire. Morevcr, he stresses this world and
the next in his edicts. Therefore during the major part
of his long reign (c. 273-c. 232 B.C.) he stood for non-
aggression but not for absolute pacifism, and his sane
imperialist outlook, which was the outcome of the
Kalinga wrar, maintained the balance between the spiritual
and non-spiritual factors in life — a balance indispensable
to the progress and stability of civilisation.
*Dr. E. Hultzsch, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, I (1925),
p. 69 Ibid., p. 117.
RIGHT TO WORK
BY
P. SATYANARAYANAMURTI, B.A. (HoNS.),
HISTORY OF RIGHT TO WORK.
In ancient times the question of the right to work did
not arise at all, since the worker was a slave. During the
Middle Ages also things were almost the same. It was only
in modern times that some attempts were made to esta-
blish this right to work. Thus we find Robert Owen and
Fourier making this right one of the important items
of socialist agitation. Similarly in the Revolutionary
period, French workers were loud in their demand for the
right to work. But nothing was done in this direction. The
earlier Declarations of Rights in France and U.S.A. at the
end of the 18th Century do not contain a reference
to the Right to Work. Thus the French Declaration of the
Rights oi Man said "Men are bom and always continue
free, and equal in respect of their rights. Civil distinction
therefore can be only on public utility. The end of all politi-
cal associations is the preservation of the natural and im-
prescriptible rights of man and these rights are liberty, pro-
perty, security and resistance to oppression." The American
Declaration also runs on similar lines. They did not stress
the right to work, probably because the problem of
employment had not become acute at the end of the 18th
Century. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution the
nature of industrial organisation completely changed. Pro-
duction was no longer carried on in the cottage to order, the
529
instruments of production being owned by the worker him-
self. It was carried on in anticipation of demand. Due to
the introduction of machinery thousands of workers were
thrown out of employment. This problem of unempoyment
has become still more acute in the post-war period due to the
maladjustment brought about by the Great War. The
acuteness was further aggravated by the great depression,
and the following figures of unemployed men in the principal
countries in 1930 will clarify the position:
U. S. A. 8-3 millions
Germany 4*89 millions
England 2 '66 millions
France 0-85 millions
Italy 0'75 millions
Total in the principal countries: — 17*45 millions
This phenomenal figure of the unemployed led everyone
to think of the necessity of recognising the importance of
the right to work and the need to guarantee it. Thanks to
the constitution of the U.S.S.R. which guaranteed the right
to work by Article 118 of the Constitution the Right to
Work is now assured by the socialist organisation of the
national economy, by the steady growth of the productive
forces of Soviet society, by the elimination of the possi-
bility of economic crisis and by the abolition of unemploy-
ment.
MEANING AND IMPLICATIONS OF RIGHT TO WORK
The right to work can mean in the words of Laski "no
more than the right to be occupied in producing some
share of the goods and services which Society needs." It
does not mean the right to some particular work. A Prime
67
530 RAJAH SIR ANJVAMALAI CHETT1AR
Minister who has been overthrown has not the right to
be provided with the labour of an identical character.
Society cannot afford each man the choice of the efforts
he will make. It also means that the man who is deprived
of the opportunity to work is entitled to the equivalent
reward of that opportunity i.e., when an individual is
thrown out of employment and no work can be found for
the time being, it is the duty of the State to provide him
with a maintenance. Every well-ordered State should have
a system of unemployment benefit to which the working
people themselves would make some contribution. In
Laski's judgement "the principle of insurance against un-
employment is integral to the conception of the State."
To be his best self, man must work and — absence of work
means provision, until employment again offers the
opportunity to work. (ibid). But a bonus or allowance to
which the individual himself has not contributed a certain
share does not commend itself to us. It is bound to in-
crease pauperism and demoralise the Working Classes.
The lot of the pauper is not to be made better than that
of the hard-working independent labourer.
A man has not only the right to work but he has also
the right to be paid an adequate wage for his labour, i.e.,
a wage necessary for "creative citizenship." All men need
food, clothing and shelter, a certain amount of leisure
and opportunity for education and culture for the deve-
lopment of the best that is in them and no one should be
allowed to fall below this standard. "The right to an ade-
quate wage" says Laski "does not imply equality of income,
but it does imply that there must be a sufficiency for all
before there is superfluity for some."
The right to safety and security, leisure and education
are all corolaries to the right to work. Conditions of safety
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 531
to prevent any accidents during work is of utmost import-
ance. Material security in old age and also in case of sick-
ness or loss of capacity to work ought to be guaranteed. A
certain amount of leisure and education are also essential.
Thanks to the Factory Acts which guarantee these to some
extent, all these privileges now enjoyed by the workers will
ultimately result in the increased efficiency of the great fac-
tor of production — labour. In addition to all these, it is
better that the worker is also given a share in the govern-
ment of the industry, because otherwise economic freedom
will be incomplete,
Finally the right to work also implies the duty to work.
No doubt the worker has several rights over the State and
the Employer. But he must also remember that he has got
a duty to the employer arid the community. He must be
ready to work and continue at work until the contract is at
an end, while the employer is also under the same obliga-
tion to continue until tho contract is lawfully put an end
to. He has a duty to be reasonably competent and fit for
his work rind position. Ho has a duty to be honest i.e., he
should not take secret commissions or discounts or exploit
his knowledge of the employer's business for his own
aggrandisement. He has to perform his work in a spirit
of sympathy and co-operation as far as possible. Lastly
he has also a duty to maintain reasonable economic peace
by not resorting to Strikes on flimsy grounds.
CONCEDING THE RIGHT TO WORK
At the present day the importance of guaranteeing the
right to work is established beyond doubt. In spite of this
view, the Capitalist Society has not been found competent
to meet the right demand of the worker. So long as man
continues to live he must have the necessary resources for
532 RAJAH Sltf ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
existence. Work alone provides the great majority
of mankind with means of subsistence. But
the apparently inexorable laws of capitalist economy
drive a considerable section of the working classes
to a state of unemployment in a world which is
seemingly governed by economic lunacy. Many millions
of people live lives of semi-starvation and unemployment
because States will not organise access to the natural re-
sources of the World. Vast portions of the World's surface
are left untilled because of the false sense of economic
nationalism. Similarly until internationalism reaches the
stage where international trade is controlled by the Econo-
mic Council of a powerful League of Nations, it will be
criminal for any country to neglect to develop to the ut-
most its own national resources and to leave its population
to shift for themselves on the precarious circumstances of
foreign markets. The problem of unemployment can be
solved only by the provision of more work. But this is
possible only when there is an effective demand for the
goods and services produced by labour. Unemployment is
capable of solution by the scientific organisation of produc-
tion and distribution by rendering effective the demand of
the bulk of the population for the commodities produced;
by stopping national expenditure on unremunerative pur-
poses; by the better equipment of industrial workers of all
grades; by the fuller development of the resources of the
world; by the removal of artificial barriers to the free flow
of international commerce and by the disarmament of all
nations by a powerful supernational League of Nations.
The International Association of unemployment organised
in 1910 should get more support from all. There should
be provision in every country for compulsory insurance
against unemployment to which contributions will be
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 533
made by the State, the Employers and the workers. Ger-
many under Bismarck led the world in this direction by
the provision of Unemployment Insurance by the Act of
1894. By the National Insurance Act of 1911, unemploy-
ment insurance was secured in certain groups in England.
In the post-war period it was greatly developed in all coun-
tries and in 1924 the labour government in England adopted
a scheme to solve unemployment. In short compulsory
unemployment insurance has been the main future in the
post-war period.
Labour should be accorded ready access to em-
ployment by establishing employment bureaux subsidised
by the State for workers. The earliest private establish-
ment of this kind was started in Germany in 1865. Later
on between 1893-1900, 85 such bureaux were erected.
Berlin Re^ster established in 1883 worked successfully and
in 1908 it secured work for 120,000 men. In 1909 Mr.
Churchill introduced the Labour Exchange Bill and by
1915 there were about 401 such exchanges.
"Home Lodging Houses" and "Public Relief Stations"
were also started in Germany to improve the lot of the
workers during periods of unemployment. Such organisa-
tions should be popularised everywhere.
The crux of the problem is, can any economic system
guarantee this right to work? Capitalism, in which unem-
ployment is inherent, is the negation of the right to work.
Under Capitalism production is carried on in anticipation
of demand and the only motive is profit. There is no cen-
tral planning. Hence economic crises are inevitable, and
this results in unemployment. In spite of this great
handicap capitalism can try to do something by a careful
public works policy and a suitable monetary policy and by
534 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
providing unemployment insurance etc. But the real pro-
blem will still remain unsolved.
Is the Socialist system then better for tackling the
problem of unemployment and for guaranteeing the right
to work? According to Pigou a Socialist system with its
central planning is better than Capitalism for this purpose,
because factors of production can be easily adjusted in a
nationalised economy. But this advantage of Socialism
over Capitalism is nullified by other drawbacks of Social-
ism. The proper balance between State authority and
individual initiative is entirely and ruthlessly suppressed
by Socialism which stands for the omnipotence of the
State.
Strange as it may sound Socialism is not social.
It is even aggressively anti-social. The summary
abrogation of even the most elementary human rights and
the starving wages that it pays to its enslaved labourers in
Russia are facts made known to the World by convinced
Socialists and Communists on their return from the so-
called paradise of Soviet workers. Men who went to
search for truth in Russia were all bitterly disappointed
and disillusioned when they saw the horrors of the Soviet
regime.
Another anti-social aspect of socialism is the class-war
which if its object materialised would mean the end of all
economic organisation. Class-war is an artificial engine,
not the natural outgrowth of a working economic system
since economically "capital cannot do without labour nor
labour without capital."
Above all, under Socialism the incentive for work is
lost and consequently there will be a fall in the national
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 535
income. The per capita income will go down and the posi-
tion of the poor will not be universally improved even when
you transfer wealth from the rich to the poor. We are one
with Sidgwick when he says "I object to Socialism not be-
cause it divides product badly but because there will be so
much less to divide."
Neither Capitalism nor Socialism can, as they exist
to-day concede the right to work. Various and varied
have been the suggestions of the Economists. The corpo-
rate idea seems to come nearest to conceding this right to
work. The corporate State in Italy is based on the idea that
the Marxian interpretation of a class- war in Society is
fundamentally wrong. Workers and employers are to be
considered partners in performing one social function name-
ly, production. And therefore an attempt should be made
to bring together labourer and employer in institutions
recognised and directed by the State. It is an attempt to
abolish the evils of Capitalism not by abolishing private
property but by regulating it in the interest of the com-
mon good. At present the experiment works because of
the dictatorship behind it. It is too early to say whether
it can work without the power of the State behind it. But
its principle — collaboration between Capital and Labour
and not antoganism — is sound.
The corporative Society which results from private
initiative of free men organising themselves with the
approval of the State, like the one in Portugal is said to
be the best. According to this idea individuals have the
freedom to associate into groups representing profes-
sions recognised by the State. Such corporative bodies are
autonomous bodies and stand midway between Individual-
ism and complete State control They should represent
536 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
both employers and employees in equal number and should
receive guidance at the hands of the State. These associa-
tions may form themselves into national guilds and may
be given the authority to regulate wages, hours of work,
marketing, insurance and other things which are of com-
mon interest. The professional interest can be incorporac-
ed into common interests with the necessary amendments
which the State may deem necessary. It must be simple,
intelligible and free from all undue control from the State.
Though even here there are difficulties human as well as
technical, they can be avoided if the scheme is worked with
proper goodwill on the side of the State and citizens on the
one hand and on the bonds of common interests of the em-
ployers and employees on the other. Then only the worker's
needs arid in particular his right to work will be better under-
stood both by the employers and by the State in order that
this long cherished right to work might be safeguarded.
CONCLUSION
The worker with his right to work has now become a
force to be reckoned with. In Mexico and Russia, he even
succeeded in capturing political power, while Labour Par-
ties were occasionally successful in establishing their govern-
ments in some democracies like England and France. The
most potentially powerful movement in the coming gene-
rations might be organised labour. There is now a definite
swing towards socialism in all countries. Radical labour
opinion is veering round to communism. If communist dic-
tatorship is to be averted the present capitalist system
must be cleansed of its anamolies. Corporative democracy,
containing the salutary features of corporativism and
Socialism is the only solution for the future polity and
economy of the World. Corporative democracy will be a
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 537
synthesis of the best elements of all political doctrines,
allowing the Capitalist and the worker a large measure of
freedom.
In conclusion it must be said that the case for the
right to work is immense and it is the duty of the State,
whatever economic system it may have, to guarantee this
right to the worker. The nature and functions of the State
have undergone a thorough change and it is no longer a
Police State of the 18th Century. The Social-Service State
of the 20th Century is under the obligation to guarantee
this right to work in order that it may fulfil its mission.
THE MYSTERY OF THE UNBORN.
(Garbha-Upaniskad to Entwicklungsmechanik) .
BY
R. V. SESHAIYA, M.A.,
"The One Spirit's plastic stress
Sweeps through the dull, dense world, compelling
there
All new successions to the forms they wear" — Shelly.
Life presents many wonders and riddles, but the
greatest of them all is the power of individual development
possessed by living creatures. A minute drop of living
jelly or protoplasm floating on the top of the yolk in the
hen's egg takes gradually the form of the bird and hatches
out as the chick in three weeks. The minute fertilised
egg or ovum of the elephant gives rise to the baby elephant
as a result of a creative differentiation of six hundred and
fifty days during which new elephant tissue appears at the
rate of fourteen pounds a day. Mouse and man alike have
similar minute, and apparently insignificant beginnings.
The fertilised ovum of the mouse differentiates itself into
the baby mouse in twenty one days at the average rate of
one-fourth ounce of mouse tissue per day. The human
egg, almost invisible to the naked eye, being a mere blob
of living matter of about 0*13 mm. in diameter
passes through a series of kaleidoscopic changes to
attain the human form and organisation in nine months,
and is ushered into the world as the seven pound baby.
539
How does the simple, often microscopic egg, in
which no trace of its future destiny can be detected, deve-
lop into the complex organisation of the adult? What
brings about the differentiation of the various organs
of the future adult? And how do the several parts that be-
come differentiated in development get integrated into the
unified organism? How comes about the co-ordination of
the various events of development in space as well as in
time? These questions, which Constitute the subject of
embryology, have puzzled laymen, scientists and philoso-
pers alike in all ages, and various theories, fanciful and
speculative, philosophical and scientific, have been invent-
ed in all ages to explain the mystery of development — how
the unborn becomes the born.
Among the ancient Hindu writers, the authors of the
Garbha-Upanishad, and also Charaka and Sushruta, refer
to the problem of human development. The Garbha-
Upanishad describes the development of the human
embryo as follows: — "It is semi-fluid in the first night;
in seven nights it is like a bubble; at the end of half a month
it becomes a ball. At the end of a month it is hardened;
in two months the head is formed; in three months, the
region about the feet; and in the fourth month the region
about the stomach and loins and also ankle is formed; in
the fifth month, the back (or spinal) bone; in the sixth, the
face of the nose, eyes, and ears; in the seventh it becomes
united with Jiva ( Atma) ; in the eighth month, it becomes
full (of all organs) ; in the ninth, it becomes fatty."
It will be interesting to compare this account of the
development of the human embryo with the findings ^ of
modern embryology. Human embryologists distinguish
three main periods during the intra-uterine period of
540 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHE1TIAR
development: the period of the ovum or egg, from fertili-
sation to the formation of germ-layers, lasting for about
ten to fourteen days, the period of the embryo, until the
embryo has assumed a definitely human appearance, till the
end of the second month; and the period of the foetus.
None of the very young developing eggs have ever been
observed, the earliest stage that has been observed being
about eleven days old. Modern accounts of the very
early development of the human embryo are to a large
extent inferences from the study of rabbit, monkey and
other closely related animals. It is therefore all the more
remarkable that the Garbha-Up.'inishad should have des-
cribed the appearance of the early stages by suggestive
and fairly correct comparisons. "Like a bubble" in seven
nights, "Like a ball" in a fortnight are fairly apt compari-
sons of the early mammalian embryo. At the end of a
month the human embryo is about 6 mm., and
shows an increase of about fifty times in size and
eight thousand times in weight. In the second
month the human embryo (8 mm. to 25 mm. in length),
develops what is unmistakably a human face, and
a very markedly distinct head which forms about one-half
of the entire body. "In three months the region about the
feet," is quite a correct statement, for the feet become well
diffrentiated and are no longer paddle like as in the pre-
vious stages. During the fourth month the external sex-
organs develop from an indifferent neutral stage to those
characteristic of each sex; the head is about a third of the
body, for the region about the belly increases in size;
the arms and legs are rotated into their final positions,
in which the elbows point backward, the knee forwards,
and the soles of the feet face downward and away from
the body/ "In the fourth month the region about the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 541
stomach and loins and also the ankle is formed." In the
fifth month the body axis is straightened, the head is per-
fectly erect and the back is "almost unbelievably" straight,
more straight than it ever will be. In the sixth month the
eyelids, fused since their formation in the third month,
open. "The sixth month foetus, if born, will breathe, cry,
and squirm;" it will live for a few hours. "In the seventh
month the embryo becomes united with Jiva". The
seventh month embryo is frequently able to survive
premature birth; the nervous system is sufficiently deve-
loped to meet the demands of independent life; the cere-
bral hemispheres develop to such an extent that they
cover almost the whole of the rest of the brain; they begin
to show fissures and grooves. Moreover the embryo of
the seventh month is sensitive to touch, possesses the sen-
sation of taste, and can probably perceive the differences
between darkness and light. The eighth and ninth
months are concerned mainly in giving the finishing touches
to the foetus preparatory to being ushered into a new
world.
One cannot fail to be impressed by the soundness of the
observations of the Garbha-Upanishad. They could not
have been the creations of mere fancy. But the same
cannot be said of the account of Charaka and Sushruta ( and
Dhanvantari too) who held the view that in the egg or
fertilised ovum all the organs of the adult organism were
present, and that development was merely the unfolding
of what was already present in the egg. A similar view,
the preformation view as it is called, was held by many of
the European Scientists till about the nineteenth century.
Interesting as some of the observations of the ancient
Hindu writers are, they do not constitute the science of
542 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
embryology, and we do not seem to have any references to
the development of animals. Regarding the causal fac-
tors, the prevalent view was that Life or Prana is an inde-
pendent principle which regulates the development of the
ovum. "The Life is prior to the senses, for it regulates the
development of the fertilised ovum which would putrefy
if it were not living, and the sense? with their apparatus
develop subsequently out of the ovum"— Sankara, Sari-
raka Bhasya, Chapter II, Pada 4, Sutra 9.
For the foundations of Scientific cmbroyology we have
to look to Greece, and in particular to Aristotle who took
all knowledge for his province and is recognised as the
father of Zoology as of other branches of knowledge. Aris-
totle's "De Generatione Animalum" deals with the deve-
lopment of animals. Though the observations embodied
in it are not all accurate Aristotle's insight and interpreta-
tion of the phenomena command our respect. We must
mention in particular his criticism of erroneous
theories like the preformation theory and the theory of
Pangenesis. It is interesting to note that these theories
were revived later in Europe, and that Charles Darwin was
the exponent of the latter theory.
After Aristotle, the study of the development of
animals received no attention, all through the eras of
fettered thought, and even long after. It was only during
the thirties of the last century that the foundations of
modern embryology were laid by the publication of Von
Baer's treatise on the Development of animals with obser-
vations and reflections. The publication of Darwin's 'Ori-
gin of Species' gave an additional impetus, and a host of
'distinguished workers investigated the various animal
types and revealed a wealth of extremely interesting facts
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 543
relating to the development of animals. And it came to
be recognised that no division of Biology is more fascinat-
ing than Embryology. In the words of Minot "The stories
which embryology has to tell are the most romantic known
to us, and the wildest imaginative creations of Scott or Du-
mas are less startling than the innumerable and incredible
shifts of role and change of character which embryology has
to entertain us with in her life-histories."
The story of animal development is briefly as follows:
i. All animals except the lowest begin as fertilised
egg, or zygote, as it is called. The egg itself is the result of
the union of the sperm or male germ cell and ovum or female
germ cell. There are a few cases of animals developing
without fertilisation of the egg, which are spoken of as
Virgin birth' or 'parthenogenesis.' The eggs of some ani-
mals can be induced artificially to develop without fertili-
sation.
ii. The fertilised eggs vary in size, and in the amount
and distribution of reserve food material or yolk contain-
ed in them. The eggs of birds are large owing to the
enormous amount of yolk in them. The eggs of most
animals are very small.
iii. The first steps in the development of the egg are
more or less the same in all animals. The egg divides into
smaller and smaller cells without growing in size at all, till
there is a ball of small cells instead of a single cell. This
process is called segmentation or cleavage and forms the
first chapter of development.
The pattern of cleavage, however is not the same in
all animals, but varies much, being dependent on the
amount and distribution of yolk in the egg. The bird's
egg which has a large amount of yolk does not segment as
544 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
a whole; only the superficial patch of protoplasm divides
and forms a little plate of cells, the blastoderm. Eggs with
little or no yolk like the human egg or sea-urchin's egg
divide as a whole and into equal parts. In some other
animals the egg may divide as a whole, but the products
of the division, the blastomeres, as they are called, may
not be equal.
iv. The ball of cells resulting from cleavage is usu-
ally hollow, enclosing a central cavity, and is termed a
blastula. In some animals the blastula is a solid ball, and
in others as in the bird it is represented by a plate of cells.
v. The cells forming the blastula next begin to
arrange themselves to constitute the chief foundations of
the future organism. By the tucking in of some portion,
or by the growing over of some of the cells over the rest, or
by the splitting of some portions, the cells move into
new positions, and a two-layered and then a three-layered
embryo is produced. The outer is the ectoderm, the
middle is the mesoderm, and the inner the endoderm.
These three layers form the material out of which the dif-
ferent organs are subsequently built up.
vi. Next begins the mysterious process of differentia-
tion of tissues and organs. Imagine a lump of plastic material
— plastic marble, if that were possible moulding itself into a
group of bricks, the bricks arranging themselves gradu-
ally into foundation stones, basement structures, then
pillars, walls, arches, etc., and finally shaping themselves
into a noble and magnificent edifice like the Taj Mahal. 'A
miracle' you would say. What the embryologist sees is no less
marvellous. The three germinal layers, the ectoderm, meso-
derm, and endoderm, become moulded by foldings,
ingrowths, outgrowths, thickenings, and finally give rise to
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 545
the rudiments of tissues and organs. Out of the ecto-
derm or outer skin of the embryo arise gradually the ner-
vous system, sense organs, and skin; out of the mesoderm
the muscles, blood vessels, heart, the ovaries and testes, and
the skeletal structures. Jn the development of every
animal these various processes occur in orderly sequence.
To take but one instance, the first indication of the ner-
vous system is a thickening of the middle region of the
back of the embryo from one end to the other. This is the
nerve plate or neural plate. The sides of this thickening
rise up as folds, grow, meet above and form a tube. The
tube sinks beneath the outer skin or ectoderm.
The front portion of this tube — the nerve tube — swells
up, and later undergoes many changes to form the brain.
The remaining portion of the tube is transformed gradually
into the spinal cord. Whether it is the embryo of fish, frog,
snake, bird or man, the same orderly sequence of events are
seen in the early stages of the development of the brain.
vii. Generally as one watches the development of the
animal from the apparently simple homogeneous egg into
the complex organism, one cannot help the impression that
the panaromic representation of the various stages is all
preordained, and that the embryo is travelling to a definite
goal, the formation of a replica of the parent. Development
is an intricate web woven by the three Sisters, the three
Fates. At every stage, development is seen to have spun out
of the past, and also to be enmeshing the future. The
various stages, blastula, gastrula etc., are merely cross-
sections in time of one organic process of development.
In some animals the path of development instead of
being straight, is devious and the embryo has to assume
temporary forms and structures quite different from those
69
546 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
of the adult and unconnected with the main line of deve-
lopment. The butterfly's eggs developing into cater-
pillar and chrysalis or pupal stages before attaining
the form of the butterfly, and the eggs of the frog
developing into fish-like tadpoles are familiar examples of
this kind of indirect development. There are many other
examples of animals travelling a tortuous road in develop-
ment. It is not always easy to explain why the develop-
ment should be complicated by the interpolation of larval
stages.
Development is generally one of progressive differen-
tiation and increasing complexity of the organism; but
this is not always so. Some organisms, after a period of
initial differentiation retrace their steps, and undergo
de-differentiation or retrograde development. The most
striking example is that of the Ascidian or sea-squirt. The
adult creature shows no trace of semblance of an animal
It is like a sac, leading a vegetating existence attached to
some rock in the sea. The eggs of the Ascidian develop
into tadpole like creatures, with the distinct organisation
of the back-boned animals. After a period of free-swim-
ming life, the creature settles down on a rock, and a
thorough overhauling of the organisation takes place, in
which important members of the larval body like eyes, the
supporting structure— the notochord etc., are discarded.
Thus the tadpole like creature is transformed into the
Ascidian. Many parasites and sedentary animals complete
their development in a similar manner by putting back the
clock of development. The study of the development of
various animals reveals another interesting feature. The
early embryos of the fish, lizard, bird and mammal are
very much alike. The resemblance is not merely in the
general form, but also in the presence of some of the in-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 547
ternal organs, and in the general development of the
various organs. A human embryo of about four or tive
weeks is provided with gill slits like those present in the
sharks. Such resemblances led to the formulation of the
famous Recapitulation theory or Biogenetic law of Haeckel.
This hypothesis explains the resemblances between the
embryos of the various groups by supposing that develop-
ment is influenced by the evolutionary history of the race,
and that the developing embryo repeats in a general way
and in a certain measure the history of the race. The
resemblance of the tadpoles of the frog to the young
stages of the fish is explained by the fact that the Amphi-
bians or frogs and their allies are evolved from fish-like
ancestors.
Such are the general features of animal development.
There are endless variations in the details of each and
every process in the different groups of animals. But all
these do not explain the mystery of development. By
saying to at the egg becomes a blustula or that the brain
is formed out of the outer skin of embryo, the mystery is not
solved. Till about the eighties of the last century, students
of development concerned themselves mainly with the des-
cription of the kaleidoscopic series of transformations
undergone by the embryo in the progress of development.
The more orthodox adherents to the recapitulation theory
interested themselves in interpreting development as an
historical process, and investigations on the development of
animals served only to reconstruct their genealogy, or
visualise their hypothetical ancestors. "Hypotheses" said
Goethe, "are the cradle songs with which the teacher lulls
his pupils to sleep, " and the Recapitulation hypothesis of
Haeckel was no exception. But, in the year 1880 Wil-
helm Roux broke away from the established tradition of
548 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAJ CHETTIAR
embryologists and initiated the experimental enquiry into
the causal factors of development. He plunged a hot needle
into one of the two blastomeres in the two-celled stage of
the developing frog's egg. By this action, which he com-
pares to the dropping of a bomb on a newly started factory,
the uninjured half of the egg developed into a half-embryo,
and later on became a complete embryo. The significance
of this result does not concern us now. What
interests us now is the inauguration of the experimental
method or Entwicklungsmechanik as Roux christened it or
the "causal embryology" as Brachet termed it. Thousands
of experiments have been made since the time of Roux on
the embryos of animals to analyse the developmental pro-
cesses and discover the causal factors underlying the pro-
cesses. The place of honour among the investigators of
experimental embryology is held by Spernann, the Nobel
Laureate.
The new school of embryology has developed a very
delicate technique, requiring great skill on the part of the
operator. Micro-surgical operations on the minute em-
bryos, like cutting the minute segmenting egg into two or
more bits, removing a small part of the embryo, or rudi-
ment of an organ, and grafting it in another place in the
same embryo or in another embryo of the same species, or
even of a different species, and sometimes into the body
of the adult, cultivation of the embryos in vitro or artifi-
cial cultures with normal environment or with modified
or controlled environment, inducing the growth of organs
in abnormal situations in the embryo, inducing the
production of monstrosities, treatment of embryos
with poisons to detect the susceptibility of the different
parts of the embryo to poisons, — these are the chief methods
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 549
employed by the investigators in the study of causal
embryology.
The results of the experimental school of embryology
have given us a better insight than before into the organi-
sation of the egg and the latent factors of development.
With regard to the organisation of the fertilised egg
we no longer regard it as simple and unorganised as it
appears at first sight. But we do not imagine with Sush-
ruta and the seventeenth and eighteenth century pref orma-
tionists that a miniature replica of the adult organism is
concealed in it to jump out of it like 'Jack in the Box', or to
unfold like the petals of a flower bud, or 'develop' like the
exposed photographic plate.
The visible organisation of the egg includes the
double set of chromosomes in the nucleus, and sometimes
there is patent a regional differentiation in the cytoplasm
surrounding the nucleus, which may be due to the unequal
distribution of the yolk and pigment. The chromosomes
carry the hereditary factors or genes which are contribut-
ed jointly by the paternal and maternal germ cells, the
sperm and ovum. But one set of chromosomes alone are
sufficient so far as development is concerned, as we can see
from cases of virgin birth or parthenogenesis. These genes
are potential hereditary characters which can find an ex-
pression only in the later stages of development and in the
adult. They do not seem to be responsible for initiating
the early stages of development.
We must look rather to the cytoplasm for the factors
which are known to convert the apparently static egg into
the dynamic embryo. In the case of some animals like the
frog, even the unfertilised egg shows a differentiation into
550 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
a pigmented animal pole, and a light coloured heavily
yolked vegetative pole. The distribution of the yolk and
pigmentation, the position of the nucleus etc., bring about
such a differentiation. In the frog the animal pole
indicates the future head end of the animal, and the
vegetative pole the tail end. This differentiation into poles
is called polarity and is the primary expression of the egg's
organisation.
How does the egg get differentiated into the animal
pole or potential head end, and the vegetative pole or
potential tail end? In some animals, at any rate, this dif-
ferentiation is due to a high rate of oxidational or meta-
bolic activity at one end, and a very low rate at the other.
Between the two ends there is a graded difference in the
metabolic rate. This is spoken of as the axial gradient.
Yolk which is readily oxidisable is confined to the region
of the lowest metabolic rate, which becomes the vegeta-
tive pole, and the opposite end becomes the animal pole.
The axial gradient in its turn is due to another factor,
which however is not in the egg but outside. This is the
proximity of the egg to the blood cells in the ovary of the
mother. Thus an external factor determines in the egg
which is to be the future head end and which the future
tail end.
The next step of differentiation — we refer once
again to the frog's egg — is the establishment of bilateral
symmetry. This is possible only when the dorsal and
ventral sides are determined, and this is done by the entry
of the sperm into the egg in the act of fertilisation. When
the sperm enters the egg on one side, the pigment on the
opposite side is sucked up, and a grey crescent appears ex-
actly opposite to the point where the sperm enters. This
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 551
grey crescent is the future dorsal surface. The dorsoven-
tral axis represents another axial gradient, the dorsal side
being the region of the highest metabolic activity. There
is yet another gradient formed in the egg, from the surface
to the centre. Thus the fertilised egg is a complex system
with a definite organisation indicated by the axial gradients.
The egg is now set for further development, for with
fertilisation the dynamic nature of the egg becomes mani-
fest. It is not as yet visibly differentiated into different
structures. Only the different parts show a quantitative
difference in the metabolic rate. The next step is the
establishment of a qualitative difference between the dif-
ferent portions, so that each will develop into a particular
structure. The visible change that comes over the egg next
to fertilisation is cleavage, as we have seen already. The
American school of embryologists led by Wilson have
carried out painstaking investigations into the history of
each cell or blastomere of the dividing egg, and revealed
the meaning of the process of cleavage. The egg becomes
a mosaic of blastomeres each of which seems to be set apart
for the formation of some specific part of the embryo. The
experiment of Roux was made to see whether one of the
blastomeres in the two-celled stage would give rise to a full
embryo or half embryo. In some animals, even as late as
the thousand-cell stage, any one blastomere, if isolated,
may give rise to a complete embryo. In other animals
each of the cells in the two-celled stage can give rise only
to a half -embryo. These observations lead us to infer that
the material for the formation of the specific portions of
the embryo is separated or set apart at a very early stage
in the development of some eggs, but much later in others.
The former are called mosaic eggs and the later regulation
eggs.
552 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
What is it that brings about the differentiation during
cleavage? Is it the nucleus? Can it not be that differences
between the nuclei, due to unequal divisions bring about
the differentiation during cleavage? Spemann performed
a very interesting experiment which shows that the nucleus
is not responsible for this differentiation. He tied a hair
round the fertilised egg of a newt pinching it into a dumbell-
shape in such a way that the nucleus came to lie at one
end, while the other end was without the nucleus. In
course of time the end with the nucleus segmented while
the other end did not segment. After several divisions had
taken place, he loosened the loop and allowed a nucleus
lying nearest to the end without a nucleus to pass into it.
Then the loop was tightened again. This second end now
began to segment, and it developed not into any special
part of the embryo, but into a whole embryo, though it
contained, as compared with the other portion only a frac-
tion of the nuclear material to start with. Thus the poten-
tiality of one or many nuclei seems to be the same.
Recently Dalcq has put forward an hypothesis to explain
how the egg is roused to activity. He supposes that the
nuclear sap mixes with the cytoplasm while the ovum is
ripening, and partly diffuses into the outer part or cortex
of the egg. The cortical portion has some inhibiting in-
fluence on the egg, which is changed at the time of ferti-
lisation. At fertilisation the cortical substance is split up
and provides the substances which bring about differ-
entiation, segregation etc. Leaving alone the details,
what we have to note is that the cytoplasm contains the
factors for the differentiation during cleavage.
When the frog is in the blastula stage, no differentia-
tion is visible in it except in the size of the blastomeres and
the pigmentation of the cells of animals and vegetal poles.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 553
The smaller dark coloured cells are destined to give rise to
the ectoderm and the larger light coloured to the endoderm.
But at this stage the egg is 'plastic' except in the region of
the crescent, and the parts are interchangeable. A por-
tion of the pigmented region the potential or presumptive
ectoderm can be transplanted into the .light coloured region
or region of the presumptive endoderm. In the same way
the presumptive endoderm can be transplanted into the
dark coloured region, and it will grow into the ectoderm.
In other words what is to become the outer skin may be made
to grow into the inner skin, and vice versa. But this 'plas-
ticity' is lost when the blastula becomes a gastrula, and the
ectoderm cannot be exchanged for the endoderm, or the
endoderm for the ectoderm. The embryo is at this stage
invisibly marked out into a number of regions chemically
different from one another. In other words there is a
qualitative differentiation now, and the fate of each part
of the embryo is now fixed. This is usually spoken of a
chemodifferentiation. In the eggs of the regulation type
this occurs late as in the frosj, but in the eggs of the
mosaic type this takes place very early.
Though the epg is analysable into a number of chemi-
cally different fields, there is as yet no visible differentia-
tion into different structures. There now appears a new
feature which brings about a visual organisation in the
embryo. Gastrulation in the frog takes place by the
appearance of a lip-like structure in the region of the
grey crescent. This is called the dorsal lip of the blasto-
pore. We are not concerned with the details of gastrula-
tionf but we must remember this dorsal lip, for it is a re-
markable structure. Normally, the nerve plate, the axial
supporting: rod of the embryo, the notochord which officiates
as the 'backbone' in the embryo, all these axial structures
70
554 RAJAH SIR AMVAMALAI CHETTIAR
are formed in the meridian of the dorsal lip of the blasto-
pore. But if the dorsal lip is transplanted into some
abnormal place, the nerve plate and the notocord are deve-
loped there under the influence of the dorsal lip of the blasto-
pore. There are two kinds of newts, one with dark colour-
ed eggs, and another with light or white coloured eggs.
Spemann took the dorsal lip from the light coloured egg and
transplanted it into a dark coloured egg. Thus the dark
coloured embryo had two dorsal lips, one its own, and the
other the transplanted one. The embryo now developed two
notochords, nerve plates (or brains) , one set its own and the
other 'imposed'! And it was from the tissues of the dark
coloured embryo that the light coloured blastopore organis-
ed the organs. The dorsal lip of the blastopore is there-
fore called an organiser, for it organises the embryo
wherever it is placed. It is the focus about which the embryo
is organised. It has been found out that the organising
power of the organiser is due to a chemical substance pre-
sent in it. Another interesting feature is that the organiser
from a toad will organise the axial structures in the newt.
And foreign tissues or agar after being in contact with the
organiser for some time become infected with organising
capacity, and may be used for organising the axial
structures in an embryo. But the organiser can act only
on competent tissues. In the particular case under con-
sideration, the tissues are competent at the time of gastru-
lation. Provided the tissues are 'competent' in this sense,
it does not matter whether it is ectoderm or endoderm
or mesoderm on which the organiser is acting; the organi-
ser will induce the formation of the embryonic structures.
But the power or effect of the organiser will vary accord-
ing to tHe region on which it is acting. The front end of
the nerve plate will be induced to develop into the brain,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 555
the hinder part into tiie spinal cord, and so on. The
chemical substance extracted from the organiser will
'evoke' the formation of the nerve plate, but will not effect
this 'individuation' into brain, spinal cord etc. So it is
assumed that there are two factors in respect of the action
of the organising centre. One is the 'evocator', a chemical
substance which will merely induce the formation of a
nerve plate from competent tissue, and the other is sup-
posed to be the 'individuation field' which determines
what part of the nerve plate shall be induced. Through
its evocator — a chemical substance — the organiser brings
about induction, through its 'indivicluation tielcT it effects
organisation of that which is induced.
A central military authority may issue from its head-
quarters a general command for the mobilisation of troops
for defence, but the particular form of defence which has
to be organised and into which the command has to be
translated will depend on the regional relationship of the
troops. The mobilisation which is due to the command
from the central authority is like the 'induction' of the
'evocator' of the organising centre in the embryo. The
organising of the form of defence with regional variations
depending on the regional relationships is like the 'indivi-
duation' depending on the 'individuation field' of the orga-
nising centre.
Another feature which the above analogy will explain
is the self-differentiation of the different regions of the
embryo, when once they have been started on the road to
differentiation by the organising centre. After receiving
the general command each corps in the army will decide its
own details of action while in the thick of the fight. This is
like the self -differentiation of different parts of the embryo
after 'induction' and 'individuation' have taken place. The
556 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
early rudiment of the leg bone of the chick, while it is still
a shapeless mass of mesodermal tissue, may be cut out of
the embryo and grown in an artificial culture after it has
started its self-differentiation; and it will continue to self-
differentiate developing every detail of structure.
After the primary organiser has done its work, second-
ary and even tertiary organisers may appear, and bring
about further differentiation of the embryo. The eye-cup
.which grows out from the brain tube in the embryo acts an
organiser, inducing the ectoderm to form a lens. It may
be cut and removed from its natural position and trans-
planted in the side of the embryo or in some other abnor-
mal position, and it will induce the formation of the
lens in an abnormal position.
After the organisers have done their work, the outlines
of the embryo and the various organs are visible. The
embryo is by now well on the road to the realisation of the
form of the young organism. Functioning of the organs
brings about further differentiation. Other factors internal
as well as external, guide it along the road, and the heredi-
tary factors or genes will lead it to its goal, the attain-
ment of the form characteristic of the species. Environ-
mental deviations may lead to developmental aberra-
rations as in the case of the fish Fundulus which develops
a cyclopaen eye, when magnesium cholride is added to the
sea-water in which it lies.
Thus the young science of 'Causal Embryology' or
'Entwicklungsmechanik' has revealed to us new land marks
of differentiation in the development of the organism.
Regional differences of metabolic rate in the egg establish-
ment of axial gradients, determination of the future head
and tail regions, determination of the dorsal and ventral
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 557
surfaces and establishment of bilaterality, transformation
of the embryo into a chemical mosaic by the differentia-
tion of a number of chemically different fields, the appear-
ance of the organiser on the scene, with its evocator and
individuation field and which, like Mother Carey in
Kingsley's 'Water-babies', who made things make them-
selves' organises the parts of the embryo about it to self-
differentiate into tissues and organs, — these are events of
development.
The survey of animal development presented above,
briel and incomplete though it be, will suffice to indicate
what a complex process development is. The new embryo-
logy does not claim to have explained away the process
of development, but its brilliant results have given us a
better insight into the complex of development. They
have analysed the big riddle into smaller riddles. It is be-
side the point to raise the question whether this causal
embryology will ever be able to solve the riddle of deve-
lopment, or whether the developmental processes can be
explained ultimately in terms of physics and chemistry.
Several theories of development have been formulated.
To mention but a few: there is the vitalistic theory of
Driesch who imports into development an undemonstra-
ble factor, the entelechy; there is the mechanistic theory
whose exponents hold that the 'causal postulate is per-
fectly applicable to living organisms, and can be satisfac-
torily applied to the biological order of things, irrespective
of the possibility of biological phenomena being reduced
to physico-chemical processes/ Other exponents of the
mechanistic outlook would assume the possibility of the
physico-chemical explanation of all biological phenomena
as a useful hypothesis, with the reservation that biology
558 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTlAR
may discover new and unsuspected properties of life and
living matter. In justice to the upholders of the mecha-
nistic hypothesis, it must be stated that they do not hold
development to be explicable in terms of the old laws of
classical physics and chemistry, or by analogy to man-made
machines. We have also ihe organismic theory which with
its Holistic orientation aims at steering clear of both the
vitalistic and mechanistic theories, and whose apostles
like Bertalanffy would declare an autonomy for biology to
enable it to develop its own concepts independently of
physics, under whose shadow, they complain, Biology has
languished like a plant deprived of light." It is not pro-
posed to present here a critique of the several thories of
development. For theories and hypotheses let philosophers
contend, while we watch and admire the beauty of co-ordina-
tion, both spatial and temporal, of the developmental
processes, and the panoromic succession of forms which
the embryo wears as time 'bites' into it.
''The one Spirit's plastic stress .
Sweeps through the dull, dense world, compelling
there
All new successions to the forms they wear" —
REFERENCES
1. Benoy Kumar Sarkar. — The Positive Background of Hindu
Sociology, vol. i.
2. Bertalanffy and Woodger. — Modern Theories of Develop-
ment.
3. ( Current Science9 Special Number — 'Organisers in Deve-
lopment.1
4. Dalcq. Form and Causality.
5. De Beer. — Experimental Embryology.
6. Gilbert.— Biography of the Unborn.
7. Huxley and De Beer.— Elements of Experimental Em-
bryology.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 559
8. Locy. — Makers of Biology.
9. Keith. — Human Morphology and Embryology.
10. Me Dougall.— The Riddle of Life.
11. Narayanaswami Aiyar. — Thirty Minor Upanishads.
(Translation) .
12. Needham. — Order and Life.
13. Russel. — The Interpretation of Development and Heredity.
14. Spemann. — Embryonic Development and Induction.
15. Waddington. — How Animals Develop.
16. Woodger. — Biological Principles,
PATRONS AND PLACE-NAMES OF TAMILNAD
BY
R. P, SETHU PILLAI, B.A., B.L.,
(Madras University.)
"The days of roj^al patronage are gone/' said
Nammalvar the greatest of Vaishnava saints. The same
sentiment is expressed and illustrated by Saint Sundarar
in one of his sacred hymns.1 These seers were obviously
dissatisfied with the general degeneracy of poetic taste in
high circles and the consequent lack of response to the call
of the Muse. The former feels the pang so much that he
entreats the gifted poets to live by the sweat of their brow
instead of courting the princely gaze that used to follow
them in palmier days.2 He seems to recollect the golden
age in which the crowned kings and nobles of the Tamil
land deemed it a privilege to honour the votaries of the
Muse.
The memory of some of these illustrious patrons is
preserved in the classical poems and place-names of the
Quueor jp/u>9
2.
Loesrgv) i£>esflffi€B
iT 1 jpuzQiuL o/gpfta <s®&Qffingi
561
Tamil country. The early Pandya kings were delighted to
associate themselves with the activities of the literary men
who adorned the royal academy (Sangam) at Madura and
honoured them with handsome gifts and presents. The great
Chola king Karikala gave a magnificent gift to the poet who
pictured in a lovely poem the grandeur of Pum-Pukar, 'the
city beautiful/3 The exemplary patronage extended to the
literati by some of the contemporary noblemen exalted them
into an illustrious order (eluvallal) in the estimation of the
country.4 By common consent the place of honour among
them seems to have been assigned to Pari, the ruler of the
hill-fort of Parambu surrounded by three hundred villages.
He is extolled as the model of munificence by Saint Simda-
rar.5 Tradition has it that the three kings of the Tamil
country beseiged his fort and assasinated him by treachery.
The country of Pari is considered to be Parambanadf a
division of the Pandinad, wherein the existence of a vil-
lage called Pariccaram is disclosed by epigraphical evi-
dence.6 Kapilar, the towering poet of 'the Augustan age
of Tamil literature' was a great friend of Pari. This poet
was born at Tiruvadavur situated in the south Paramba-
nad.7 It is possible that temperamental affinities and
territorial patriotism bound the poet and his patron in an
indissoluble union.
uL-Lq-eoru unrSfeu
- GeSaSSpffULUreBsfl) 198.
4. c urrift <ifl fs&rerR erW?
/f — 125.
5. ' GtsirQ&QGtirrprryssTu utrrflQuj Quj&rjp
6. South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. VIII, p. 227.
7. Ibid., p. 222.
71
562 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Another nobleman of the Illustrious order of Seven*
honoured in songs is Adikan or Adikaman. He ruled over
a considerable extent of territory between the Pennar and
Vellar. The fortified city of Takadur, the modern Dharma-
puri, in the Salem district, was his capital. He appears to
have been generous to a fault. His gift of an ambrosial
fruit to the poetess Avvai in grateful appreciation of her
poetic genius elicited universal admiration.8 His territory
was invaded by a powerful Chera king who succeeded in
destroying the fortified city of Takadur. In honour of his
signal victory the Chera styled himself "the conqueror of
Takadur"9 and his military exploit forms the theme of an
ancient Tamil poem entitled "Takadur Yattirai"
The memory of Adikaman survives in the names of
cities either founded by him or in his honour. Five miles
south of Dharmapuri there is a place called Adaman Kottai
which is obviously a corruption of Adikaman Kottai. 'The
outline of the old fort wall still exists and the position of
the temples within the ramparts indicates the former ex-
tent of the town/10 Possibly, Tiruvatikai, the modern Tiru-
vati, on the river Gadilam, which is associated with the
devoted services of the saintly sister of Tirunavukkarasar,
is a classical abbreviation of Adikanur, the city of Adikan.11
The inimitable generosity of Kumanan of Kongunad
has endeared him to the high and the low alike. This great
8.
9.
10. Gaz. Salem, p. 196
11.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 563
man deprived of his estate by the greediness of his wicked
brother and wandering in the jungle as an exile was found
by a poet in dire need. The pathetic words in which the
poet pictured his poverty melted his heart.12 He handed
his sword to the poet and meekly offered his head on which
his brother had set a price, for the relief of his unmerited
poverty The poet was stunned by the offer. Sword in
hand he rushed to the cruel brother who banished such a
noble soul, described the incident in moving terms and
reconciled the brothers. The place known as Kolumam in
the Coimbatore district is considered to be a corruption of
Kumanam called after his noble patron.13 The poet who
has enshrined his fame in immortal verse is Peruntalai-
cattan. The prefix in the name probably denotes the place
of the poet. Peruntalai was the original name of the vil-
lage now called Peruntalaiyur in Coimbatore.14
This golden age of royal patronage passed away and
it was followed by a period of apathy and confusion, which
was deplored by the great seers. During this period the
principal religions of the Tamil country were preparing for
a battle royal. The validity of the Jaina and Buddhistic
doctrines was challenged by the Saiva and Vaishnava
12/r L^.Jl 64, 165.
13. I. M. P. Vol. I, p. 563. Kolumara in Karaivalinadu is
eleven miles south-east of Udumalpet. SewelFs Antiquities, p. 222.
14. It is probable that Peruntalai, denotes the place of the
poet, just as Cittalai is associated with another Cattan and Kalat-
talai with another Sangam poet. The village Peruntalaiyur is 20
miles north east of Satyamangalam (Coimbatore). There is an
old Siva temple with many inscriptions on the walls one of which
is dated the 23rd year of Sundara Pandya Deva's reign. Ibid,
p. 216.
564 RAJAH SIR AWNAMALAI CHETT1AR
saints which provoked 'the great war of religions.' The
saints toured the country from one end to the other, sing-
ing sacred hymns at every shrine and infusing religious
fervour in the masses. They lifted the mind of men from
material pursuits to the gracious feet of the Lord, and
exhorted those who had the gift of poesy to sing the praise
of the Maker and not of the mortals.15 Thus they ushered
into existence what may be called the age of spiritualised
poetry, which was naturally succeeded by the age of philo-
sophy. Religious institutions were started for the conser-
vation and propagation of spiritual knowledge. The kings
and nobles deemed it an act of great religious merit to
construct new temples or renovate the old fanes glorified
in the sacred hymns. Thus came into existence the great
temples of southern India, the architectural beauty of which
command the admiration of the modern world.
The advent of European civilisation and especially the
spread of English education shifted the emphasis from reli-
gion and philosophy to arts and science. Eradication of
mass illiteracy and encouragement of higher learning and
research are now deemed more beneficial to the community
than the construction of temples and establishment of
charitable institutions. This time spirit is reflected in the
songs of the popular Tamil poet of the modern age. 'Better
far' says Bharathi, 'to initiate a poor soul in the rudiments of
knowledge than to endow a thousand choultries and erect
15.
QurruJLbetDLD ujfrstretoffu uirL—rrQp ais
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 565
ten thousand temples/16 The religious institutions of
southern India are slowly adjusting themselves to the con-
ditions and requirements of the modern times. The en-
lightened head of the Tirupanandal Mutt has initiated the
admirable policy of awarding an annual prize to the best
Tamil scholar of the University of Madras.17 The founda-
tion of a residential University near Chidambaram offering
instruction in all that is best in the culture of the east and
west, marks a new epoch in the cultural history of the
Tamil country. In grateful appreciation of the generous
gift of the Rajah of Chettinad which brought the Univer-
sity into existence, the temple of learning and the sacred
place where it is situated are named after him. In close
proximity to the sacred hall of Cirrambalam where the
mystic dance of the Lord explains the principles of cosmic
life, the Annamalai University will stand for all time as
the source of light and inspiration to countless genera-
tions of students and lovers of learning.
16.
<*. 126.
17. His Holiness Srilasri Kasivasi, Swaminatha Thambiran
Swamigal Avergal of Tirupanandal has made an endowment yield-
ing an annual interest of Rs. 1,000 " which is paid in cash to the
candidate who stands first in the first class in Tamil in the Oriental
Title examination (Vidwan Final) with Tamil alone as the sub-
ject." The prize is styled as ' King George V Memorial Tamil
Prize."
THE IDEA OF AN INDIAN UNIVERSITY.
BY
T. N. SlQUEIRA, S.J.,
The Sashtiabdhapurthi of Sir Annamalai Chettiar
deserves more than the customary recounting of a kind
man's benefactions. He has used his great wealth not in
scattering largesses to deserving causes but — without
altogether neglecting other appeals for his help — in one
very definite kind of philanthropic work, in fact the one
which deserves the name if any work does, for it aims at
making men: higher education. He has founded and
maintained a university in the twentieth century! And
though the Government has donated an equal 20 lacs of
rupees towards its foundation and an annual grant of a lac
and a half, the initiative of this noble project came from
this great son of India.
The Annamalai University was the result of a long-
felt need of a centre of higher learning in the Tamil Nad.
A state university was eagerly asked for by the advocates
of Tamil culture but the attraction of the established order
and the fear of a loss of prestige in a smaller and less exten-
sive university prevailed. It was at this time that Sir
Annamalai came forward and offered to found and keep up
a unitary residential teaching university.
That was in 1929. Twelve years have passed, and
the Annamalai University has grown in numbers and
prestige till it has about a thousand students and its
degrees are not considered inferior to those of other
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 567
universities, It might therefore be a not unworthy way of
honouring its founder to examine how far it embodies the
idea of an Indian University.
I
Newman has for all time embalmed in his measured
prose the true Idea of a University. That ideal — of a
school of universal knowledge acquired by the study of lite-
rature and art and of all the sciences in their due degrees
rising up to theology their queen — is true of all times and
places because it is based on the very nature of things. A
university, in any part of the world which is fit for one,
ought to be in some way universal, as far as circum-
stances allow (not less) reflecting the manyfacetedness of
God's own knowledge and the manykindedness of man-
kind. It does not, therefore, seem that there can be such
a thing as an Indian university as distinct or different from
an American or African or German university, for there
cannot be a limited university.
But if there is no limit to a university's scope in
regard to persons as well as subjects, there is a difference of
approach and of spirit a difference of emphasis, which
corresponds to and is an effect of the difference of
climate, surroundings, history, economic condition,
language, culture (which includes art, philosophy,
religion, customs and manners) of each university's area.
In studying the same Economics, for example, a different
emphasis will inevitably be placed in an agricultural area
like Travancore or Mangalore from an industrial part of the
same country like Ahmedabad or Calcutta; and, tak-
ing India as a whole, a different spirit will inevitably per-
vade the teaching of, say, English poetry here from what
would in Japan or France,
568 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
This obvious but seldom understood fact could be
expressed in terms of a country's personality. Just as each
individual boy or girl, though possessing the same human
nature, possesses it in a different way (i.e. in a different pro-
portion between the various faculties of body and soul
which make up human nature), so too though all nations
are made of men each has a different history, a different
sum-total of experiences down the ages — geography and
climate, food, wealth or poverty, occupation, art, conquest
and independence, trade and communications, philo-
sophy, religion etc. Every element of environment, in
fact, and every event favourable or unfavourable moulds
and completes and thus changes the personality of a people
no less than of an individual. The Indian of 1941 is cer-
tainly not the same as the Indian of 1931, and still less is he
the same as the African or the New Zealander or the Dutch-
man of 1941 or of 1931.
It is unintelligent and beside the point to ask which
nation or individual is superior. They are different — the
longer and richer and better their experience,
the better and more complex their 'personality'.
But most of this does not depend on them, for it
is the work of extrinsic causes. . The consequence for edu-
cation is that just as each child has to be educated in terms
of his own personality, so too each people has to be educat-
ed in terms of its own personality — taking this word in the
less strict but no less true sense I have explained.
This does not mean that what is taught and learnt by
each nation (or individual) should be different, but that
the way it is taught and learnt, the emphasis on the differ-
ent elements which enter into the process, the approach to
the faculties, the spirit of the entire undertaking should be
different and adapted to each different 'personality'.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 569
Applying this to university education, with which we are
chiefly concerned here, it means that there should be in an
Indian university a distinctly Indian spirit, an Indian
method of approch to universal knowledge. There should,
of course, be no restriction of knowledge to things Indian,
for that would be the very negation of education, whose
property is to broaden and deepen the wells of our common
human nature. But the processes of knowledge should
begin from things known — i.e. Indian — and not from
unknown quantities; what is under our very eyes and be-
fore our very doors should be first observed at first hand and
recorded and impartially examined and only then should
our conclusions be compared with those of visitors friend-
ly or unfriendly, partial or impartial.
II
My idea of an Indian university is that it is a seat, be-
sides other subjects, of the study of Indian history in a first-
hand and thorough way. Is it not a standing disgrace to
the nearly-a-contury-old universities of India that the only
largescale Indian History so far attempted has been in
Cambridge? And perhaps even a great disgrace is that
Indian History is not even a compulsory subject in the His-
tory groups of Indian universities and, at any rate, is not
as popular as English or Greek and Roman History? The
Patna University has recently formed a plan for the bring-
ing out of a serious History of India. 'But there will
be many a pause in the work for want of continued support
and appreciation of the importance of the undertaking.
Indeed, the writing of a competent and first-hand History of
India requires a thorough re-research and re-study of each
period and should therefore be portioned out among the
different universities, so that each Province may study at
close quarters the events in which its own past was chiefly
72
570 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
forged and the whole of India. A body such as
the Inter-University Board or an All India Editorial Board,
may co-ordinate the work of the various Universities and
bring out a History of India worthy of India.
In this work of research and collaboration the
Annamalai University would have to play an important
part. Being as it is the only residential university of
the Tamil Nad and situated near some of the most interest-
ing sites in all history, it is a duty it owes to India to ascer-
tain and make known the facts of the past as they were and
drew the right lessons from them. Messrs. C. S. Srinivasa-
chari and R. Sathianathan have indeed done some work in
this direction. But how little interest and encouragement
has been shown to them and how few facilities have been
given them for actual research as distinct from mere teach-
ing! When highly paid scholars from foreign universities
covet the riches of our history, is it not regrettable that our
own able and willing workers are so few and so little
encouraged? If an Indian university does not do this
work, what university will?
The scientific teaching of the Indian languages, too, is
an important part of an Indian, university's duty. These
languages contain treasures of literature and philosophy
and even in their earliest works reveal a real genius for
synthetic and rounded thought. And yet Sanskrit is still
in many ways an undiscovered mine and its riches are
hardly suspected by the vast majority of Indian graduates.
It is left to Schooenhauer and Max Muller and Rhys
Davids and F. W. Thomas to grow lyrical over India's
heritage while Indian universities are content to praise
Sanskrit and starve Sanskritists. If the Bhandarkar
Institute were transplanted, to Harvard it would get
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 571
much more concrete encouragement than it does in Poona
in spite of the ungrudging services of men like V. S.
Sukthankar. If a critical edition of the Mahabharata were
decided upon in any other country it would not languish for
want of support as it does in the one country which can call
itself Bharatavarsha.
And the Annamalai University, which is the univer-
sity of the Tamil Nad has the sacred trust of studying and
developing the Tamil language. This ancient and supple
language is rich in possibilities; it has to be bent to modern
needs of quick communication, science, public life.
Where can a body of able scholars be found fit and willing
for this great task—on which the progress of the Tamil Nad
and through it of all India depends — if not in the nearest
approach we have to a Tamil Nad University? If the
staff is so burdened with the work of ordinary teaching that
it has little energy left for research and creative writing,
the very primary purpose of an Indian university would
seem to be defeated.
It is not in this direction, therefore, that retrenchment
is needed. If it were at all needed, it might more easily be
made in those Departments which do not distinguish an
Indian university from a European or an American, or
which do not distinguish a university in South India from
one in Bengal or Bombay. The note of universality of
courses (universitas rerum} should of course be kept.
But is it more costly to preserve in the twentieth century
than it was in the Middle Ages when Paris, Bologna,
Oxford and Cambridge, Nalauda and Takshasila first
embodied the idea of a university?
Another subject which one expects to be taught and
studied in an Indian university is Indian art. In the
welter of foreign imitations in music, painting, dancing and
572 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
architecture which have followed in the wake of western
education, India's special contribution to the world's art
is in danger of being smothered by her own children. The
debasement of Indian music, Carnatic as well as Hindus-
tani or Bengali, by the depraved taste of the groundings
in the cinema has been frequently pointed out in the Press
—but in vain. The introduction of cheap foreign instru-
ments (like the harmonium) \vhich are out of keeping
with the spirit of our music, has uslo been deplored by true
musicians in vain. The style of dancing, building and paint-
ing has also been affected by unthinking imitation of
uncongenial foreign models. Against all these evils it is the
function of an Indian university, with its staff of experts
and its atmosphere of detachment from sordid gain and
the confidence it enjoys with the public at large, to fight-
not by vapid denunciation which provokes a denser
obstinacy, but by positive study and demonstration of the
beauty and adaptability to modern conditions of Indian
artistic motifs.
Ill
Of the spirit of an Indian university it is easier to feel
than to spetk. It consists in a general attitude of apprecia-
tion and respect for things Indian, a general initial disposi-
tion to examine them fairly and improve them if possible
rather than condemn and disown them out of hand, an
enlightened love which wants the true good of the country
and is not stopped by petty partisanship or narrow pro-
vincialism in acknowledging and correcting wrong. Such a
spirit seems to exist, to a certain extent, at Santinikatan
where one breathes the atmosphere of India in the mango
groves, the open-air classes, the frescoed library, the Kala
Bhavan. There is something of this spirit in the Anna-
malai university, too, and especially in the recently opened
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 573
school of Indian Music where in sound-proof rooms strains
of vocal and instrumental Carnatic music are produced
from early morning till late at night.
More than all this, however, the Indian University
should draw to itself and keep as in one family teachers and
students from every race and province and language and
religion, so that living and working together they may
grow in self-knowledge and mutual knowledge and
appreciation. In a well-known but never sufficiently
known passage in The Idea of a University Newman says:
"If I had to choose between a so-called University
which dispensed with residence and tutorial superintend-
ence and gave its degree to any person who passed an
examination in a wide range of subjects, and a University
which had no professors or examinations at all but merely
brought a number of young men together for three or four
years and then sent them away. . . .if I were asked which
of these two methods was the better discipline of the intel-
lect. . . .if I must determine which of the two courses was
the more successful in training, moulding and enlarging the
mind, which seat out men the more fitted for their secular
duties, which produced better public men, men of the world,
men whose names would descend to posterity, I have no
hesitation in giving the preference to that University which
did nothing, over that which exacted of its members an
acquaintance with every science under the sun."
This may seem strongly said. But it points a lesson
which we in India need more than anywhere else, for our
name is Disunion. Our universities should therefore
above all insist on the universities personarum — the living
together of different students and teachers, eating
together, playing, discussing, studying and writing
together, so that mutual knowledge may breed
574
mutual appreciation which casts out mistrust.
In the removal of communal mistrust, which is
the chief and perhaps only obstacle to India's progress, our
universities must play the greatest part. For it is there
that the future leaders of India are formed. And mutual
confidence, without; which no democratic government can
stand, can neither be brought nor commanded but must be
patiently deserved — by common life. The value of hos-
tels and, above all, of hostel life (which means as much
common life as is possible?) cannot therefore be overstress-
ed in any scheme of university education. School boys and
girls may be too young to profit by a full measure of hostel
life. But in the university the mixture of different stu-
dents and professors on a familiar and equal plane is essen-
tial more than anywhere else in a country as vast and
heterogeneous as India is.
The place of a residential university in India is
therefore very high. The smoothing over of religious,
communal, and caste differences which the Annamalai Uni-
versity has achieved in a few years in the heart of the Tamil
Nad would alone more than justify its existence and even
the gratitude of India to its founder, even if it did nothing
for the advancement of research and higher learning. But
it has done much more, arid it has much more to do still for
the fulfilment of the idea of an Indian — and particularly a
South Indian — University. It has to cultivate in its alumni
those habits which mark the truly educated man— the spirit
of impartial inquiry and calm examination, the spirit of
understanding and independent judgment, the spirit of
openmindedness and appreciation of whatever is true and
good and beautiful wherever it may be found, the spirit of
universal love and service towards God and men. Sir
Annamalai will have the consolation of having made all this
possible.
UTILISATION OF SOME OF THE AGRICULTURAL
WASTE PRODUCTS IN SOUTH ARGOT DISTRICT
BY
M. L. SlTARAMAN, M.SC-
AND
S. ARAVAMUTHACHARI, M.Sc.
There are vast possibilities in this district for preparing
agricultural and vegetable products for more profitable
export. A lot of work is still to be done, in improving
agricultural methods, for co-ordinating labour and capital,
and for starting new mills and cottage industries, to cope
adequately with the agricultural resources and to provide
work for the mainly agricultural population for more
months in the year.
Paddy, groundnut, sugar-cane and cashewnut consti-
tute a few of the most important agricultural produce
of South Arcot district. The methods at present in vogue
for preparing the produce for the market are far from satis-
factory. Also, paddy husk, cashewnut shell, groundnut
shell and bagasse are still to-day wasted or burnt unecono-
mically as low grade fuel. In some places only an attempt
is made to extract the corrosive liquid from the cashewnut
shell by antiquated, crude and highly inefficient charring
processes.
Casuarina and croton sparsiflorus are two other unex-
ploited potential resources. The climate and backwater
soil are ideal for casuraina (Casuarina equisetifolia) . The
576 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
ubiquitous crofon sparsiflorus is as much of a pest to the
agriculturist as the water hyacinth (Eichorina crassipes)
is in the Bengal province, Tanjore and South Arcot dis-
tricts. The seeds of the plant provide a high grade drying
oil of commercial value.
We are not concerned so much with the agricultural
methods in this district which here as elsewhere in the
province leave much scope for improvement. The bulk of
the agricultural population consists of small land holders,
poor, conservative and incapable of following the expert
experimental advice of the Agricultural Department. To
give only one example, the annual loss to the Madras Presi-
dency due to poor quality of exported groundnuts has been
estimated at 52 lakhs of rupees.1
About 40% of acreage in this district is under rice
cultivation. Rice bran is rich in vitamin B complex and in
mineral salts especially manganese. At present the bran
is used only as cattle food. If industrial solvents are
available at cheap rates it is possible to extract the oil
out of the bran and use it in soap industry. Bran could be
concentrated and standardised and vitaminised food pro-
ducts manufactured from it. Experiments have shown that
charcoal from paddy husk would be as efficient as bone-
charconl in the clarification of sugar cane juice. The essen-
tial quality in an adsorptive charcoal is high porosity which
is found in this charcoal. The ash from this husk contains
nbout 90% of silica and 7% of calcium oxide and has never
been tried for the manufacture of glasses, silica wares and
silica gel. If experiments with this ash should prove suc-
1. Groundnut by Dr. B. V. Narayanaswami Naidu and
Hariharan (Annamalai University Publication).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 577
cessful, paddy husk would prove to be a cheap source of
pure silica. Nature separates for us pure silica through
the rice plant; it would be impossible to economically
purify clay and yet we have been allowing paddy-husk-
ash to go to waste.
Groundnut is the second important agricultural pro-
duce of this district and about 28% of the total area is
under cultivation (425,725 acres in 1938-39). South Arcot
of all districts in the Presidency stands unique as the largest
producer of groundnut, the loose soil being best suited for
its cultivation. The bulk of groundnut is exported after
decortication. A moiety only of the kernels is worked by
crude presses for the valuable oil. The hulls which consti-
tute 29% of the pod contain 17-20% of furfural yielding
material, that is, mainly Xylose, a reducing sugar, which
can easily be obtained by extraction with 0*2 N sulphuric
acid. The average composition is as follows:
Moisture 4 '69%
Ash 3-16%
Ether extract 3 -22%
Pentosans 16-03%
Reducing sugar 1'63%
Cellulose 50 — 60%
We would recommend the utilisation of the hulls for the
preparation of activated charcoal, furfural, paper pulp and
other cellulose products. We can but mention a few of the
many uses and modem industrial applications of the
groundnut oil which in our presidency has been used
mainly as an adulterant of ghee and sesame oil. Apart from
the manufacture of a poor quality of soft soap, hydrogenat-
ed products, margarine, rubber substitutes, lubricating oils,
motor fuel and glycerine could be prepared from the oil by
73
578 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
suitable processes. Due to the present war India has been
deprived of markets (Germany, Italy and Netherlands)
consuming nearly 8 crores of rupees worth of groundnuts.
We would therefore urge the importance of a hydrogena-
tion plant at Mettur in conjunction with the alkali industry
as the by product hydrogen is sufficient to hydrogenate 16
tons of groundnut oil per day to start with. The glycerine
content of the oil is next only to that of cocoanut oil and
dynamite glycerine can easily be manufactured from it.
Also claims have been made for the application of India
rubber substitutes prepared from groundnut oil in the
manufacture of dynamite itself, in place of kieselgur.
Besides the nitrated oil mixes easily with nitrocellulose.
According to Chopra, groundnut oil is comparable with
olive oil as a nutrient and food, and can be given in wasting
diseases. In our opinion it is more palatable than olive
oil; artificial ghee, closely simulating the natural product,
can be prepared from the oil by incorporating the vita-
mins, diacetyl and ethyl butyrate in standard amounts and
the food value thereby considerably enhanced.
The cake (groundnut meal with oil content of 5-8%)
can be used as a substitute for wheat flour for the manu-
facture of bread, delicacies and biscuits. It is a valuable
cattle food with the highest protein content 46 '4%. The
cakes from damaged and mouldy nuts alone, need be used
as manure. The easily extractable protein of the cake can
find application as a binding medium in the paint indus-
try and for the preparation of distempers and other
decorative paints.
Cashewnut shell contains about 50% of a corrosive
liquid. The amount of the shell which is exported from
South India is enormous as the following figures will show:
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 579
1923 Export to America from South India 1,00,000 Ibs.
1937 Export to America from South India 27,000,000 Ibs.
1938 Export to America from South India 58,000000 Ibs.
Newer methods of extraction with hot oils are more efficient
and 50% of the available shell liquid is extracted thereby
from the highly honeycombed shells. Steadeler in 1847
extracted the liquid from the shells with ether and later
workers have shown the principal constituent of the liquid
named Cardanol to be a valuable phenol. Polymerisation
products of this liquid find a variety of applications, in-
cluding insulating varnishes, dyes and cold setting
cements.
The oil from the cashewnut or the cashewnut kernel
oil as it is popularly called, has been studied fully but is
of little interest on account of the fact that the cashew-
nut is relished like almonds as a delicacy either in the raw
state or with a little dressing.
The seacoasts of Southern India enjoy the heavy mon-
soon rains and an equitable climate (about 68° to 104° F)
throughout the year. The soil in the west coast is suitable
for the cultivation of the cocoanut; and the loamy soil in
the east coast is best suited for the cultivation of casua-
rina. Drv distillation of casuarina wood does not seem
to have been carried out in any large scale. The wood is
either burnt as fuel or converted into charcoal by crude,
wasteful process. Distillation of the wood as
in Bhadravati would make it possible to recover methanol,
acetic acid and wood-tar. Also the yield and quality of the
charcoal would be improved. It would be of interest to
know that the price of this charcoal has risen in recent
years and it has been found to be ideal for charcoal driven
motors and lorries. With rationing of petrol the demand
580 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
for casuarina charcoal is bound to rise very much. Be-
sides, it has been reported that a brown dye could be
extracted from its barks.
Croton sparsiflorus (Eliamanakku or Naimilakkae in
Tamil) has been classified by botanists as belonging to the
croton family. To the lay man it is apparently a misnomer
being neither a beautiful crotoii nor sparse in flowers.
Really it is an insidious pest and a terror to the agricultu-
rist; it has constituted itself as a first class nuisance around
roads, and railways supplanting the erstwhile cactus, in
the municipal areas, in and around the villages. In short
it is an outstanding eyesore threatening the beauty of the
Indian landscape. However, the seeds of this hated dic-
tator amongst weeds, which usually mature in the spring
between February and April, were collected and investi-
gated in the Annamalai University Chemical Laboratories,
The seeds were found to contain 33% of a clear light
yellow oil having the usual smell of drying oils. The
Iodine value of the oil is 172 (Wijs). Also it is quick dry-
ing. It is equal, if not inferior to linseed oil and could be
put to the same uses as the latter. Also rubber substitutes,
water-proofing material and paint vehicles could be manu-
factured from the oil as is usual from drying oils. The ash
of the seeds also contain Calcium 20%, Potassium 14%,
Phosphorus 29*8% and Nitrogen 4'9%. The seed cake will
therefore be an excellent manure. The Agricultural
Department of the Government of Madras in one of their
communications refer to the manurial properties of the
compost of this plant.
Lack of space restricts us from going in detail into
the vast chemical potentialities of sugar cane refuse popu-
larly called bagasse. The romantic juice of the plant has
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 581
centered to itself the major attention of the sugar cane
producer and the chemist. Also the cane growers have
been content to burn bagasse in the wet or dried state as
fuel to concentrate the sugar cane juice. It belongs to the
bamboo (Graminaceae) family, a classical source of wood
pulp. It is a pity that sugar cane plant especially the bagasse
which is surely less refractory than the bamboo and easily
more pliable after a necessary malleating and crushing
process, has not been worked in South India as the raw
material for first class wood pulp that it can be expected
to furnish. Mention might also be made here of the use
of the harder portions of bagasse in the production of
light fire resisting material of the 'Heraklith' type.
Moreover, the making of cattle feed with bagasse screen-
ings and molasses as fodders has been experimented upon
and found to replace the usual feeds like ragi straw.
It is no idle dream or Laputan phantasy to talk of
isolating wood pulp from bagasse or groundnut hulls; of
extracting silica from paddy-husk-ash or valuable motor
spirit and aviation petrol by fermentation of molasses and
by cracking groundnut and other fatty oils. We must
point out that cheap hydroelectricity and the astounding
improvements in chemical industrial technique have
revolutionised the manufacture of basic chemicals and
industrial products. Also the exigencies of the last Great
War and the present world wide war have, if we might
borrow an apt chemical word, catalysed industrial out-
put. Thus the raw materials of a past century need no
longer in all places be fche raw materials of the present
century. In the nineteenth century utilisation of waste
products was necessary to sustain an industry and to make
it economical and profitable; now the socalled waste pro-
ducts generally furnish new and important materials, so
582
that there is a chain of industries around the key industry.
Often minor industries assume prominence and the main
industries become less significant. In democratic America
democratisation in politics has had its repercussions in
democratisation of thought and of industry. For
example, after common salt is removed from sea water,
the mother liquor, formerly looked upon as stale, unprofita-
ble and unworkable is now, in their hands, an important
source of magnesium, a metal so vital in the elemental state
or as alloys, for peace or for war. One of the biggest brains
of India, Sir M. Visveswarayya, has recognised the neces-
sity for industrialisation as the means of increasing the
standard of living of the teeming millions of our country at
the present day and the only salvation for India. Indus-
trialise or perish' is his sage advice to the country at the
present day, with its vast untapped mineral and vegetable
resources, India like America is a subcontinent and there
need be no fear of the markets becoming glutted with
finished products. Our idea is that for a long time to
come, India could well afford to consume the fruits of her
own agriculture and industry. India should industrialise
so that it may first be self-contained and self-sufficient.
We fervently hope that eminent economists also would
agree with our point of view.
THE WORD ' flfl«w ' AND COMMENTATORS.
BY
K. A. SlVARAMAKRISHNA SASTRI.
In his standard and popular work on Indian Logic, the
Muktavali, Visvanatha Pancanana classifies words into
four kinds — ^Hfoj W, 4to5S and *ftfoi^. As illustra-
tions he cites four words — TW, *ita^, <** a and *$X
the first comes under 4tfW because it conveys an' idea —
a cook — only with the help of its derivative significance.
The second *Tfa^ quite in contrast with the first
conveys something without any reference to its etymologi-
cal significance. The third ^$3, when it means lotus,
has the double signification 5& and <ftl simultane-
ously. The last word sf&s; is capable of denoting two
different ideas — a tree and a sacrifice — with the help of the
two significations alternately operating.
Now what does the term *ita*s3 mean? Is it a *&
compound to be split into *ft and W$ or a single com-
pound denoting a single idea? As it cannot be determined
by the text itself we depend upon commentaries. Among
those now available, the Dinakari, a very popular one, does
not explain the word but only remarks that in many books
the reading ^scr instead of *ito*scs is found, but it is an
error.1
1. ' J^STft ' fSTC Hjfllcflfl ' floreqife ' tfc! <U5: I
The Dinakari Balamanorama Edn. (1923), pp. 581-85,
584 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
Another Commentator, Sri Rayanarasimha, criticises
Dinakara and tries to justify the reading set aside by him.
He says that the word K*z& taken as ^ means a coun-
try; but if it is taken as *ftftfl> it may mean somebody
taking cream. In the same way the discarded ^^T also may
be taken as ^ when it means a tent or a canopy while it
is equally capable of conveying the idea of a man tasting
cream. Therefore neither of the two is to be preferred to
the other. Further he suggests ' *T*rftq^' as a satisfactory
reading.2 Ramarudra, a commentator on the Dinakariya
does not agree with Dinakara in rejecting the reading
Now, forgetting the two commentaries for a while, let
us examine the text itself which runs thus —
(2)
2.
t STfa fRf s
r, Balamanorama, Edn. pp. 583-4.
3.
, B. M. Edn. p. 581.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 585
(3) qft
1
It must be noted that in each case, except in the second,
the author gives only one illustration. In the second case
two examples, according to the commentators, are cited.
A glance at the text tells us that the author might not have
found any necessity to cite two examples in this case
alone- • -and in all probability might have given only one
example as in all other cases. It is also to be noted
that Dinakara without giving any reason simply discards
the other reading as spurious. Therefore we should find
out the meaning of the term *rfa*s3 which may help us
in maintaining the propriety of the text and in justifying
Dinakara's remark on
We come across very many terms in Sanskrit like
*it*K, *ite> flyi and ^n. The first means a tower,
the second, a precious stone, the third a cattleshed, and the
fourth and the fifth, two and six animals respectively. In
all these cases the first part ^ has entirely lost its signi-
ficance. Hence we can freely use those terms along with
any word and coin forms like awite, *Ms, 3*s*ite, switp
and 3«£q^re. These terms which were once used strictly
to mean cowshed, couple of cows etc., have gradually lost
the significance of their part *ft and become current coin
in their loose sense. The great grammarian Katyayana
4. B. M. Edn., pp. 581-8.
74
586 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
first treats *». ^3*1 and ^1* as terminations to,
be added to the pratipadikas (stems) like «w
etc., and later considers them as compound words
without any significance attached to their part ^5-
Kaiyata, the commentator on Patanjali's Mahabhashya,
going a step further, seems to have treated them as WW
like fls and JNw.6 The word <te is derived by
adding a Taddhita termination to the stem fea to mean
gingelly oil. If this significance is to be rigidly followed,
terms like state and ?«g<w3 become contradictions.
So we have to rely upon grammar to get the forms but not
the meanings of **. The second srita, generally used
to mean skilful or well versed, is derived as w-8- flw*
(expert in Vina— a musical instrument). Therefore it
goes without saying that the term tin in the expression
*l«*5t Jtfto loses its derivative sense and stands for
skilful. Hence we may use «tarat s«ftr without
redundancy.
In the light of the considerations urged above it is clear
that we rieed not attach any value to a part of a com-
6. 3WHTW firs*— aqiraiw fte$a^ I *rat WPT its'* I «wi
ras;
Patanjali on V. 2-2S, Vol. Ill, Kielhorn, p. 376-7.
6. sPTTqR ^ feKJRt
I fa imn\ Jrtrt: wfo
On Patanjali, (V. 2-29), Vol. Ill, Benares Edn., p. 72.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 587
pound in order to fix its meaning. Why not then we say
that the word $w%$ also stands simply for *i^,
without any value attached to its part flt, seeing that that
word has the following accepted meanings: (1) the globe;
(2) a multitude of cows?7 At the same time *!**$ also
means 'a globe'.8 In contrast to this ywza and *g&W
mean 'a terrestrial globe.'9 It is further to be noted that in
no Sanskrit lexicons do we find the word wr*^, while
ifa<Js$ js found in some of them though its 2nd mean-
ing 'a multitude of cows' and other derivative meanings
alone are given.10
The above observations enable us to infer that Visva-
natha Pancanina and his commentator Dinakara treat the
whole term tf\W3& as conveying a single idea — the globe.
This establishes the propriety of the text and justifies the
remark of Dinakara that tfhnrar in the place of iftwi%&
is erroneous. Do we still expect him to assign any reason
for his rejection of the reading iftwql No; therefore the
two commentators Ramarudra and Ramanarasimha do not
seem to have caught the significance of the text, and of
the remark of Dinakara.
7. V. S, Apte, Sanskrit English Dictionary (1922), p. 193.
L. R. Vaidya Sanskrit English Dictionary (1889), p, 251.
Sir M. Monier-Williams, Dictionary (1899), p. 365,
8. Sir M. Monier-Williams, ibid, p. 775.
V. S. Apte, ibid, p. 409.
9. V. S. Apte, ibid, p. 409.
10. Taranatha Tarkavacaspati, Brahdabhidhana, Vol. IV,
p. 2713, St, Petersburg Dictionary, p. 808,
THE TREFOIL DECORATION IN INDO-
MEDITERRANEAN ART
BY
THE REV. H. HERAS, S J.,
Directory Indian Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier's
College, Bombay.
Amongst the relics discovered at Mohenjo Daro and
Harappa perhaps there is none that has been reproduced
so much in modern books on ancient art and on Indian civili-
zation than the fragment of a little image of a man whose
head is surrounded by an ornamental ribbon, and whose
body is covered with a cloth decorated with trefoil.1 (Fig. 1) .
He has almost always been described as a yogin, perhaps on
account of the slight opening of the eyelids and the position
of the eyes, without paying attention to the diadem-like
1. Marshall, Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization, III.
pi. XCVII; Mackay, Die Induskultur, pi. 20, (Leipzig, (1938) ;
Mackey, The Indus Civilization, pi. H. No. 2; Mookerji, Hindu
Civilization, p. 19. (London, 1936) ; Memoirs of the Archaeological
Survey of India, No. 41. pi. J: (Calcutta, 1929); Masson-Oursel
(and others), Ancient India and Indian Civilization, frontis-
piece (London, 1934); Rawlinson, India, pi. i, (London, 1937);
^Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art. pi. 1;
Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report, 1925-26, pi, xlii
(Calcutta, 1928); Reau, Arts Musulmans9 extreme Orient, p. 119,
fig. 17 (Paris, 1939). Childe, New Light on Most ancient East pi.
xxi, (London 1934); Mackay, la civilisation de Vlndus, pi. VIII,
No, 2, (Paris, 1936); etc,
Fig. 2.
A Sumerian Bull decorated with Trefoil.
Fig. 1.
Bust of a proto-Indian King
— Archaeological Survey of Indw
Fig. 3.
Man-headed bull from Sumer adorned with Trefoils.
t)nvre Museum
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5,
Bull Rhyton
Fig. 6.
Trefoil faience
Fig. 7.
the
on an
589
ribbon that encircles his head nor to his richly decorated
garb. A yogin in India has never used such beautiful
apparel. The early person whose image we now contem-
plate, thanks to the labour of the Archaeological Depart-
ment, was a king of the proto-Indian people, a Mina, "the
shinning one," "a farmer of the Grab."2 The fillet or rib-
bon round his head was the real royal diadem, that bandha
which was tied round the head when the pattabisheka of
later times was performed.3 In the Assyrian poem of Gil-
gamesh, a Sumerian king of the city of Uruk, we read that
his ancestor Utnaphishtim orders one of his servants to
supply new apparel to Gilgamesh and among other things
he also mentions this royal ribbon: "Be the band round his
head made new."4 This ribbon was the royal diadem pre-
served by Greek and Roman rulers in their state functions.
The rich mantle over his shoulders was perhaps a cere-
monial robe, a sort of priestly-kingly cloak, for both func-
tions, religious and royal were united in him.5 Let us pay
attention to the pattern that decorates this robe. It is the
treble leaf, scientifically denominated Trifolium, and ordi-
narily called trefoil* That this design was not uncommon in
2. Cf. Heras, The Religion of the Mohenjo Daro People
according to the inscriptions, J. U. B., V. pp. 25-26.
3. Cf, for instance S. I. L, XI, Bombay-Karnatak Inscriptions,
I, p. 107, inscr. No. 110, 1. 12, E. L, VII, p. 130; w. 2-3.
4. Leonard, Gilgamesh, Epic of Old Babylonia, p. 71. (New
York, 1934).
5. Heras, op. cit., p. 26.
6. My confrere and colleague Rev. Fr. J. F. Caius tells me that
there are in India three species of Trifolium : T. fragiferum, Linn,
confined to temperate Kashmir; T. pratense, Linn. (Red Clover)
that extends from Kashmir to Garwal at 4,000-8,000 ft.; T. repent,
Linn, (White Clover) in the temperate and alpine Himalayas an<J
590 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
that early period, the existence of beads decorated with it
among the proto-Indian relics sufficiently evinces.7 After
all there was nothing extraordinary in the pattern. It could
have been selected to decorate the royal cloak in the same
way as any other beautiful design.
But if we now turn the pages of history a bit, we shall be
greatly surprised to find the same pattern decorating three
bulls hailing from Sumer.8 They are images representing
the "bull of heaven/' "the leading bull of the year," i.e.
the first constellation of the solar year.9 (Fig. 2) One of
these three bulls has besides the sun, the moon and a star —
probably the morning star — on its back in the centre of the
trefoils, that cover its body.10 Another specimen, which is
now in the Louvre Museum has a horned human head after
the fashion of the late Assyrian bulls representing the guar-
dian spirits of the royal palace.11 (Fig. 3). Was there any
link between the trefoils of India and the trefoils of Sumer?
in the Nilaghiris. With no other indication than a trefoil sign it is
impossible to identify the Trifolium suggested by the above decora-
tive motif.
7. Marshall, Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization, III.
pi. CXVI. Nos. 40, 49, 53; pi. CLII, No. 17; Mackay, Further Excava-
tions at Mohenjo Daro, pi. CXXXVII, No. 57; 66; pi. CXXXVII,
No. 97; pi. CXXXVIII. No. I.
8. Evans, The Palace of Minos, II, p. 261.
9. Sayce, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as
illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, pp. 292-293.
(London Oxford, 1897).
10. Wooley, The Development of Sumerian Art, pi. 55, a.
(London) .
11. Heuzey, Catalogue des Antiquites Chaldeennes, No. 138,
(Paris, 1902).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 591
Our inquiry will produce still more interest when we
realize that this pattern has been used to decorate the im-
ages of the Egyptian goddess Hathor represented as a cow,
on each side of the funeral couch of the famous Pharaoh
Tutankhamen. (Fig. 4). Elliot Smith has explained at
length how this celestrial cow, a totally "uncow-like crea-
ture/' was placed on the sides on the Pharaoh's couch.
Hathor was supposed to be the giver of life, the earliest of
the great Egyptian Mothers, the divinity that had to give
new immortal life to the deceased. "The object of the
cowshaped couch was to ensure by magical means this
translation of the deceased to heaven."12 Now these two
images of Hathor in Tutankhamen's couch are lavishly
gilded and fully decorated with lapis-lazuli trefoils of
beautiful uniformity. Was there any special magical charm
in this decoration of Hather in the funeral chamber of
Egypt's sovereign?
Our suspicion is confirmed by the fact that we find the
trefoil once again decorating a sacred object in Crete.
Amongst the objects discovered by Sir Arthur Evans at
the Little Palace of Knossos, there is a clay bull's head
rhyton painted black and white. (Fig. 5) . The most com-
mon device in this painting is the trefoil, which also finds
a special central place at the back of the bull.13 The sacred
use of these bull's shytons is well known. We have seen
one of them equally decorated from Sumer. In India
amongst the Saivas in relatively modern times receptacles
with a bull's head outlet are not infrequent. Similar ones
12. Elliot Smith, Tutankhamen and the Discovery of his tomb
by the late Earl of Carnavon and Mr. Howard Carter, pp. 103-112
(London, 1923).
13. Evans, op. cit., I, fig. 370; II, p. 536.
592 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
have been found in Egypt.14 The decoration at least of two
such rhytons one in Sumer and another in Crete with
the trefoil does not seem to be completely accidental.
Moreover, again at Knossos a number of trefoil fai-
ence inlays, some of them coated with gold foil were un-
earthed by Sir Arthur Evans.15 (Fig. 6) . The rich material
used for these inlays, accidentally fallen from the piece
they were decorating, shows the great importance of this
pattern which we find once more used in the Greek classi-
cal period.
In an Attic jug of the middle of the 6th century B.C.,
now kept in the British Museum, there is a painting repre-
senting the slaying of the Medusa. Persus is actually
thursting his harpe into the throat of the female monster
(Fig. 7) . He wears a fawn-skin over a chiton. That skin
is decorated with a number of circles surrounded with dots,
which are described as stars, and in their midst there is a
clear specimen of a trefoil.16
Similarly on another Attic vase of the Louvre Museum
goddess Athena is shown carrying a shield, the device of
which is three treble leaves round a central circle.17 {Fig.
8) . Again the chiffon worn by a coral (a maiden conse-
crated to religious service) of the same Museum is decorated
14. Flinders Petrie, Hyksos and Israelite Cities, pi. XXXII
(London, 1906).
15. Evans, op. cit, I, p, 451.
16. Woodward, Perseus. A Study in Greek Art and Legend,
pi. 13-a (Cambridge, 1937) ; Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of
Greek Religion, p. 225, fig. 45 (Cambridge, 1908).
17. Cecils Vasorum Antiquorum, France 8, Louvre, III, Hg,
pi. I, No. I.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 593
with small circles grouped in threes in a trefoil fashion.18
Finally a silen painted on a vase of the Boston Museum
has his* forehead and bold head decorated with at least five
visible trefoil signs.19
Fig, 8. Three trefoil device on Athena's Shield (Attic Vase of Louvre
Museum)
Going further west we come across the same decora-
tion in an Etruscan mirror. (Fig. 9). The main figures
of this work of art are Apollo and Dionysos between whom
one sees the head of the sun surrounded by a circle of rays.
Above this group and walking to the left there is a huge
panther that has a small animal in its mouth. The whole
body of tl»e feline is decorated with spots arranged in tre-
foil groups. Only once four points have been grouped in-
18. De Rider, Les bronzes antiques du Louvre, I, Les
figuarines, No. 236, (Paris, 1913).
19. Boston, No. 10, 179: Beazley, Attic Red-figured Vases in
American Museums, p. 82. fig. 50 bis (Cobridge U. S., 1918).
75
o94 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
stead of three.20 What the symbolism behind this brute is
we are not able to say. It is the constant companion of
Dionysos and the Maenads even down to the classical
period. Dionysiacal panthers decorated with trefoils and
at times with quatrif oils may be seen in an Etrusean tomb
at Tarquinia,21 on a painted vase of the Museum of
Munich,22 and on a stamnos of the British Museum.23
The same trefoil three dot arrangement is used to deco-
rate the cloth that covers the lower part of the body of
Apollo in a vase painting of the Hermitage Museum of
Petrograde.24
The trefoil in Crete developed into a quatrifoil some-
times. A Mycenaean bull on a vase found at Cyprus (Fig.
10) has a number of trefoils on the upper and lower portions
of its body. The quatrifoils form a central row. The front
portion of the animal is covered with small crosses, which
are the last development of the trefoil.25
The same evolution we discover in the painting of a
bull rhyton carried by a servant on a wall in the tomb of
Men-Kheperra-serib, High Priest of Amon at Thebes. This
rhyton hag mixed trefoils and quatrifoils.28
20. Gerhart, Etrusfcische Spiegel, pi. CCXCII; Harrison,
Themis, p. 442, fig. 136 (Cambridge, 1912).
21. Weege, Etruskische Malerei, p. 68. fig. 62, (Hall, 1921)
22. Ducati, Storia della Cermica Greca, II, p. 330, fig. 247.
23. B. M. stamnos No. E443; Beazley, op. cit., p. 55, fig. 35.
24. Hemitage Museum Catalogue, No. 1807.
25. Corpus Vasorum Anttquorum, Great Britain, I, British
Museum, II, C. b/ pi 7, No. 10.
26. Meyer, Fremdendarstellungen, pp. 596-600; Max-Muller,
Egyptian Research, II, pi. I-XXII,
Fig. 9.
mirror with the of Apollo,
Dion, Ysos and the Sun.
Fig. 11
Fig, 10,
Bull with and
COMMEMORATION VOLUMti
595
Consequently, the celestial cow Hathor also was deco-
rated with quatrifoils or crosses in later specimens.
(Fig. 11).
The trefoil decoration has also been found in Spain
adorning the forehead of busts of the mother goddess un-
earthed in the vicinity of Alicante, on the eastern coast of
Spain, and in Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands.27 The
trefoil appears once more in a scrol-frieze,' round a mosaic
of the labours of Hercules, discovered near Valencia.28
Fig. 12. Trefoil frieze round mosaic of Hercules1 labours (Valencia, Spain)
Fig. 13. Trefoil frieze round church gate at Rubio, Spain.
(Fig. 12) . This frieze is repeated round a romanesque gate
of the Church of Rubio in Catalonia, built in the 13th cen-
tury (Fig. 13).
27. Lafuente Vidal, Excavaciones en la Albufereta de Alicante
(Antigua Lucentum), fol. XI (Madrid, 1934).
28. Rodenwaldt, Arte Clasico, p. 779 (Barcelona, 1933) .
596 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
It is said that the Druids, wno according to some
authors were the priests of the nation prior to the Celts in
France in England and in Ireland,29 a nation which to all
evidence seems to be Mediterranean, held the trefoil in
great veneration.30 In fact traditions connected with the
life of St. Patrick inform us that he used the trefoil in order
to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity to the Irish
pagans, a fact which seems to suppose that the trefoil was
known to them as a religious symbol or object. Even now
in some European countries the quatrifoil seems to have
some superstitious beliefs attached to it. It is supposed to
be a sign of good luck.31
What was the symbolism behind this simple sign?
The real meaning of the trefoil is still a mystery. One
thing seems certain, that it must have a very high per-
haps religious significance; for in the cases studied above,
it is always found in connection with something sacred.
In Mohenjo Daro the priest-king who was the repre-
sentative of god amongst the people, in Egypt the image
of a goddess, in Sumer the heavenly bull, in Crete an ob-
ject used for sacred purposes, in Greece the dress of a god
and the shield of a goddess. Amongst the Etruscans a
symbolic animal, the constant companion of a god; in
Spain the headgear of a goddess, a mythological represen-
29. Cf. Heras, "Quienes eran los Druidas?," Ampuria*
(Barcelona), II, pp. 17-32.
30. Kendrick, The Druids. A Study in Keltic Religion, pp.
124-125. (London, 1927).
31. De Gubernatis, La Mithologie des plantes, II, p. 360.
(Paris, 1882).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 597
tation and the gate of a Church. Further archaeological
discoveries will perhaps enlighten us on this interesting
subject. The trefoil looks like a trifle. Yet it may have
a sublime symbolism behind it.
In point of fact the triple leaf of the bilva tree, Aegle
marmelos, is still much venerated in India and is dedicated
to Siva in his three-fold function of creator, preserver and
destroyer. The leaves of the vilva tree are placed on the
lingo, to cool the heated deity.32 One of Siva's titles is Bil-
vadanda, i.e. "he who holds the staff made of Bilva/'
The sacredness of this trefoil leaf may be guessed from
the following story narrated in the Skanda Pur ana:
Once apoii a time there was a hunter who was living
in the region near the Himalayan mountains. One day
while hunting he was overtaken by nightfall. In order to
escape the wild beasts, he climbed a tree where he spent the
night in great discomfort. Naturally he often shook the
branches of the tree while changing his position, and at
each motion of the branches many leaves were falling.
Now, a linga happened to be under that tree and since
the tree was a bilva, the trefoil leaves were falling over
the linga. Siva is said to have been highly pleased. When
a few days after the hunter died, Yama the god of death
was put to flight after a violent quarrel and Siva carried
the hunter to heaven. Later Yama complained to Nandi,
Siva's vehicle and servant of the latter's treatment. Then
Nandi replied: "This man has been a great sinner who had
no scruple to shed blood; but before he died, he fasted,
32. Martin, The Gods of India, A brief Description of their
History, Character and Worship, p. 240 (London Toronto, 1914) .
watched, and offered bilva leaves to the lingo.. This action
has cleansed him from his sins."33
Some statues of Saiva saints and devotees are repre-
sented with a jata-makuta, or hair head-gear, ending in a
trefoil (Fig. 14). In modern times images or painting re-
presenting Siva or his linga are often associated with the
three leaves of the bilva (Fig. 15). Even Vishnu and
Krishna are sometimes shown with a trefoil, or three
peacock feathers joined in the shape of a trefoil, upon their
makuta (Figs. 16 and 17).
Sir Arthus Evans has tried to explain the appearance
of the trefoil decoration in Minoan Art by showing its
plastic evolution from the intersection of three Cs.34 Yet
we may now state that the trefoil decoration did not origi-
nate in Crete, as it existed before in India, in Sumer and
in Egypt. After considering the religious connections of
this motif throughout the Indo-Mediterranean civiliza-
tions, we are of opinion that the trefoil is a symbol of the
divine triad, God who is one and who is three,35 a tenet
which persistently exists in all those civilizations as if it
were the religious heirloom of the race.36
33. Ibid., pp. 174-175. Cf. Skanda Purana, III, 3, Adh. 2, w.
31-32; Gupte, Hindu Holidays and ceremonials with Dissertation
on Origin, Folklore and Symbols, pp. 208-215 (Calcutta, 1916).
34. Evans, The Palace of Minos, IV, pp. 314-315.
• 35. Heras, "The Religion of the Mohenjo Daro People," J.UJ3.,
V, pp. 16-18; Heras "Further Excavations at Mohenjo Daro," The
New Review, IV, pp. 73-75.
36. I shall explain the existence of this belief in all the Indo-
Mediterranean nations in my work on The Religion of the Proto-
Indians and its Evolution in the Mediterranean Nation*.
Fig. 14.
A Saiva Saint with the trefoil on his
head
— Miiscinn of the Ind. //is Research
Institute, St. Xavier's College,
Fig 15.
Modern painting of Siva's Linga with
the three leaves of the bilva
on tho background.
Modern painting of VLshnu with a
peace ck feather trefoil on the
mnkiitn .
Fig. 17.
Venugopal with a peacock feather
trefoil on the maknta.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN CURRENCY
BY
PROP. V. G. KALE, M.A.,
Poona
I welcome this opportunity of contributing an article
to the Commemoration Volume to be presented to the
Rajah Saheb of Chettinad and thus of paying my tribute
of appreciation of the large-heartedness and liberal minded-
ness of an old friend and colleague in the Council of
State. Being away from headquarters for several day's
and having little free time at my disposal, I had to choose
for this article a theme that appeared to be topical and
was handy when I decided to sit down to write. Neverthe-
less, I feel that Indian currency is a fascinating subject and
intrinsically of great national importance and no further
apology is needed to justify the selection I have made of
one small aspect of that large theme.
Even a superficial observer will have noticed that in
Great Britain and in India, the authorities have been try-
ing to take to heart the lessons taught by the experience
of the last Great War in the matter of economic policies
and, as far as practicable, to avoid what turned out to be
mistakes twenty years ago. Problems relating to
prices, exchanges, currencies, taxes, rates of inte-
rest and public debt are being handled with great
caution but with promptness and decision in the
light of past experience. This feature of the situa-
tion is particularly striking in the field of cur-
600 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
rency and exchange and appeals with special significance
to a person like myself who had to comment upon Indian
currency policy in the central legislature and outside, during
and immediately after the last War. The rupee-sterling ex-
change was put up then with every unfavourable develop-
ment in trade and with every rise in the price of silver. There
were ordinances and bans on the breaking up and transport
of rupees, but all the coins that were poured into cir-
culation vanished into hoards or melting pots, creating an
artificial scarcity of money. This time necessary adjust-
ments are anticipated and are promptly carried into effect
and the control of exchange is more tight and satisfactory.
We have now the comparative advantage that the control of
the country's currency and credit is no longer divided as
it then was but is unified in the hands of the Reserve
Bank of India. In the last war inordinate demands for
metallic currency defeated all efforts to supply it, inclu-
ding the issue of one rupee and two and a half rupee
currency notes. Let us see how a similar demand for
metallic currency on an abnormal scale has been met during
the present war, without serious inconvenience to the pub-
lic and to the authorities. The latest report on currency
and finance issued by the Reserve Bank of India gives in-
teresting information on this subject.
During the " busy season " in India, i.e., from Septem-
ber to March when commercial crops are being moved
after harvests, notes and rupees are in demand for payment
to cultivators and for financing of seasonal trade activities.
During the other — viz., the "slack season" — there is move-
ment of currency in the opposite direction and money
returns to commercial centres through the channels of
revenue collections and payment for manufacturers and so
on. All the currency that flows out into the countryside does
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 601
not, of course, return in this way. The normal expansion
of business activity and some hoarding absorb a small
part of the currency which means an addition to the
money that remains with the public. " The volume of
currency in circulation usually reflects the incidence of the
busy and slack seasons, rising and falling with their altera-
tion Ordinarily the slack season is taken to
start when currency begins to return about February or
March and ends about September or October when return
gives place to absorption of currency." (Report on Currency
and Finance, 1940-41). This process of outflow and inflow
of expansion and contraction and of absorption of paper
and metallic currency is a normal feature of the business
life of India. Abnormal conditions such as a serious dis-
turbance in tjhe country's balance of trade, a famine, a
wide spread panic, changes in the supply or prices of the
precious metals tend to cause violent fluctuations in the
above seasonal process of currency distribution. In the
last war some of these factors combined to produce huge
absorption of rupees and led to grave embarrassment of
Government who could not provide metallic currency in
the face of abnormal rises in silver prices and the rapid
disappearance of rupees from circulation.
How are absorption and return of currency calcula-
ted ? Since the Reserve Bank of India took up the mana-
gement of the currency " the variations in the figures of
notes in circulation as given in the weekly returns of the
Issue Department of the Bank are taken to indicate absorp-
tion or return. Notes in circulation now include the
amounts held in the Government Treasuries as well as by
the public, but exclude the holdings of the Banking Depart-
ment of the Reserve Bank. The absorption or return of
rupee coin means the decline or rise respectively in the
76
602
RAJAH SIR AtfNAMALAl CHETTIAR
amount of rupee coin held in the Issue Department of the
Bank/' Since 1935-36 rupee coin does not include half
rupees, which are shown under small coin and since 24th
July 1940, rupee coin includes Government of India rupee
notes. It should be noted here that the circulation of one
rupee notes the right to the conversion of which into rupee
coin was withheld from the public was an important
measure adopted to stem the tide of the absorption of
rupee currency.
On the outbreak of the War, it was noticed that a
heavy demand, which was bound to be partly speculative
and partly the result of increased business activity, should
arise and that a larger amount than usual of notes and
rupees should go into circulation. But the absorption of cur-
rency during the two years 1939-40 and 1940-41 was extra-
ordinarily heavy amounting to Rs. 118 crores. This compares
curiously enough, with a return of currency during 20
years ended 1938-39 of Rs. 68 crores ! The following
figures show absorption and return during 19 months of war
up to March, 1941 and the 19 months before the war ended
August, 1939: —
Absorption = (+)
Return— (— )
(In lakhs of Rs.)
19 Months Notes
Total includ-
Rupees Small coin ing small
coin
January, 1938
to
August, 1939
4,39
-22,54 -6 — 26,99
September, '39
to
March, 1941 + 78,77
+ 52,76
6,91 + 138,44
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
603
The monthly absorption and return of currency are
given in the following two tables : —
I
1939-40
(In lakhs of
Rs.)
Currency
Notes
Rupee coin
Small coin
Total
Month
April
— 38
+ i
+ 14,
- 23
May
— 92
— 18
f 7
- 1,03
June
- 3,18
- 3,22
-18
- 6,68
July
- 6,20
- 3,50
-27
- 9,97
August
+ 47
- 2,46
-18
- 2,17
Sept.
+ 24,03
+ 33
+ 1?
+ 24,48
Oct.
+ 7,38
+ 2,60
+ 33
+ 10,31
Nov.
+ 9,81
+ 3,04
+ 43
+ 13,28
Dec.
+ 15,81
+ 5,28
+ 53
+ 21,62
Jan.
+ 1,92
+ 3,37
+ 49
+ 5,78
Feb.
+ 1,71
+ 2,56
+ 41
+ 4,68
March
- 1,00
+ 2,35
+ 32
+ 1,67
Total
+ 49,45
+ 10,08
+ 2,21
+ 61,74
II
1940—41
(In lakhs of
Rs.)
Currency
Notes
Rupee coin
Small coin
Total
Month
April
+ 1,06
+ 2,56
+ 29
+ 3.91
May
+ 8,92
+ 6,81
+ 46
+ 16,10
June
- 1,59
+ 15,12
+ 46
+ 13.99
July
- 9,02
+ 5,18
+ 42
- 3.42
August
- 6,43
+ 3.62
+ 25
- 2,56
Sept.
- 2,31
+, 2,03
+ 20
- 8
Oct.
- 51
+ 1,00
+ 39
+ 88
Nov.
+ 48
+ 83
+ 22
+ 1,53
Dec.
+ 12,10
+ 1,13
+ 46
+ 13,69
Jan.
+ 3,80
- 1,36
+ 47
+ 2.91
Feb.
+ 4,43
- 1.41
+ 38
+ 3,37
March
+ 8,18
- 2,28
+ 31
+ 6,21
Total
+ 19,H
+ 33,28
+ 4,28
+ 56,62
604 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAf CHETTIAR
From Table No. I above it will be seen that there was
a huge absorption amounting to as much as Rs. 57 crores
during the first four months of the war. In the succeed-
ing months demand for currency in the shape of notes
steadily declined but rupees continued to be in large
demand obviously for hoarding. On the collapse of France
in June, 1940, in particular, hoarding of rupees became a
craze. In June the absorption of rupee coin amounted to
Rs. 15 crores. The return of notes in the three months,
June to August was extraordinarily heavy and totalled
nearly to Rs. 22 crores between 15th June and the end of
August. Coin was freely issued to the public without
limit, with the result that the holding of rupee coin of the
Issue Department of the Reserve Bank, which had stood
at nearly Rs. 76 crores on 1st September, 1939, dwindled
to Rs. 35 crores in the third week of June, 1941, having
fallen below the statutory limit of Rs. 50 crores by the end
of May, 1940.
This scarcity of currency artificially created by hoard-
ing had to be promptly faced. Government took two steps
to meet the situation. Coin was to be supplied in exchange
for notes only to the extent of the normal and reasonable
requirements of individuals and .refusal to accept coin or
notes in payment of a debt or otherwise was prohibited.
These measures produced the desired effect and the situa-
tion was finally eased with the introduction of the Govern-
ment of India one rupee notes and the increased supplies
of newly minted rupees. As it would have taken time to
provide adequate supplies of new one rupee notes, notes
which had been printed in 1935 to meet a possible contin-
gency but which had not been actually used, were imme-
diately put into circulation. These notes took the place of
rupee coin both for legal and practical purposes and the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 605
Reserve Bank of India Act was suitably amended to rectify
the position as regards its holding of rupees. New and
larger sized issue of one rupee notes has now been put in-
to circulation.
The short-lived demand for coin was not confined to
rupees but extended also to small silver coins and to nickel
and copper. Th absorption of small coin in 1939-40 was
the largest since 1919-20. The absorption of small coin
during the first seven months of the war amounted
to Rs. 2'63 crores. During the year 1940-41, the absorp-
tion reached record heights being Rs. 4*26 crores and there
was no return of small coin in the slack season of the year.
In the 19 months of the war period the absorption of small
coin amounted to Rs. 6*9 crores whereas in the 19 months
of the period before the war there had been a return of 6
lakhs of rupees.
Foreign exchange has been systematically controlled
from the very beginning in the present war, both
in England and in India, and the rupee-sterling rate has
been steadily maintained. The balance of trade and the
large balances which the Reserve Bank of India was en-
abled to have in London have facilitated the maintenance
of the exchange at a fixed level. The problem, again, has
not been complicated by a steady and abnormal rise in the
price of silver as it happened in the last war. The heavy
absorption of rupees and of small coins indicated the direc-
tion of the difficulties that might arise in this connection
and prompt steps were taken to prevent possible undesir-
able developments. Two ordinances were issued one in
July and the other in December, 1940 announcing that the
fineness of the half rupee and of the whole rupee would be
reduced from eleven-twelfths of fine silver and one-twelfth
of alloy to one half of fine silver and one half of alloy.
606
Thesef measures were obviously intended to prevent un-
necessary waste of silver in view of large demand for coin
and to discourage hoarding. The rupee and the small
silver coin have thus been now reduced to the true status
of token currency.
In a war like the present, reaching ever-widening
dimensions, the importance of keeping the country's
currency system on an even keel cannot be exaggerated
and the brief account given above of the developments
which have taken place in the domain of Indian currency
and of the farsighted policy which the Government and
the Reserve Bank have adopted with commendable
promptness in connection therewith, is calculated to create
a feeling of confidence in the public mind that the authori-
ties concerned will meet every difficult situation as it arises,
in the appropriate manner.
ON A PROJECTIVE TRANSFORMATION
BY
P. KESAVA MENON, M.Sc.
The focal properties of conies are usually studied by
means of projections involving the circular points and cir-
cular lines. This paper is mainly an attempt to study
those properties by a simpler projective transformation in
a single plane. The transformation is then extended to
spaces of higher dimensions.
Let 0 be a given point, and I a given line. Take any
point P in the plane determined by the point 0 and the
line I. Let OP intersect I in Q and let K be the harmonic
conjugate of P with respect to 0 and Q.
If P moves along a curve C, R will move along a curve
r which we shall call the 'transform' of C.
As an immediate consequence of the definition of the
transformation we have
608 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAJ CHETTIAR
Theorem 1. All straight lines through O transform
into themselves.
Let V be the foot of the perpendicular
from 0 on I. Then, since P, R divide
OQ harmonically, it follows that I bi-
sects the angle PVR. Hence we have
Theorem 2. A straight line through V transforms
into its reflection about the line /.
As a corollary to the above theorems we
get
Theorem 3. The transformation preserves the angles
at O in magnitude and sign and the
angles at V in magnitude but changes
the sign.
It is clear that the transform of any point
on the perpendicular bisector of 0V is
at infinity; conversely, the transform of
any point on the line at infinity lies on
the perpendicular bisector of 0V.
Therefore we get
Theorem 4. The perpendicular bisector of 0V trans-
forms into the line at infinity; and con-
versely, the line at infinity transforms
into the perpendicular bisector of 0V.
2. Next we shall discuss the equations of the transfor-
mation. Taking 0 as origin and 0V as the initial line, we
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 609
have, if (r,0), (r',0) be the points P and R respectively, and
OV=2c, then
- - »
V ~7 ~ OQ ~
If (x,y) , (x', y') be the cartesian co-ordinates of P, R
respectively, then dividing both sides of (1) by cos 0 and
sin 0 separately, we get
JL -L -, _L d -L JL ....*. a x'
*«" x' ^ c * jT y' ** cy ** cy' '
so that
and
cx u' - -3L.
- cj ^ ~a:- c'
(2)
Hence we have the
Theorem 5. The transformation is projective, so
that the transform of an algebraic curve
of the nth degree is a curve of the same
degree. In particular, straight lines
transform into straight lines and conies
into conies.
Also, from (1) we have
r' x' — c c
r c x — c
(3)
Let the transforms of the points Pi (xi, yi) be P/ (xi'f
y/) (i=l, 2, 3) and let the radii vectors OPi, OP/ be denoted
by n, r/ respectively.
77
610
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
If, further, A, A' denote the areas of the triangles
Pi Pa Ps, Pi Pa Ps' respectively, then
*,'
cz,
z,~c a:,— c
caa
^,1
-c'
i „ / _, /
3
_n (*,-<
»-i
r» >-.' rt
f. r. r
(3) )•
Thus we get
Theorem 6. If Pi, Pz, Pa be three points with trans-
forms Pi',P2',Ps' respectively and A, A'
be the areas of the triangles
PiTYPs', respectively, then
OP/ OP; OP; T OP» . OP, . OP,
= o.
Consider a circle with centre 0 and radius a. Putting
r=a in (1) we see that its transform is the conic.
o
7'
cos e — i,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 611
having O as a focus, the initial line as the transverse axis
and whose semi latus rectum is a and the distance of the
directrix from the focus is c. Hence we get the
Theorem 1. Circles with centre at 0 transform into
conies with a focus at O and the corres-
ponding directrix common, the semi
latera recta being equal to the radii
of the corresponding circles. Converse-
ly, a system of conies having a focus and
the corresponding directrix common,
can be transformed into concentric cir-
cles by a proper choice of 0 and the line I.
3. A number of interesting deductions can immediate-
ly be made. We give a few as illustrations.
Since the chords of a circle subtending a constant
angle at the centre envelop a concentric circle, the point of
contact of a chord with the envelop being on the bisector
of the angle subtended by the chord at the centre, we get
on transformation (using Theorem 3) the
Theorem 8. Chords of a conic subtending a constant
angle at a focus envelop a conic having
that focus and the corresponding direct-
trix common with the given conic.
Further, the point of contact of a
chord with the envelop lies on the bi-
sector of the angle subtended by the
chord at the focus.
If a polygon be inscribed in a circle and
circumscribed to a concentric circle, then
612 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
the sides of the polygon subtend a cons-
tent angle at the common centre. Cor-
respondingly we have the
Theorem 9. If a polygon be inscribed in a conic and
circumscribed to another having one
focus and the corresponding directrix
common with the former, then the sides
of the polygon subtend a constant angle
at the common focus.
Moreover, the necessary and sufficient condition that
a polygon of n sides be circumscribed to a circle of radius a
and inscribed in a concentric circle of radius b is a—b cos^/n.
Therefore we have
Theorem 10. The necessary and sufficient condition
that a polygon of n sides may be circum-
scribed to a conic of semi-latus rectum
a and inscribed in another conic having
one focus and the corresponding direc-
trix common with the former and whose
semi-latus rectum is b is a— b cosVn.
If in Theorem 6 we take Pi,P2,Pa on a circle with centre
0 and radius a, the area of the triangle Pi, ?2, Pa, will remain
constant if the sides subtend constant angles at the centre.
Hence we immediately deduce
Theorem 11. If Pi, P2, Pa be three points on a conic
such that the sides of the triangle PiP2Ps
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 613
subtend constant angles at a focus, O,
and if A denotes the area of the triangle
PiP2Pa, then
Since the maximum triangle inscribed in the circle is
equilateral, it follows that the maximum value of
A
ls attained when the sides of the triangle
™ ™
' UJT2 * UJra
subtend the same angle at 0, and is then equal to
4a
where a is the semilatus rectum.
A circle with centre at the midpoint of 0V has its
equation in the form
(x— c)* + y* = a*. This by (2) transforms into
that is, into the hyperbola
<£rJi' _ y[L - i
c4/a' * c« ' W
which has the midpoint of 0V as its centre, the semi-latus
rectum and the conjugate axis to a and c respectively, and
the x-axis for the transverse axis. Thus we get
Theorem 12. Circles having a common centre can be
transformed into concentric hyperbolas
whose conjugate axes coincide and are
equal in length, and whose latera recta
are equal to the radii of the correspond-
ing circles [We have only to chose 0, V
614 JtUJAH SIR ANttAMALAl CHETT1AR
such that the common centre is the fnid-
pointof 0V].
The converse is also true.
Since 0, V are fixed points for all hyperbolas of the
system (4) being the points where the circle, concentric
with the hyperbolas and having its radius equal to the
common semi conjugate axis meet the transverse axis, it is
clear that we can obtain from theorem 12, theorems ana-
logous to theorems 8, 9 and 10. The actual statement of the
theorems is left to the reader.
It may be remarked here that circles having centre at
V transform into conies having a focus at V and the cor-
responding directrix common, the semi-latera recta being
equal to the radii of the corresponding circles.
4. The method of transformation given above can
easily be extended to spaces of higher dimensions. For the
transformation in n-diamensions we have simply to re-
place the line I by an (n-l)-flat. If 2c be the distance of
the (n-l)-flat from the origin O it follows, exactly as in
the case of two dimensions, that the relation connecting
OP and OF is
I + 4. . S2-5 (8)
r r' c v '
If we take 0V as the xi-axis we get the following trans-
formation scheme in cartesian coordinates:
(» - 1, 2, ...... n) (6)
**»
«,-•
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
615
The content A of an (n+1) — simplex formed by the
points
Pr ( *rlt *r,, ...... , xrn) (r - 1, 2, ...... , n + l) being
* •••••• **» *
we have, if A' denotes the content of the transformed sim-
plex, analogous to theorem 6, the
Theorem 13.
OP,' . o/y ...
o.
We can also write down without difficulty the analogues
of the other theorems.
VYAVAHARIKA— PRAMANYA— A CRITIQUE
BY
B. N. KRISHNAMURTI SARMA, M.A.
To be true to Monism in philosophy one must naturally
deny the reality of human experience altogether. To do
so bluntly, would however be shocking to the susceptibili-
ties of man. The Buddhist and the Advaitin have therefore
tried to disguise the bitterness of their pill by the
sugarcoat of sqrT5TSTft*r5TTOT<rer (provisional validity) which
they assign to human experience. Madhva feels that
s^srfrrfeFSTJTnrcr is merely a euphemism for "invalid."
It may be a mouthful phrase ; but it cannot satisfy the
philosopher's hunger for truth. It is at best a self-compla-
cent lie with which one cannot hope to deceive all men for
all time.
What is this " oOTsreTfr^rsniTT^ " of reality, in point
of fact ? Is it a * working kind ' of reality ? That can only
be when the said reality is assured of unstultifiability.1
The " ssrragrfe^J1 real " is admittedly not so. It is futile to
argue that our ordinary experiences may be credited with
just as much " provisional " validity as a dream experience!
For one thing there is no proof that our dreams are so
utterly unreal as the argument assumes.2 They are indubi-
tably the result of ^RT5Tr s — the subconscious impressions
*•
(AnuvySkhydna) 1.4,89.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 617
of the waking state. It is otherwise difficult to see the
necessity for a " material cause "3 ( greHT s) and an
"efficient cause' in their case. Non-entities like the Sky-
flower are never in need of such causes.
Even the dreams and illusions are not wholly unreal.
There is an element of reality in them: —
No one cares to deny even at a later date that he had gone
thro' such and such an experience.4 To that content then,
the dream or the illusion must be said to be real. The ele-
ment of unreality comes in only at the point of its identifi-
cation for the nonce with waking experience.5 This aspect
of it alone is corrected and set aside by the STO^T fTW —
not the entire experience as such. Thus, it is not so much
the actual presence of the snake there as the psychological
effect of its misapprehension there, — which is a fact — that
is the real cause of the fright6 and the flight of the per-
ceiver.
s.
Samkara, B. S. B. m,2,6
4,
fa^fir w
(Samkara B.S.B. 2,1,14)
5. smrofafr ft ^TR: i (AV. 1,4,90).
(AV. i,4,9i).
78
618 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The example of dreams and illusions would moreover
be powerless to prove the "provisional validity" of non-
existent things. It is beyond the capacity of the unreal to
serve as a practical means of response-satisfaction7 such
as is partially at least found to be the case in dreams and
illusions. At any rate, there is difference of opinion anent
such fitness8— whereas both parties to the controversy are
agreed on the fitness of the real to operate as such a means
of response-satisfaction.9 Why not then admit the reality
of the world in so far as it admittedly * (»wfelT«Tft'
especially when the 'real' has been admitted to be
? The advantage of the argument is cer-
tainly on the side of Madhva in so far the
of what is " fiisqt " (unreal) is yet in doubt and to be
established.
n.
It is difficult to condemn world perception as c innately
deceptive/ The statement that everything is deceptive and
unreliable cannot be made without some reservation at least
in favour of the very reasoning and grounds on which such
a thesis is sought to be based.10 If this reasoning itself and
those grounds themselves are deceptive the contrary propo-
sition would be true that everything is sure and certain.11
The kind of " negative clench " of the Khandanakara would
7.
8. wrenFgriT's^T^q1 jarra fesfocrfer*: (AV. n, 2, 228).
9. Hi*4<br^ fj WTPT srif^nnt wwwrtpffc I
* * * AV. n,i,
10. firsmrlr fa:^*asw^nrart wl^ I AV. 1,1,17
11. «FcT^ »raRrmrWK*W *[»Tforcrr*l?TT ? AV. 111.2,98.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 619
defeat its own purpose and would at once put such irres-
ponsible debater out of court in any intellectual parley.12
Such ultra scepticism would recoil upon the Advaitin him-
self and besmirch his own certitude of his Sakshi (self).
Such a doubting Thomas can have no justification to open
his mouth and make any statement whatever. He must
bid good-bye to all attempts at arriving at the truth of the
Vedanta through study and investigation : ^r*cf
Samkara on B.S.B. 1.1.2. He would forfeit
his place among inquirers after truth (<J^$W>8) and
would be treated as outside the pale of debate
III.
If the validity of perception is called into ques-
tion that of the monistic Scriptures could no more
be exempt as both of them operate equally medi-
ately and ultimately rest upon the same Sakshi
for their interpretation and understanding.13 It is
futile to put in that tho' ultimate validity is denied to
experience, it is conceded some sort of 'practical' or 'pro-
visional validity.' What precisely is this "provisional vali-
dity? Is it 'being valid for sometime' and turning out 'to
12.
is.
umwf mfRta 11 AV. 111,2,55,
620 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
be invalid ' at another ? u In that case, the Advaitic texts
would share the same fate as worldly experience and the
"dualistic texts (^?^fers)? For, it must be admitted
in fairness that the two groups of texts (as conceived by the
Advaitin) are mutually exclusive and each is in a state of
suspended animation and hence invalid in the life time of
the other.
Madhva also refutes the hairsplitting distinction
in validity (drawn by the monist) between the Advaitic
texts and the consolidated experience of duality and calls
the Sakshi to witness. There can be no 'degrees of validity.'
The very idea is the result of a confusion of thought. Fac-
tual validity can admit of no temporal limits. The true is
true for all times and the untrue must remain so now and
within a given spatio-temporal setting for ever. The so-
called 5*nci5Tk*fi validity of experience is thus a misnomer.
The world of experience that (according to the Advaitin)
is sure to be nullified (invalidated) with reference to all the
three periods of time. sirat^fel flfe^ciUcf ^ifef*
cannot be said to be valid even now : —
%f^rtf nwarr «pw ?
The Advaitin then must not be afraid to strike if willing
to wound universal experience. He must therefore make
bold to throw off his mask and coolly declare that world
experience is really invalid as it is falsified by the true per-
ception of the oneness of self. He should not play a double
game of running with the hare and hunting with the
hounds. He would have to state also if the Advaitic proof
that establishes the oneness of the Atman by negating all
i*. «6f€Tc*n^ snnoRi* qarnprnio srre: ......... n
(Sannyayaratnavdli, 111,2, p. 6b),
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 621
duality in release, continues to be valid and true for ever
afterwards or not. In the former case, there would no lon-
ger be a pure monism. If the said proof (STOTOT) of one-
ness is likely to be stultified in its turn, there would be a
recrudescence of world experience15 then. Nay, from one
point of view, an absolute validity for the Advaitic texts
would be as much detrimental to the interests of a pure
Monism as that of duality-texts. The Monist would thus
find himself between the horns of a dilemma. He can nei-
ther reject the validity of his own monistic texts nor yet
hold it to his heart.
Madhva argues that whatever else may or may not be
admitted in release, Time as a fundamental category must
be recognised to persist and endure. Any attempt to nega-
tive Time in release would still presuppose "Time." The per-
sistence of time in release is also borne out by temporal ad-
juncts like a^T (then) STO (thereafter) in* passages
like: —
descriptive of the state of release.
We are thus forced to ascribe the utmost validity to
whatever is attested by our own intimate personal experi-
ence of outside reality. Such penetrating experiences (of
an intimate or immediate character) are never seen to be
falsified by reason or revelation : —
AV. Ill, 2, 64.
nraf?
H AV. 111,2,61.
3 Hlfc AV. 11,2,231.
622 RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
IV.
In this connection, Madhva criticises the plea of the
Advaitin that the illusory identification of body and self ex-
perienced by us, is set aside by reason and revelation. He
argues that far from our being under the grip of any such
universal and ineradicable delusion, we are all of us gener-
ally conscious of the essential distinction between the two
as is attested by the familiar judgment — " This is my
body." Nor is such discrimination confined to human be-
ings alone. It extends to the subhuman species as well —
to the beasts, birds and even aquatic creatures whose lives
are from the moment of their birth regulated by suitable
responses to the instinctive emotions of love, aversion, fear
and want. This shows that these creatures have a vivid
recollection of their past lives and experience and instinct-
ively model their present behaviour upon their past17. So
then, judgments like ' I am fair ' * I am dark ' are to be
treated not as erroneous perceptual identifications but as
figurative usages on a par with others like — c the cots are
screaming." ( *rar: sKftrf?eT:, ).18 The millionaire that has
become bankrupt is said to be "lost". True, if there is such
a widespread realisation of the distinction of body and soul
as between a house and the tenant therein, one should ex-
pect to find people say : "My body is white; not I." Madhva
explains that the reason why we do not usually find them
saying so is not because they do not realise the body and
17.
n AV. 0,2,68-9.
is,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 623
soul to be different ; but because their realisation is not
vivid eno ' for the nonce, to rise above the counter-acting
force of the all-pervasiveness of the self within the body.
The body is shot thro' and thro' with the self that pervades
it inside and 6ut even as fire permeates a flaming ball of iron
or a heap of coals. So much so that in our sheer inability
to keep the two apart we are led to use such figurative des-
criptions as "coal burns" "the iron-ball is ablaze."19 There
is nothing strange in this. Even so should it be in the case
of the body and the self when we say — 'I am fair' 'I am
dark ', * I am lost '; * I have won ' etc. There is no risk of
their being misunderstood as such usages have come to
stay (^3T-) Moreover, awareness of mutual distinction
may at times go together with an inability to find suitable
linguistic expression to mark off one thing from another.
We may be aware of the differentia without being able
to explain it to the satisfaction of another.20 Instances
are not wanting of mothers of twins who though capa-
ble of distinguishing them, would yet be unable to explain
the how of it to another's satisfaction. Hence the anxiety
of Scripture to drive home the destinction and bring it to
the forefront.
Thus, the pet theory of the Advaitin that perceptual
judgments are inherently liable to be sublated by reason
or revelation stands discredited partly because (1) as be-
tween the body and soul there is no case at all for such
identity; (2) or because where the confusion is fostered in
19. o*
n AV. 1112,70-71.
20. * * #
g $mr* «
624 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
hedonistic circles it is not in the nature of a sense-percep-
tion at all (but of blind belief in a false doctrine) ; (3) or
because tho' perceptual the judgment turns out to be valid
as in fRTT«S£ *T ; or (4) because where it is invalid as in
SjfqFcresrar (illusion of silver in nacre) , it is rectified not by
reasoning but by a valid and subsequent perception
(^f^Trsr^I^lV itself ! There is thus no case of a percep-
tual knowledge being set aside solely by inference or
Scripture without reference to an irrefragable subsequent
perception21 or the test of conviction of STT^ft. The attempt
at discrediting experience on extraneous grounds is thus
doomed to failure. That being so, the self-validity of ex-
perience stands unshaken and the dodge of
is completely exposed.
21.
II — (Tattvodyota)
A FEW CHAPTERS IN ALKALOID CHEMISTRY
BY
DR. K. N. MENON, M.Sc., PH.D., (LOND.), A.I.C., AJ.I.Sc.,
Professor of Chemistry, Maharaja's College, Ernakulam.
The chemistry of the alkaloids is one of the most
fascinating problems offered to students of organic
chemistry. It is very difficult to make a choice of material
for an article of this type and considerations of space
impose restriction of method of treatment. However, a
few topics have been selected for presentation in an easily
readable form.
CINCHONA ALKALOIDS.
The chief interest in this group of alkaloids is due to
its application in malaria. Cinchona bark contains eight
principal alkaloids of which quinine, dihydroquinine,
quinidine, cinchonidine and cinchonine are most commonly
used in medicine. Amongst these five, quinine occupies
the foremost place of importance. It is very difficult even
now, to correctly evaluate clinical results and in the case of
cinchona alkaloids excepting quinine, it is extremely diffi-
cult to get others in sufficient quantity of absolute purity.
In spite of the fact that more than a century has
passed since the discovery of cinchona as an antimalarial
and despite numerous attempt? to solve the problem of
chemical constitution and antimalarial action, it cannot
be said that the problem is solved. The difficulties associat-
ed with the problem are numerous, not the least difficult of
79
62e RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
which" is in instituting strictly comparative clinical tests,
in view of the non-transmittibility of human malaria to
experimental animals.
In 1912 Kaufmann1 advanced the view that the use of
quinine as an antimalarial agent is due to its substituted
hydroxy quinoline ethylamine structure.
(R,R' and R" are hydrogen or alkyl groups)
The development of this thesis was held up until the
discovery by Giemsa, Weise and Tropp2 that "Pasmodiurn
prcecox", parasite of bird malaria, can be used as an
experimental infection. The effect of various drugs on this
parasite is parallel to their action on that human
malaria. A quantitative comparison between various drugs
can be made by comparing the time required for the appear-
ance of the parasites in experimentally infected canaries.
This method, like the use of trypnose in some branches of
chemotherapy, proved very useful.
Experiments with cinchona alkaloids have shown that
for the same type of bird malaria, the laevorotatory alka-
loid is more effective than its optical isomer. The alka-
loids have furnished illustrations of striking changes in
action with slight structural variations and conversely of
profound structural alteration not affecting action to any
1. Her., 1912, 45, 3090; 1913, 46, 63.
2. Arch- Schiffs, U, Tropenhygiene, 1926, 30, 334.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 627
marked degree. It is observed that antimalarial activity
of cinchona alkaloids do not disappear unless (1) changes,
such as the preparation of various ethers, are carried out
to such an extent as to bring about an abnormal increase
in molecular weight; (2) alteration in the basic character
of the substance, e.g., by oxidation of the vinyl side-chain
to carboxyl; (3) change in the structural type, e.g., conver-
sion to quinicines by opening out the quinuclidine portion
of the molecule.
There was considerable doubt about the exact nature
of the products obtained by demethylating quinine. Henry
and Solomon3 find that demethylation with aluminium
gives apoquinine, Ci9H2202N2, mixed with chlorodihydro-
apoquinine, CioI^Os^Cl. The products of demethy-
lating quinine with sulphuric acid4 include apoquinine,
isoapoquinine. and hydroxydihydroapoquinine. Demethy-
lation of quinidine was studied by Suszko and collabora-
tors5 who have isolated apoquinidine in addition to isoapo-
quinidine. Quinine-apoquinine change involves the shift-
ing of the double bond besides demethylation.
<» CHaO-CoHoN-CH (OH) -CiHiiN-CH: Ok - »
-CH (OH) -CiHioN: CH-CHa (n>
Goodson6 has studied the addition of hydrogen halides
to the vinyl group and the value of the products formed in
3. J. Chem. Soc., 1934, 1923.
4. Ibid, 1935, 966. See also Butler and Cretcher J. Amer.
Chem. Soc., 1935, 57, 1083.
5. Rec. Trav. Chim., 1933, 52, 839; Rocz. Chem., 1935, 15, 209.
6. J. Chem. Soc., 1935, 1094.
628 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
the treatment of malaria. Ainley and King7 have accom-
plished the very difficult synthesis of the substance (III)
which manifested some antimalarial power.
This synthesis constitutes the first example of an active
substance modelled on the cinchona type which is not
known to occur in nature.
A large number of observations have recently been
made available by the publication8 of the results of a large
number of experiments carried out under the schemes
organised by the Health Organisation of the League of
Nations. A short summary of this report would not be out
of place in this connection.
Antimalarial drugs are probably of two kinds,
schizonticidal and gametocidal. Schizonticidal drugs
include the naturally occurring cinchona alkaloids and
atebrin; probably the only representative of gametocidal
drug worth mentioning is plasmoquin. The main defects
of the synthetic drugs, particularly plasmoquin, is their
toxicity while the principal advantage of atebrin over
quinine is its more powerful action. The best clinical
results seem to be obtained by the combined use of
schizonticidal and gametocidal drugs, quinine-plasmoquin
being considered to be the best.
7. Proc. Royal Soc, 1938, B 125, 60.
8. League of Nations 4th General Report of the Malaria Com-
mission. •
COMMEMORATION VOLUME . 629
ERGOT ALKALOIDS.
The oxytocic properties of ergot has placed it in a
very important position and has long been used in
obstetrics. Many attempts have been made to identify
the principle responsible for the physiological action of
ergot — to hasten labour or prevent haemorrhage in quer-
perium. These attempts resulted in the isolation of a
number of alkaloids. The alkaloids form five pairs, the
members of each pair being interconvertible. Each pair
consists of a laevorotatory physiologically potent member
constituting the ergotoxine series and its opposite number,
a strongly dextro-rotatory, physiologically weak com-
pound.
Our knowledge of these alkaloids has progressed in
rapid strides within the last few years. Barger and Carr,9
Barger and Dale,10 and Kraft11 showed ergotoxine,
CasHssOsNe; is convertible into ergotinine by treatment with
acetic anhydride or by boiling with methyl alcohol. The
reverse change is brought about by hot, dilute, alcoholic
phosphoric acid solution. Ergotamine and ergotaminine,
CsaHssOsNs, were isolated by Stoll,12 the conditions under
which this pair undergoes isomeric interconversion being
governed by conditions similar to those governing the ergo-
toxine— ergotinine conversions. The ergosine — ergosinine
9. J. Chem. Soc., 1907, 91, 337.
10. Biochem. J., 1907, 2, 240.
11. Arch. Pharm., 1906, 244, 336.
12. Schweiz, Apoth, Ztg., 1922, 60, 341. See also Smith and
Timis, J. Chem., Soc., 1930, 1390; Soltys, Ber., 1932; 65; 553;
Barger, Analyst, 1937, 62, 340.
630 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
pair, CsoHsiONs, was isolated by Smith and Timmis.13
Ergocristine and ergocristinine, CssHseOcNs, were obtained
from Spanish and Portuguese ergot by Stoll and
Burckhardt.14
The therapeutic values of ergot were ascribed to the
above four pairs of alkaloids. Moir15 developed a new
technique for comparing the action of aqueous extracts of
ergot with those of the four pairs of alkaloids. He found that
both qualitatively and quantitatively the results obtained
on human querperal uterus were different. It was found
that the response to the extracts followed much more
rapidly on their oral administration than did that of the
alkaloids, the effect of which were, in fact, somewhat erratic
when administered in this way. The author concluded that
this must be due to some unknown principle and this infer-
ence was confirmed by the isolation of the active principle
involved by Dudley and Moir.16 This new alkaloid, called
ergometrine, possesses all the qualities of the liquid
extracts of ergot. Dudley17 has devised a simple method of
isolation which makes ergometrine probably the most easily
obtainable of the ergot alkaloids.
Pure ergometrine, CioHasOaN*, is a monoacid base.18
The manufacture of ergometrine has resulted19 in the isola-
tion of another alkaloid ergometrinine, isomeric with ergo-
13. J. Chem. Soc., 1937, 396. See also Kofler, Arch. Pharm.,
1938, 276, 41.
14. Zeit. Physicl. Chem., 1937, 250, 1; 1938, 251; 287.
15. Brit. Mecl. J., 1932, i, 1022, 1119.
16. Ibid., 1935, i, 520.
17. Pharm. J., 1935, 134, 709.
18. Proc. Roy. Soc., 1935, 118B, 478.
1ft Nature, 1935, 136, 259.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 631
metrine, into which it is convertible. Stoll and
Burckhardt14 have found a new ergot pair, isomeric with
ergotoxine and ergotinine, the laevo form, ergocristine, is
highly active, the dextro form, ergocristinine, is less active.
The chemistry of the ergot alkaloids is progressing so
very energetically and that in the not distant future their
constitutions would all be indisputably established.
Sufficient data is now available to visualise the chemical
relationship which exists between the members of this
group: ergotoxine, ergotinine; ergotamine, ergotaminine;
ergometrine, ergometrinine; all yield lysergic acid on alka-
line hydrolysis. This acid thus appears to be the common
basis for ergot alkaloids.
Lysergic acid, first obtained by Jacobs and Craig,20 was
reducible to «-and y-dihydrolysergic acid,21 and on boiling
in aqueous solution is converted into isolysergic acid.22
d-Lysergic acid is converted into dl-lysergic acid by heating
in dilute barium hydroxide solution at 150° in an atmos-
phere of nitrogen. Jacobs and Craig23"25 suggest formula
(IV) for lysergic acid.
iCOOH
20. J. Biol. Chem., 1934, 104, 547,
21. Ibid., 1934, 106, 393.
22. Smith and Timis, J. Chem.. Soc., 1936, 1440.
23. J Biol. Chem,, 1936, 115, 227.
24. Ibid., 1932, 97, 739.
25. J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1938, 60, 1701.
832 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
When ergotinine24 or lysergic acid21 is submitted to
nitric acid oxidation, a tribasic acid, CuHoOsN, is obtained
and this yields quinoline on distillation with soda lime.
l-Arnino-5-methyl-naphthalene is formed by potash fusion
of dihydrolysergic acid. Jacobs and Craig25 observe that
dihydrolysergic acid loses water on pyrolysis to yield a
neutral unsaturated product to which two alternative for-
mulae can be assigned (Va and Vb)
(Va) r (Vb)
In the earlier formulation23 of lysergic acid, it was
assigned an a-amino acid constitution, but in view of the
production of the neutral product and the dissociation con-
stant of the acid, the P-amino structure25 is preferred. A com-
pound called ergoline containing the skeleton of dihydro-
lysergic acid has been synthesised by Jacobs and Gould,26
and is represented as the carboxyl and methyl replaced by
hydrogen. The position of the carboxyl group on the 8th
carbon atom is also supported by the basic dissociation con-
stants of dihydrolysergic acid and 6-methyl ergoline. The
work of Stoll and Hofmann27 on the recmization and
isomerisation of lysergic acid shows clearly that the acid
contains only one asymmetric carbon atom as postulated in
(IV).
A very interesting and important achievement in
ergot chemistry is Stoll and Hofmann's28 partial synthesis
26. J. Biol. Cheir... 1937, 120, 141; 1938, 125, 289.
27. Z. Physiol. Chem., 1937, 250, 7.
28. Ibid., 1938, 251, 155.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 633
of ergometrine and ergometrinine by condensing d-2-amino-
propanol-1 with racemic isolysergic acid azide, obtained by
the action of hydrazine hydrate on lysergic acid. This
synthesis confirms the deductions29 derived from the
analytical side.
MONOCROT ALINE .
'Crotalaria spectabilis', like many species of crotalaria,
is toxic and its toxicity has been shown to be due to an
alkaloid monocrotaline,30 CieHasON. Hydrolysis of mono-
crotaline yielded31 a basic product, retronecine, and an acid,
CiHiiiOs, monocrotic acid.
Cid&aOeN+HbO — ^CsHisCbN fCvH^Oa+COa
The molecular formula of monocrotaline and its
hydrolysis to an acid and an alkanolamine places it in the
same group ss Senico, Heliotropium, and Trichodesma
alkaloids. Another mode of cleavage successful32 in this
group is hydrogenolysis. Monocrotaline is readily reduced
to retronecol, CsHisON, and monocrotalic acid,
Monocrotalic acid is monobasic, optically active, and
on heating with alkali is decomposed yielding the mono-
basic monocrotic acid. Adams and Rogers31 and Adams,
Rogers and Sprules33 have shown that monocrotic acid
forms a monomethyl ester which forms a dinitropheny-
hydrazone. The action of iodine and alkali on the acid
29. Science, 1935, 82, 16; J. Chem. Soc., 1937, 396.
30. Ber., 1890, 23, 3557; J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1935; 57; 2560.
31. J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1939; 61, 2815.
32. Ber,, 1935, 68, 1051; J. Chem. Soc., 1935; 11.
33. J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1939, 61, 2819,
80
634
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
gave iodoform, thus indicating a keto-methyl group. Oxida-
tion with sodium hypobromite gave a mixture of meso-and
racemic-<*: a'-dimethyl succinic acid.
The presence of a lactone group in monocrotalic acid
(VI) is indicated by back-titration of the acid with excess
of alkali. The acid decomposes on heating34 yielding
«: P: y-trimethylangelicalactone (VIII) which is also obtain-
ed by the dehydration of monocrotic acid (IX).
(CTHn03)-COOH
(VI)
0
C6H!0< I
CO
(VIII)
-» (C7HnOs)-COOCH3
(VII)
-HsO
HCL
tl
-CHs-OH
-CO*
(CrHoOaJCOOCHs
(X)
(OHiiO)-COOH
(DC)
(XI)
(CTHuOs) -COOH
(XII)
The same lactone can be obtained by a two step pro-
cedure which clarifies the reaction. Methyl monocrotalate
(VII) on heating in vacuo loses water to give an unsaturat-
ed ester (X) together with a small amount of the lactone
34. Ibid., 2822.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 635
(VIII). This ester can be hydrogenated under high pres-
sure to a dihydro ester (XI) which in turn may be hydrolys-
ed to a crystalline lactonic acid (XII). The unsaturated
ester (X), on hydrolysis with concentrated hydrochloric
acid, yields the lactone (VIII) .
Three structures for monocrotalic acid have been con-
sidered34 (XIII), (XHIa) and (XHIb).
OH
I COOH OH
CH»--CH-CCHa J I
(XIII) I 2*0 (Xllla) CHi-<J Q-CHi
COOH CH*~
CHa-COOH
(XHIb) CHJ-PH <LOH CHa-CH CO-CHi
| )0 (XIV) J
CHa-CH CO CH*-CH— COOH
Monocrotalic acid in presence of alkali is decarboxy-
lated to monocrotic acid (XIV — dimethyl levulinic acid.
Adams and Lang35 have established structure (XIV) by
synthesis. Although the synthesis of monocrotic acid has
confined the structure of monocrotalic acid to the three
alternatives, it is only a synthesis that will finally decide
the question.
Retronecine, CsHisC^N contains two hydroxyl groups
and one double bond; retronecanol, CsHisON, is saturated
and has one hydroxyl group. These two bases are identical
with those obtained by Manske36 from retrorsine. The
35, Ibtdf., 1940, 62, 2289.
36. Can. J. Research, 1930, 5, 651. See also Refs:— 32,
636 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
bases are isomeric with analogous bases from the alkaloid
heliotrine described by Menshikov.37 Adams and Rogers33
have critically reviewed the work of Menshikov from which
he deduced that heliotridane was 1-methyl pyrrolizidine
(XV).
I A I
H*
(XV) (XVI) (XVII)
By degradation (XV) can yield l-methyl-2-s-butyl
pyrrolidine (XVI) or l:3-dimethyl-2-n-propylpyrrolidine
(XVII). Menshikov's results and deductions have been
clarified by the synthesis38 of 1: 3-dimethyl-2-n-propyl-
pyrrolidine and its identity with dl-dihydro-des-N-Methyl-
heliotridane, a compound obtained by exhaustive methyla-
tion of heliotridane followed by reduction.
Retronecanol was converted into chlororetronecane
by treatment with thionyl chloride. The chlorine was
replaced smoothly by hydrogen, using Raney nickel and
hydrogen at room temperature, yielding heliotridane. It
has already been stated that retronecanol is formed in the
hydrogenation of monocrotaline, two molecules of hydrogen
being absorbed. The alkaloids heliotrine37 and retrosine32
hydrogenate in a similar manner, hydrogenolysis occurring
at the ester grouping. Diacetyl retronecine reduces to
acetylretronecanol32"*9 and acetic acid. It thus appears
37. Ber , 1932, 65, 974; 1933, 66, 875; 1935; 68; 1051; 1555;
1936, 69, 1110, 1799 and 1802.
38, J. Amer. Chem, Sec., 1941, 63, 228.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 637
that retronecine and heliotridine contain a remarkably
labile hydroxyl group which is lost by hydrogenation,
Adams and Rogers39 designate the stable hydroxyl group
a-and the labile P. The same authors have studied the
catalytic hydrogenation of monocrotaline and retronecine
under various conditions and their results can be summaris-
ed as follows: —
(a) The partial reduction of monocrotaline gives
monocrotalic acid and a base desoxyretronecine, CsHiaON.
(b) If retronecine is reduced under certain conditions
using Haney nickel, only one molecule of hydrogen is
absorbed with saturation of the double bond and formation
of platynecine, the base obtained by saponification of the
alkaloid platyphylline.40 Platynecine forms a mono-and a
di-benzoate depending on the conditions, one hydroxyl
esterifying more readily than the other.
Accepting the basic nucleus of retronecine as 1-methyl
pyrrolizidine, Adams and Rogers39 have proposed the follow-
ing formula (XVIII) for retronecine
HO-
39. Ibid., 537.
40. See Orekhov and Tiedebel, Ber.,xl935, 68, 650; Orekhov
et al, ibid, 1886; 1936, 69, 1908,
638
the corresponding saturated compound for platynecine,
retronecol by formula (XIX), desoxyretronecine by (XX)
and monocrotaline by (XXI).
Hi
H»
OH
C CH — C-CIfc
W*
CH. CHi
(XIX)
H — C-CH«
(XXa)
ROOC — is monocrotalic acid residue.
(XXb)
TAMIL WORDS AND THEIR MEANINGS
BY
RAO SAHEB M. R. RAJAGOPALA IYENGAR, M.A.
The growth of the vocabulary of a language is, in many
respects, like the growth of the population of a country.
Old words give birth to new ones which slightly differ from
their parents and thus the stock goes through a process of
multiplication. The new words formed from the old are
used in senses which, though closely allied to the mean-
ing of their originals denote different shades of thought
and emotion. In course of time some words drop out of
use like &uu& in Tamil for ghee and their places are
taken up by younger ones either grown out of the original
words or borrowed from cognate or other languages. Just
as new surroundings or circumstances force the individuals
in a nation to give up their old callings and adopt new ones
in the struggle for existence, in languages also, as the
centuries pass, certain words acquire new meanings more
or less different from their old senses. Division of func-
tion is another point of resemblance betweeq language and
population. When several words in a language have the
same sense, they develop, in the process of time, differ-
ences of meaning justifying their existence. This princi-
ple of division of function may be seen prominently at
work when the language spoken by a people comes into
contact with that of foreigners by the conditions brought
about by trade, politics, religion or other social activities.
Native words expressing certain ideas mingle with those
of the foreign language denoting the same ideas. Some-
640 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
times the foreign word aggressively drives out the native
from current use occupying its place in triumph, or, what
is more common, the two sets of words enter into a tacit
compact dividing the extent of meaning between them.
This state of conflict and compact was at work when Tamil
scholars imported a large number of Sanskrit words as a
result of their admiration of the works of Sanskrit authors.
Even when Tamil possessed words to express the same ideas,
the importation became common and was thought, per-
haps, to enrich the resources of Tamil expression.
The principles that underlie the development of new
meanings in words and the changes often undergone by
words in their meaning are found to be the same for all
languages, to whatever family, Dravidian, Indo-Germanic,
or Semitic, they might belong. These changes in mean-
ing are due to mental associations, working through long
periods of time. These mental associations follow the same
laws of psychology among all races of men, because there
is a sub-stratum of kinship, mental and spiritual, com-
mon to all mankind. The principles of semantics, or the
science of meanings which linguistic scholars have deduced
from their study of the vocabulary of Indo-Germanic
languages are therefore found applicable also to Tamil
though the latter belongs to a different family.
The changes of meaning undergone by Tamil words
may not strike us as having occurred at all, if we compare
their use in ancient Tamil literature with that in modern
Tamil verse or even prose. Literary Tamil, especially in
verse, often employs words in their earlier senses as seen
in classical writers of old ignoring their present day
meanings, A modern English poet may use 'fond' in its
old sense of 'foolish'; from this it would be idle to assert
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 641
that the word has suffered no change of meaning. So also
the Tamil word ntrppii which applied to good as well as
bad smell in olden times, has now come to be used in cur-
rent talk for only bad smell. A verse writer of to-day
might still use it for fragrance in his poem. This should
not blind us to the fact of its having changed in meaning.
Current use in ordinary conversation affords a surer test of
such changes than literary usage. This test is, of course,
available only in living languages like Tamil. Sanskrit and
other languages which are no longer the mother-tongue of
any people contain words stratified in the writings of dif-
ferent epochs and the study of the semantics of such langu-
ages becomes exceedingly difficult. Even in them, the
classification of literary specimens according to their age
of composition and the comparison of the use of words in
the earlier works with that in later writings may reveal the
occurrence of changes in the function of words.
Bearing in mind these prefatory remarks, we may now
proceed to study the operation of semantic principles in
Tamil words.
In the earliest stage of the development of all languages
the few words that have already come into existence are ex-
tended by metaphorical usage to denote varied objects,
thoughts and feelings which are in some way associated with
their original meaning. Take, for instance, the word ,*&*,
one of the earliest words in the Tamil vocabulary. Its
primary significance is, of course, the head. Then by
metaphor, it is used to mean the chief person in a group or
community since his position of importance is like that
of the head to the members of the human body. The head
being the first member of the body to strike the beholder,
pSsd is extended also to mean the first as in pfap$ea*u>i
An easy transition from this is its use for 'source* or 'origin'
81
642 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
as in pfa&BirGoiA 9 The latest development in its use is to
denote a postage stamp which bears the figure of the head
of the sovereign. From/a&o is formed the derivative
^&\>a/6ir one who is like the head in relation to his group
clan, or sect, p&taj&fr extends its area of denotation in
course of time to include all great men, the guru or the
spritual teacher, and God. Since the chief character of
a story, poem or play has the prominence of the head in
the human body, ?%$&€& is employed also in that sense. The
same process of metaphorical extension is illustrated in the
earliest Tamil word, &>&. Its original meaning is, of
course, the hand or arm. Metaphorically the rays of the
moon or the sun may be called their hands and thus <*>*
comes to mean 'a ray/ Since the two sides in a quarrel or
fight may be called the two hands on either side of the
body, ^^ denotes also side, faction, or party. A natural
extension of^»« is to mean the elephant's trunk which
serves the purpose of the human arm. &»& extends its range
to mean also workmen as in upgj&ena, Gaifa* Q&iLipgj cf.
('ten hands were at work in that channel' in English).
Here the extension is not by metaphor but by synecdoche.
One more illustration may suffice for this process of figu-
rative extension of the use of a word. */r<rois a native
Tamil word of primitive origin. Its earliest sense is 'leg'
or 'foot' of person or animal. Then metaphorically the
word is applied to mean the lower part, base or bottom of
a thing. As the wheels of a cart or carriage may figura-
tively be termed its legs, **&> ; comes to mean 'wheel.' */re\>
is similarly employed to denote post or pillar which is the
leg on which a house or shed stands. «/r^ also means one-
fourth presumably from the relation of a single leg to the
four legs of an animal. Similarly the word &>&& borrow-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME! 643
ed from Sanskrit and originally meaning 'root' has the fol-
lowing meanings arrived at by metaphorical usage :— rfoot,
base, origin, source, cause, means or agency, and text of
a book. Hosts of other illustrations may be given in sup-
port of the remark that, Tamil like other languages consists
largely of forgotten metaphors.
The same process of metaphorical extension may be
seen at work in other foreign words borrowed into Tamil.
For example, the Sanskrit word R^T (paksa) UL.&LO
meaning, the wing of a bird, was imported into Tamil. The
two wings of a bird may figuratively be extended to mean
the two sides of a question, the two parties in a quarrel or
battle, and the two alternatives in a dispute or discussion.
So uu_&Li) came to mean side, party, and alternative. Since
a man attached to a party showed affection to its members
LJL!^ came to mean love or affection. Finally in
S ^LJ/TQO) uLl.4F/i/3a>, UIL&LL means only in case or i] im-
plying one of two alternative possibilities. The metaphor
was, in course of time, forgotten after the enrichment to
the vocabulary had taken place.
Extension
Apart from the process of metaphorical extension at
work in the earliest stages of the development of a langu-
age, we may observe also other forms of extension in the
meaning and application of a word, g^rsaafiujLi, originally
a Sanskrit word, meant at first gold; later it was applied to
all forms of money gold or silver. uinLu^ means primarily
'grandmother' but is extended to mean 'any old woman/
u&& utrpfiirM originally Sanskrit, meant the five vessels
or cups used in the worship of the gods to contain Arghya,
Padya. Acamaniya, Snana (bath), and Suddhadaka (pure
644 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
water) . The word has now come to mean among Brahmins
any drinking cup or tumbler. frcwrQewnu and fmesfir are
interesting examples of extension. In his article entitled
"The Semantic Principle of Expansion," published in The
Journal of the Annamalai University, Vol. VI No. 2, Mr.
A. C. Chettiar points out that ermQmiu originally meant
ererr+QviLj 'gingelly oil* but, in course of time was extended
to mean 'any kind of oil' and that ^sarswP/r, originally
^swr + ^/f ^old water' has been extended to water in
general, cold or hot, as in ^0 psmexfir. The two words
afford instances of extension in usage due to ignorance of
etymology. The Tamil word <3*<u was formerly wide in
its denotation and was applied to any sticky or oily sub-
stance: 'blood/ 'fat/ 'grease/ civet, ^<a» @ Q^) oil and
butter (Qojsrr+G/suj) QouOTfloBtfuj, were all Q/50J > the
ancient word for clarified butter or ghee, the modern
was &IULJU as in Canarese. As time passed on,
suffered a restriction in its use and meaning and
came to mean only 'ghee' &UUL& having gone out of use.
The need for another word meaning 'oil' in general led to
the adoption of GT&nQswu whose derivation «rrir + G/5iu had
by that time been forgotten. Thus errniQasru has become
extended in its scope and means oil in general. For gingel-
ly oil a new word was invented is&Qevs&rQessriu^nGi) or Keoeo +
CTOTQ«OTuJ)'v2^®<s/r<utfr6OT^
and the like are thus etymological absurdities due to ignor-
ance.* A similar ignorance has led to the extension of the
""There are, however, some philologists who hold that
is not fjw + Gtoiu as given in the Tamil Lexicon. They
are of opinion that ersrorQsjaruj is a derivative of the Prakrit
word inea (Sans.) meaning oil. If so, erGwrQeasnu would not be
a case of extension at all.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 645
meaning of p®m + $ir or fossr^ir. The original Tamil
word for water was So- as in Canarese. For cold water
the compound word psssressFir was formed as in Canarese
tanniru and for hot water the compound formation was
Ga//5/f/f or *®/£/f corresponding to Canarese bisi-niru.
Owing to ignorance of the meaning of the adjective paw
(cold), p®s>i<sss?rr was afterwards understood to mean water
in general with the result that we have such absurdities as
u&ioto&ppGWKsssrir and <9r©^sBar<833P/r. That the extension
was the result of later ignorance of etymology will be evi-
dent when it is pointed out that some sects of Brahmins use
itself for water as in
The employment of a word which was originally the
name of a person noted for some quality or trait in history
or legend to all persons exhibiting that characteristic is
another form of extension. The proper noun has in course
of time, become a common noun and is used as such even
by people who have no knowledge of the original- Jyw
LD€j«fF63r who is referred to in the Ramayana as a prince
who took a delight in throwing children into the river
has now come to mean any mischievous or ill-behaved per-
son. (LpGpeS literally the elder goddess, the elder sister
of Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune and prosperity is
now used to mean any person who brings ill-luck, ©tiu
a/faflreir, the great sleeper in the Ramayana is now used
of any person who sleeps too much. /s/nr^/f the name of
the great sage, has now become a common noun meaning
a mischief-maker, ^gjsifl or *(5«fl LO/TUJ/T, Duryodhana's
uncle, is now a by-word meaning 'evil genius.'
LfleW-LD^eWTj <Sfr«ffl.0-/r<£F/r/fij ILJLD63T )(9(TT)&&OU
examples as also *& and <w>*G«ii9.
646 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
Like the names of persons, the names of some animals
are often used of persons believed to possess similar quali-
ties. 4^ anc} QiBau* for a valiant man (gaSA, for a
singer with a good voice, fl«fl for a beautiful woman,
Lbsfi Mid &(Lf™>F for fools and Qu^^/rwfl for a cun-
ning old fellow may be cited as examples of this form of
extension- UITLJU/TLDL/ is not amenable to control by spells
and charms like /*a>a>/-/ffu>L/ or cobra and is hence used to
mean one who will not be bound by any principle of right
conduct. ^/r(50«fl the screech-owl, whose screech at night
is believed to portend death is employed to mean one whose
presence is ominous. The huge size of the elephant has
led to ujirSssr being used in many compound formations to
mean big. As examples may be stated lu/rSsn* (Sj/ig^ewfl,
ujiT&xr Q/s/tfgj® and iLj(r&or&&T<so (elephantiasis of the leg).
The word LLSMT® ia often employed in the sense of dunce.
It is evidently a contraction of the Sanskrit word mandu-
ka which means frog, a creature believed to be silly. A
few place-names, too have gone through this process of ex-
tension, xujir&jti&fi or «£ uj a; /r ©rfl means, in Tamil, a
cheat or scoundrel and is from Gaya-wallah, a native
Brahman of Gaya who cheats pilgrims under false
pretences for the sake of money. $(V)LJU 'A&iqijpjd «uu
^/riTLD has com6 to denote hypocritical or insincere invita-
tion or offer of hospitality. The word is from $Q$UUK
jpiQfjp/d) a village near Trivadi in the Tanjore District,
where the idol from the temple of Trivadi is invited in
a half-hearted and insincere manner to hospitality at
night. (g^uCtf/rsBui is in slang, an expression meaning
deceitful conduct. «nu)@/f jrou/i, and «n^@/ruij/r(»)are other
examples of extension in place-names. Very few
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 647
think of Mysore when they use these words for the res-
pective articles of food. About the examples cited above
of the names of persons, animals and places being extend-
ed to mean those who exhibit similar qualities, it has to
be said that some persons who use them in the new sense
may be aware of the metaphorical or figurative origin
of the extension. But even they sometimes forget the
figurative extension when they use the words, although, if
asked, they might be able to explain the allusion to litera-
ture, legend or tradition contained in them. As a matter
of fact, extension of meaning may be said to pass through
three stages. In the first stage the extension is metaphori-
cal and deliberate. In the second stage the word is used
to mean something similar to the object indicated originally
by the word, though the person employing it forgets, for
the time being, that he is employing a figure of speech.
This is the stage when the metaphor may be said to begin
fading. In the third stage, the figurative character of the
extension is generally completely forgotten, and the
word may be said to have an existence independent of its
origin. It is in this way that metaphors have faded in the
meanings of many words.
Restriction or specialisation of meaning.
Far more common in Tamil than the principle of ex-
tension is the opposite process of restricting the use of a
word to only a part of its original denotation. jyOAgar
originally signified any room within another room. At
present it refers . only to a kitchen. &?&**- (S^ + .««<-.),
originally meaning a small garment, means now the small
garment of a girl. It is no longer applied to a boy's garment.
®*» means leaf, of course, but, sometimes, it is restricted
to Oi^fc (betel). 0«r«r^^^A mean^ literally get_
tang (a thing) on fire and must have been used in that
648 RAJAH SIR ANJVAMALAI CHETTIAR
wider sense in the past. Now it is employed to mean light-
ing a funeral pyre. ^Saw is any piece of cloth or straw
rolled up. Now it means only a mop. &&>* was formerly
any lord, master, or chief, but now it is generally restricted
to mean Europeans. *<so<n<ss>p was formerly any room built
of stone but is now only a sepulchre. iSielrfanuirir is, etymo-
logically, the respected son of revered parents but is com-
monly applied only to Ganesa, the son of Siva. Quiry.
means, of course, any powder even now, but has also the
^restricted sense of tobacco powder or snuff. ®jrru9pruu&aru>
should apply to any money paid in instalments but in some
Tamil Districts is restricted to mean kist paid in instal-
ments to Government. 6)/*iuhas already been referred to
as an instance of restriction in modern Tamil where it
means ghee. In ancient Tamil, it was any oily substance,
butter, ghee, oil, honey or grease. u^if\u^ has a general
sense of anything old and the restricted sense of rice cook-
ed and preserved in cold water, ««&T6wru> from Sanskrit
curna has the restricted sense of chunam as well as the
general sense of powder. uirS^ais a Sanskrit derivative,
meaning 'a foreigner' but, as many of these people from
other than Tamil country went about begging their food, it
is now generally employed in the sense of a mendicant.
Q*<rQ£&r6sr was formerly the husband or the husband's
brother. Now it means only the husband's brother.
ggsuTear, a wor(j borrowed from urdu meant any strong
man. Now it has come to be restricted to a constable or a
peon in an office.
Deterioration or degradation oj the meanings of words
The history of words often reveals the degradation of
meaning that some of them suffer in course of time, Origi-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 649
nally without any bad meaning, they come later to be used
in a bad sense as a result of what might be called the princi-
ple of association.
The Tamil word ^(u^ir^n means neighbour, but as neigh-
bours are often in bad terms with each other, jyiu^/r^r has
come to mean also enemy. /s/r/D/DLoin old Tamil meant simply
smell, good or bad, in modern Tamil it is generally used
only of bad smell MQML* being used of good smell. To
speak of jfiGfliuGrrppii to-day would be pedantry, ^urr&vu* or
^uir&in is a Sanskrit word borrowed into Tamil and meant
only false appearance. It is now used in Tamil in the sense
of dirt or filth. Degradation in meaning cannot go further.
&imr$a)jB&>fs is only elder brother, but as elder brothers
are prone to idleness and dullness when compared with their
younger brothers, it has come to be employed in some Tamil
districts in the sense of an idler. «/r/jc/rtl^. is a loan word
from Mahrathi and meant at first labourer or digger of
earth. As labourers are associated in the mind with idle-
ness and a proneness to scamp their work, it is now used
in Tamil for fool, idiot, or dunce, tf/reo/r^ was originally an
energetic person, then a vagrant, and is now a rogue.
(Sfdena-a&n'jrm first meant a mounted warrior and was later
employed for a plundering trooper. ®u^u is from the
Sanskrit gumpha (a collection) . In old Tamil it is often
used in a good sense as in &irp@!n-&(&)UGs>u but in modern
Tamil <§UGS>U is invariably used for rubbish. ^/rAgg/ruiy, a
loan word, meant at first answer and is now used for a
lame excuse. ®&i*& was originally a girl or maid-
servant and is now a term of contempt like the English
82
650 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
word wench, which has undergone a similar degradation.
*./ij8was originally a dancing woman as dancers are gener-
ally loose in their morals, the word *-j*£ has now come to
mean concubine or prostitute. With this may be compared
G^awjLiu/rsrr. Originally a word denoting a woman devot-
ed to the service of a deity in a temple, it has now the bad
sense of a prostitute or courtesan by the principle of asso-
ciation. Like the English word knave which orginally
meant servant but now means rogue, the Tamil <x>uiu<*> was
in old Tamil a boy and is now a mean fellow. «fts/rjti is a
loan word from Sanskrit and meant formerly 'change.'
Now it has degraded in meaning and means an ugly change
or distortion, psuusiirffiinfi is primarily the name of the
god Subramanian who, according to legend, was the pre-
ceptor of his own father, the god Siva. It was a title of
esteem but now it is degraded to mean any headstrong
fellow. ea$*G>9tr£» simply meant food taken by a travel-
ler to eat during his journey. It is more often used now
for the food that is given to a poor man so that it might
serve as viaticum for a departed spirit. The change of
meaning in the Tamil word follows closely that of the Sans-
krit word patheya. J>i**v or J***"™ means, of course,
elder sister but it has also a degraded sense and is used of
a woman bringing ill-luck to the family (from Lakshmi's
elder sister). rf»® is employed in ancient Tamil
literature only in the sense of growth or increase. It has
now deteriorated to mean a swelling or inflammation in any
part of the body. &??&&> like the slang jyafr^w
referred to before is often a term of contempt for a lazy
fellow, a ne'er-do-well. i±&*uj>i™u*™@ means literally the
goddess Durga worshipped in Malabar. As she is believed
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 651
to be the patron deity of magicians and sorcerers, the word
is now used of any one who deceives under false pretences.
L/^L/^IS a word used in older Tamil literature for pro-
claiming, whether what is proclaimed is good or bad; now
it means only lamenting. urfW/fl or, to use the proper
Tamil form, ufliu/rffl is a Sanskrit word taken into Tamil.
It meant a physician who applies remedies; as many "ft
aflujirar were of the barber caste and actively followed that
profession too, it has come to mean a barber.
originally was a cook serving in the u>™>i— or
or kitchen. Only men too dull to follow the higher pro-
fessions would take to the kitchen; hence LLSVL-IUCM now
means not a cook but dunce. 8;/r(jL/>/reSI or ^©ic/nfl is
from the Urdu jharmali meaning woman sweeper and has
suffered degradation denoting at present a despicable
person.
Elevation or Exaltation of Meaning
The opposite process of a word acquiring, in course of
time, a more dignified or exalted sense than it originally
had is also met with in Tamil though elevation of mean-
ing is not so common as degradation. ^y^Lo/r or j^u^uireir
means primarily mother, but has also the exalted sense
of Parvati, the universal mother. So also *#/& ^/rsir,
which signifies father or uncle is sometimes employed in
religious literature for God. <*^3^LLL_<i5 which literally
means a glance of the eye is used generally for a gracious
look. *(r<rttLQfuiL borrowed from Sanskrit, means literally
spending one's time but is restricted to spending one's time
in listening to a story of Vishnu or other gods in what are
called Harikathas. The exaltation is seen also when it is
used by Brahmins for a study of Vedanta. <*L«»/E>, which for-
652 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
merly meant cloth in general, is now used only of the aus-
picious saree in which a bride is dressed just at the time
when the tali is tied round her neck. $&o Sanskrit (Sila—
a stone) means stone and has also the more dignified sense
of the image of a god carved in stone. iSerrSsy/tu/r/r has al-
ready been given as an example of restriction of meaning.
It is also an instance of elevation of meaning. In fact many
of these words which have undergone degradation or ele-
vation may be said to have undergone restriction of mean-
ing; but simplicity of classification should not make us lose
sight of the mental process underlying the restriction.
Qp3n.irjifbii^ taken from Sanskrit, means primarily a period
of time equal to an hour and a half, but is most commonly
employed for an auspicious part of the day suitable for
weddings or other religious rites of a festive nature.
eflifljrtfii (Sanskrit, vigraha) means, primarily, the body
of a person, but is a common appellation for the images of
gods. u>if literally means cloth folded, but has become
exalted in sense to denote only cloth that is ceremonially
pure and fit to wear during religious observances. i*ir&£\uirir
was formerly applied to any highborn lady, princess or
queen as may be seen in its cognate form in Malay alam
netyaramma the title given to the Maharaja's consort in
Cochin. £j>' has the primary meaning of ashes and also the
more dignified sense of sacred ashes for smearing the fore-
head or other parts of the body with, up$*ft derived from
Sanskrit patni not only means wife in Tamil, but wife
conspicuous for chastity.
Transference
There is yet another principle or process observable
in the way words change their meaning. It has been called
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 653
transference. Take the word QU/T/E?*^ for instance; it
means boiling but, by transference, Qu/r /£/«<& has come to
mean rice boiled with green gram. The transference is from
the process of boiling to the product of boiling. & $
means primarily squeezing but has a secondary meaning
honey by transference from the act of squeezing the comb
to the resultant product.In the sentence j*fn>puu(r&fr ^/arS*
utfliurrgi) uir&ffir means show of power and is by forgotten
metonymy transferred from badshaw tho title of the
Moghul rulers of old. &**& and ^ewr®, meaning cloth
and towel (or piece of cloth), are transferred from the verb
jp«0fl (cut) as the weaver, having woven a long cloth,
cuts it afterwards into several pieces or garments. The
modern word PR& is a derivative of the Sanskrit word
tantri meaning wire. p®$ as in pKt£iLiu^&&G>ev^iLu
means telegram or message sent by wire (cf. kambi the
Malayalam equivalent which also means telegram). The
transference is from the wire to the message conveyed
with the help of the wire. Q&LDLJ means copper and by
transference also a vessel, since many of such vessels were
formerly made of copper. The underlying principle is meto-
nymy consciously or unconsciously working in the minds
of men. /s/TLCii, the castemark of the Vaishnavaitcs, is also
an illustration of transference. These marks should be put
on by a Vaishnavaite with the utterance of some of the
nama's or names of Vishnu. evLb&vtnrLz, originally as in
Sanskrit, the cycle of births and deaths resulting from
karma has come to mean wife in Tamil, because the most
prominent feature in the life of the Samsarin is the wife.
<*G5^© shows transference from the process of rolling up
to the product of the roll, namely, the cigar and is also an
654 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
example of specialisation. $&&& has had a curious his-
tory. In early and literary Tamil it means primarily the
moon. Then by transference $®&<3K came to mean
also the month as in u>trir&$p$[Ei&&r, since the moon's
revolution round the earth marks the lunar month. Then
when the seven days of the week came to be adopted from
the Semitic races, the seven days came to be called by the
names of the seven planets (the sun being considered as a
planet). In Canarese and other cognate languages Soma-
vara is the moon's day or Monday, the Sanskrit word Soma
being taken for the moon. Tamil did not adopt
the Sanskrit word Soma for the day of the week and call-
ed $!B&LL&Lp<snu> using the native $mx&r for the moon.
fiimsar standing both for month and for the day of the
week was felt to be ambiguous and the Sanskrit word
masa was therefore modified to L^T^ and used for
month fiiB&err being generally reserved for the week
day. Of late, however, the tendency among
purists to avoid using foreign words in Tamil has led many
to give up u>irpu> for month and revert to $M&®T as of
old. ®fcfB 6V)€V8frS<3>J£ll(E)&&r ^(TjuprrftQp^Bl ^/BdSLlfiLpeznu)
may be found in invitation letters or announcements. The
ambiguity has to be resolved from the context. pir&>ir
ewrirfsfirt means, in Madras Town and the adjacent dis-
tricts, to lose. The forgotten metaphor underneath this
word is the giving away of a girl in marriage by her parents
pouring a stream of water on the hand of the bridegroom.
Whenever anything is given away as a gift, this pouring of
water is enjoined for the ritual. So the act of pouring
water in a stream prrenjr has come to mean to give away or
rather to lose. jy^LD*wni now means naked or nakedness
and is a forgotten metaphor from the Sramanas or Jain
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 655
saints who renounced even clothes. GuirQaHrar means soft
well ground flour of black gram mixed with water but
literally signifies that which is put into or mixed with rice
flour mixed with water for making Gprsa* or g)«l«-68. It
is a case of transference from the act to the thing that the
action is concerned with £Wu> is a loan word from Sans-
krit and meant originally 'day' but, by transference, it is
now invariably used for the ceremony performed on the
anniversary of a person's death. So also ,$,$• jy^®^
(literally mother) which means small-pox illustrates the
transference to the disease from the goddess jyuum
(mother) or"^^"^ who is believed to be the cause of
the disease, ^e^^/r, meaning crystalline sugar is from
the name of one of the places where it is manufactured.
jye^L-fcN^Dewjrii is a Sanskrit word meaning eight
thousand. From the number the word is now transferred
to the community of South Indian Brahmans whose fami-
lies originally numbered 8000. The word now means only
a member of that Brahman sect. &&» is interesting for its
changes of meaning. Primarily it is a palmyra leaf. Since
it was formerly used for writing on, @&» came to mean also
letter. A small piece of the coloured leaf was formerly
made into a tiny roll and worn by women in their ears which
had sufficiently large holes made in them for the purpose.
As civilisation advanced, this roll of leaf gave place to a
roll of gold; and now diamond ear-rings have taken the place
of the old &&» and are often called ™eufffffa> if they are
bigger in size than the Q fa- Q. & iL « /r is a loan word
in Tamil from urdu jhatka where it means quickly (cf. Skt.
Jhatiti-quickly. Now it has come to mean a cart
drawn by a horse or pony as horses were in pre-steam en-
gine days considered to be the fastest of means of trans-*
656 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
port. The English word number (»iiu/f) has been bor-
rowed into Tamil and has come to mean a case for trial in
a court as these cases are given numbers in serial order
when they are filed in courts. Qus-Ar is really Quiuirm
(namesake) one who has the same name; but it has come
to mean grandson as grandsons in Hindu families are gene-
rally given the names of their grandfathers. G#iru*up eir^^
(a lazy fellow) is a case of transference from the place
where idlers sit to the persons who sit there.
Among instances of transference of meaning due to
resemblance or metaphor may be mentioned 4^^ ^ which
is used to mean the remainder, the original meaning of the
word in Sanskrit being tail. Lj&r&n^ (LJ&T bird jyp- foot)
literally means bird's loot and now denotes the mark A
placed below a line of writing to show the place of omission;
the resemblance between it and the impression of tiie bird's
foot has been forgotten. «a/*«i> is often used in conversa-
tion oi mischievous boys, the resemblance being pre-
sumably to the tail of a lizard or other reptile moving
about actively even after it has been cut off from the
body ol the animal. u(Lp®»p is often used for snake since it
is thought inauspicious to use the word u /r u> 4 at night.
U6s>p ^LOoYriL means literally the drum used for proclama-
tions in streets; metaphorically it has come to mean one
who cannot keep a secret, though the metaphor is now for-
gotten. The English word 'club' has had a curious history
in Tamil. Its meaning in English of 'an association of
persons united by some common interest and having pre-
mises for resort, meals, temporary residence" was ignored
when it was borrowed into Tamil. From the band of men,
the meaning of the word was transferred to one of their
activities and that the least important viz. eating and the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 657
Tamil word came to mean an eating house. A further
development has occurred in the compound word iB&Gi-iR
£&ru which means an eating house for non-vegetarians
obviously from the fact that military men insist on having
meat for their food. ^eSCS^/fl &&TU does not mean in the
least an eating house for military men.
Euphemism
Changes of the meanings of words are sometimes due
to an aversion to call a spade a spade in the matter of death
ill-luck and the like. Men shrink from the blunt expression
'so and so died*. They resort to a euphemistic expression
like "He breathed his last" or "He is no more." In Tamil
<5/r^@QdF6i(5><5Jr literally 'pass the times' is a euphemism for
'died* f %*> & rr ILJ p &> literally 'hang the head' is another
euphemism for the act of dying. Vaishnavites euphemisti-
cally say J*/<°uir ^tfirifltueyr £$(Tfj6UU}-6s>uj (L/«DL_ fi <$ n '/f (literally!
he has reached the feet of his guru) or ^O/^/TLI^DL- IU^IB^
iflppirfr (literally: he has become an ornament of the celestial
world) instead of saying 'he died' which appears perhaps
brutal in its bluntness. Likewise saivites say fta/Ga>T*Q>
Q&&r(yir (literally: he has gone to the world of Siva).
Euphemism underlies also the word jpr^LptipGuai for a
widow (literally a woman who has lost the thread) . **&
&p@nuir&u) (literally the difference of time) means in present
day Tamil 'bad times'. Prudishness in speech considers cer-
tain words connected with sexual life indecent and resorts
to euphemistic usage. &rjru> (literally distance) is used of a
woman when she is in her periods because she remains at a
distance from others to avoid polluting them. jy&&r Qufliu
u>4^^ttj/r©«yr (literally she became a big woman) is euphe-
83
658 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
mistic for 'she came of age' which is itself an euphemism
in English.
Irony has had something to do with the use of words.
Brteo UITLZLI (the good snake) is the name given to the
cobra which is the deadliest of snakes. It is difficult to say
whether fear or irony has been the cause of this usage.
LD/B<ssyrei//rjni, the auspicious day, is the name given to the
day which is really far from being auspicious. y«^ G)*/r®
PpM) which literally means to make an offering, is the
term colloquially used for striking a person.
Folk Etymology
The etymology of a word is sometimes forgotten and a
false etymology takes its place in the popular mind and
causes changes in the form or meaning of words. jy«»/DoB
#«>ir5 should be J>/JP £«>jr, 8&>ir that is cut. The ignor-
ance of etymology in the use of pem&tfii- and
has already been pointed out. t^ow^ii and
mean in Tamil something very serious, whereas the
Sanskrit original pramacia means 'error' or 'mistake'
tfaaraar^j^ js a favourite word with Vaishnavite Brahmins
for utruj&LL. The word is properly speaking, *&*&&>
(sugar) + jzy <y> & (food) The fancied meaning of a dish
liked by avmowesT or Sri Krishna has probably been, at the
bottom of the error. ^ff^LQu (Jusm and LLITL-QU (o/uew used
for daughter-in-law seem to have no etymological pro-
priety. They are perhaps corruptions of 1x^5 il©u <o/u«wr
which means 'the wedded girl/
The examples given above of the principles under-
lying changes of meaning in Tamil words are by no means
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 659
exhaustive. Enough, however, has been said to indicate
the different mental processes which lie at the root of such
changes.
Books and pamphlets referred to : —
1. Tamil Lexicon: University of Madras, 6 vols.
2. Greenough and Kittredge : Words and Their Ways in Eng-
lish speech.
3. Ernest Weekly : The Romance of Words.
4. A. C. Chettiar : The Semantic Principle of Expansion. The
Journal of the Annamalai University, Vol. VI, No. 2|
MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF METAL CRYSTALS.
BY
DR. S. RAMACHANDRA RAO, M.A., D.Sc., (LOND.), F. INST. R
Abstract.
The present paper gives an account of our present know-
ledge relating to the magnetic susceptibility of metal crystals.
Brief references to the main developments in recent years are
given. It will be seen that the contributions from the Physics
laboratory of the Annamalai University have greatly helped the
growth of the subject.
1. Introduction.
Study of the magnetic susceptibility of single crystals
of metals has assumed considerable importance in recent
years because of the theoretical interest attached to such
measurements. Pauli (1926) applied the Fermi-Dirac
statistics to the calculation of the paramagnetism of a free
electron gas and showed that at ordinary temperatures, the
gram atomic susceptibility (#A)* due to the free electrons
is given by the expression (#A)c-X106=48'17(g/Vo) where
q is the number of free electrons per atom and Vo the width
(in volts) of the occupied energy range in the completely
degenerate state. Taking into account the Landau (1930)
diamangnetism of the strictly free electrons, the above
expression reduces to the following.
The diamagnetism of the free electrons was shown by
Landau (1930) to be given by *L=0'623np
661
where no is the number of free electrons per atom in the
metal, Q the density of the metal and A its atomic weight.
The total paramagnetic susceptibility of the degenerate
electron gas is 2xL since the paramagnetic effect due to
electron spin is three times as great as the Landau
diamagnetism. Peierls (1933) studied the effect of the
lattice field on the diamagnetism of metals,
2. Experiment.
Metallic single crystals have in general been prepared
by the method of Bridgman (1925). The tube contain-
ing the metal is passed through an electrically heated
furnace, the temperature inside being regulated to be
about 30°C above the melting point of the metal. Goetz
and Focke (1934) prepared bismuth crystals having
any desired orientations by initially attaching seed
crystals to the rods. Schoenberg and Uddin (1936 a
and b) prepared small beads of bismuth metal and con-
verted them into single crystals by cooling them very slowly
through the melting point.
The Gouy method has been adopted by various investi-
gators. Consider a single crystal having the shape of a
cylindrical rod arranged with one of its ends between the
two parallel pole faces of an electromagnet and its cylin-
drical axis normal to the direction of the field. All the
metal crystals so far studied have two principal suscepti-
bilities one (xl{ ) parallel to the axis of symmetry and the
other (x ^ normal to this axis.
Let the angle between the principal axis of the crystal
and the cylindrical axis of the rod be <p. The plane through
662 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
tHese two axes intersects any horizontal section of the
crystal along a straight line. Let 9 be the angle which this
straight line makes with the direction of the magnetic
field. It may be shown that the magnetic susceptibility
X in this position is given by
When the crystal is rotated about the vertical axis and
the Gouy forces are determined at intervals of say 15°, it
is found that x . varies between a maximum and a mini-
u
mum. If X0 and *,„ be these values,
"0
-Xon cos2<P
X . =xqnand X,, =
The angle <P may be determined by X-ray methods, by
breaking the crystal or by etching. Bismuth, zinc and
cadmium crystals may be broken easily. Deformation of
these crystals may be avoided by cooling the crystals to
liquid air temperature and then breaking them, x^ and x\\
may be determined even if <p could not be directly found
from the equation,
Xmean =*(x,,+2x ± ) . If X ± and Xmean are deter-
mined, X „ and 9 may be easily calculated.
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936a) used the Sucksmith
balance (Bates 1939, p. 105) to find the principal
susceptibilities of bismuth crystal.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
3. Results.
663
The results obtained by different investigators are
given below.
Metal. Authors.
Tempera-
rature . y /
Op struciure ^ ^ An
Aniso-
tropy
Zinc M.R.C.
17 Hexagonal . -0-145 -0-190
0-763
close-
S.R.R.
30 packed. -0-149 -0-202
0-738
Cadmium M.R.C.
17 do. -0-160 -0-261
0-613
S.R.R. & S.S.
30 -0-163 -0-223
0-731
Mercury V
-183 -0-121 -0-U2
1-080
Thallium S.R.R, & K.C.S.
30 Hexagonal —0-165 —0-412
0-400
close-
(a) S.R.R. & A.S.N.
packed. —0-164 —0-420
0-390
Tin H
17 Tetra- -f 0-0270 +0-0241
1-120
gonal
S.R.R.
30 -j-0-0400 -f 0-0387
1-034
Tellurium S.R.R. & S.R.G.
30 tthombo- —0-296 —0-329
0-900
hedral.
Bismuth G.F.
21 do. -1-482 -1-053
1-408
S.R.R.
30 -1.582 -1-160
1-364
K.
17 -1-49 -1-08
1-380
S.U.
27 —1-44 -1-025
1-405
Antimony M.C.
17 do. -0-63 —1-13
0-558
S.U.(c)
—55 -1-42
0-387
M.R.C.
McLennan, Ruedy and Cohen (1928)
S.R.R.
Rao (1936)
V.
Vogt (1934)
S.R.R. &K.C.S.
Rao and Subramaniam (1936)
S.R.R. & A.S.N.
Rao and Narayanaswamy (1938)
H.
Hoge (1935)
S.R.R. & S.R.G.
Rao and Govindarajan (1939)
G.P.
Goetz & Focke (1934)
K.
Kapitza (1931)
S.U.
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936a)
M.C.
McLennan and Cohen (1929)
S.U. (c)
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936c)
664 RAJAH SIR AJWAMALAI
For zinc and cadmium, x,, is greater than x± but in
the case of mercury, x is less than x Thallium (<*)
shows a remarkably small value of x± k, and only anti-
mony exhibits a still lower value. Bismuth shows a high
diamagnetism and contrary to antimony, x is greater
than X -I Paramagnetic white tin shows a feeble aniso-
tropy. Tellurium which is diamagnetic has its principal
susceptibility values close to each other.
The results have been explained on various conside-
rations. Bismuth crystals are perhaps the most interesting.
Ehrenfest (1929) and Raman (1929) suggested that the
high diamagnetism of bismuth and graphite was probably
due to the presence of large electron orbits. Jones (1934)
has discussed the high diamagnetism of bismuth by con-
siderations of Brillouin zones in the metal lattice. An
explanation is given not only for the large value of its dia-
magnetic susceptibility but also for the effects arising out
of temperature variation and introduction of traces of
foreign metals.
Rao and Subramaniam (1936) have shown that in the
case of thallium at room temperature, two of the three
valence electrons have their orbits in the hexagonal plane
and that the other electron possesses a metallic bond.
Stoner (1934) has drawn attention to the fact that in the
case of zinc and cadmium the anisotropy lies in the dia-
magnetic part of the susceptibility.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 665
4. Temperature variation.
The variation of the principal susceptibilities 6i
bismuth crystal with temperature has been studied by
Kapitza (1931), Goetz and Focke (1934) and Schoenberg
andUddin (1936a).
Kapitza found da |dT=0'76X10~3 and
dx dT^
in the range 85°K to 290°K, assuming x to vary directly as
the absolute temperature T. Goetz and Focke (1934)
studied the dependence of the anisotropy on temperatures
between 90°K and 543°K (melting point of bismuth). An
almost linear relation between the principal susceptibili-
ties and temperature was obtained. Schoenberg and Uddin
(1936a) investigated the variation in the range 14°K to
400 °K. Both x ± and * „ were found to vary linearly over
a considerable temperature range. Below 50°K both the
principal susceptibilities become nearly independent of
temperature. Schoenberg and Uddin (1936b) studied the
dependence of susceptibility on the field strength at low
temperatures.
De Haas and van Alphen (1930 and 1932) first show-
ed that the susceptibility of bismuth at low temperatures
is dependent on field strength. Schoenberg and Uddin
(1936b) studied the de Haas and van Alphen effect of
bismuth at temperature down to about 4°K. The magni-
tude of this effect is found to depend on alloying. These
results are of special interest from theoretical considera-
tions of bismuth crystal structure.
84
666 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Rao and Subramaniam (1936) investigated the varia-
tion of the principal susceptibilities of thallium. On heat-
ing ot-thallium (which is hexagonal), the structure changes
to the cubic at about 230°C. This change is indicated by
the magnetic properties of thallium single crystals. As
soon as the temperature became larger than 230°C. the
observed susceptibility was constant when the crystal was
rotated. The diamagnetic susceptibility of the cubic or
P-thallium was found to be 0*158. On melting at 300°C.
this value became 0*131.
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936c) found that in the case
antimony X was constant in the range 14° to 300 °K.
But x „ was found to increase steadily as the temperature
was lowered from 300°K.
The crystal diamagnetism of tellurium at temperatures
ranging from 30° to 500°C. was investigated by Rao and
Govindarajan (1939). The value of K|[I|K1 which was
found to be I'll at 30°C. decreased gradually to TOO at
220°C. and remained constant thereafter till the melting
point was reached. What is of special interest is that K,
decreased while K remained constant in the range of
temperatures 30° to 220°C.
5. Effect of alloying.
Goetz and Focke (1934) carried out an extensive series
of experiments on the effect of impurities of foreign
elements added to bismuth. They showed that the
magnetic anisotropy increased when the impurity is
electropositive and decreased when electronegative,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 667
y |x -I is increased by the addition of tin (which is electro-
positive with respect to bismuth) and is decreased by the
addition of tellurium. Schoenberg and Uddin (1936a)
arrived at similar results and showed that #,, jx is not a
linear function of temperature. Mott and Jones (1936)
have explained these variations from the point of view of
Brillouin Zones in bismuth.
Rao and Narayanaswamy (1938) found that #Jx of
a— thallium was decreased by lead or tin, while cadmium
increased this value. Tin was nearly two and a half times
as effective as the same atomic percentage of lead. The
principal susceptibility X of cadmium was found by Rao
and Sriraman (1938) to decrease by the addition of small
quantities of lead. Small amounts of zinc did not influ-
ence the rinisotropy of cadmium. The principal diamag-
netic susceptibilities of tellurium showed a decrease in
value due to small admixtures of tin, cadmium, bismuth
and lead. The decrease was found by Rao and Govinda-
rajan (1939) to be dependent on the atomic radius of the
element introduced.
6. Influence of cold-working.
The influence of cold-working on the principal suscep-
tibilities of bismuth, zinc and tin crystals were studies by
Rao (1936) . Bismuth crystals showed a decrease in suscep-
tibility, this decrease being of the same order of magnitude
as in the case of polycrystalline bismuth. Zinc crystals
showed a small decrease in the principal diamasrietic sus-
ceptibilities on cold-working. Tin crystals had their para-
magnetic susceptibility lowered slightly by tensional stress.
668
The influence on magnetic properties of boundaries of the
small crystals in polycrystals was also discussed.
REFERENCES
Bates (1939) Modern Magnetism.
Bridgman (1925) Proc. Amer. Acad. Sci. 60, 305.
De Haas and van Alphen (1930) Comm. Phys. Lab. Leiden
No. 212-a.
De Haas and van Alphen (1932) Comm. Phys. Lab. Leiden
No. 220.
Ehrenfest (1929) Physica 5, 388.
Goetz and Focke (1934) Phys. Rev. 45, 170.
Hoge (1935) Phys. Rev. 48, 615.
Jones (1934) Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 147, 396.
Kapitza (1931) Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 131, 271.
Landau (1930) Zeits. f. Phys. 64, 629.
McLennan and Cohen (1929) Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada 23, 159.
McLennan, Ruedy and Cohen (1928) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 121, 9.
Mott and Jones (1936) Properties of metals and alloys.
Pauli (1926) Zeit. f. Phys. 41, 81.
Peierls (1933) Zeit. f. Phys. 80, 763.
Raman (1929) Nature, 123, 945.
Rao (1936) Proc. Ind. Acad. Sc. 4, 186.
Rao and Govindarajan (1939) Proc. Ind. Acad. Sc. 10, 235.
Rao and Narayanaswamy (1938) Phil. Mag. 26, 1018.
Rao and Sriraman (1938) Proc. Roy. Soc. A. 166, 325.
Rao and Subramanian (1936) Phil. Mag. 21, 609.
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936-a) Proc. Roy. Soc. A. 156, 687.
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936-b) Proc. Roy. Soc. A. 156, 701
Schoenberg and Uddin (1936-c) Prof. Camb. Phil. Soc. 32, 499
Vogt (1934) Ann. der Phys. 21, 791.
THE THERMAL ENERGY OF CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
BY
SIR C. V. RAMAN, KT., F.R.S., N.L.
1. Introduction.
The first great step towards the development of a
satisfactory theory of the specific heat of solids was taken
by Einstein (1907) when he showed that the acceptance of
the hypothesis of radiation quanta involves as a necessary
consequence that the mechanical energy of the vibrations
of the atoms in a solid must also be regarded as consisting
of discrete units or quanta proportional to the frequency
of vibration. A quantitative relationship between the
heat content of a solid and the "frequency spectrum" of its
internal vibrations is thus indicated. The evaluation of
the thermal energy depends on a determination of this
spectrum, namely, a knowledge of the frequencies of the
atomic vibrations and the manner in which the available
degrees of freedom are distributed amongst them. This is
a problem of some difficulty, to the solution of which there
are two distinct methods of approach. The first is the phe-
nomenological one, namely, that of obtaining the desired
information in some independent fashion e.g., by spectros-
copic research. The other is the a priori method of finding
the possible modes of vibration from a knowledge of the
crystal structure and the forces acting between the atoms,
by a dynamical investigation. To the genius of Einstein
we owe the first indication of both of these methods of
approach to the specific heat problem. The reconciliation
670 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
of the results obtained by the two methods with each other
and with the specific heat determinations over a wide range
of temperature is obviously of the highest importance to a
proper appreciation of the physics of the solid state of
matter.
2. Discrete versus Continuous Spectra.
In his first paper, Einstein adopted the phenomenologi-
cal approach provided by the fact that infra-red radiations
of specific wave-lengths are strongly reflected by many
crystals, indicating that they possess characteristic fre-
quencies of internal vibration. It is natural to assume
that this is a very general feature of the crystalline state,
and hence that we are justified in assuming the infra-red
spectrum to consist of monochromatic radiations whose fre-
quencies correspond to certain specific modes of internal
vibration. Einstein had no difficulty in showing that the
facts then known concerning the specific heat of many
solids were broadly in accord with his ideas. He even ven-
tured to Calculate the characteristic frequency of diamond
from the specific heat data and to suggest (1907) that this
calculated frequency might possibly be "inactive" in infra-
red absorption. There are however, many solids e.g.,
metals, for which infra-red spectroscopic data are not forth-
coming. To meet such cases, Einstein (1911) showed that
the atomic frequency v could be approximately connected
with the bulk modulus K of the solid, its density £ and the
atomic weight M by the formula,
v^2-8X107'M~^r-1/0-K^ . . (1)
The Einstein formula for the specific heat even with a
suitably assumed atomic frequency deviates from the facts
at very low temperatures. To explain this deviation,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 671
*
Nernst and Lindemann made their well-known suggestion
that even in the case of elementary solids, two characteris-
tic frequencies have to be considered, of which one is half
the other, equal weight being assigned to both. A notable
improvement in the agreement with the experimental facts
was thereby obtained. Lindemann also suggested a semi-
empirical formula connecting the frequency v with the
atomic weight M, the atomic volume v and the melting
temperature Tm of the solid, namely,
.. (2)
giving values of v in fair agreement with (1).
Starting from the idea that the thermal energy in the
solid could be identified with the energy of ordinary elas-
tic solid vibrations, Dcbye (1912) put iorward a theory of
specific heats which gained general acceptance. Elastic
waves can be propagated in any specified direction within
a crystal with three different velocities; one of these waves
is approximately longitudinal and the other two are
approximately transverse. The possible frequencies of
stationary vibration are determined by these velocities and
by the dimensions of the crystal. It is a feature of De-
bye's theory that the frequencies of all the three possible
types of wave-motion are assumed to have an identical
upper limit determined by the equation,
1 \,T2J 47lV/ 2,1 \
— 7 Vv2d v= - ( - + -
23 / 3 V ci3 c23 /
s ci3 C23 ci c2 / (3)
where N is the total number of atoms, V is the volume of
the crystal, ci and cs are respectively the velocities of
transverse and longitudinal waves. The "frequency spec-
trum" is thus a continuous one; the number of degrees of
672 RAJAH SIR AWtf AMALAI CHETTIAR
freedom assigned to a given frequency interval increases
with the square of the frequency and the spectrum termi-
nates sharply at the assumed upper limit.
3. Some Remarks on the Debye Theory.
A justification may be sought for assuming an upper
limit of frequency for the possible stationary vibrations of
an elastic solid in the view that the lattice spacings in the
crystal necessarily set a lower limit to the possible wave-
lengths of such vibration. It is readily seen that such limi-
tation of wave-length is equivalent to the limitation of the
number of degrees assumed by Debye. On this basis, how-
ever, there should be separate limits of frequency for longi-
tudinal and transverse waves, since the velocity of the
latter is much smaller than that of the former. In Debye's
theory however, no such distinction is made. Hence, we
should regard his formula (3) as a semi-empirical relation
between the highest possible atomic vibration frequency
and the elastic properties of the solid. Indeed, taking the
value of Poisson's ratio as $, formula (3) may be written
in the form
v.a^3-6X107-M-^-^-K% . . (4)
which is identical with formula (1) due to Einstein except
for a somewhat larger value of the numerical constant. It
is thus clear that the Debye theory is based on a hypothesis
regarding the vibration spectrum which, however plausible
it may appear, is essentially arbitrary. That the Nernst —
Lindemann formula which considers only two discrete fre-
quencies gives the specific heat correctly over a fairly wide
range of temperature indicates that widely divergent
assumptions regarding the nature of the vibration spectrum
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 673
may be consistent with the specific heat data. The basic
question whether the spectrum is discrete or continuous can
therefore be answered only by independent spectroscopic
research. Prima facie, however, it is highly probable that
the vibration spectrum includes a low-frequency part of
the same physical nature as the ordinary acoustic or ultra-
sonic vibrations in the solid. This can be regarded as a
"continuous" spectrum when the half-wave length is suffici-
ently large in comparison with the lattice spacings of the
crystal. Its contribution to the specific heat would be
relatively small at ordinary temperatures but would be-
come important at low temperatures, which is precisely the
region where the Debye formula has had its principal suc-
cesses. On the other hand, the specific heat data do not
compel us to accept the idea that the atomic displacements
of higher frequencies have the same physical nature as the
ordinary elastic solid vibrations. They appear to be quite
consistent with the supposition that even in the simplest
crystals, and at ordinary temperatures, the thermal energy,
instead of residing wholly in a continuous spectrum of
vibrations as postulated by Debye, is only to a small extent
associated with a spectrum of this nature appearing in the
region of low frequencies; much the larger part of the
energy might well be carried by vibrations with discrete
frequencies appearing as lines in the near or remote infra-
red spectrum.
4. Evidence from Light Scattering.
A powerful method for the spectroscopic study of
vibration spectra was furnished by the present writer's
discovery made early in 1928 that the spectrum of the light
scattered in transparent crystals includes radiations of al-
tered frequencies. Many substances have since been in-
85
674 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
vestigated by this method and a wealth of data has come
to hand which is of the highest significance to crystal dyna-
mics and specific heat theory. Two broad results have
emerged from such spectroscopic observations. The first
is a striking confirmation of Einstein's idea of 1907 that the
vibrations of the atoms in elementary solids as well as in
more complicated compounds arc monochromatic. The
lines of displaced frequency observed are, in general, ex-
tremely sharp. It is perhaps not surprising that this
should be the case for the frequencies which roughly corres-
pond to those observed as fairly sharp lines in the melts
or solutions of the same solid. Significantly enough, how-
ever, it is also true for the lines representing frequencies
which are characteristic of the crystalline state and are
either not represented in the fluid state or else appear as
diffuse continua in the latter condition. Numerous such
lines (usually with small frequency shifts) may be observ-
ed even with crystals of fairly simple composition.
The second broad feature revealed by the study of
light scattering is that the number of discrete lines observed
in the spectra generally much exceeds the number of the
so-called internal vibrations usually represented by Ein-
stein functions in the expressions for the specific heat of a
crystal. Since all such lines represent modes of vibration
with specific frequencies, additional Einstein terms must
necessarily be added to represent their contributions to the
specific heat. Since their frequencies are generally very
low, these terms carry a considerable fraction of the thermal
energy even at low temperatures. Accordingly, both the
number of degrees of freedom and the actual proportion of
the thermal energy which can be assigned to the elastic
solid vibrations of the crystal is greatly reduced. Indeed,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 675
the spectroscopic facts compel us to recognize that the pro-
portion of the thermal energy which is identifiable as
vibrations of the elastic solid type in crystals is usually far
smaller than has hitherto been supposed. We may go so
far as to say that the thermal energy, instead of being whol-
ly or largely representable by Debye functions at ordinary
temperatures, includes in most cases a part so representable
to a very minor extent.
5. Some Illustrative Examples.
The relative unimportance at ordinary temperatures
of the contribution to the specific heat made by the elastic
solid vibrations in a crystal may be illustrated by selected
examples. Amongst elementary solids, we may take the
cases of the three elements which are transparent to light;
namely^ diamond, sulphur and phosphorous. The spectros-
copic data for these substances completely contradict the
idea that a continuous vibration spectrum is the principal
carrier of thermal energy.
In the case of diamond, we have several distinct
sources of information regarding the nature of the lattice
vibrations namely the scattering of light, infra-red absorp-
tion, ultra-violet absorption, and luminescence. All the
evidence indicates that there are numerous types of lattice
vibration in diamond represented by definite frequencies.
These fall into two groups, the leading members of which
are respectively, a vibration of frequency 1332 cmr1 and
another at 790 cm"1 in spectroscopic units. A detailed dis-
cussion of the specific heat data for diamond by Mr. V. B.
Anand is being published shortly which indicates that near-
ly the whole of the thermal energy of diamond is carried
by these two sets of monochromatic vibrations.
676 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The case of sulphur has been studied and discussed in
relation to the specific heat data by R. Norris (1941).
Assuming that sulphur is present in the crystal in the form
of Ss groups, 18 out of the 24 degrees of freedom of the
atoms in each group have been assigned from the spectros-
copic evidence to the internal vibrations of the group and
3 to its rotational oscillations. The three latter appear in
the spectra as lines with frequency shift of 50 cm"1, 50 cm""1
and 85 cm"1 respectively. Thus only one-eighth of the
total number of degrees of freedom remains with unidenti-
fied frequencies which could possibly be associated with
vibrations of the elastic solid type in the crystal.
The case of phosphorus is of special interest. There is
evidence that the substance both in the liquid and solid
states consists of P* groups, the face-centered cubic lat-
tice of the crystal containing four such groups per unit cell.
The internal vibrations of the Pi group are completely
represented in light scattering and arc responsible for 6
out of the 12 degrees of freedom. The spectrum shows no
lines which could be ascribed to the rotational oscillations
of the ?4 group. It may be presumed, how-
ever, that they exist and have specific frequencies associat-
ed with three more degrees of freedom which fail to
appear in light scattering owing to the tetrahedral symme-
try of the group. The spectrum of the crystal exhibits a
sharp line with a frequency shift 32 cm""1 (C. S. Venkates-
waran, 1936) which however disappears in the melt. This
coincides approximately with the calculated Lindemann fre-
quency and may therefore be ascribed to the translational
oscillations of ?4 groups in the crystal lattice. Thus,
no more than 3 out of the 48 degrees of freedom associated
with the 16 atoms in the lattice cell can be assigned to
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 677
elastic solid vibrations of the kind contemplated in the
Debye theory.
6. The Case of Quartz.
A very complete experimental study and theoretical
discussion of the case of quartz has been given recently by
Mr. B. D. Saxena (1941) and is very illuminating. He con-
siders the unit cell of the crystal to contain three SiOs
groups, the total number of degrees of freedom per unit cell
being therefore twenty-seven. Out of this number, only
three degrees of freedom, namely the three translations of
the unit cell are associated with vibrations of the elastic
solid type. The remaining twenty-four degrees of freedom
must therefore be assigned to specific lattice vibrations of
the monochromatic type. The application of group theory
enables these twenty-four modes of vibration to be classi-
fied according to their symmetry characters. The possi-
bility of their appearance as discrete lines in light scatter-
ing and in infra-red absorption in specified circumstances
can also be predicted. A correlation with the spectros-
copic data shows a very complete agreement with the
theory, enabling the observed frequencies to be referred to
one or the other of the possible symmetry types of vibra-
tion. Finally, a calculation is made of the specific heat of
the crystal. This shows a remarkably close fit with experi-
mental data over the whole range of temperature from 20°T
to 800°T. The calculation shows that the Debye contribu-
tion to the specific heat is a major part of the whole only
up to about 75°T; at 300°T it is only one-fifth and at
800°T only one-eighth of the actual specific heat.
THE POETS AND THE PATRONS OF THE TAMIL LAND
BY
E. S. VARADARAJA AIYAR, B.A.
It is an established fact that Literature and Art flourish
where there is proper State encouragement. The period
in the history of Tamil Literature viz., the first century of
the Christian Era has been called the Augustan age of
Tamil Literature. This period, it is well-known, coincides
with the benign rule of the Cera prince Senguttuvan. This
prince as well as his illustrious predecessors and contempo-
raries, the kings of the Cola and the Pandya Kingdoms have
been eulogised by the learned scholars of the time. These
three great crowned kings of the ancient Tamil land had
been solely responsible for the growth of excellent Tamil
Literature especially poetic literature.
It is also generally known that in any age or clime
poetic literature often precedes prose literature. The former
by its concise nature, is often easily memorised and in the
days when printing was not even dreamt of, no other liter-
ary form could so easily have preserved the noble thoughts
and the valuable traditions of our ancestors. The poets
themselves were scattered in different parts of the Tamil
land, but all of them met at Madura, the famous seat of
Tamil learning, that being the place where as tradition
will have it, the three great Tamil Academies once existed.
It is not the purpose of the present article to give or
trace the history of these noble academies which have done
so much for the enhancement of Tamil Literature. The
679
materials for its history are few and what little we know
of these great assemblies is limited to our knowledge of the
third academy or the Kadaiccangam. The real Tamil
treasures which are the outcome of the extraordinary in-
tellect of our ancestors belong to the above third Academy
and even to this day the Tamilian looks back with respect
and gratitude to the famous authors who composed the
works of the period and who are known by the respectful
appellation of
In one of the old stanzas we have this assembly of poets
likened to a beautiful garland or necklace interspersed with
the various precious gems. As these gems, though born in
different places unite in the necklaces so also the poets who
were born in different places gathered together at Madura,
the seat of Academy. They belonged to different castes and
creeds and each one's calling was different from the other.
They were well-versed in the different arts and we can
trace in their poems their beautiful knowledge of the world.
Even the kings of the time were great Tamil scholars and
we have excellent specimens of their poems in the Sangam
anthologies. Ilangovadigal, the author of the immortal
classic Silappadikaram was o Cera prince.
It was a remarkable feature of this period that there
was actually no religious or communal quarrels. All the
learned poets assembled in common ground and their only
aim was to foster good, enduring Tamil literature. Not con-
fined to the four walls of an educational institution their
knowledge of the world and nature was something marvel-
lous and one has simply to turn over a few pages of the old
anthologies if he wants to realise the peculiar and pleasure-
1. Puram (218),
680 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
able effects of their magic touch. The best ideas had been
put in the best possible form and similes and metaphors
had been culled from the broad nature and its environs.
Not obsessed by narrow feelings of caste or creed, they were
able to give their best talents to the poetic composition with
the result that we have now hundreds of stanzas full of
poetic beauty and charm. This absence of communal feel-
ing, however, tended to create amity and perfect unity
among these noble savants. Real education and literary
attainments of a high order were all what they wanted and
literary celebrities were much respected. Poets like Kapilar
and Paranar have elicited admiration even from their com-
peers in the Academy. In stanza 183 of Purananuru, we
have the lofty ideas of one Ariyappadaitanta Nedumceliyan.
In the poem he says that it is always better to learn un-
grudgingly at the feet of a master rendering him proper
obeisance and substantial help monetary or otherwise,
that even among the sons born in the same family the
mother has a tendency to prefer the educated son to others,
that the king is always after the wisest man in a family
and not the oldest, and that it is a common feature observ-
able everywhere that even a person born high in social
status would stoop down to learn under a teacher, though
the latter might be born in a status lower than his, as real
knowledge knows no caste.
These high principles characterised the poets of yore,
who have handed down to us real poetry full of feelings
and natural grandeur. Observations of nature and similes
drawn from them abound in their poetry. A few of them
may be quoted. A sensitive balance is compared to balanc-
ed judgement. The swordsmen in battle array have been
compared to big white fish drawn together; the elephant
weltering in the battle-field with its trunk cut is likened to
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 681
a plough share. The irredeemable nature of a place con-
quered by a king is compared to water strewn on red-hot
iron. The instability of the world has been well brought
out by likening it to the part played by the actors in a
drama or kuttu. The king's concealed anger is compared to
that of the elephant, which, remembering the stone thrown
on it was watching to deal with the offender. The con-
tinued march of poets and bards in search of literal patrons
who could appreciate their art and offer them presents is
likened to the various streams which take their rise in hills
and flow in the plains towards the sea. The double nature
of the king viz., his easy accessibility to his admirers and
his sterness to his enemies has been compared to that of an
elephant which while bathing allows even young children
to handle its tusks and which however while in rut threat-
ens to destroy everything that crosses its path. The munifi-
cent patron is often compared to a solitary fruit-bearing
tree in a long dreary forest entirely void of tree-shade.
Among the poets we find a decent number of women
also. It will thus be seen that women in these days had
some real freedom and that good educated ladies did find
their honourable seats side by side with the men-poets.
Even wives of kings had been good poetesses as will be seen
from the Sangam collections that have come down to us.
Kakkaipadiniyar, Koppendu, Adimandiyar, Auvaiyar and
the highly accomplished daughters of the liberal chieftain
Pari were some of the women poets.
Leaving these aside let me now see the role actually
played by these poets. Some of them .had actually served
in the capacity of ministers. The lyrics and the elegies
composed by them on their patrons are innumerable and
they are full of feeling or pathos. As advisers, as inter-
mediaries even in the private quarrels or misunderstandings
682 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
between the king and his consort, as promoters of peace
between rival kings, as people who created strifes or put an
end to them, they had been of incalculable service in those
remote days. The confidence and the absolute reliance
based upon these poets by the then kings and chieftains are
things which every Tamilian must cherish and value. When
we find a king like Nedumceliyan actually swearing that if
he failed to capture and subjugate the enemies who spoke
of him with disrespect, he shall go unsung by the learned
poets who assembled in his court under the headship of
Mangudi Maruthanar, our soul gets elevated and we feel
proud of the exalted position our poets once occupied and
the high esteem in which they were held by the monarchs.
Students of Tamil literature know only too well the attempts
made by no less than four poets, viz., Kapilar, Paranar, Ari-
sil-kizhar and Perumkunrur-kizhar, to pacify Pehan an
illustrious liberal chieftain of their time and to bring about
rapproachment between him and his wife and the signal
success that attended their noble attempts. The divine
friendship of Kopperuncolan and Pisirandiyar had almost
become a classic and the disgust with the affairs of the world
felt by the great poet Kapilar immediately on the death of
Pari his noble benefactor and his final resolve to fast unto
death and not outlive him are acts highly exalted in them-
selves. One cannot but feel here the gratitude felt by the
poet for all the services rendered by his Lord and the noble
services undertook by the poet to get the daughters of his
master married. Many civil quarrels and internecine dis-
putes had been avoided by the poets* intervention at the
proper moment. Here is an illustration for this act of
theirs.
Nalamkilli and Nedumkilli were the scions of the Cola
family. The former laid seige to Nedumkilli's capital. Now
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 683
Kovur Kizhar a poet of high eminence who was a good
friend of both of them addressed them as follows :
"Neither you nor your opponent wear the palmyra or
the margossa flower. Both of you wear the Athi flower
which is the distinguishing flower of your line. Even if
any one of you gets defeated it is the cola family that is dis-
comfited. Victory in battle for both of you is not possible.
Hence it does not behove you, born of a noble line to quar-
rel among yourselves. This strife will only serve to get you
the ridicule of your adversary. So please refrain from fight-
ing with each other".2
On another occasion Kopperuncolan decided to wage
war on his sons being offended at their misbehaviour. On
seeing this one Pullarrur Eyirriyanar addressed the king
thus : —
"O benign prince, your present opponents are not the
Cera and Pandya who are your traditional enemies. Nor
are you their inveterate adversary. When you depart this
world leaving behind you your undying fame they alone are
the sole claimants of your kingdom. Supposing your sons
fight with you and get defeated, to whom else are you
going to hand over your kingdom ? If you get defeated you
will be despised by all. Hence I beseech you to shake off
your anger and refrain from this ignoble act.3
Further instances where the poets gave their best
advice to their patrons in moments of crisis can be multi-
plied. They had been their keen advisers in matters of
state or royal administration. They had from time to time
advised them to do all possible acts to promote the welfare
2. Puram (45).
3. Puram (213).
684 RAJAH SIR A^fJAMALAl CHETTIAR
of the people. Paranar in one of the stanzas in Purananuru
(5) advised a Cola prince Ilancetcenni to look after the
welfare of his subjects with the tenderness, care and affec-
tion with which a mother rears her young child. The great
poet Kambar stresses on this sacred duty of a righteous
monarch when he tells us that King Dasaratha ruled the
world and looked after the welfare of his subjects as care-
fully as a very poor farmer will look after his small patch
of cultivable land. Karikizhar, another Sangam poet praises
Muthukudumi Peruvazhuthi in the following manner: —
" Oh Beautiful prince ! let your parasol lower down
when you circumambulate the temple of the three eyed
Siva. May your munificence be discriminate. May your
crowned head bow down before learned sages. May the
laurels you wear fade by the smoke that shoots up from
the fire which devastates your enemy's realm. May your
irrepressible anger disappear before the bright faces of your
beloved wives and may you live as long as the sun and the
Moon."4
Here we have a fair idea of the general way in which
the poets of old were used to eulogise their patrons. Again
in stanza 9 of Puram we are told of the righteous way in
which warfare was undertaken in those days. The cows
must be protected as well as the sages and learned men.
The women and the sick must be saved. Due consideration
must be given to those who have not borne children who
alone could perform the last rites to the deceased and the
usual offerings to the manes, as it was considered that peo-
ple without issues could not enter heaven. Very useful
advice regarding the manner in which the king should rule
4. Ibid (6).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 685
his realm is found in almost every alternate * stanza of
Puram. One Pisirandaiyar addressed Arivudai Nambi
in the following manner. "Oh Prince, if paddy is con-
verted into balls of rice and given to the elephants, the
produce of even a small patch of land like the Ma U>T
can feed the elephant for many days. But if the elephant
is left to eat the grains in the paddy field itself even hundred
acres will not suffice and the paddy grains that are spoiled
by being trodden by the animal will be greater than those
that actually fill its stomach. Similarly, if a king exacts
taxes with a certain principle, his wealth will accumulate.
But if he resorts to extortion, he will soon lose his wealth
and his kingdom will fall."5
Besides these we are able to learn through these poems
several acts committed by the victors in the places subju-
gated by them. It was the custom in those days to plough
the tilled fields with white-mouthed asses and to spoil the
drinking water tanks by driving elephants in them.
Portions of conquered territory were often set on fire and
women made prisoners. The gems in the crowns of the
defeated kings were utilised for being set or fixed in the
anklets of the winner. Castor-oil nuts were sown in the
cultivated fields and the hair of women taken as captives
was twisted like ropes and was used to drag the king's
chariot. The spoils of victory were freely distributed to
the bards, poets, augurs and others.
Let us now see the patrons who by their liberal gifts
had helped the growth of literature and literary men. It
was already observed that the three ancient kings the
Chera, Chola and Pandiya, liberally patronised literature.
5. Puram (184).
686 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The staunch friendship of Kopperuncolan and Pisirandai-
yar as well as of Kapilar and Pari, had already been
noticed. The eulogies bestowed upon Adhigaman by the
poetess Auvvaiyar are very pleasant reading. When we hear
that the Cera prince willingly parted with a Nelli fruit
which had the virtue of bestowing immortality in favour of
Auvvaiyar we are reminded of their divine friendship, and
the high regard the prince had for the poetess. She, in her
turn ever proud of her profound learning, condescended to
praise him and even to act as embassy when asked to do
so. The innumerable gifts made by the Cera kings to
those poets who praised them have been faithfully record-
ed in the ancient work Padirruppattu. This work at pre-
sent contains only eight sections, the first and the tenth
having been lost. Each is in praise of a Cera King and from
Imayavaramban Nedunceralathan up to Ilanceral Irumporai
we have got a regular record of their achievements, bene-
factions, valour, etc. When we hear of a Cera king
actually fanning a poet, who tired of walking lay on the
dais intended for the royal drum or Murasu, we realise the
depth to which the kings were willing to go down in order
to respect real erudition. It was Karaikal Valavan that
gave 16 lakhs of Pon as present to Kadiyalur Uruthiran-
kananar for his beautful poem Pattinappala,i. Selvak-
kadunko, a Cera king presented one lakh of Kanam (an
old coin) to Kapilar for his seventh ten sung in his praise
and also all the lands that could be seen by him from the
top of a hill known as the Nandra hill. Last but not least
we have a curious instance of a cera king actually renoun-
cing his kingdom in favour of a poet known as Arisilkizhar
for having praised him in the eighth ten of Padiruppattu.
The learned poet, however, refused the offer and exhorted
him to rule the realm peacefully.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 687
Even apart from crowned kings we have a regular list
of petty chieftains whose bounty has been praised in the
best possible way by the bards and poets. Pari, Pehan,
Nalli, Ori, Ezhini and a host of other names are familiar
to the Tamil scholar. The elegies sung on the ^ demise of
kings and chieftains sung by the bards are heart-rending
and every piece tells us of the benignant way in which the
poets were treated by them while alive. Kapilar tells us
that Pari was master of 300 villages and that all of them
had been given away as presents to the bards. Pari's
munificence was proverbial and his having parted with his
chariot so that it may serve as a prop for the mullai creeper
shows his consideration even to plants which have only
one sense, viz., the sense of touch.
Regarding the elegies, one or two may be quoted here.
One Aduthurai Masattanar (Puram, 227) in one of his
stanzas praised his deceased patron Kulamurrattu Tunjiya
Killivalavan thus: —
Oh Death ! You are unwise. Inexperienced as you are
you have eaten the seed that would have well sustained
you. You have taken the life of one who by winning
many a battle had been of immense help to you in feeding
your voracious appetite. Hallo ! you are to be pitied. Who
else is going to satisfy your hunger ?
Arisilkizhar another poet sings pathetically of his
patron thus (Puram. 232) : —
" Oh let me be gone along with my benefactor. What
avails my lonely presence here under the Sun, separated
as I am from my patron. I wonder how he, my patron is
going to accept the little quantity of toddy that is to be
given to him as part of the offerings which are usual for
688 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the dead, he, who rejected outright and refused to accept
territory after territory offered to him as tribute by his
adversaries"!
The poetess Auwaiyar on her bereavement caused by
the death of Athiyaman Anji has sung thus: — (Puram
235)
" Oh my patron ! What little was available he used
to give me and feed me first. He used to sit and dine with
a good number of people. All that is past. Full of valour
he will not scruple to visit battlefields. That is now past.
The pointed lance which was thrown by the enemy and
which pierced his heart pierced also the begging bowl, the
hand that bore it and the tongue of the learned bard who
knows to praise in the best possible way employing well-
chosen words and epithets. Hereafter no one is there to
sing and nobody to be sung."
While, however, reading these elegies and other poems
even a casual reader is likely to be struck by the miserable
poverty of the bards, the minstrels, and the Padinis.
Extremely indigent they wandered from place to place
mostly in palai or dry tracts in search of benefactors who
could give them food and clothing. They were expert
singers and at times dancers too. Here are some pen-por-
traits of their extreme penury : One Odaikizhar of Turai-
yur has sung of Vel Ay in the following manner. (Puram,
136) : —
"Oh! of the enemies that hover round me whom am
I to specify as the worst : shall I speak of the lice with
their little ones sticking fast to the sides of my tattered
clothes which are full of stitches like the upper side of the
sound box of a guitar or yazh; or shall I refer to the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 689
pinching hunger which torments me and my kith and
kin ; or shall I recount the worry caused by the high-way
robbers who regardless of my despicable position rob me
of what little I have. Somehow with the fervent hope that it
is Ay who would realise all these, our troubles and enemies,
I approached him and said " They alone who help us and
relieve our distress will be reckoned as really charitable
people. But those who help others placed in better status
than we are, are the very men who do so expecting to
be helped in turn. Hence I request you to send us away
with suitable presents as befits our learning. May you live
long."
Another poet Perunthalaiccathanar by name praises
Kumanan thus : — (Puram, 164)
" The wife in the household is in great distress. The
oven not being used for a number of days is full of fungus
growth. The young ones at the breast not finding any
milk there gaze piteously on the mother's face. The
mother is full of tears. On seeing this I have approached
you Kumana for you are the right man to be approached
for relieving my poverty."
Another Unpotipacumkudaiyar has sung of Ilancet-
cenni. In this poem we find a humorous depiction of the
poverty of the bard and the subsequent pleasure enjoyed
by his children and relatives on being the recipient of in-
numerable presents from a munificent patron. He says,
(Puram, 378) : —
"My patron actually showered many ornaments on
me. On seeing them my people rushed in to wear them.
But as they were not used to them they wore on the ears
the jewels that were to be worn on the fingers and those of
the fingers in their ears. The jewels intended for the waist
87
690 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
were worn by them on their necks and the neck ornaments
were assigned to their waist." This act of theirs has been
likened by the poet to that of the monkeys of Kishkinda,
when they beheld the jewels which Sita threw in a bundle
while she was being forcibly carried away by Ravana.
While I am here I think it will not be inappropriate
if I refer to the magnanimity, boldness and self-respect
that characterised these bards in spite of their impecuni-
osity. Here are one or two instances that may bear out
the above statement. The poet Perumcittiranar approached
one Veliman when he was at the point of death. His
brother was however instructed to reward the poet libe-
rally. The brother rewarded him scantily. This the
poet could not brook. He discarded the small present and
addressed the giver thus (Puram, 162) : —
" You are not the protector of poor people. Nor are
liberal patrons wanting. You will see that the world con-
sists of very good patrons for bards like me."
Auvvaiyar when she first approached Athiyaman
found him rather indifferent and somewhat slow in
receiving her. Unable to put up with this she addressed
the door-keeper thus: — (Puram, 206)
" Oh gateman who guards the gateway which never
shuts against bards. Perhaps this Anji does not realise
who I am. The world is not completely void of wise men
and patrons who could help them. Hence, I am now
bundling up my musical instruments and I am ready to
start. For the sons of an expert carpenter the forest full
of trees is highly useful and valuable. In the same way,
for me who live by my learning food is sure to come where-
ever I go."
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 691
Having now dealt with in a way the poets and the
patrons in the early centuries of the Christian Era, let me
now proceed to give a short sketch of the support and pat-
ronage the Tamil literature received in the epochs subse-
quent to the Sangam age. About the 4th Century A.D.
we hear of the earlier Colas and also of the advent of the
Kalabhras. Then from the 5th Century we have a regular
list of the Pallava Kings who were very liberal patrons of
Arts and Literature. Both Sanskrit and Tamil were en-
couraged and even Buddhists and Jains received rich en-
dowments at their hands. This period was highly prolific
in religious literature and it is here that we hear of the
Saiva Nayanmars and the Vaishnava Alwars who have con-
tributed a good deal to the growth of Tamil poetic literat-
ture especially literature of devotion. Huge temples were
built by them and they were very richly endowed. These
temples were great repositories of learning and several in-
scriptions that belonged to their reigns tell us of their
munificence. Perumthevanar was patronised by Nandi
varman, the Pallava King who was the victor of Tellaru
and Na'adikkalambagam was composed by him in praise of
the king. Koccengat colan, it is said, had constructed
seventy-two temples (Mada temples) for Siva and Tiru-
mangai Alwar refers to this as well as his other benefac-
tions for Vishnu shrines.
When, however, the Cola supremacy revived under
Vijayalaya in the 9th Century, we find again great impetus
given to literature and art. Rajaraja, Rajendra and other
Cola Kings were very liberal patrons of art and Ottak-
kuthar who was poet laureate of three Cola monarchs in
succession was held in high esteem by the kings. His muvar
ula and Thakkayagapparani give us much information re-
garding the men and things of his time. Again Kambar
692 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
who flourished in the reign of Kulottunga III has gained
immortal fame by his Ramayana and we have ample evi-
dences to prove that his patron benefactor was one Sada-
yappa Vallal. Kamban has praised this patron in ten places
in his immortal epic. Upakara Smrithi or remembrance of
one's benefactions is a very common thing observable in
our poets. Pugalendi has praised his patron Chandransvargi
and Villiputhurar the author of Bharatam in Tamil, his
patron Varapathiatkondan.
Coming down to later times we have the bounties of
the Rajas of Ramnad. The Sethu Samasthanam can boast
of many illustrious poets and philosophers and the recipi-
ents of valuable gifts from the Rajas of Ramnad are legion.
Besides these then were many ministers, rich landlords and
madathipathies who had lent solid support to Tamil litera-
ture. Of the Saiva mutts that helped the cause of Tamil
special mention must be made of Tiruvaduthurai, Dharma-
puram, Tiruppanandal and the Suryanar Koil mutts. Of
the zamindaries that promoted Tamil literature we can men-
tion Uttumalai, Ariyalur, Ettayapuram and Marungapuri.
It was the liberal munificence and the dainty food given by
these patrons that were mostly responsible for the
varied literature we have had in recent times. But
one is likely to halt here and remark with a sense of dis-
satisfaction that the above literature had not been up to
the mark and that in point of magnanimity of style, faith-
ful description and effective presentation our later poets
have maintained only a very low standard, with the result
that one perceives very great difference between the pro-
ductions of these later poets and those of the Sangam
period. Perhaps too much dependence of these poets on
their patrons had led them to compose their prabhandams
with the patrons themselves as the heroes and thus most
CdMMEMORATION VOLUME 693
of them though they are very fine reading yet lack the
beauty of genuine poetry based on pure nature.
Till very recently fear was entertained by all lovers of
Tamil literature that it was entirely lacking in popular sup-
port and that a continuance of this state of affairs would
tell unfavourably on that literature. Fortunately for the
Tamil land we see the Renaissance period. This period has
happily coincided with the very liberal donation of several
lakhs of rupees made by Dr. Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar
of Chettinad to establish a Tamil University in the heart
of the Tamil land. Among the many benefactions of the
Raja Saheb this one for Vidya Danam stands supreme. Real
learning Tiruvalluvar has said, does not stop with the
material body but is calculated to stick to the undying
Atman or soul and hence the education that one receives
in one's birth will always be useful to him even in subse-
quent births. The many attempts made by the Raja for
the amelioration of Tamil and enhancement of Tamil litera-
ture music and art have been praised all over the country.
Recently his favourite idea of popularizing Tamil songs and
of encouraging the composition of pure Tamil songs has been
well appreciated and men of learning and musicians of high
standing have already set about to respect that idea and
to work for its fulfilment. One may therefore hope that
this seat of learning viz., the Annamalai University will go
a great way in promoting the cause of Tamil literature and
that this period will stand as an epoch-making one in the
history and growth of Tamil Literature, Science and Art.
A METRICAL INVARIANT ASSOCIATED WITH FOUR
COPLANAR POINTS1
BY
K. RANGASWAMI,
Annamalai University.
The 9 normal2 at a point P of a conic is the line
obtained by rotating the tangent at P, in the positive sense
about P, through an angle 0. If any three points be taken
on a conic it could be shown that there is a unique value of °
(mod n) such that the ^-normals at these points are con-
current. Now, given four points in a plane, it is well
known that the locus of centres of the conies through the
four points is a conic r circumscribed to the diagonal tri-
angle A B C of the four points. In this note we seek to
determine the value of # for which the ^-normals at A, B, C,
to T are concurrent as a metrical invariant of the four points.
Since a set of four points in a plane may be specified as
the common points of the two parabolas through them, the
angle in question may be obtained in terms of the invariants
of the two parabolas.
1. The problem in a slightly different form was suggested to
me by R. Vaidyanathaswamy.
2. For a study of the B — normals of a conic reference may
be made to (i) Cases Analytical Geometry, pp. 538-9. (ii) On
the 0 — normals of a conic by R. Vaidyanathaswamy Maths. Stu-
dent, Vol. I, no. 4, pp. 121-130. (iii) On a metrical invariant etc.,
by A. Narasinga Rao and B. Ramamurti, Annamalai University
Journal Vol. I, No. 2. (iv) On the quasi-normals of a conic by
R. Vaidyanathaswamy, Jour. Ind. Math. Soc., Vol. 18 No. 12,
pt. II, pp. 281-8.
695
Now, among the conies through four points there are
two special members, namely, a rectangular hyperbola R
and a conic of minimum eccentricity M whose axes are
parallel to the asymptotes of R; the parameters of R and M
seperate harmonically those of the parabolas.3 Thus, if the
equations of M, R be:
M : ax* + by1 - k = 0 (1)
M : 2hxy + 2gx + 2fy + c = 0 (2)
the equations of the two parabolas in the system may be
written in the form:
P : = M + \K = 0 where \ - ± </ ab /h (3)
The #-conic of the two parabolas Pi, Pa is concentric
with r4 and has A B C for a self polar triangle. Hence by a
known result,5 if the 0-axes of r are conjugate diameters of
*, then the deviation of A B C is 0,
Now, a pair of 0-axes of a conic separate harmonically
the equiconjugate diameters. Thus, as the equiconjugate
diameters of r are parallel to the asymptotes of M, the
0-axes in question are parallel to the double lines of the
involution pencil determined by the two pairs, namely, the
asymptotes of M and the lines through the origin parallel
to the asymptotes of $. From (1) and (3) it may be easily
shown that the required double lines are:
*x* - by* + a~ (a/* - &?') xy . 0 (4)
3. On the quasi-normak, etc., ibid., p. 286.
4. Ibid, p. 286.
5. On the 0 — normals etc., Ibid, p. 127.
696
Also, the pair of lines through the origin parallel to the
0-axes of r is:
ax1 - by* + (a + b) tan 0 - xy - 0 (5)
comparing (4) and (5) we have
tano- * g^W (6)
a + b 3fg - 2ch v '
To express, then, the value of tan 0 given in (6) in
terms of the invariants of Pi, Pa we notice that:
A' " - 'A'- (/ • a - 9 «' ~bj ' A, - - Jr(/ Va + V~b)' (7)
0, = ft-r («ft + bg* - 4a6fc) - 2 v^ ab (3/0 - 2cA) (8)
ab </ab
3 = Tr '^ + ^ " ) + 2 ~F~ a6 (3^ "" 2cA) (9)
also, J, = (ax + 6J = a + 6 = (a, + 62) = J,, Cn =
(«! 62 + a, 6t - 2At A,) = 46 (10)
From equations (6) to (10) we get
tan2 6 =
We may remark that when J^O (so that J2 is also
zero) equation (11) gives 0=*/2. This is so because in this
case the four points form an orthocentre set so that r is a
circle.
ON NUMBERS ANALOGOUS TO HIGHLY COMPOSITE
NUMBERS OF RAMANUJAN
BY
S. SlVASANKARANARAYANA PlLLAI,
(Travancore University) .
INTRODUCTION.
In his memoir on Highly composite Numbers,*
Ramanujan calls a number highly composite, if the number
of divisors of the number is greater than that for any
lower number. The origin of this paper lies in the attempt
to consider other common arithmetic functions in the light
of the above definition. Considering the functions con-
nected with the number of ways of resolving a number into
t factors, the sum of the reciprocals of the rth powers of
the divisors of a number, and the number of numbers prime
to and not exceeding a number, I define three different
classes of numbers. Hence this paper consists of three
parts.
Considering the technical nature of the subject, here
I give only a statement of the main results without any
proof. The full paper will be published elsewhere in a
mathematical journal.
I. Highly Composite Numbers of t*1 Order.
If the number of ways of resolving a number into t
factors is greater than that for any lower number, then that
number may be called a 'highly composite number of tth
88
698 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
order.' That is, N is a highly composite number of tth
order, if
dt(N)>dt(N) for all N'<N,
where dt(ri) denotes the number of ways of decomposing
n into t factors. According to this definition, highly com-
posite numbers of Ramanujan are highly composite num-
bers of second order.
In the investigation of the properties of these num-
bers, I closely follow Ramanujan, and it is interesting to
note that every result about Ramanujan's highly composite
numbers is proved to be true with respect to these num-
bers, provided that wo substitute t instead of 2 in proper
places. This requires only a close study of Ramanujan's
paper with an eye for generalisation; yet the results are
remarkably interesting.
Writing N in the form
. . . .
Where N is a highly composite number of till order and p
is the greatest prime factor of N, I prove the following
results: —
1. a££az^az ^ . . . . ^OP ^1.
2. aP— 1 for all N except for a finite number of values
of N. To be more precise,
ap=l whenever either p>22t or
and ap<[Vt]+l when p4"2,
and (h^Vt+i+ % when -2,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 699
3. If log A=Q (log p),
as log 2~aa log 3~a» logB~ ....
(t-l)logp
~a log<v~
log*
4. If logA=0(loglogp),
a logx= (*
A
5. When N is large, the indices comparatively near the
beginning form a strictly decreasing sequence,
6. When N is large, groups of equal indices occur
comparatively near the end.
7. Two consecutive highly composite numbers of t
order are asymptotically equal
It appears that no one has considered the maximum
order of dt(n) when ^3. Following the proof given by
Wigert for the maximum order of d(ri), we can prove a
corresponding result for dt(n). But Ramanujan's method
enables us to sharpen this considerably. The maximum
order of log dt(N) proved to be
f Li(logN)+0
without any hypothesis, and it is
Li (logN) + W-tt+U u \ (, m logi(H-l)/logf J
log t ( & J
on Riemann hypothesis.
700 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
II. Highly Abundant Numbers.
Let °-r(n) denotes the sum of the reciprocals of the
rth powers of the divisors of n; i.e.,
o_r(n) ^Sd~r
d/n
Then N may be called a 'highly abundant number of rth
order' if 0_r(N)>0-r(N') for all N'<N. According to
this definition, Ramanujan's highly composite numbers are
highly abundant numbers of order zero.
In this paper, I confine my attention to the cases when
r^l, and use the name 'highly abundant number' only
when r^l. N denotes a highly abundant number and I
write it in the form
a
» 3
'3
I prove that 02^03^ .... ^a*^, and op^l for all N
except for 4 and 36 when r~l, and for 4 when r^2. In
similarity with highly composite numbers, it is proved
that, when N is large, indices near the beginning form a
strictly decreasing sequence, and that groups of equal
indices occur near the end. When A is fairly small in com-
parison with py
a log A— log p.
A
Further, it is proved that, when 02 is given, other indices
can vary through only three values, and the indices, except
a finite number of those near the beginning can be determin-
ed with an error of at most unity. But I am not able to
show that two successive highly abundant numbers are
asymptotically equal.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 701
By comparing the tables for Ramanujan's highly com-
posite numbers and highly abundant numbers of the first
order, we see many highly composite numbers which are not
highly abundant. Further as far as the tables go, all highly
abundant numbers are highly composite. So, for a long
time, I was under the impression that every highly abun-
dant number of rth order was necessarily one of lower order.
But now we know that in a highly abundant number,
a*log2~logp, while in a highly composite number of
Ramanujam 02 log 2~log p/log 2. Hence, it follows that,
after a certain limit, no number will be simul-
taneously highly composite and highly abundant.
This was a real surprise to me. So the above
conjecture is not true in general. Yet, the ques-
tion whether a highly abundant number of the second
order is necessarily one of the first order together with all
similar questions remains unanswered.
It is interesting to observe that 7560 is the first highly
composite number which is not highly abundant, while I
wonder whether the first highly abundant number of the
first order, which is not highly composite according to
Ramanujan, is within the reach of modern computation.
Yet it is an intensely interesting problem to determine the
number of numbers which are simultaneously highly
abundant and highly composite.
Wigert* has proved that the maximum order of
°-i (ri) is
y
e loglogn+0 (log log n),
*Acta Mathematics Vol. 37 (1914) 114 at sequel,
702 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
where Y is Euler's constant. Properties of highly abundant
numbers enable us to sharpen the above result considerably.
In this paper, it is proved that
1. max. o-i (n)=eYloglogn-fO(l), by elementary
methods;
2. max. o^(n)=e loglog?i+0{l/(^n)t}, for every
fixed t by assuming known results about the distribution
of prime numbers; and
Y
3. max. tf-i (n)—^ loglogn+0
4
{(log log n) /V(logn)}
on assuming the truth of Riemann hypothesis.
III. Totient Numbers.
As usual, let <p(n) denote the number of numbers
prime to and not exceeding n. When we attempt to define
numbers with respect to <p(n) in analogy with highly
composite numbers, we get two different classes of num-
bers.
At first, let us define a class of numbers N such that
<p(n)><p(N') for all N'<N. Then obviously all primes
come under this category. But the problem whether any
other number is comprised in this class is really
unapproachable; as a matter of fact, it is equivalent to the
following conjecture in the theory of primes: namely, there
is at least one prime in each of the following intervals
(n2— n, n2) and (n2, n2+n) , where n is an integer. Hence
this class of numbers is not interesting and we pass on to
the consideration of the other class.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 703
If <P(N)«P(N') for all N'>N, then we may call N a
totient number. These numbers are really interesting; for
they are neither too easy nor too difficult to be investigated.
Let q Ke the first missing prime if any and P the last
prime occurring in N, where N is a totient number. Then
I prove that index of P cannot exceed 3, and there are
infinitely many totient numbers in which this index is 2. It
is highly probable that this index does not exceed two in
any case, but I am not able to prove it.
Further, I show that all the primes upto VP should
occur; but there are totient numbers in which the gap
between the last prime and the last but one con-
tains as many primes as we please. A totient num-
ber is not divisible by two primes greater than (l+V2)g,
If a totient number is divisible by any prime greater than
2q, then P<3q. There are infinitely many totient num-
bers in which the index of P is 2, but there are as many
primes as we please between q and P. While 2*3 -5 .... P
is a totient number, there are infinitely many totient num-
bers in which the indices near the beginning can be chosen
as irregularly as we please. Further it is proved that
log <?~log log N.
If F(#y denotes the number of totient numbers not
exceeding x, then
c(logx 2/loglogx<F(x)=Q(x*) for every OO.
Two consecutive totient numbers are asymptotically
equal. After a certain limit, a totient number can be
neither highly composite nor highly abundant. Further
it is proved that 2, 6, 12, 60, 120, 240f 840, 1260, 1680, and
720720 are the only numbers which are simultaneously
highly composient and totient,
704
In his Primzahlen, Landau has proved that
min.
At the end of this paper, this result is sharpened. By
elementary methods, it is shown that
min. <p (ri) =e""Yn/log log n+0(n/ (log log n)2}.
By making use of known results about primes, the
minimum of <P(n) is proved to be
e~*n/\2n+Q{n/ (I2n)r] , for every fixed r,
Finally, on assuming the truth of Riemann hypothesis,
the minimum order of <P(n) is sharpened
e"7n/l2n+0{n(/2n)VV log n}.
CHARITY AND RELIGION
BY
DR. S. MUHAMMAD HUSAYN NAINAR,
M.A., LL.B., (ALIGARH), PH.D. CLoND.)
University of Madras.
Charity is one of the main planks of all religions.
There is no duty to which more frequent reference is
made in the Quran than that of alms-giving. In almost
every chapter this duty is urged upon the believers ; and
in some chapters, indeed, the Prophet returns again and
again to this subject. Further, we notice that the duty
of alms-giving is usually coupled with that of prayer,
upon which also, the Prophet of Islam lays great stress.
IN ISLAM.
Alms are of two kinds in Islam, namely; voluntary
and legal or obligatory.
Voluntary alms is what one gives from one's
property to obtain the favour of God.
' Spend out of (the bounties) we have provided for
you ' is the injunction of the Quran, which asks the
believers to give away wealth in charity or employ it in
good works. Good works embrace everything that
advances the good of one who is in need or promotes the
welfare of the community or the nation. Three
questions are raised in this connection : what shall one
give ? to whom shall he give ? and how shall he give ?
The Quran provides an answer in the following verse :
" Whatever you spend that is good, is for parents
and kindred, and orphans, and those in want and for
wayfarers. And whatever you do that is good — Allah
knows it well. " (Ch. 11—215).
706 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
So ' whatever you do that is good ' is charity. It
may be money, a helping hand, advice or even a kind
word. To fight in the cause of truth is also one of the
highest forms of charity.
" The parable of those who spend their wealth in
the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn : it grows
seven ears and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah
multiplies to whom He pleases. " (Ch. II 261).
" Those who spend their wealth in the cause of
Allah and do not follow up their gifts with reminders
of their generosity/ or with injury — for them their
reward is with their Lord. " (Ch. 11—262).
" Kind words and forgiveness are better than
charity followed by injury " (Ch. II— 263).
The verses of the Quran given above set a very
high standard for charity. It must be in the way of
Allah, that is, in all charitable deeds love of God should
be the motive, so that the feeling of brotherliness may
be fostered. The giver of charity must expect no
reward in this world (nirhkamakarma of Sanskritists)
and his charity should not be followed by references
and reminders to his act. The kindness and the spirit
to overlook other people's faults or short-comings are
said to be better than charity if it is spoiled by annoy-
ance or injury to the recipient.
The holy Quran draws distinction between True
charity and False charity.
" And the likeness of those who spend their sub-
stance seeking to please Allah, and strengthen their
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 707
souls, is as a garden high and fertile; heavy, rain falls
on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest,
and if it receives not heavy rain light moisture suffices
it. " (Oh. 11—265).
True charity is likened to a garden on an elevated
ground. When there is plenty of rain, the water pene-
trates the soil, yet, its elevated situation keeps it well-
drained and the healthy atmosphere increases its yield
enormously. But at times, if there be not sufficient
rainfall, it catches dew and makes most of any little
moisture it can get and that is sufficient for it. Thus a
man of true charity gives freely in affluent circum-
stances without hoarding; in lean times also he does good
works without any complaint. He is spiritually healthy ;
he always looks to God's pleasure, and the strengthening
of his soul.
" Cancel not your charity by reminders of your
generosity or by injury— like those who spend their
substance to be seen of men, but believe neither in Allah
nor in the Last Day. They are in Parable like a hard,
barren rock, on which is a little soil; on it falls heavy
rain, which leaves it just a bare stone. They will be
able to do nothing with aught they have earned. " (Ch
11—264).
False charity is compared to a hard barren rock, on
which a little soil has fallen by chance. Rain water,
which made fertile soil nourish, washes away the little
soil deposited on the rock and exposes its nakedness.
Thus charity ' to be seen of men ' is really no charity.
It is a false charity, and indicates a disbelief in the
Creator.
708 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
The Quran enjoins that only good things and well-
earned wealth must be given in charity.
" Give of the good things which you have (honour-
ably) earned, and of the fruits which we have
produced for you, and do not even aim at getting any-
thing which is bad, in order that out of it you may give
away something, when yourselves would not receive it
except with closed eyes. " (Ch. II — 267).
The preceding verse shows that charity has value
only if something good and valuable is given, which has
been earned honourably and which is produced in
nature and can be cited as a bounty of God. So the idea
contained in the English proverb " Charity covers a
multitude of sins " is not approved in Islam.
" If you disclose acts of charity, even so it is well;
but if you conceal them and make them reach those
really in need, that is best for you. " (Ch. 11—271).
Charitable deeds may be done openly or secretly.
It is better not to seek publicity, but if it is for public
purposes, it must necessarily be known provided the
chief motives in charity— God's pleasure and our own
spiritual good — are kept in view.
Indiscriminate acts of charity are condemned in the
following verse of the Quran:
" Charity is for those in need, who, in Allah's
cause are restricted from travel and cannot move about
in the land, seeking for trade or work. The ignorant
man thinks, because of their modesty, that they are free
from want. Thou shalt know them by their unfailing
mark. They beg not importunately from all and
sundry. " (Ch. 11—273).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 709
The real beneficiaries of charity indicated in the
above verse are those in want, and the want must be due
to honourable cause. * God's cause ' may be defined as
sincere and real service to humanity, and devotion to
one's religion. Such men may not go about from door
to door. It is the duty of the rich to find them out, and
help them liberally.
LEGAL OR OBLIGATORY CHARITY.
The Quran lays great emphasis on the service to
humanity and amelioration of the condition of the poor.
It teaches that every wealthy man who belongs to the
commonwealth of Islam should contribute annually one-
fortieth of his wealth to a common fund which is
managed by the state, or where there is no state, by the
Muslim community, for the betterment of the poor.
This contribution by the Muslims is called Zakat. The
institution of Zakat in Islam acts not only as a levelling
influence, but it promotes sentiments of love and
sympathy for fellow-beings.
By means of this institution wealth is made to
circulate in the body politic of Islam. A portion of the
wealth collected regularly from richer members is pooled
at the centre and then distributed among the poor and
deserving people for their uplift. This practice used
to solve the distribution of wealth, which is the main
concern of the present day economists. Wealth has the
tendency to accumulate and bring about inequalities of
capitalism. The Zakat aims at partail redistribution of
wealth so that the whole community may derive benefit
out of such distribution. The Quran and Traditions
lay down the items of expenditure of this Zakat money.
710 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Islam lias a broader conception of charity apart
from its sense of giving away one's wealth. The Quran
attaches great importance to such deeds of charity as the
emancipation of slaves, the feeding of the poor, taking
care of orphans, and doing good to humanity.
The Traditions of the Prophet give various
examples of charitable deeds such as the removal from
a road anything which may cause injury, helping a man
to ride his animal, or load his animal, to show the way,
to say a good word, and refrain from doing evil to any
one and so on.
IN HINDUISM.
One of the objects of charity in Hinduism appears
to be the warding off of ills and difficulties that may
happen to an individual or a state. It is believed that
charity prevents difficulties and is regarded to be very
auspicious and sacred. According to the Matsya*
Purana1 there are 16 mahadanas which were performed
by great kings like Krishna, Ambarisa, Prahlada, Prthus
and Bharata.
The sixteen mahadanas are : —
1. Tula purusa dana — or a gift equal to the
weight of a man in gold. This is said to
be the first and best of all gifts.
2. Hiranyagarbha dana — a gift of a golden
vessel called hemagarbha.
3. Brahmanda dana or a mundane egg to be
made and worshipped on an auspicious day
and given away as gift.
1 See V. R. R. Dikshitar, The Matsya Purana— A Study. University
of Madras (1935) pp. 95-100.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 711
4. Kalpapadapa dana — a gift of a tree of
paradise. This is said to be equal in merit
to the Asvamedha sacrifice.
5. Gosahasraka dana — a gift of thousand cows.
6. Hiranya Kamadhenu dana a gift of a celestial
cow of gold.
7. Hiranyasvadana — or a gift of a horse of gold.
This is said to confer numberless benefits
on the devotee.
8. Hiranyasvaratha dana — a gift of a horse
chariot of gold. The giver is said to
attain beatitude after being freed from all
sins.
9. Hemahastiratha dana — a gift of an elephant
car of gold.
10. Panca langalabhu dana — a gift of a plot of
land measuring five ploughs.
11. Dhara dana — a gift of an earth of gold in
imitation of Jambudvipa.
12. Visvacakra dana — a gift of a wheel of the
universe weighing from 1000 palas of gold
to 20 palas according to the ability of the
devotee.
13. Maha Kalpalata dana — a gift of a creeper of
paradise. Here the worship of devis and
of Lokapalas is inculcated.
14. Saptasagaraka dana — or a gift of the seven
oceans. The ceremonies are performed in
seven sacrificial pits filled with honey,
butter-milk, etc., representing the oceans
respectively.
712 RAJAH SIR AWIVAMALAI CHETTIAR
15. Ratnadhenu dana — a gift of a jewelled cow.
16. Mahabhutaghata dana — a gift of a pot con-
taining the five elements.
These Danas were performed by Hindu kings till a very
late period of Indian History. We have the valuable
testimony of Epigraphy to show that the kings of
Vijayanagar performed these maliadcmas at different
centres of pilgrimage and thus endeared themselves to
peoples and gods. Even to-day some of these Danas are
given in Hindu states like Travancore.
The Hindu Law Books insist that gifts should be
given to sishtas or men of learning and exemplary
character who hand on the torch of learning. Annadana
or feeding the poor and the deserving is considered to
be the best kind of charity and therefore a number of
choultries and chatrams are established by philanthro-
phists in all ages. Besides almsgiving there are other
kinds of gifts like the erecting of new shrines and reno-
vating of old temples and endowing large estates with
permanent income for promotion of learning.
If we turn to Tamil literature, the Tirultfmral, a
Tamil classic, lays stress upon almsgiving in many
couplets :
" What you spend in alms to the indigent is
worthy.
Otherwise it cannot be without taint of some
purpose. "
" The giver will not feel delighted, till he sees
the face of the suppliant lit up with
satisfaction. "
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 713
" Men of noble birth give alms to those who
seek it without waiting for their poverty-
stricken language. "
IN OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.
Frequent references are made to the matter of alms-
giving both in the Old and New Testaments as well as
in Talmudic writings.
Lev. 19, 9 f : — " And when ye reap the harvest of
your land, them shnlt not wholly reap the corners of thy
field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of the har-
vest. (10) And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither
shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of the vineyard; thou
shalt leave them for the poor, and the stranger ; I am the
Lord your God."
Deut. 14, 28f : — " At the end of every three years
thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase
in the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates :
(29) and the Levite, because he hath no portion nor
inheritance with thee, which are within thy gates, shall
come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy
God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which
thou doest. "
In the Talmud the greatest stress is laid upon this
duty. Here, as in the Quran, it is again and again
referred to. The following passages may be taken as
examples :
P. Aboth 5 : " There are four kinds of alms-
givers, namely, those who are willing to give, but are
not willing that others should give; whose eyes are
envious of the goods of others. He who wishes that
others give, but that he himself should riot rive; whose
90
714 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
eyes are envious of his own goods. He who gives him-
self and also allows others to give; he is pious. He who
will neither give himself, nor yet allow others to give;
he is wicked.
Snh 49 b. " Alms is more meritorious than all
sacrifices."
B. Bathra 10 b: " So great is alms-giving that it
reaches even to redemption,"
" As the sin-offering of Isrcal made expiation, so
doth alms make expiation for the people. "
Ber. 6 b. " Three things destroy evil fate, namely,
prayer, alms and repentance."
" What are meritorious with fasting are the alms
which a man gives in the evening to the poor, that they
may procure provisions."
Noteworthy also are the following sayings in the
Talmud :
" Alms is the salt of wealth. When wealth is salted
with this, it kecpeth, just as meat is kept from destruc-
tion with salt. "
Compare Christ's teaching in Luke 11, 41 :
" But rather give alms of such things as you have;
and behold, all things are clean unto you. " Here
Christ enjoins alms as the true means of purifying
material objects for our use.
The giving of alms in secret is greater according to
the teaching of Moses. It is said of Rabbi Janay, that
seeing a man bestowing alms in a public place he said,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 715
" Thou hadst better not have given at all, than to have
bestowed alms so openly, and put the poor man to
shame. "
Rabbi Jochanan taught that he who is active in
kindnesses towards his fellows is forgiven his sin.
Christ also like the Prophet of Islam believed in the
value of giving alms in secret. Christ says in Matt, 6,
I:—
" Take heed that you do not give your alms before
men, to be seen of them; otherwise, you have no reward
of your Father which is in heaven."
Thus the greatest value is attached to the practice
of almsgiving not only by Islam but by all other
religions. The prominence given to this matter shows
us iii what light almsgiving was regarded among all the
great founders of various religions.
MODERN VIEWS ON THE STRUCTURE OF METALS1
BY
PROF. K. S. KRISHNAN, F.R.S.
CALCUTTA.
There are several striking properties that distinguish
a metal from a non-metal. A metal is a good conductor
of both heat and electricity; indeed in popular descrip-
tions of electrical phenomena the term metal is used
almost as a synonym for a good conductor. We speak
of metallic reflection or metallic lustre, and also of a.
metallic sound or the ring of a metal, and figuratively
of a metallic voice. We speak also of the malleability
of a metal. What is it that endows metals with these
characteristic properties? The first step towards an
answer to this question was the recognition, made about
the end of the last century, that these various properties
characteristic of a metal are intimately connected with
one another, and further that they can all be traced
ultimately to the presence in the metal, of a large number
of free electrons, i.e., electrons that can migrate freely
over the whole body of the metal
The mobility of these electrons accounts directly for
the observed electrical conductivity of the metal, and
also for its thermal conductivity. The optical behaviour
of such a medium containing free electrons will be similar
to the behaviour of the ionosphere with regard to wire-
less waves. As we know, the ionosphere, containing a
1 Some parts of this paper are based on a speech broadcast from the
AH India Radio Station, Dacca.
717
fair number of charged particles, almost totally reflects
all wireless waves whose wave-lengths are greater than
a certain critical value. The facility with which wireless
waves are propagated over the earth — indeed several
times round it under favourable conditions — is due to
the reflecting properties of the ionosphere. In the same
manner a metal, with its large density of free electrons,
has its critical wave-length in the ultra-violet region of
the spectrum, and electromagnetic waves of longer wave-
lengths, as for example light-waves, will therefore be
totally reflected from the polished surface of the metaL
This accounts for the peculiar sheen or lustre that is
associated with a metal. The solid metal, which is
crystalline, may be regarded as an assemblage of positive
ions arranged in a regular manner, and embedded in a
matrix of negatively charged free electrons, and this
structure will account for the malleability of the metal,
and also for its peculiar elastic properties.
The number of such free electrons is easily esti-
mated, at least in some of the simple metals like the
alkali metals. Thin films of these metals have been
found to become transparent, as should be expected,
beyond a certain critical wave-length in the ultra-violet,
which is different for the different alkali metals. From
these wave-lengths one can calculate the number of free
electrons in these metals in the same manner in which
one can calculate, from the critical wave-length of pene-
tration of wireless waves into the ionosphere, the density
of charged particles in it. The number of free electrons
in the alkali metals, thus estimated, comes out to be
nearly one per atom, which, in view of the monovalency
of these atoms, seems to be very reasonable.
718 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
With this estimate of the number of free electrons,
one would naturally like to go further, and deduce quan-
titatively from a few simple postulates regarding the
movements of these electrons, the various metallic
properties. An obvious, and particularly simple, set of
postulates would be to suppose that these electrons are
moving about in a random, disorderly manner, much like
the molecules in any ordinary gas. Then, the larger the
temperature the greater will be the velocities and there-
fore the kinetic energies of these electrons. This picture,
however, presents some fundamental difficulties. In the
first place, measurements on the heat capacities of metals
show that even with a large increase in temperature there
is hardly any change in the kinetic energies associated
with the electrons — a result which flatly contradicts the
theoretical prediction.
Secondly, each of these electrons, by virtue of its
spin, should behave like a small magnet, of a definite
known strength. When a piece of any metal, like copper
or silver — I shall exclude for the present the ferrous
metals, which have a complicated magnetic behaviour —
is placed between the poles of a magnet, the elementary
electronic magnets in the metal will naturally tend to
aline themselves along the direction of the magnetic field.
This tendency to regular alinement will, however, be
much hampered by the disorderly thermal movements of
these magnets. When equilibrium is established, there
will be, statistically, a preponderance of orientations
along the field, as compared with orientations in other
directions; with the result that the piece of metal will
behave like an induced magnet. Now the lower the
temperature, the less violent will be the thermal move-
ments, and consequently the feebler the disturbances to
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 719
the regular alinement of the elementary magnets, and
therefore the greater the magnetization of the piece of
metal.
But actually the magnetization produced at all
ordinary temperatures is found to be only one hundredth
of the expected value, and further even this feeble
magnetization, instead of being stronger at lower
temperatures, remains practically independent of tem^
perature.
From the low values for the specific heat and the
magnetization of the free electrons in the metal, one may
be tempted to infer that the number of these free
electrons may not be really so large as that deduced
from the optical data, but may be much smaller, only a
hundredth of it. This alternative also presents a serious
difficulty. The observed conduction properties of the
metal will then require that the free electron must be
capable of travelling enormous distances in the metal
without suffering any collision — distances about a hun-
dred times the distance between neighbouring atoms in
the metal. How an electron can travel in a straight line
such large distances, and still dodge all the intervening
atoms, which are fairly closely packed, and avoid collid-
ing with them, is on this view incomprehensible.
The above considerations relating to the specific
heat, magnetization, and distances of travel of the
electrons in a metal, will illustrate the kinds of diffi-
culties that one meets with in trying to develop a simple
kinetic theory.
On a closer examination of the problem, however,
the failure of the simple theory is not surprising. With
the large concentration of free electrons that ordinarily
720 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
obtains in a metal — nearly as large as the concentration
of the atoms — and their low mass, the wave-aspect of the
electrons will become very conspicuous, and we have to
replace the ordinary kinetic postulates appropriate to an
aggregate of particles, by suitable postulates that will
take into account the wave-nature of these electrons.
The fundamental law governing wave-motions in an
enclosure is very simple. Let me illustrate by some
examples. It is well-known that if a stretched string is
allowed to vibrate, those vibrations only will be main-
tained whose half-wave-lengths are equal to the length
of the string, or half, or a third, or a fourth, etc., of the
length. In other words, only those vibrations that form
nodes at the two fixed ends of the string, will be main-
tained.
In the same manner, if wro consider the vibrations
of the air in a closed room, there are certain discrete
notes which only can be maintained in the enclosure, as
any one who sings in a small room will realize. By
sounding various notes it is easy to locate some of these
natural frequencies of vibration of the air in the room.
According to Lord Rayleigh it is somewhat in this
manner that blind people are able to guess about the
sizes of rooms.1
Now the result that in any given enclosure certain
discrete wave-lengths only can be maintained, is very
general, and applicable not only to the sound-waves
1 He Quotes a remarkable instance recorded by Darwin. 'The late
blind justice Mr. Fielding' writes Darwin 'walked for the first time into
my room when he once visited me, and after speaking a few words said
"This room is about 22 feet long, 18 wide and 12 high"; all of which he
guessed by the ear with great accuracy ',
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 721
maintained in the air inside a closed chamber, but also
to light-waves, or electron-waves, maintained in suitable
enclosures.
An obvious question suggests itself at this stage.
We found just now that only waves of certain discrete
wave-lengths, depending on the size of the enclosure, can
be maintained in it. Will all these waves be maintained
in equal intensity, or will some of the waves be more
intense than others? In other words, how is the energy
distributed among the different permitted vibrations?
In the example of the sound-waves in an enclosure
the answer is simple; the gravest notes will be the pre-
dominant notes. The corresponding problem in the case
of light-waves is rather complicated, and has indeed
proved to be a major problem in physics. With electron-
waves the problem becomes again simple. Each of the
permitted wave-lengths for the electron-waves in the
medium, as for other waves, will correspond to a definite
kinetic energy, so that the law regarding the maintenance
of waves of definite wave-lengths, will mean that the
kinetic energies of the electrons in the metal can have
certain discrete values only. There is a subtle principle
of exclusion1 governing these electrons according to
which, in the whole assemblage, containing billions of
billions of electrons, just two electrons, and no others,
can have any particular permitted kinetic energy. These
two may be regarded as a pair moving along opposite
directions with the same kinetic en every, ^nd with their
spins opposed to each other.
1 The above statement of the Principle of Exclusion may be shown to
be ultimately equivalent to the statement that no two electrons in the
metal, having their spins parallel, can occupy the same position at the
same time.
n
722 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Now assigning one such pair of electrons to tHe
gravest mode of vibration, i.e., to the lowest permitted
level of kinetic energy, another pair to the next higher
permitted energy level, and so on, one finds that the last
pair of electrons in the metal has to be assigned on this
scheme to an energy level that is enormously high. To
give an idea of the magnitude of the highest energy
possesed by the electrons, I may mention that in a metal
like silver, the energy will be the same as the average
energy of the molecule in any ordinary gas kept at a
temperature of about 40,000° C. The corresponding
velocity of the electron will be nearly 1|250 of the velocity
of light, i.e., nearly 750 miles per second, which is a very
high velocity indeed.
TKus all tHe permitted energy levels up to a certain
large value will be occupied by electrons in pairs. A few
stray electrons may occupy some of the immediately
higher energy levels, and singly ; their number being the
smaller the lower the temperature. At room temperature
their number will be about one per cent.
The enormous energies possessed by the free elec-
trons in the metal will therefore persist practically
unimpaired right down to the lowest temperatures.
The above model of the electronic structure obtaining
in metals offers a satisfactory solution of the difficulties
encountered before. In one first place, since the average
kinetic energy already possessed by the electrons is at
least a hundred times greater than the thermal energies
possessed by molecules at ordinary temperatures,
naturally until we reach temperatures of the order of a
few thousand degrees, we cannot appreciably add to
their energy content.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Secondly, the majority of the electrons are paired
in such a way that the spin magnetic moments of the
components of a pair oppose each other. In the presence
of a magnetic field it is onljr the few stray electrons
(about one per cent at room temperature) that are
unpaired, that can turn round in the magnetic field and
contribute to the magnetization. It is therefore not
surprising that the observed magnetization is so feeble.
Now the number of such single or celibate electrons
will be the smaller the lower the temperature. On the
other hand, the lower the temperature the less the distur-
bance from thermal agitations to the regular aiinenient of
these magnets and hence the greater the magnetization.
As a result of these two opposing factors, the first tend-
ing to decrease the number of effective magnets at low
temperatures, and the second tending to improve their
alinement at low temperatures, the observed feeble
magnetization will be practically independent of tem-
perature.
On this view, the number of free electrons that can
take part in electrical conduction will in effect be small.
We then have to meet the third difficulty that I men-
tioned, namely that observational data require that the
electron should be capable of travelling large distances,
without colliding with any of the numerous atoms in its
path. The difficulty resolves itself in view of the wave
nature of the electron which predominates under the
conditions of close packing in the metal. When the
wave-length is large in comparison with the inter-atomic
distance, electron-waves, just like light-waves, will suffer
very little loss of energy by passage through a homo-
geneous medium in which the constituent atoms, which
will tend to scatter the waves, are regularly spaced as in
724 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the crystalline metal, li! the atoms are perfectly
regularly arranged, the scattering of the electron-waves
by them will be so small that the metal will-have hardly
any electrical resistance. Thus on this view the difficulty
is not so much to explain how the electrons travel large
distances in the medium, but to explain why they stop
at all, i.e., why the metal has any electrical resistance
at all. To explain this we have to invoke the deviations
from the regular arrangement of the atoms, brought
about by their thermal agitations; the higher the tem-
perature, the larger will be the deviations, and hence the
greater the scattering, and therefore the greater the
electrical resistance of the medium. This is one of the
characteristics of pure metals. The presence of any
impurity, will naturally disturb the homogeneity of the
scattering medium, and will thus tend to increase its
resistance. This result also is experimentally verified.
Thus all the three difficulties mentioned in an earlier
part of this paper as typical of those that one encounters
in the classical electron theory of metals, vanish when
the wave nature of the mobile electrons is taken into
account. If further one can, on this basis, explain what
can not be explained on the classical theory, namely, why
certain elements only are metallic and not the others, the
newr theory may be regarded as quite satisfactory.
The question raised above may be restated in the
following form: wrhy is the free electron density so large
in certain elements and not in others? If we might
generalize from the results obtained for the alkali metals,
we should expect the number of free electrons to be the
same as the number of valency electrons. Why then are
not all the elements metallic ?
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 725
We have already seen that electron-waves with cer-
tain deiinite wave-lengths only can be maintained in a
given enclosure and that among these permitted wave-
lengths, all those that range from the longest to a certain
minimum, which is determined by the density of free
electrons in the enclosure, will be represented in the
motions of these electrons at ordinary temperature.
Assuming that all the valency electrons in a crystal are
free, let us calculate this minimum wave-length. If this
wave-length — to be more precise, half of it — comes out
to be much greater than the distance between neighbour-
ing atoms in the crystal, then evidently the influence of
the crystal lattice on the electronic motions will be small,
and the electronic behaviour will conform to that of an
electron gas. The substance will then exhibit pro-
nounced metallic properties. This is the case with the
alkali metals, and the noble metals.
If, on the other hand, the minimum wave-length
calculated from the electron density is not so large, the
possibility of regular reflections from the crystal planes,
of some of the short waves, has to be considered ; in other
words, the influence of the lattice becomes prominent, In
the neighbourhood of those wave-lengths that can be
reflected strongly, are set up barriers that require much
energy to cross over from the long wave-length side.
If, as frequently happens, the permitted wave-
lengths on the long wave-length side of the barriers are
just sufficient in number to be assigned one to each pair
of electrons in the substance, then these electrons are
as good as bound. They cannot change their wave-
lengths, or their momenta, except by crossing the
barriers, i.e., except when supplied with the requisite
large energy from outside. Such substances will not
conduct electricity, except in very high electric fields.
In other words, they will behave as insulators. Diamond
is a typical example of such a substance. The number
of electrons to which can be assigned proper wave-
lengths, without crossing the barriers, comes out in this
crystal to be just four per carbon atom, i.e., just all the
valency electrons; and the barriers are sufficiently high
to prevent a normal crossing over of the electrons.
Thus the new theory provides us further with a
criterion by which to decide whether the valency electrons
in a given substance can be regarded as free, or as effec-
tively bound, i.e., whether the substance will behave as a
metal or as an insulator.
KUBERA
BY
G. V. K. AlYANGAR, M.A.
Kubera or Kuvera is one of the gods of Hindu
mythology. His counterpart is found in the mythologies
of most of the countries of Asia and even goes by the
same name in some of them. He ranks below the
principal gods and is a sort of guardian of the world
and defender of the faith.
In Yedic mythology Kubera figures as the regent of
the spirits of the lower regions and of darkness, as the
Indian Pluton.
There are various references to Kubera in thie
Ramayana. Accounts of the origin of Kubera, as found
in the epics and the puranas, differ. The story as given
in the Fttarakanda of the Ramayana is; " Brahma had
a mental son named Pulastya. Pulastya had a son named
Visravas by the daughter of Trinavindu. Visravas,
becoming a sage, married a daughter of Bharadwaja,
Idavida, whose son Brahma named Vaisravana, Kubera.
He performed austerities for thousands of years and
received as a boon from Brahma that he should be the
god of riches and one of the guardians of the world. At
the suggestion of his father Yisravas he took possession
of Lanka for his abode, which was formerly built by
Viswakarma for the Rakshasas who through fear of
Vishnu had forsaken it."
The Mahabharata makes Kubera the son of Pulastya
and not his grandson. According to it, " Bi'ahma had a
mental son named Pulastya, who again had a mental son
named Gaviputra Vaisravana or Kubera. The latter
728 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
deserted his father, and went to Brahma who, as a
reward, made him immortal and appointed him to be the
god of riches with Lanka for his capital, the car
Pushpaka for his vehicle which moved at its owner's
will at a marvellous speed. Pulastya being incensed at
this desertion of his son Kubora reproduced the half of
himself in the form of Vaisravas who looked upon
Vaisravana with indignation. The latter strove to pacify
his father and with this view gave him three elegant
Rakshasis to attend on him. They bore him Havana,
Kumbhakarna, Vibishana, Kara and Surpanakha.
These sons were all valiant, skilled in the Vedas and
observers of religious rites but perceiving the prosperity
of Vaisravana were filled with jealousy. The brothers
began to practice penance to propitiate Brahma who
gave them the well-known boons. One of the acts of
Havana's tyranny was to turn Kubera out of Lanka and
take Pushpaka by force from Kubera. Kubera retired
to Gandaraadhana. The Pushpaka was returned to him
by Rama after Havana's death.
Another account of the origin of Kubora is to bo
found in the Varahapurana. When Brahma entertained
the desire to create a universe a shower of lime-stones
began to pour forth from his face attended with liigh
winds. After some time when the fury of the storm
broke down and everything became calm by the wish of
Brahma, he asked the mass of stones to assume the form
of a divine person of peaceful countenance and appointed
him as the lord of wealth and commanded him also *o be
the guardian of the riches of the Gods. Kubera is also
said to be one of the emanations of Siva with his abode
at Alakapuri on the Mount Kailasa,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 729
Besides being the lord of riches and the guardian
of the north, he is considered to be the king of the
Yakshas, Guhyakas and Kinnaras and is represented as
being earned in his car or on the heads of men.
Throughout the Ramayana there are brief references to
Kubera as the giver of riches and also to the beauty of
his palace and gardens. The Bhagavata Purana des-
cribes his garden as a place " where the inhabitants
enjoy a natural perfection, attended with complete
happiness obtained without exertion. There is there no
change resulting from the four Yugas; no distinction
of virtue and vice; there is neither hunger, weariness,
anxiety, grief, fear nor death. The people live in perfect
health free from every suffering for ten or twelve
thousand years.
His consort is Kauveri or Yakshi or Charvi,
daughter of Dhanava Mura. His sons wore Manigriva
or Varnakavi and Nalakubara or Mayuraja and his
daughter Minakshi. The sons were cursed by Narada
to become trees in which condition they remained until
Krishna an infant uprooted them.
The corporeal form of a king is composed, says
Manu, of particles from the eight guardians of the world,
of whom Kubera is one. The king therefore surpasses
all mortals in glory and is the genius of wealth.
The agamas also recognise Kubera as the master of
the Yakshas. According to one authority his colour
should be golden yellow and crimson according to1
another. The colour of his dhoti is to be red and the;
uttariya white. His person should be adorned with all
ornaments including a Kirita, Kundala and necklaces'
composed of a series of golden coins. He should be good
730 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
looking or even terrific looking and possessing either
two or four arms. If the arms are only two the hands
may be kept in the varada and abhaya poses or the left-
hand may keep in it a gada; if he has four. arms, two of
them should be one each round his consorts Yibhava and
Vriddhi seated on his left and right laps, the remaining
hands should carry the gada and sakti. His left eye
should be of yellowish brown colour and he should be
dressed in the fashion of westerners. He should have a
Kavacha, a pair of moustaches and side-tusks. He should
have a rather podgy form, in the " I sold for cash "
style. He may be seated on a padmapita or be driven in
a chariot drawn by men or even directly seated on the
shoulders of a man.
To the right and left of Kubera there should be
the Sankanidhi and Padmanidhi who should resemble
the Bhutas. He should be surrounded by the eight kinds
of wealth and by a number of Yakshas. One of the
agamas states that the ram is the vehicle of Kubera but
the Rupamandana prescribes the elephant as his va liana.
It states that his four hands should carry the gada, a
purse containing money, a pomegranate fruit and a
Kamandalu. It also states that the figure of Kubera
should be to the west of the image of Ganesa in any
temple dedicated to Ganesa.
Kubera in the form of an idol has no temple and no
Agamic worship; but he is worshipped in the home as
part of Vedic ritual on certain occasions. The Taitareya
Aranyaka (I, 31) prescribes the procedure in detail for
the Vaisravana Yagna. In the elaborate ritual during
a Shashtiabdhapurthi, Kubera is one of the chief gods
to be propitiated. He is invoked in a poornakumbha
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
placed to the north of the main Kalasa in the following
words: — Naravahana, Lord of the Yakshas and of all
holy men, O God, being invoked by me, make this my
puja fruitful.
Kubera belongs as much to Buddhism as to
Hinduism. In the Buddhist literature and mythology
also he is the god of riches and the guardian deity of the
northern region of the universe. He is also the chief of
the Yakshas, good or evil genii. He is the husband
of Hariti, a Yakshini, and herself a giver of wealth.
His other forms are Vaisravana and Jambhala. In the
Buddhist mythology Kubera is sculptured exactly as in
the Hindu representation; but he is immediately recog-
nised by a mongoose which is generally also shown
either as sitting upon his left lap or placed on his left
side. In the bas-reliefs of Chandi-Mendut there is a
representation of Kubera surrounded by Yaksha
children and alongside a scene the central personage of
which is the child-devouring Hariti, who being converted
became the beneficent goddess of health and abundance.
In the mythology of Lamaism Kubera is one of the
eight terrible divinities. Kubera or Vaisravana (in
Thibetan Ruam-thos-ras) belongs to the group of genii
who are the guardians of the points of the compass. He
is the god of riches; his emblem is a banner and his
attribute a mongoose vomiting pearls. He is the guar-
dian of the North.
The Indo-Chinese have eight Lokapalas (lukabalas)
who watch over the earth and its inhabitants. The
kingdom of the North is under the ward of Kovero or
Peysrap (Kiivera or Vaisravana). His subjects are the
Yeaks clad in gold.
732
Kuvera is also papular with the Javanese. He is
one of the minor gods of their pantheon and is the god
of riches. He is represented as an obese figure and his
most frequent attributes are the mongoose and the
lemon.
In Japan Kuvera goes by the name of Kompira or
Kubiri. He is a fairly popular deity. One story is that
he was originally a demon, converted to Buddhism and
he became a god of happiness. Another makes him one
of the twelve generals who were protectors of Buddhism.
Others make him one of the twenty-eight nakshatra
deities. Kompira is regarded as a patron god of sailors
and a god of prosperity. The images represent him as
a big-bellied man sitting cross-legged. He is ugly, his
skin is black and he holds a purse.
In Tamil literature also Kubera is the god of wealth,
lord of the Yakshas, regent of the north and one of the
Ashtadikpalas. But it is only in Tamil literature that
the word also connotes a very rich person.
SEATS OF LEARNING AND THEIR PATRONS IN
ANCIENT INDIA
BY
DR. C. KUNHAN RAJA.
University of Madras.
On this auspicious occassion of the celebration of
the sixtieth birthday of Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiyar
of Chettinad, the greatest patron of learning in Modern
Times in South India, my thought naturally wanders
into Sanskrit Literature in search of similar benefactors
who have helped learning in ancient times, and
finds solace to feel that the tradition of ancient India is
being kept up unbroken even in modern times. To an
ordinary modern Indian, the name of Raja Sir Anna-
malai Chettiyar appears in association with the names
of various persons who have endowed Universities in the
West and their minds move ^spacially. But since I am
a Sanskritist, my mind takes to the time-axis and asso-
ciates the name with similar patrons who have helped
in the development and preservation of culture in our
own India in ancient times.
Even in the most ancient -specimen of Sanskrit
Literature, namely the Rigveda, we come across refer-
ences to the patronage of learning with munificent gifts.
The Rigveda contains a little over a thousand hymns
with an average of ten verses, mostly in the form of
praises addressed to the various gods. But right from
the beginning to the end, we come across verses in praise
of the patrons of learning also, interspersed with praise
addressed to the god®. In most of the cases, such praises
addressed to the patrons of learning come at the
734 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
beginning or end of hymns addressed to the gods.
(Sometimes, these praises addressed to the patrons of
learning form separate hymns.
The kings of yore, who were symbols of the State,
considered it one of their most sacred duties to see that
such persons who engaged themselves in the advance-
ment of learning and its propogations received adequate
aid from the State. No learned man left the portals
of a royal residence in disappointment if his mission in
the visit was to receive such State-aid for higher educa-
tion. The Rishis of Ancient India devoted themselves
to probing into the mysteries of the world, in finding
out the Truth in the world and in communicating such
Truth to their disciples. They were interested in the
day to day affairs of the world as 'well, arid they were
in frequent communication with the State as symbolised
by the King. It is not right to say that their endeavour
was only to find out the abstract metaphysical Truth of
the Universe divested of all practical importance.
Although they attached great importance to the problem
of metaphysical Truth, they knew that there was a life-
aspect in the Universe, and whenever there were cala-
mities in the world like draught, flood, famine, pesti-
lence and war, they were on the side of the Kings to
advise them about the remedy. There are constant
references in Sanskrit Literature to show that the Rishis
associated themselves with the practical affairs of the
State, that they tendered their mature advice on all
matters of State and that the Kings sought such advice
and listened to them. I need not dilate on the matter
much further.
The Kings knew that although in matters of day
to day administration, the regular civil and military^
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 735
officers of the State may be depended on to carry on the
work, in special circumstances the State needs the
advice of thinkers who are not involved in the complica-
tions and details of administration and who can take a
detached and impersonal view of things. It is this close
association of the State with the higher thoughts of the
few in ancient India that gave the stability to the State.
And these Eishis were nothing more than what in
modern terminology can be called University men.
The Rishis spent their times in the Asramas,
pcrsuing their intellectual vocations, advancing and
propogating learning. The Rishis cannot maintain
the Asramais, the ancient counterpart of modern Univer-
sities, without money and such money they got from
Kings and also from wealthy men. It is in acknow-
ledgment of such contributions from Kings and wealthy
men that the Rishis sang in praise of isuch gifts. Such
praises as appear in the Rigveda arc called the Danas-
tutis (praises of gifts). Perhaps all such Danas-
tutis collected together will have the appearance
of a modern Commemoration Volume. Such comrae-
moratory volumes are not modern inventions. We
have many such commcmoratory volumes in Samskrit
Literature, right from the Rigveda to very recent
centuries. Kavindrachandrodaya, contributed by the
scholars of the seventeenth century as a token of their
gratitude to Kavindrachaiya, a great Samnyasin at the
time of Shah Jahan, for having interceded with the
Emperor and saved them from the pilgrim Tax at
Allahabad is one of the latest specimens of such Comme-
moratory Volumes in Sanskrit Literature. Nrisimha-
sarvasva, dedicated to a great Samnyasin named
Nrisimha of Benares is another.
736 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
The Daiiastutis in the Rigveda have not been
collected and presented as a separate work. They
remain scattered in the vast literature called the
Rigveda. The praises offered by the various Rishis to
the various Kings and patrons remain in their positions
within the contributions of the separate Rishis in the
Rigveda Collection. We know who the Rishis were who
have addressed such praises to the Kings and to the
other patrons and we know also who the Kings and
other patrons were who helped the Rishis in maintain-
ing the Asramas. Thus the entire hymn 126 in Mandala
I is addressed by Kakshivan to Bhavayavya. Perhaps it
may not be out of place here to give some specimens of
such praises.
With Wisdom I present these lively praises to
Bhavya the dweller on the banks of the Sindhu,
For he, unconquered king, desiring glory, hath
furnished me a thousand sacrifices.
A hundred necklets from the King, beseaching, a
hundred gift-steeds, I at once accepted,
Of the lord's cows a thousand, I Kakshivan. His
deathless glory hath he spread to heaven.
The Rishi Vamadeva has addressed similar praise
to King Somaka, son of Sahadeva. Babhru of the Atri
family praises the King Rinamchaya. Similarly
Syavasva of the same Atri Family praises Sasiyasi,
Purumidha, Taranta and Rathaviti. The first of these
four is a woman and as such is of special interest. I
quote a few lines from the praises addressed to this
woman patron of learning.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 737
Yea, many a woman is more firm and better than
the man who turns
Away from gods and offers not.
She who discerns the weak and the worn-out the
man who thirts and is in want :
She sets her mind upon the gods.
Similarly various Rishis like Bharadvaja and
Vasistha have addressed praises to their respective
patrons. The largest number of such praises comes
from the Rishis of the Kanva family, whose hymns are
collected in the eigth Book of the Rigveda.
When we come to the Upanishads there are various
stories narrated there about Kings offering gold to the
Rishis. The entire Dharma Sastra Literature is full of
praises about offering gifts of gold and other forms of
wealth to Brahmins in expiation of sins. No religious
rite is complete unless there is the offering of money to
the Brahmin who officiated at the rite.
When a student finished his education at such
Asramas, they usually gave some Dakshina to the
Teacher. This shows that no fee was collected at these
institutions and it was at the option of the student to
contribute something to the Institution at the end of his
education. This may at best correspond to the Con-
vocation fee or the fee for the registration as graduate
in the modern Universities.
The story that Kalidasa narrates in the fifth canto
of his Raghuvamsa is typical of this system. A boy of
the Kutsa family finished his education at the Asrama
of Varatantu and at the end the student insisted on the
teacher accepting a fee, though the teacher at first
•
98
738 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
declined. Then when the student persisted, the teacher
demanded 14 crores as the fee and the student
approached the King Raghu for help in such a plight.
The great king said that he had his treasury completely
depleted on account of a sacrifice which he had
performed, in which all his worldly possessions he had
to offer as Dakshina to the Brahmins but assured the
student :
" A young man who had crossed to the other
shore of wisdom seeking the necessary money to
pay his fee to the teacher did not have his
desires fulfilled by Raghu and had to go over to
another patron for the money — such a new
disgrace shall not alight on me."
There is another interesting story which throws
some light on the mentality of the ancient Rishis. King
Parikshit was under a curse that he would be bitten by
the serpent Takshaka. The great Rishi Kasyapa was
going to the Palace of the King to save him. Then on
the way he met Takshaka himself. They recognised
each other and they wanted to know who was stronger.
Takshaka bit a banyan tree and the tree was turned into
ashes. Kasyapa threw some water with Mantras and the
tree was restored to its original state. Takshaka knew
that if he killed the king, the Rishi would save him and
bring him back to life. So Takshaka asked the Rishi
why he wanted to stand in the way of the operation of
fate. The Rishi replied that if he saved the King's life,
he would receive wealth for his Asrama. Takshaka
offered wealth to the Rishi and the latter quietly retired,
leaving the king to his fate of being killed by Takshaka 's
bite.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 736
The Rishis had to keep up a great establishment in
the form Universities and for this they wanted money.
The money had to corne from the State and also from
private benefactions. They received immense patronage
both from the Kings, who symbolised the State and also
from rich people. Out of such benefactions, the great
Asramas were maintained, where the students received
free education, free in its widest application.
The Asramas were not mere narrow theological or
metaphysical institutions, where the Rishis thought
about only the absolute values of things, about the
Infinite, the Eternal in the Universe, regardless of the
practical values of things. Nor were the Asramas very
far removed from the cities and completely detached
from the common life in towns and villages. The Rishis
themselves knew all about the practical aspects of things
in life and advised the kings on such matters. In the
Mahabharata, just prior to the Rajasuya, Narada went
to the Palace of King Yushisthira and made inquiries
about the welfare of the citizens in the empire. He did
not go there to engage the King in a metaphysical or
theological disputation, nor to impress the king with his
abstract erudition devoid of practical values. When
there was a possibility of a civil war consequent on
Duryodhana snatching away the kingdom of Yushis-
thira by treachery, all the sages went to both the parties
to avert such a calamity, by trying console one in his
loss and by trying to persuade the other to return the
illegitimate acquisition. When there was misery in the
country, the Rishis went to Sri Rama to represent
matters to him and to find a remedy.
Even ordinary Samskrit Literature, apart from such
semi-religious literature like the puranas, contain refer-
740 RAJAH SIR AWNAMALAl CHETTlAR
ences to the interest which the Rishis took in the affairs
of the State. In the forest, Yudisthira was councelling
patience; but Draupad,i and Bhima Were urging for
immediate military action. Meanwhile Vyasa came and
brought about a compromise, advising patience till
they had conceived their strength and at the same
time suggesting that Arjuna should go and win the
invincible weapon from Lord Siva. This is the subject
matter of a work called the Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi.
When India was being trampled by foreigners, there
was the need for the reunion of Indian life with
godliness so that a real national hero might be born.
It is the Eishis that brought about this reunion of
Indian national life with Godliness. This is the sub-
ject matter of Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava. The
spirit of the entire Sakuntala is that the so-called
dwellers of the forest colonies were far more practical
than the men in the cities and the great Eishi Kanva
says that although he was a resident of the forest,
he was not ignorant of the needs and ways of city life.
When King Dilipa was being tormented by the fears of
a great calamity to the kingdom, he went to the forest
to Vasistha for advice. When Vasistha met him, he
asked about the affairs of the State. All these things
prove that in those days, the Asramas were the centres
of higher knowledge, both its advancement and its
propagation. Such higher knowledge was also inti-
mately associated with the affairs of the State and the
life of the common people. The Eishis, who were in
charge of the Asramas, were deeply interested in the
affairs of the common people and advised the State
whenever the State was in need of detached councel.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 741
The Asramas were not isolated institutions com-
pletely shut off from the life of the people in the cities
and in the villages. Vasistha's Asrama to which Dilipa
went for advice was only an afternoon's journey from
capital of the King. The Capital of Dusyanta was only
two days journey from the Asrama of Kanva. The kings
could drive up to the gates of the Asramas in their
chariots drawn by horses, which showed that the
Asramas were not situated in dense forests to which
approaches could be had only by the use of hatchets
every time for cutting down trees and shrubs. They
were on the main thoroughfares between cities.
Just as when Raja Sir Annamalai Ohettiyar of
Chettiriad conceived the idea of starting an institution
for advanced studies, he selected a place on the highway
between the important cities of the province, but suffi-
ciently detached from the noise and bustle of cities, and
in the suburbs of an important town, similarly in ancient
India also, when the Rishis desired to set up an Asrama,
they never selected the centre of a city as the site. Even
now when on account of the development of cities, locali-
ties which were fairly quiet become busy centres,
educational institutions which were originally established
in such places are being moved over to the less crowded
parts. The same was the principle which governed the
selection of sites for Asramas in ancient India also.
Every such Asrama was a University or at least a
college in those days. Rich men and the State
patronised such institutions. Rich endowments and
occasional subsidies made the development and main-
tenance of such Asramas possible. In Raja Sir Anna-
malai Chettiyar we see the worthy inheritor of such a
742
great tradition. The only difference between the ancient
Asramas and the modern Universities is that while in
ancient India, public life and the administration were
guided by the wisdom developed in such Asramas, we
do not find the State and public leaders seeking and
receiving the same guidance from modern Universities.
I close this Paper with an appeal to the Raja Saheb to
see that the State take bettor advantage of the intellectual
atmosphere of the Universities where there is a clear
understanding of the needs of the world but where the
complications and previous commitments of administra-
tive details would not vitiate the search for a proper
solution and thereby to see that modern Universities are
elevated to the same high position of the Asramas in the
national life of the country.
CHEMISTRY AND MODERN WARFARE
A. P. MADHAVAN NAIR, M.A.
I
No school of modern thinkers will subscribe to the
view that Science is an end in itself and that its
purpose is the pursuit of pure knowledge for its own
sake with no practical social function to perform.
Science is and has been, exercising a profoundly vital and
revolutionary influence on society. There is no phase
of modern civilization, no aspect of the civilized man's
material existence, which science has not embellished,
made richer, fuller and healthier. But no critics are
needed to point out that this is only one side of the
picture. On the other side, we are confronted with the
gruesome spectacle of scientific inventions and discove-
ries being used, or abused, to an ever-increasing extent
for wholesale destruction and devastation. So much so,
the unmixed admiration of a past generation for science
and its achievements has given place to grave scepticism
and a growing sense of alarm. This sinister aspect of
the application of science has been brought home, with
vividness and emphasis, to the present generation which
has lived to participate in or at least to witness two
Great Wars. In the interim between the two wars,
whon the premier nations were muddling through abor-
tivo attempts at World reconstruction, the entire blame
for all the ills of modern society and for the total
ineflficacy of the proposed methods of cure, used to be
laid at the door of science. Drastic steps, such as a total
suppression of science and its discoveries, were often
744 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
advocated. The Bishop of Ripon, addressing the British
Association in 1927, said, " Dare I even suggest
that the sum oi human happiness outside
scientific circles would not necessarily be reduced, if, for
ten years, every physical and chemical laboratory were
closed and the patient and resourceful energy in them
transferred to recovering the lost art of getting on
together and finding the formula of making both ends
meet in the scale of human life ". This, if taken
literally, is a counsel of despair, which leads us nowhere.
How far does science merit the indictment that it is
the root cause of all the complex and apparently in-
soluble problems that modern society is groaning under—-
problems such as the periodic recurrence of war with all
its attendant horrors, the widespread prevalence of
acute poverty in the midst of plethoric plenty, and the
general financial chaos? Modern social evolution took
a tragic turn when Man achieved mastery over Nature
before he could master his own baser self. He lacked
the ethical and moral equipment necessary for a healthy
assimilation of his newly acquired knowledge. Jealousy,
greed, the urge for competition and the craving for
combat continue to be his main impulses even after ages
of evolution. No wonder then that he should prostitute
scientific knowledge for purposes of self-aggrandize-
ment.
If, by a miracle, all the accumulated scientific
knowledge we possess today were to be wiped out,
thereby enabling us to start afresh on a clean slate, could
we then confidently look forward to an era of uninter-
rupted peace and harmony? No, all indications are to
the contrary. Man will still continue to fight, resorting
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 745
to the primeval, crude methods of fighting. It might
be said that ruin on the same widespread scale as now
will then become impossible. But in place of a war
which the excellence of modern armaments would make
short and decisive, you will have an indecisive, long-
drawn-out struggle extending over centuries in which
destruction and devastation will be no less extensive
than now.
Science has never started a war. But it is true that
when war starts, out of causes beyond the control of
science, all the scientific resources of nations are mobi-
lised for the successful prosecution of war. The entire
output of the nation's scientific research is in effect
commandeered in war-time, and becomes state-controlled.
No doubt, science loses its international character and
outlook, for the time being. But this is inevitable, and
science can hardly be blamed for it. To take a parallel,
in times of war all able-bodied men arc called up for
military service. Would anyone therefore seriously
suggest that the establishment of permanent peace will
be feasible, only if young men were prevented from
developing a good physique? No less absurd is the
suggestion that in the interests of peace, science and
scientific research must be given a burial.
When reviling science as an agent of mass annihila-
tion, let not the critics forget the magnificent contribu-
tions of science to the defensive and humanitarian
aspects of modern warfare. It is not always that this
laudable role of science in the conduct of war receives all
the recognition it deserves. In performing such vitally
important functions as the development and perfection
of effective systems of defence against the enemy's
latest weapons of offence, the supply of foodstuffs of
94
746 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
adequate nutritive value by supplementing or supplant-
ing natural food with synthetic and substitute materials,
the prevention and control of epidemics and other
diseases — in all these, the Nation, in its hour of need,
puts its entire trust on the indefatigable labours of its
small army of scientists.
II
In the conduct of modern war, the laboratory is
being recognised in an ever-increasing measure as an
indispensable military adjunct, It is the responsibility
of the chemists, working in the laboratory or in the
factory, to furnish war materials of basic military
importance without which the prosecution of war for a
single day would be impossible. These include explo-
sives, poison gases, synthetic products of various
descriptions, besides metals and alloys for numerous
constructional purposes. Among those, explosives
occupy a position of paramount importance in warfare.
Except on such rare occasions as when the intrepid
Greek army routed the Duco's invading hordes by the
simple process of disembowelling them with bayonets,
we seldom hear of operations with weapons not involving
the use of explosives.
The first explosive to be used for military purposes
was gunpowder, the introduction of which in fourteenth
century Europe, is epoch-making in more respects than
one. It opened up an altogether original form of warfare
in which chivalry had no place, and mere brawn ceased
to be the deciding factor. The necessity for devising guns
and cannon proved a great impetus to metallurgical and
other industries. It is remarkable that gunpowder with
its numerous defects as an explosive, held the field as
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 74?
the only known military explosive for over four centuries.
The nineteenth century witnessed the phenomenal growth
of Chemistry as a science, and one of the directions in
which chemistry developed was in the synthesis of new
and powerful explosives which rendered gunpowder
obsolete.
Modern explosives are best classified as propellants,
high explosives and detonants, according to the use to
which they are respectively put. Propellants by their
explosion within the gun eject the projectile with a
tremendous speed to carry it to the desired target.
Modern propellants contain one or both of the well known
explosives, gun-cotton or iiitro-cellulose, and nitro-
glycerine. The latter, which is too dangerous an explo-
sive to be used in the pure state, is usually mixed with
some diluent such as " kieselguhr " (or diatomaceous
earth), or wood flour, and the resulting product is known
as dynamite. Cordite is a mixture of nitro-glycerine
and gun-cotton with a stabiliser such as vaseline. , It
may be mentioned in passing that the brilliant researches
in this field were accomplished by the great inventor,
Alfred Nobel, who is also known as a great benefactor
and the founder of the world-famous Nobel prizes. Let
us not overlook the significant fact that one of these
prizes has been earmarked for the promotion of peace !
The projectiles used in war, shells, bombs, torpedoes
or grenades, are charged with explosives of great
" speed ", generally known as high explosives. Before
the last war, the only high explosive used in shells was
picric acid, or lyddite. This was completely superseded
during the great war by other high explosives, like
T. N. T. or trinitro-toluene which, alone, or mixed with
ammonium nitrate, another high explosive, is in use.
748 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Other mure powerful explosives like liquid oxygen, or a
mixture of ammonium nitrate, carbon and aluminium
powder, have been proposed from time to time, and some
of them may be presumed to be in use in the present
war.
Detonaiits are extremely sensitive explosives em-
ployed only in very small quantities, just for the purpose
of initiating the explosion of a high explosive in a shell
or a bomb. The best known instances are mercury
fulminate and lead azide. On impact with the target,
the percussion of a needle causes detonation of the
fulminate which, in turn, causes the explosion of the
high explosive.
Ill
Chemical warfare, or the use of poisonous gases or
liquid sprays or finely divided solids which produce
casualties by their physiological action on the human
system, was initiated by the Germans in the early years
of the last war. The immediate tactical value of this new
weapon was immense, inasmuch as it was used against
the ill-defended allies. The element of surprise added
to its horror. Casualties mounted up to a record figure.
The allied lines were broken, and the morale touched a
dangerously low level. It would appear that if the
Germans had fully exploited this initial advantage, the
tide of the whole war would have been turned in their
favour. But the scientists in the allied countries quickly
rose equal to the situation, and immediately put into use
defensive apparatus, hastily devised and imperfect no
doubt, but sufficiently effective in combating the new
menace. Further, the terrific allied counter-attacks with
the same weapon of offence baulked Germany of a
possible victory.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 749
Tliere is as yet no evidence of chemical warfare
being adopted in tlie present war. Hitler's hesitation in
using tins form of warfare can hardly be attributed to
any humane considerations he may happen to possess.
Possibly he must be Mving serious doubts about its
tactical value when employed against the thoroughly
prepared and well-equipped allied armies. Further, he
cannot be under any illusions about the ability of the
allies in giving back harder and surer hits in this line as
well. But one would not like to prophesy in these
matters, and one cannot rule out the possibility of
chemical warfare playing a decisive part in the later
stages of the war.
A War "gas "'is a poisonous chemical substance
which, for its successful use must possess some important
properties, such as marked toxic elf ect even when diluted
with air, stability against chemicals which may; be
employed for its absorption and removal, and a higher
density than air which would prevent its easy diffusion
into air. Besides, there is the all important economic
factor — the ability of the nation for large-scale manu-
facture of the substance from the available raw materials
at a reasonable cost. Of the 3000 substances examined
during the last war, barely 30 came up to the prescribed
standards, and only 10 or 15 of these could be actually
used.
Based on the experience of the last war, these
substances can be classed into different groups accord-
ing to their physiological action. Thus there are lung
irritants, vesicants or blistering agents, lachrymators or
eye irritants, nose irritants or sneezing agents, paraly-
sants or nerve poisons, and blood poisons. Chlorine, the
750 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
iirst war gas to be used, is a lung irritant. While it com-
bines in itself several of the desirable properties of a
war gas, it possesses a serious defect viz. its high chemical
reactivity and the consequent ease with which it can be
absorbed. Within six months of its introduction,
chlorine gave place to another lung irritant, phosgene
which proves fatal on exposure at higher concentrations.
Numerous chemicals have been used as lachrymators not
only in warfare, but also in times of pence, Tor dispers-
ing hostile and unruly mobs. Many of these substances
have marked action even at as low a concentration as
one in a million. A compound known as chloropicrin
forms a class by itself in as much as it causes nausea and
provokes vomitting, thereby making it difficult to wear
gas masks. Shells of lethal gases alternated with shells
of chloropicrin will therefore constitute a very effective
attack.
During the summer of 1917, the Germans introduced
two new and powerful war gases: sneezing gas or
diphenyl chloroarsine, and mustard gas or dichlorodie-
thyl sulphide. The so-called mustard gas, which is
actually a liquid with a boiling point much higher than
that of water, is the nearest approach to the ideal war
gas, and was extensively used in the years 1917 and 1918.
During the ten days of the Pall of 1917, it is estimated
that the Germans used nearly 2500 tons of mustard gas
producing an alarmingly large number of casualties.
Within a few months, however, the allies were able to
attack the enemy with his own weapon on an unprece-
dented scale, thanks to the discovery of a new method of
manufacture of the substance by the British Chemists,
Pope and Gibson. Besides its action on the eyes causing
temporary or permanent blindness, its vesicant or blister-
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 751
ing action on the skin producing painful wounds is its
important physiological action. Another attribute which
makes mustard gas unrivalled as a war gas, is its
persistence. Owing to its high density and high boiling
point, it sinks into low places, lurking in trenches and
penetrating crevices, for days and weeks. This per-
sistence in time and space confers on gas warfare
a tactical value all its own.
Chemical warfare is often condemned as an inhuman
and fiendish invention of science which must be banned
for ever from the approved forms of warfare. There
are many scientists who maintain that chemical warfare
is in fact a more humane method of incapacitating the
enemy than the so-called approved methods of warfare.
One might say that if war can at all be justified, all
tactical steps undertaken for its successful prosecution
must also be justifiable. One wonders whotlior, after all,
there is so much to choose between two equally destruc-
tive forms of warfare. In Professor Low's words,
" Whether it is better to be poisoned by mustard gas,
torn to pieces by a hand-grenade or disembowelled by a
bayonet, is a matter of personal taste."
IV
The role of science, especially of chemistry, in
saving human beings from the jaws of death, is, para-
doxically enough, never so significant as in war time.
The launching of a new type of offensive like gas warfare
or magnetic mine is a spur to scientists to devise an effec-
tive defence as expeditiously as possible. It has been
remarked that the ingenuity displayed by scientists in
devising new weapons of attack is equalled only by the
rapidity with which scientists themselves invent defensive
752 RAJAH SIR AAWAMALAI CHETTIAR
measures to combat the new terrors. The development
of the gas mask in the last war, and the recent
degaussing or demagnetising arrangement for ships
which completely eliminates the danger of magnetic
mines, amply illustrate the above statement.
Another aspect of the humanitarian services of
science is the development in chemotherapy involving
the synthesis of highly efficacious drugs such as the
sulphanilamide and sulphapyridine groups of compounds
which verily take out many a sting from the wounds of
war.
The chemist renders valuable service in solving the
food problem of the nation, in at least two ways. In the
first place he sees to it that a balanced diet with suffi-
cient energy-producing material and with an adequate
amount of vitamins is supplied, and thereby reduces to
a minimum the dangers of under-feeding and of the
incidence of deficiency diseases. The collapse of
Germany in 1918 is often ascribed to the poor and
defective nature of the food then available. It would
appear that the nation had no stomach for continuing
the fight. The expert advice of the chemist is needed
also in solving the food problem in another important
manner, by stimulating intensive cultivation of the
arable land with the help of artificial fertilizers.
It must be evident from the above review how a full
mobilisation of the resources of science is indispensable
for success on the War Front as on the Home Front.
Failure to grasp this fact in time has been the undoing
of many a nation in the last two years. Even Britain,
in some of her most desperate clays last year, realised all
too bitterly that the Nazis were using science with much
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 753
better effect to their advantage. With the almost
unlimited resources of the Empire and of America at
her disposal, there is, however, no reason why Britain
should not excel the enemy " in the effective utilization
of scientific thought, scientific advice and scientific
personnel ", and thus pave the way for an early and
complete victory.
95
AN IDEAL PATRON OF WOMEN'S EDUCATION
BY
K. G. MANGALAM, B.A., L.T.
Not less important than any of the manifold philan-
thropic activities of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar is the
unique and unbounded patronage readily extended by
him to the cause of women's education in this University.
Ever since the early days of the Sree Minakshi College
which was the nucleus of the present University, it was
one of the happy features of that institution to have
afforded splendid facilities for the co-education of boys
and girls in every branch of the institution. It is indeed
a source of great gratification to see women graduates of
this University occupying positions of responsibility in
various spheres in different parts of this Province.
While some of them are holding responsible posts as
lecturers or teachers in the Educational Department,
there are others who have gone up for higher studies
elsewhere.
The most important of all the facilities afforded in
this University for women's education is the maintenance
of a separate Hostel for women students located in a fine
artistic building in a convenient locality in the University
grounds. The accommodation provided in the Hostel,
and the various arrangements made for their comfortable
residence have been highly spoken of by several dis-
tinguished visitors who have honoured the Hostel with
their visits, on different occasions. The strength of the
Hostel which was only nineteen in the beginning has
gradually come up to forty-eight in five years. To meet
further needs that might immediately arise there is
755
accommodation for a total strength of 60 students in the
Hostel. More than one-third of the women students have
taken up music for their training in the Music College,
while the rest are distributed over the various branches
of the Arts and Science departments.
The Rajah's ardent love and keen interest in music
have taken shape in the maintenance of a separate Music
College with its fine building and its staff of expert
musicians. It can claim to be the only institution of its
kind in this Province. The excellent arrangements made
for running this institution are naturally attracting a
large number of girls from distant parts of this Province
including the Native States, nay, even from Ceylon in
quest of the knowledge of this fine art.
Not content with these efforts for developing
the knowledge of Indian Music, the benevolent Rajah
Saheb made a handsome donation of Rs. 10,000 last
year for the advancement of Tamil Music in particular
and for the encouragement of the composition of original
Tamil songs.
In addition to the several scholarships which the
University grants, the Founder helps several deserving
women students with adequate sums of money to enable
them to prosecute their studies in the University.
As a happy coincidence in furtherence of the noble
cause to which our Rajah Saheb has been keenly devoted,
the University has been specially lucky in having as its
Vice-Chancellors such highly cultured gentlemen of
International fame as the Rt, Hon'ble V, S. Srinivasa
Sastriar and Dr. Sir Kurma Venkata Reddi Nayudu
Gam. In performing the pleasant function of unveil-
ing the portrait of the former Vice- Chancellor, His
756 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
Excellency Lord Erskine, Governor of Madras, has rightly
observed " There are no hands to which 1 would more
gladly entrust the task of guiding the education of the
youth of this country and no example of which I would
more earnestly ask you to follow/' And it has been
rightly said of the present Vice-Chancellor that he is
dedicating to the service of this University the treasures
of wisdom and experience which he has garnered during
decades of unremitting public service. It is hardly
necessary to emphasise the very keen interest taken by
these two officers in promoting the cause of women's
education in the University.
The Rajah Saheb's devotion to the cause of women
and their welfare has taken shape in the construction
and equipment of the Ladies7 Club, Annamalainagar,
along with similar institutions founded or encouraged
by him elsewhere in the country such as the Willing-don,
Madras, the Lady Pentland Women and Children's
Hospital in Chettinad, the Lady Ampthil Nurses Associa-
tion, the Lady Irwin College, Delhi, the Nilgiris Ladies'
Club, the Mylapore Ladies' Club as well as the Girl
Guides' Movement and the Madras Seva Sadanam.
Such in brief are the varied acts of benevolence and
philanthropy of the Rajah as a worthy descendant of the
illustrious family of Kanadukathan in consonance with
the innumerable acts of liberal charity and piety
done by this family from nearly a century ago. Can
the women of this Province ever dream of repay-
ing the deep debt of gratitude which they owe to
his unbounded generosity? The answer is not far to
seek. The extent and nature of the Rajah's noble
generosity can only be compared to itself just as Valmiki,
the Father of Sanskrit poetry has rightly observed in his
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 757
famous Epic liamayaria that the beauties of the mighty
ocean and of the sky can only be compared to themselves.
" Graganam gaganakaram, sagaraha sagaropamaha." So
when the unbounded generosity of the Rajah cannot
possibly be compared to anything else, it goes without
saying that it is next to impossible to even dream of the
possibility of repaying the debt which we all owe to him.
Verily as the Sun and the Moon, the brightest jewels
in the Lord's creation are never tired of shedding their
celestial lights for the growth and prosperity of the
World our beloved Rajah Saheb whose selfless devotion
to noble causes is in accordance with Lord Sree Krishna's
teaching in Bagavad Gita will surely continue his
unremitting love for the promotion of women's educa-
tion.
Let us send forth our devout and unceasing prayers
to Lord Nataraja on this auspicious occasion of the sixty-
first birthday of our generous and noble Founder for his
long life of continued prosperity and unalloyed happi-
ness.
BRITAIN AND U. S. A. AFTER THE WAR
BY
M. K. MUNISWAMI, M.A., B.L.
PREFATORY NOTE.
Those who try to envisage new trends in future
world economy can at best only look into the immediate
future and even then the" shape of the post-war world
cannot be seen in all its essentials. On assumption that
the economic consequences of this war may not be alto-
gether different from those of the last war, I have con-
fined my discussion in this paper to sudi problems of a
peace economy as dislocation, debt, and distrust which
may arise soon after the war is over.
Britain to-day is in a much better position to miti-
gate the shock of post-war demobilisation of men arid
capital, as she had had the experience of the period
after 1919 and of the post-depression adjustments to
solve the still unsolved problem of the dislocation caused
by the last Great War. Most economists in Britain, to
prevent slump conditions after this war would like to
organise British economy on the Nazi pattern, though
they take care to stress the difference between such
British economy and the present Nazi economy in that
the former would be the result of democratic decisions
and subject to democratic control. The Economist (17th
May 1941) has begun to speak of the impending post-
war boom in England. The havoc caused by the Luft-
waffe would necessitate reconstruction of the devastated
areas; after the experience through which the British
public have passed under the present rationing regime,
759
there might be an increased 'demand for all manner of
consumers' goods. There might, in fact, be an excessive
demand over supply and it might become necessary to
continue rationing for some time after the war. The
payment of the Dole to the unemployed and extension of
instalment credit facilities — two features absent in 1919
are likely to exort their beneficent influence.
Optimistic forecasts as to the course of world trade
are based on the known demand for liquidating damage
done in the war as also the improved distribution of
wealth. They do not take into account such factors as
the more or less permanent reduction in British mer-
chant tonnage or the repatriation of overseas investments
which have paid for Britain's imports during this war
period. ISTor do they take into account the handicaps
under which Britain's export trade will suffer, when
Gorman competition in coal, steel and chemicals recurs
and take into account the need for British assistance to
the many European governments, with their head-
quarters in London and now inalliance with Britain. The
scope for British exports in future would depend largely
on the nature of the European peace settlement. The
present war-time industries especially in Canada and
Australia would reduce the markets that British manu-
facturers enjoyed before. Reapproachment of U.S.A.
and Canada on the one hand, and the South American
Republics on the other would make British export trade
prospects gloomier. It is not likely however that British
export trade would altogether disappear, for Britain
with her experience of the trade drive in recent years,
and with her increased efficiency in manufacturing skill,
born of the application of scientific research to war-time
760 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
industries, is likely to renew her invasion of Central
European markets. As in 1920, in the period after this
war, Britain may not find difficulty in elbowing out Japan
from the Indian and Colonial markets. Professor
Nevins of Oxford has referred to the impending conflict
between the U.S.A. and Britain in the South American
and Asiatic markets, in a recent issue of the Spectator.
The possibility of friction between U.S.A. and Britain
is not confined to industries alone; America like some
other countries of the British Empire and South America
may wish to sell meat, grain and cotton, while Britishers
importing these commodities from the Empire, and from
South America may not be keen on importing them from
the U.S.A. Instead of looking to the South American
and Dominion markets, a writer has suggested in the
Political Quarterly that Britain would do well, bearing
in mind the feeble results of the Ottawa pacts of 1932,
to look the prosperity of her export trade in Central and
Eastern Europe. He stresses that something like the
present German plan for inter-European trade must be
preserved. In the event of Anglo-American co-operation
he also suggests that the U.S.A. may well play its part
in building up electrical power stations and mechanising
the agriculture of Eastern and Central Europe. The
Secretary to the U. S. Treasury has stated that the huge
reserve of gold would be available to repair the ravages
of the present war in Europe. The continuance of
' Hitler's new economic order ' would be a powerful
threat to both the export trade of the U.S.A. and the
future value of her gold stocks. Any reduction in the
world value of gold in the future, besides upsetting exist-
ing exchange rates and causing further dislocations in
foreign trade would affect all those Governments and
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 761
Central Banks that have written up the value of their
gold holdings. As the U.S.A. after the war is likely to
have large surpluses of both agricultural produce and
manufactured goods it would be to its own interest to
maintain without alteration the existing exchange rates.
The trend of economic life in Europe after the war
cannot but have a permanent effect on Britain. The
increase of war debts, taxation and the destruction of
productive equipment are going to have a definite effect
on Britain's foreign trade. No immediate revival in
commercial intercourse with lost markets can be hoped
for.
Depreciation of sterling however would seen! to be
inevitable in the case of Britain. During this war it has
of course been the preoccupation of Britain to maintain
the cross-rate, as any lower rate of exchange would
increase the burden of sterling payments for purchases
made from the U.S.A.; but after the war depreciation
of sterling would enable Britain to improve her balance
of payments. An additional virtue of such a step would
be the reduction in the burden of the huge-short-term
debt that she has contracted. The Economist has calcu-
lated that no less than 1,400 million pounds have been
borrowed in the form of Treasury bills and that loans
from banks, during the last eight months aggregate to
490 millions. There is not likely to be any desire " to look
the dollar in the face ' ' after this war. The havoc caused
to British export, trade by the Gold Standard Act of 1925
must be still green in the memory of Mr. Winston
Churchill. Given the rate at which national debts are
piling up the world over, the need for alleviation of the
real weight of debt, will be stronger after the end of this
war, than at any time in world 's history. The existing
96
762 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
100 per cent E.P. duty has taken profits out of the present
war and as the net profits of most British companies
have not increased, in recent months, the capital value
of their plant in any post-war valuation is not likely to
go up, in order to enable the Treasury to introduce any
capital levy.
Currency depreciation may give rise to some measure
of protection to all home industries including agriculture.
Such protection accruing to British agriculture would be
all the more valuable when the British market is exposed
to the fire of cheap Central European agricultural pro-
duction. If the external depreciation of this sterling is
insufficient to restore equilibrium to Britain's balance of
payments, a policy of internal economic expansion may
have to be adopted. Already Reconstructors are at work
preparing tentative plans for starting new post-war
industries, especially for civilian requirements in Britain.
If British banks and the general body of British
investors finance new industries, such as radios, television
apparatuses and refrigerators, the shock of the present
war's dislocation may be reduced. To help such new
industries, and to relieve unemployment in the '' Special
Areas ' Britain would have at least to continue, if not
intensify, existing protection. In the rehabilitation of
British economy on a peace time basis, both sympathy
and co-operation from the U.S.A. would seem to be called
for. It ought to be the pre-occupation of the statesmen
of the two countries to avoid points of friction and
conflict that are likely to be numerous after the war.
We have only to hope that the U.S.A. with the painful
experience of repercussions on her economy by her pur-
suit of a policy of autarky, coupled with exchange
depreciation before 1934 would now turn over a new leaf
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 763
and charitably tolerate Britain's attempts to stabilise
her own economic system by pursuing the twin remedies
of exchange depreciation and public works. Otherwise
she might be confronted with a default of the debts that
Britain has just begun to raise after her discovery that
her scheme of Empire Dollar Pool to finance her war
purchases, is inadequate. Let us all hope and pray that
recent world economic history will not repeat itself,
culminating in a greater depression.
A FREE UNIVERSITY FOR INDIA
BY
DR. A. NARASINGA RAO, M.A., L.T., D.Sc., F.A.Sc,
Scientists tell us that the first appearance of Man on
tlie Earth occurred in comparatively recent times — barely
a million years ago. In fact, if the whole life history of
our planet could be compressed into 24 hours from mid-
night to midnight, we find no traces of life for the first
12 hours; 7 p.m. finds the seas inhabited by fishes and
amphibia while at 8 p.m. the giant reptiles are lords of
the earth. Mammals, of whom Man is a member, appear
only at 10 p.m. and the Piltdown Ape-man peeps out
fugitively at 23 hours 59 minutes! The whole of our
known history of about 10,000 years from the time of
the Sumerian civilization to the present day would cor-
respond on this scale to just half a second!
And yet, if within this very short interval Man has
built up a social structure which has made him well nigh
lord of the earth, sea and air — though it contains dange-
rous elements of instability as recent events show — this
success is to be attributed to his capacity for abstract
thinking and to two inventions wrhich his more fertile
brain made at the very infancy of the race, namely
speech1 and writing. The former enables an individual
1 Animals have various invariable sounds expressive of pleasure,
caution, warning, calls to congregate etc., monkeys being the most voluble,
but no animal has yet passed from single words to sentences. The brain of
the chimpanzee corresponds in all physical details closely to man and has
even Broca's convolution which is the seat of articulate speech and yet
they have not learnt to talk.
fas
to profit by the experience of another, while the latter
ensures that anything of value, once discovered, is not
lost to the race but will form the foundation for later
generations to build upon. Knowledge becomes thus an
ever-growing store of human experience. Now, any one-
way process, however slow and weak will after long ages
produce effects of far greater significance than another
which, though powerful, does not act always the same
way. it is this growing heritage of racial experience
which has made the human species what it is today.
Man recognised early the value of this inheritance
and made efforts both to hand it on to the next genera-
tion, and latterly, to add to its total content. These two
functions which correspond to teaching and research, and
what is even more important, a training in abstract
thinking which differentiates man from all other
animals, have been entrusted by society to various types
of educational institutions with the universities at the
apex of the scheme inspiring and guiding these activities.
Thus higher studies and research are not the luxuries of
age of leisure but the very life-lines of human evolution
through which the race has drawn its vitality and its
power. Even from the narrower standpoint of national
well being, universities provide that background of pure
knowledge which is necessary in an age of rapid progress
and keen competition to enable each changing situation
to be met effectively as it arises. There are few benefac-
tions of greater service to the nation and the race than
the foundation of an educational institution.
That there has been a lot of jerry building in the
structure of human civilization is undeniable. There is
maladjustment of means to ends almost everywhere,
766 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
while the introduction of a money economy with all its
flexibility and stimulus to economic activity has made
possible a dangerous concentration of power in wrong
hands. Above all, the failure of man's moral education
to keep pace with the training of his intellect and his
progressive control over matter threatens the very
extinction of the species in suicidal conflicts. Man has
left many a Tobruk in his triumphant forward march
and is paying heavily in human suffering for their
reconquest. In this contribution I propose to deal with
one of these maladjustments in our social structure.
If the supreme importance of higher education and
research both for the race and for the nation be even
partially conceded, it is necessary to ensure that every
one whose natural endowments fit him specially for such
a course should be picked out and given this training.
Our present day organisation does nothing of the kind.
It has made university education a costly commodity to
be purchased by those who can afford it, thus introducing
economic considerations into a field where they are
irrelevant. In fact even secondary education is almost
beyond the means of most middle-class families in India.
If we had planned rationally, there would have been pro-
vision for the poorest boy or girl in the land to study up
to the highest standards provided he or she had abilities
of a sufficiently higher order. One of the steps in secur-
ing this objective would be the establishment of a
University in India where no fees are levied and where
those who" are poor will receive also free boarding. Let
us take a closer look at this unique institution.
Its alumni will be drawn from all over India and
will be a group of exceptionally gifted individuals of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 767
both sexes, many of them coming from very poor
families. The total number will have to be restricted say
to a thousand in the first instance so that it may be run
on efficient lines and the demand for this limited accom-
modation from all over the country will enable the
institution to maintain the high standards of admission.
Obviously the education of these gifted individuals will
have to be carefully planned and should not be confined
to lecture hours only. It will have therefore to be a
university, for otherwise it will not have the freedom to
plan its course of studies, and it will have to be fully
residential both as regards its staff and its students.
The course of instruction might well include besides the
usual subjects of study, an acquaintance with the out-
standing events in world history, the main landmarks in
the march of modern science, and some knowledge of the
mechanism of the human body. Even more important
will be the attempt to educate the sense of order, rhythm
and harmony which is part of our racial inheritance. A
knowledge of sketching and a capacity both to sing and
to appreciate good music and works of art would be the
normal equipment of every student, But in the develop-
ment of the personality of the alumni the greatest stress
will be on the moral side. The idea of service and co-
operation will be kept always before them and many
opportunities created for their exercise. There will be
no religious instruction in the orthodox sense but the
students will have had a sympathetic acquaintance with
the manner in which the great religions of the world have
approached the problems of the spirit, and of those
ethical principles common to all religions. I know that
the education of the moral side of man is one which'
bristles with difficulties. But we have the experience of
768 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
the Boy Scout and similar movements which have partly
tackled the problem, while psychology is everyday pro-
viding us with fresh information regarding the analysis
of personality. The issue is of such paramount import-
ance that it has got to be faced and attacked from various
angles and even a partial success would be well worth
the attempt. In any case we do not solve the problem
by ignoring it.
Granted the desirability of such a free University
in which the poorest Indian could read upto the highest
classes, it may be asked is it a practicable scheme. In
particular is there any existing University which is so
well endowed and run on such economical lines that the
wiping out of its entire fee income will still enable it to
carry on its activities, and which is besides residential,
unitary and compact? I think the Annamnlai University
just fits into this picture. Its permanent endowment
fund of 40 lakhs, the joint gift of its genorous Pounder
and of the Government has by a careful husbanding of
resources, increased to 60 lakhs. The interest on th is fund
together with the annual grant of 1-5 Inkhs from the
Government makes up nearly 4 lakhs or roughly 80 per
cent of its total income. The net fee income (including
tuition, examination and special fees less the amount
paid back by way of scholarships) amounts to about 13
per cent of the total income while the other 7 per cent is
made up of miscellaneous receipts which will not bo
affected by the abolition of fees.
One may speculate on the consequences of this bold
step of a total abolition of fees. It will create an institu-
tion unique not only in this country but perhaps in the
whole world, and entitled on that account to the generous
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 769
support of both the Princes and People of India in the
performance of its noble task of training a band of
young men and women of character and ability who
would otherwise have been lost to the country. Its
alumni are bound to rise to positions of leadership, and
some of them at least would welcome an opportunity of
helping financially the institution to which they owe so
much. These benefactions would all be invested and their
interest utilized for gradually expanding free boarding
to those in need of such help until it is in a position to
lodge, board, and educate all those whom it has taken
under its wings.
The idea is by no means new and accords well with the
Hindu ideology which has too high a regard for know-
ledge to treat it as an economic commodity. In the old
Gurukulas and even today in the patasalas we have a
system of free education up to the highest standards
open to the poorest in the land. Is it unreasonable to
suggest that the same principle be applied to the more
dynamic and modern type of education which is needed
in the world of today? India with her age long
experience of things of the spirit has surely something
of the value to contribute to the stabilising of the
unsteady structure of modern civilization and has her-
self much to learn in evolving that synthesis of the old
and the new which is the hope of the human race. In
this supreme task and in the more practical but foi'mid-
able problems of reconstruction which face her today,
she will need the services of every one of her gifted sons
and daughters trained to the utmost of their capacities.
Will Tamil Nad which has often been a leader in matters
intellectual be a pioneer in this field? Let the Gods
decide.
770
A foolish dream, a castle in the air? Perhaps it is.
But Man is a dreaming animal whom the memory of his
dream haunts even after he is awake. Foolish men
dreamt in the distant past that they could cross the
measureless ocean and other fools have dreamt that they
could fly in the air like birds. Man has always been an
architect of aerial castles and has ever sought to rebuild
them on earth " with faith and courage ", two of the
toughest materials in the universe. The world can ill
afford to lose its dreamers, for is not the world itself a
dream of Iswara? May those stirring words of the
greatest dreamer of this age echoing from his still warm
funeral pyre receive a literal fulfilment:
" Where the mind is without fear, .and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free,
Into that Heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country
awake. "
RAJA SIR ANNAMALAI CH&TT1AR SAVANT AND
PATRON OF TAMIL LITERATURE
BY
C. PANNIRUKAIPERUMAL MUDALIAR, M.A., B.L.
Head of the Department of Tamil, University of Travancore.
Rajah Sir Aimamalai Chettiar is one of those rare
beings, whose arrival upon this planet of ours is at once
their moment and our opportunity. Large-hearted and
discriminating generosity is the lodestar of their exist-
ence; and it is the duty as well as the interest of lesser
folk to draw upon such reserves of charity and help to
canalise them in those fruitful directions indicated by
rhe donor. Rich is wisdom, noble in feeling, transparent
in sincerity, no South Indian in recent times has dis-
played such multiplicity of interests in life or given
equally generously for their promotion. But the quality
of a man's life or character must be judged not merely
by the arithmetical reckoning of the number of things he
does, but by the nature of the particular things he elects
to do and by the way in which he does them. Every one
of us knows how numerous are the Raja's charities. But
that by which he will be longest known and most entitled
to the imperishable gratitude of the present and of suc-
ceeding generations is the founding and inauguration of
the Annamalai University.
Himself a savant, Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar has
never been happier than when he declares himself, in
deed as well as word, a votary of the Goddess. Vani. He
worships at many shrines, but he is oftener found in the
Temple of Learning, enriching it with his pious offerings.
772 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
The stream of his generosity sent its fertilising waters
across the sacred soil of holy Chidambaram, so dear to
the heart of every Hindu. And then there sprouted
forth the little flower, the Sri Minakshi College, the
nucleus of the Annamalai University. The stream now
swelled into a Hood, the little college refused to satisfy
the deep hunger of his soul full of an inextinguishable
passion for Tamil literature and culture; and the little,
tenderly cherished flower of yesterday, broke into the
crowded splendour of the present University. The
Annamalai University fulfils many objects which a
University is expected to do, but its uniqueness and
individuality lie in its declared aim to promote and
encourage the study of Tamil language and literature.
In this sense we can regard it as being, at once, the proud
symbol of one man's spirit of giving and the happy
fulfilment of the dreams of many. Eager, expectant
Tamil Nad welcomed this fine gesture of the noble Raja
with a warmth of affection that will take long to die, and
paid and continues to pay its grateful tribute of reverence
and love to the man who has thus helped to translate its
soul-hunger into this living edifice. Could there be
anything more worthy of .the noble generosity of the
donor or more entiled to the admiring gratitude of the
donees '{
Not only has Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar spent
lakhs upon this child of his dreams, but he continues to
feed it with recurring donations and endowments, ever
cherishing it with the watchfulness of a loving parent.
This is a pleasing reminder to us that the Annamalai
University is not the sudden gift of impulsive genero-
sity but the result of a carefully planned, deeply
pondered answer to a public need. Recently in South
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 773
India we are witnessing a remarkable public interest in
the promotion and popularisation of the Tamil language.
Tlie shabby and step-motherly treatment once accorded
to Tamil is now but a painful memory, though humi-
liating enough when we recall it. Soon a reversal of
values took place with our increasing sense of nationa-
lism and a better knowledge of the inestimable glories of
our Tamil literature. And so to-day the heart of every
Tamilian beats to a new tune and responds to other
melodies than those till now familiar to our ears. How
much the Amiamalai University is the cause of this new
resurgent sentiment, how much it is the echo and the
gratification of it, it is difficult to assess. Nor is it
necessary. But there cannot be any hesitation in
declaring that Raja {Sir Amiamalai Chettiar has suc-
ceeded in expressing the new emotions and dreams of
the Tamils in a form that age cannot wither nor custom
stale. Tamil has regained its pristine place in the
Temple of Learning and the Raja has honoured himself
by honouring her.
The Tamil Pandits and Scholars of South India owe
a deep debt of gratitude to Sir Annamalai Chettiar for
a worthy recognition of their place and status in the
University. The Raja of Chettinad has never been guilty
of leaving things half-done or even three-fourths done.
That is not his way. So long as a subordinate role or
an inferior rank is assigned to teachers in Tamil, the
promotion of Tamil culture cannot be achieved. Their
work is as important as, and in the Annamalai University,
perhaps, more important than that of others. Naturally
the Founder felt the need for establishing a professorship
in Tamil — the first time, I think, that we hear of a pro-
fessorship in connection with Tamil. Some of the
774 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIA&
greatest scholars in Tamil literature and culture have
naturally been invited and provided with all the facilities
necessary for carrying on research in that direction.
An Honours Degree in Tamil has been instituted.
Though the University of Madras admits candidates to
offer themselves privately for a M.A. Degree in Tamil
and fSouth Indian History, the Annamalai University
alone prepare candidates for a Honours Degree in that
subject. The University of Travancore has followed
Annamalai and is preparing candidates for a similar
degree in Malay alam. The Raja has spared no efforts
to complete the scheme he has in mind, which is nothing-
less than making (South India Tamil — conscious, to make
us think and dream of our dear mother-tongue every
moment of our lives. Classes for the Vidwan Course,
classes for the training of Tamil Pandits, a large number
of scholarships and fee concessions, facilities and
generous endowments for the publication of scientific
works in Tamil, a College of Music and quite recently a
liberal donation of Rs. 10,000 for encouraging and per-
suading our musicians to revive and popularise Tamil
composers and compositions — all these are but some of
the endeavours on the part of this Prince of Givers to
give Tamil her due place in the cultural life of South
India. It is a happy feature in the many-sided per-
sonality of the Raja of Chettinad that, in his grand
schemes for the rehabilitation of Tamil, he never ignores
that a work of restoration must not only involve a
patriotic harking to the past but also a forward view of
things. In conformity with the conditions of modern
life he has felt the need for giving our Tamil Pandits,
employing traditional methods of instruction, insight
into the more modern psychological approaches of to-day.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 775
The training classes have, therefore, a fine opportunity
for adapting reformed methods to Tamil teaching.
Similarly, the ideas and conclusions of modern Science
must be made available to the public, as part of the
regular democratic process. Tamil, though a highly
flexible language, has not yet had the occasion to employ
a suitable scientific terminology, shaped in conformity
with its genius and yet flexible and resilient enough to
express the ideas of modern science. Raja Sir Annamalai
Chettiar has never shown a higher vision than when he
organised a department for the publication of scientific
works in Tamil. He has announced prizes of Rs. 1,000
each for the best books in Tamil on subjects of modern
thought; and such books on Logic and Physics have
already been published. This department is certainly
a valuable adjunct to the Research Department in Tamil,
which is doing eminent work. About the college of Music,
it would be superfluous to say much. It is an unique insti-
tution and has inspired other people and other places to
fresh activities in the field of Carnatic Music. I am
inclined to think that Tamil Nad, music-mad as it has
always been, has responded to this fine gesture on the
part of the Founder in a manner that fills every heart
with joy. To-day there is better, more critical and
understanding enjoyment of music and by larger
numbers of people, because of the impetus given by the
Raja. In music we shall find our soul; and certainly
Raja Sir Annamalai Ohettiar has not only helped to
inform but refine the soul of South India. The recent gift
of Rs. 10,000 for popularising Tamil songs has become
the subject of conference and discussion as regards the
best way of using it; and the public will certainly not be
disappointed in its expectations,
776
Great as are his gifts and donations to the Annamalai
University, Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar's generosity is
not confined to this one mighty institution. Wherever
a good cause languishes for lack of funds, wherever noble
work is done, it is only a question of " Ask and it shall
be given " and his purse-strings are unloosened.
Great men have always been honoured in our
country; their noble services have always been 7) raised
and sung to many a tune. But I am confident that we,
in our times, shall not be able to honour a greater person,
one more worthy of our poets' songs of praise, more
entitled to our gratitude, one to whom those poor, pitiful
words of mine would be less adequate to express our
reverence and love for great deeds nobly done. This
Memorial Volume, our floral tribute to the Raja of
Chettinad on the auspicious occasion of his Shnstiabda-
purthi, is our heart's token to this great man. It is an
occasion, which gladdens every heart; and may our
tribute be worthy enough! and usher in many more such
occasions I
SETTI IN LITERATURE AND EPIGRAPHY
BY
V. R. RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR, M.A.
University of Madras.
I deem it an honour and a privilege to be associated
with the commemoration of Rajah Sir M. Annamalai
Ohettiar, the founder of a great Institution — the Anna-
malai University. The Rajah of Chettinad belongs to
the great ancient community of traders and bankers who
have shaped the commercial and industrial life of India
through the ages. Coming nearer home the Rajah Saheb
belongs to the noble community of the epic heroes of the
Tamil nad, Kovalan and Kannaki, of Kavirippum-
pattinam, one of the great centres of international trade,
two thousand years ago. The origin and history of
this community of traders and bankers is one of the fasci-
nating subjects of Indian history, ancient, mediaeval and
modern.
We meet with the term Setti in the J^atakas and
Sreshthi in the Brahmana literature and the Atharva
Samhita. The term Sreshthin or Sresthya in the sense
of the Headman of a guild occurs in the Atharva Samhita
(1.9.3) and in the Satapatha Brahmana (13.7.1.1),
Aitareya Brahmana (III. 30. 3). (See also Kausitaki
Br. 28. 6). The Sreshthi of the Brahmanas invariably
means a banker.
The Jatakas which are said to be compositions of the
6th and 5th centuries B.C. speak of as many as eighteen
guilds with their respective heads. The head of the
guild is sometimes called a Setti and sometimes a Maha-
98
778 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
setti. The Settis were by caste members of the Vaisya
caste, always the richest class in the land. Trade was
their hereditary calling as also banking. The Indian
industrial development in the pre-Kautaliyan period and
also post-Kautaliyan period was largely due to the
activities of the Vaisyas. Each profession had its own
organisation, democratic in character. We call this a
guild. These guilds exerted enormous influence upon
the economic life of the country in the several centuries
preceding and following the Christian era. For in the
time of the Guptas there is the testimony of the inscrip-
tions as to the activities of these guild organisations.
According to the ArtJiasastra of Kautalya (11.35) the
Vaisyas were the great landowners and merchants. They
were capitalists and money-lending was their profession
in addition to trade and commerce. With the growth of
trade and industry, capital got accumulated in the hands
of a few, who were perhaps designated Mahasettis. The
president of the guild was Pamukha or Jetthaka or
Setti according to the Jataltas (1.120; 11.335; 111.49.
etc.). In the march of time the professions became
hereditary and fixed and a number of sub-sections of the
great Vaisya caste came into being. Hence we find to-day
a bewildering number of subsects in every caste of India.
The one healthy influence of this hereditary occupation
was to get more and more skilled in the arts of profession
being handed dqwn from father to son. Every Vaisya
was so to say a born merchant. He brought to bear upon
his trade his accumulated knowledge of centuries. With
the rich background of tradition behind him the ancient
Setti excelled in his arts and crafts and made a successful
career. His products were in great demand by the
peoples of the then known world — Rome, Carthage,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 779
Ceylon and Islands of the Archipelago. Foreign gold
flowed into India in abundance, and ancient India became
famous for its wealth and splendour. This was true of
both North and South India. The Sangam literature and
foreign travellers bear eloquent testimony to the roaring-
trade of Tamil India with the foreign countries.
A critical study of the Jatakas gives us a glimpse
of the social life of the Setti community in ancient India.
In the Pali literature we meet with some interesting
terms — Setti, Mahasetti, Anusetti and Uttarasettis.
These terms are of much value to the antiquarian. They
demonstrate clearly the social position held by the
mercantile community and also the importance of that
community in public life. The use of the term Setti in
several places in the Jatakas shows that it was by itself
a title, and was invariably given to the head of a guild.
Therefore any guild president was a Setti.
The Mahasetti held a status much higher than the
ordinary Setti. He was a wealthy capitalist. His aid
and friendship were often invoked by the reigning chief.
The state appointed Mahasettis as members of the royal
council, as advisers to the king, as ministers and maha-
matras. The Mahasetti represented in the royal council
the banking and industrial interests, and advised the
state on their industrial and economic policy. He helped
the state in time of distress by advancing loans. He was
again the leader among the Settis. Whenever disputes
arose between any two guilds, it was the Mahasetti who
settled such differences by arbitration. His decision
was invariably accepted as binding. Thus the Mahasettis
played a glorious part in the administration of the land.
No wonder they were held in very high esteem by the
780 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
state and the public. The Jatakas reveal closer ties of
friendship among the princes, Brahmans and the Settis.
The sons of the members of all these communities had
their education under the common teacher, and even some
passages suggest that caste restrictions regarding inter-
dining and inter-marriage were not so rigid as they
became in later times, in a Jataka (111.49) a deer-
trapper and consequently of low caste became rich by
trade and was a great friend of the local Hetti or guild-
man (See also Jatakas, II, 319-20; IV, 38; VI, 348).
A Mahasetti is called a Kajavallabha in the Suci
Jataka. He was a millionaire and was much actuated
by generous impulses. He was charitable and made
large endowments to religious shrines and gave liberal
gifts for pious purposes. It is said that Anandapindika,
a millionaire of Kosala presented to the Buddha a public
park Jetavana in Sravasti, and the ceremony in connec-
tion with this function was attended by as many as five
hundred settis (Jataka 1.93). Anandapindika is not a
single name of the capitalistic Mahasetti. Mrgadhara
and Yasa were other Mahasettis who were worth many
crores and were influential citizens of ancient India. We
similarly hear of a Jain Ananda giving away as gift the
Karle cave, the finest monument of all India. The Maha-
setti was also a title of distinction conferred by the state
on worthy citizens. If we are to believe the Jatakas
(1.122), it was a title possibly held during life. For this
Jataka entitled Chulla Setti Jataka bears testimony to
the fact that this Chulla Setti of Benares held this title
during his life and after his death the title passed on to
his son-in-law. Among other honours which were coii-
£ eiTed on these Mahasettis one was to hold the umbrella
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 781
of state (setli chelle) (C.I.1L, I, p. 208). "What exactly
this distinction meant we cannot say at this stretch of
time. It may be that on important public occasions the
tSetti was allowed the use of royal umbrella, being an
ensign of the sovereignty or he was appointed to hold the
umbrella in connection with the state functions.
The Vinaya texts and other literary evidences speak
of an Anusetti, literally an assistant to the Setti (1. 19;
Jataka V. 384). Apparently the duties of the Setti or
Mahasetti were so onerous that he wanted an assistant to
look to all of them carefully and efficiently. The Anu-
setti may correspond to an Assistant Secretary of a
modern department, while the Uttarasetti may be a Joint
(Secretary. The nature of the functions relating to the
Uttarasetti is not clearly defined.
Passing on from the age of the Jatakas to the Kushan
period, we find that the Vanika was different from the
artisan classes and even caravan traders. The Vanika
was an industrial partner and a banker of repute. He
was in charge of trade and commerce, national and inter-
national. He contributed to the charitable establish-
ments and erected huge edifices like caves for residence
by pious men of all religions. At this time, the trade
guild went by the name Sreni as also in the early period.
And the head of the guild was Sresthin, a banker par
excellence. (Ep. Ind. I, pp. 38 and 43; Ep. Ind. XXI,
p. 55). The Vanik was officially recognised, and he was
also known as Srenimukhya. If we proceed to examine
the Gupta and the post-Gupta epochs we note that trade
continued to be active and manifold and well regulated.
Some of the members of the mercantile community
enjoyed places of privilege as also patronage of kings.
782 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
^ •+>
Some of them were officials in charge of royal merchan-
dise while others plied their private trade. The
corporate activity of traders is more and more in
evidence.
While this was the state of affairs in North India,
it would be interesting to turn to South India and
pass in review the role the merchants community of
Tamilakam played. For this the Sangam works are
primarily the sources of information. A Jataka (480)
refers to the flourishing Tamil country and the inter-
national mart in that count iy Kavirippumpattinam,
otherwise known as Puhar at the mouth of the river
Kaveri. The merchants were the most influential com-
munity in this city. Commerce by land and commerce
by sea were their profession. The wealth of the
merchant classes surpassed the wealth of the ruling
chieftains. A lot of foreign merchants were always seen
in the city transacting business. There was no article
of merchandise which could not find a place in the Puhar
market, It is perhaps the Khabcris Emporium men-
tioned by Ptolemy. Manaikan, the father of Kannaki,
and Masattuvan, the father of Kovalan, were the typical
representatives of the Tamil merchant classes. They
had heaps of wealth and were very liberal in gifts.
They enjoyed the foremost aristocratic rank in the social
scale. It is said later in the Silappadikaram that if the
merchants of Madura, the Pandyan capital, only came
to hear of the name of Kovalan 's father, they would
accord him a fitting welcome as befitted his rank and
status. Such was the high position held and enjoyed by
the merchant princes of Puhar and of all Tamil nad.
Equally famous were Madura, Musiris, Tondi and Karur
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 783
as centres of a prosperous international trade. Trade,
industry and commerce were in the hands of these mer-
chant classes, whose alliance was sought by the ruling
chieftain. The latter befriended by conferring titles
on them. Etti was one such title (Silappadikaram XV.
1. 163). We hear of an Etti Sangaman, a flourishing
merchant at Madura Tbid. 1. 196), and an Etti Sayalan.
(See also Mammekalai, IV, 1. 58; Perumkadai Bk. I,
Ch. 40, 1. 116).
Though the economic heart of South India was
sound under the Pallava rule, we have not much material
to show the concerted action of traders and merchants.
But in the days of the great Oholas we have mercantile
groups such as Valanjiyar of Tiruppurambiyam (71 of
1897 ARE) and Manigramam of Adittapura (Ibid. 33
of 1895). While nr and sdhha were assemblies of the
village, Nafiaram was the local assembly of mercantile
towns (ARE 82 of 1906). It sometimes stands for an
occupational group like Salivanaearattom (Hid. 268 of
1921). The Naciaram of the Cholas was a .guild of
merchants, primarily devoted to mercantile interests,
These guilds endowed charitable trusts as for instance
in Salem (47 of 1888 ARE). Some inscriptions refer to
Dharmavaniyar who paid contributions Tor founding and
maintaining mutts and for festivals connected with
temples (ARE 547 of 1902 ; 28 of 1927). In this connec-
tion an inscription from Anbil (1235 A.D.) mentions
among others the presence of Chettis of different nadus
and Davanachettis (Tbid, 601 of 1902X Overseas trade
was equally flourishing in the period especially with
China, Sumatra and other Islands,
784 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
The Settis (Tamil Chettis, Chettiyar) figured very
prominently in the history of the Karnataka, Telugu and
Tamil areas, in the post-Ohola period also. There were
many sub-communities among them of whom mention
may be made of the Gavarogas, Gatrigas, Chettis, Chetti-
guttas, Ankakaras, Biras, Biravanigas, Gandigas,
Gavundas and Gavundnsvamis, Behris, Kornntis, Gava-
ras, etc. The proportion of the merchant communities
to the total population in the country was very great
according to Paes the Portuguese chronicler who visited
the Vijnynnagar empire during the days of the emperor
Krishnadevaraya.
Many of them engaged themselves in foreign trade.
The Harivilasam of Srinatha, the Telugu poet of the 15th
century, dedicated to the merchant prince Avaci Tippaya
Chetti of Simhavikrama pattana (Nellore) throws wel-
come light on the foreign trade carried on by him.
According to this work Tippaya Chetti and his brothers
Tirurnala Chetti and Cami Chetti imported both by sea
and land such valuable articles as camphor plants from
the Pan jab, gold (plate or dust) from Jalanogi (?),
elephants from Ceylon, good horses from Hummanji
(Ormuz), musk from Goa, pearls from Apaga (sea),
Kasturikatakam from Ootangi and fine silks from China,
and supplied them to the courts of Harihara of Vijaya-
nagar, Firoz Shah Bahmani and the Gajapati ruler of
Orissa. Further they enjoyed the monopoly of supplying
all the necessary articles for the grand spring festival
(vasantotsava) celebrated by Kumaragiri, the Reddi
king of Kondavidu. (S. K. Aiyangar, Sources of Vijaya-
nagar History, p. 57).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 785
The Chettis about whom we hear in the Karnataka,
Tamil and Telugu areas of South India did business also
in the west coast of South India. Barbosa a traveller
who visited South India in the sixteenth century has left
a remarkable account of this community. He says:
" The more part of them (Chettis) are groat merchants,
and they deal in precious stones, seed pearls and corals
and other valuable goods, such as gold and silver, either
coined or to be coined. This is their principal trade and
they follow it because they can raise or lower the prices
of such things many times ; they are rich and respected ;
they lead a clean life, and have spacious houses in their
own appointed streets .... They go naked from the
waist up, and below gather round long garments many
yards in length, little turbans on their heads and long
hair gathered under the turban. Their beards are
shaven and they wear finger marks of ashes mixed with
sandal wood and saffron on their breasts, foreheads and
shoulders. They have wide holes in their ears into which
an egg would fit, which are filled with gold with many
precious stones; they wear many rings on their fingers,
they are girt about with girdles of gold and jewellery
and ever carry in their breasts great pouches in which
they keep scales and weights of their gold and silver
coins and precious stones Their sons also begin to
carry them as soon as they are ten years of age, they go
about changing small coins. They are great clerks, and
reckon all their sums on their fingers. They are given to
usury, so much so that one brother will not lend to
another a ceitil (a very small Portuguese coin of copper
which took the place of the diriheiro in the reign of Joao)
without making a profit thereby. They are sober and
786 RAJAH SIR AMVAMALAf CHETTIAR
orderly in eating and spending. They speak a tongue
which differs from that of Malabar as it is with the
Castalians and Portuguese." (Barbosa, Dames, II,
pp. 71-73).
Again referring to them the same traveller observes:
" The more part of all the heathen merchants or chatis
who live throughout India are natives of this country
and are very cunning in every kind of traffic in goods "
(Ibid. II, pp. 125-26). Mahuan the Chinese traveller
who visited South India towards the close of the fifteenth
century also observes that the Chettis were the principal
trading community in the country and says that they
bought pepper from the farmers when it was ripe and
sold it to foreign ships when they passed by, and that
they also bought and collected precious stones and other
costly wares (JRAS, 1896, p. 344). That they settled in
the eastern countries like the Archipelago for commercial
purposes is evident from Barbosa who notes that there
were in Malacca Chetige merchants from the Coromandel
coast " (Barbosa, Dames, IT, p. 177).
Of equal importance as the Chettis in the commercial
life of the country, particularly in the Kanarese and
Telugu districts, were the Komatis. A prominent divi-
sion among them were the Gavaras to whom reference is
frequently made in the Kanarese epigraphs. (See also
Methwold, Relations of Golconda in the Early Seven-
teenth Century, pp. 15-17).
The Banias were another trading community of
South India, They were perhaps the Abraiaman of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 787
Marco Polo. He says: " These Abraiaman1 are the best
merchants in the world, and the most truthful, for they
would not tell a lie for anything on earth. (If a foreign
merchant applies to them and entrusts his goods to them
they will take charge of these, and sell them in the most
loyal manner, seeking zealously the profit of the foreigner
and asking no commission except what he pleases to
bestow). They eat 110 tiesii, and urink no wine, and iivt$
a life of great chastity, having intercourse with no women
except with their wives ; nor would they on any account
take what belongs to another; so their law commands.
And they are all distinguished by wearing a thread of
cotton over one shoulder and tied under tiie other arm
so that it crosses the breast and the back ....
" These Abraiaman are idolaters; and they pay
greater heed to signs and omens tiian any people that
exists. "
A very noticeable feature of the commercial life of
South India was the organisation of the merchants into
guilds, particularly those trading in the urban areas.
The guilds had in a majority of cases their origin in a
community of interest which the dealers in a particular
commodity or a group of commodities had. It may be
noted here that there were two kinds of guilds, the craft
guilds and the merchant guilds ; while the former was a
professional guild based largely on the caste system, the
latter was mainly a body of merchants doing business in
a particular commodity or group of commodities irres-
pective of their caste. Sir George Birdwood truly
1 Professor K. A. Nilakanta Sastri takes the view that these were
Brahmans. (Foreign Notices of Mouth India p. 176).
788 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
remarks: " Sometimes the same trade is pursued by men
of different castes and its guild generally includes every
member of the trade it represents without strict reference
to caste. " (Industrial Arts of India, p. 138).
There appear to have been many merchant guilds in
the country which were known by such names as Bana-
jigas, the Valanjiyar of the eighteen countries, the nadu,
the nagara, the Vaisyavaniyanagarattar, the nagarattar,
etc. A remarkable tendency of these guilds was to trace
their descent from great personages of legendary fame
such as Kubera and to claim that they were Vaisyas in
caste. The Chetti merchants particularly professed to
belong to different gotras such as Puccakola gotra, Yera-
setti gotra, Bodarukuta gotra, Venukula gotra, Yanu-
kula gotra, Vivarisitla gotra and Appanangakula gotra.
(ARE 447-453 of 1915; Ibid. 1916, para 82).
The Vira Banajigas constituted a powerful mercan-
tile corporation in the Karnataka districts. It appears
they were not different from the modern Banyas.
Dr. Barnett referring to them says: " There was a vast
organisation of associated traders which about the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries had spread a network over the
greater part of southern India and Ceylon and perhaps
even further, and which beginning with simple commerce
and then developing an elaborate social and semi-military
system strikingly recalls our East India Company.
These were the Vira Banajus as they were called in
Kanarese and Vira Valanjiyar as they were styled in
Tamil. The name signifies * valiant merchants,' and is
therefore similar to our ' Gentlemen Adventures ' . . . ."
They claimed to have come originally from Ahicchatra,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 7S9
but their central body was at Ayyavole, the modern
Aihole which was the seat of their Board of Directors
consisting of a council of 500 members. (See B. A.
Saletore, Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagar
empire, Vol. II, p. 98 n.). But Dr. Fleet thinks that
" Balanja is another form of Bananju or Bananja, the
modern Bananjiga or Banijiga which must be the
original of or a corruption of the Sanskrit Vanija, Vani-
jika, merchant or trader. ' ' They took such highsounding
titles as nakhariparivara and mummuridanda. The Vira
Banajigas appear to have been Lingayats.
As has been already said the guilds were also known
as Nayarattar or Chettis, though the latter term denoted
simply a merchant in the Telugu districts. These guilds
had each a leader who controlled the working of the
organisation, and was known in the Telugu and Kanarese
districts as the Pattanasvami or more simply Chetti.
There is no manner of knowing how they were made the
leaders of their respective guilds, either by election or
recognition (and in some cases they were appointed by
the Government), but there is no reason to doubt that
they exercised much influence in the administration of
the country, and in a majority of cases were in charge
of the municipal administration in their respective
1 2 Both in South India and North India, a distinction was made of
Settis in towns as compared with Settis in the rural parts. The Nigrodha
Jataka (445) refers to the Settis of the Janapada or the country parts.
Apparently the Janapada Settis held a lower status and were in charge of
rural trade and commerce which were generally of the nature of barter
and simple economy. The Settis of the town were apparently the
Nagarattar who represented the city's trade and commerce. These were
great financiers and bankers who advanced loans to the state and helped
the state in the smooth working and economic advancement.
790 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
localities. The Pattanasvami or Prthivi (Jhetti com-
manded great respect event outside their jurisdiction;
and according to an epigraph a particular Pattanasvami
was presented with betel leai' and given dress and
allowance of food by the government wherever he went
as also the customs dues ' on the roads both ways '
(B.C. xii, CK. 76).
There was another dignitary connected with the
guild and was known as vaddavyavahari or vaddavyapari
or at times as mahamukhyavadda vyavahari usually
translated as senior merchant or merchant prince. But
in our present state of knowledge it is not possible to say
what exactly his duties were or in what relationship his
office stood to that of the Pattanasvami if it was different
from the latter. Usually these officers were connected
with the institutions and organisation of fairs for which
they were granted lands. An equally important digni-
tary in the local areas was the Prabhu or the Mahaprabhu
usually associated with the guild. Perhaps a person
could hold the offices of both the Mahavadda Vyavahari
and the Mahaprabhu.
These guilds exercised powerful influence over the
government ; and it was not unusual for the government
to seek their approval for their policy, particularly with
regard to taxation (681 of 1922, Rep. 1923, para 83;
See T. V. Mahalingam, Administration and Social Life
under Vijayanagar, pp. 223-24). An officer under
Achyuta Baya made a grant of some duties on crops and
of the fee on marriages with the consent of the nanadesi-
merchants also Ibid. The guilds could levy local taxes
within the area under their jurisdiction, perhaps without
any reference to sanction from the government.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 791
The guilds enjoyed the privilege of conferring
honours on persons of position and dignity, even on
government officials. Towards the close of the four-
teenth century we hear that the members of the nakara
parivara and mummuridanda ' together with their three
hundred Billa dependents and with the collection of the
Holeyas of Vijayanagar having placed the diamond
Vaisanige in the presence of the holy lotus feed of God
Virupaksha and sitting down, having agreed among
themselves conferred the mayoralty of the earth (prthvi-
settitana) on Muddayya Dannayaka who was the officer
for the superintendence of the customs of our fifty-six
countries/' (E.G. V, Bl. 75>. They also enjoyed the
right to make regulations of a social character for their
own members. A number of Chettis at Bagur made for
instance some regulations in 1449 A.D. ( ?) regarding the
women who lapsed from marriage.
In the closing years of the Vijayanagar history
again the Chettis played a notable part in the commercial
life of the country. They were also a factor to reckon
with during the period of the establishment of trade
settlements by the European powers in South India. The
Dutch carried on their commercial transactions with
those occupied in the textiles of the country through one
Mallai or Mallaya Chetti alias Cinnaia or Cenanan Chetti.
This merchant prince had many dependents under him
of whom was one Seshadri Chetti of Porto Novo who in
course of time rose to the position of the chief Indian
merchant of Madras. (See C. S. Srinivasachari, A His-
tory of Madras, pp. 30-37). Several members of the
community were Dubashes to the East India Company
and later under the Crown up to the present day they are
792
taking active interest in the promotion of trade and com-
merce. Their services in the fields of trade, industry,
commerce and banking have won the due recognition of
the Government and the public as well, while the modern
Chambers of Commerce have taken the place of ancient
and mediaeval guilds.
BADARAYANA AND THE PANCARATRA
BY
PANDIT K. SRINIVASACHARYA
All commentators, with the exception of Ananda-
tirtha and Nirnbarka,1 agree in thinking that in the last
four sutras of the second pada of the second adhyaya
of the V cdanta-sutra , JBadarayana discusses the question
of the orthodoxy ol! the Pancaratra system, otherwise
known as the Bhagavata or the Satvata school. But
Samkara and Ramanuja hold diametrically opposite
views regarding the Sutrakara's attitude to that system.
The f ormer claims that Badarayana condemns it like the
systems previously examined; but the latter thinks that
he approves of it. According to Samkara the four sutras
set forth four objections against the Pancaratra; but,
according to Ramanuja, the first two sutras state the
prima facie case against the system, while the next two
meet the objections and prove its author it ativeness.
Their interpretations of the first two sutras present
substantial agreement, the divergence arising only in
their comments on the next two aphorisms.
Conscious of the fact that, in the interests of his
system, he is forced to take up here an indefensible posi-
tion, Samkara finds it necessary to preface his comments
on these sutras with the following remarks : — Unlike the
several heterodox darsanas whose views have just been
criticised in the second pada, the Bhagavata system con-
siders Brahman or Vasudeva as being at once the
material and the efficient cause of the world, a theory
1 Anandatirtha and Nimbarka believe that this adhikarana is devoted
to a refutation of the Sakta Tantra.
100
794 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
acceptable to the Vedantins. Again, the Bhagavata
doctrine that the Highest self, Vasudeva takes on the
fourfold forms of Vasudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna
and Aniruddha is in perfect accord with the scripture.
And so is the Bhagavata teaching prescribing an austere
life devoted to the worship of the Lord in five different
ways, known as abliigamana, upadana, ijya, svadhyaya
and yoga. The Pancaratra is on firm ground with
regard to these fundamental tenets. None of these is to
be controverted. We must, however, take exception to
the doctrine that from Vasudeva, the highest Brahman
and the universal cause, the individual soul called Sam-
karshana originates ; that from Samkarshana the internal
organ termed Pradyumna takes birth; and that from
Pradyumna proceeds the principle of ogoity or indivi-
duality termed Aniruddha. For this theory implies
that finite souls originate, a doctrine contrary to the
Vedantic teaching.
Briefly stated, Samkara/s -comments on the four
sutras are as follows: — The Pancaratra is lacking in
validity, (1) because it speaks of the creation of the soul,
whereas it is eternal and uncreated;2 (2) because it
teaches that the instrument, viz., manas proceeds from an
agent, viz., the soul, a theory which fails to find support
in everyday observation or in scripture. (3) Or, if
Vasudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha
are taken as Brahman, the ultimate cause, the objection
already raised, namely, the impossibility of origination
would remain unanswered. For either the four Vyuhas
". 18
iil 81
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 79$
denote four distinct individuals equally omniscient, omni-
potent and so forth or they signify four similar bodies
assumed by an identical person; and in any case their
origination would be unintelligible. The first alternative
needlessly multiplies the deites; and it is particularly
repugnant to the Bhagavatas who strictly adhere to the
belief in a single supreme Lord. The second alternative
does not faro better; for the four bodies are, by hypo-
thesis, all alike and what is considered the effect exhibits
no novel features and hence, the chain of causation is pur-
poseless. Further, there is no reason why the number of
forms that Vasudeva takes should arbitrarily be limited
to four. In fact, the whole world from Brahma down to a
blade of grass is His manifestation. (4) Moreover, the
Pancaratra presents mutual contradictions. For example,
sometimes puina (knowledge), aisvarya (lordship) and
the like are referred to as attributes (guna), and some-
times they are spoken of as substances (yuni). Not
only that; the Pancaratra Agamas even speak dis-
paragingly of the Veda. It is said that Sandilya, not
finding the highest bliss in the Vedas, turned to the study
of the Pancaratra. Hence, it is to be rejected.-
This interpretation is elaborately criticised by
Yamunacarya in the Agamapramanya, a work devoted
to the vindication of the orthodoxy of the Pancaratra
system. The Visistadvaitic position is further pre-
sented in the Sri-BM$ya in a succinct form. On this
view, the third and the fourth sutras would mean (3) If
Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are no other
than the highest Brahman, there could be no objection
to the Pancaratra. (4) The Pancaratra explicitly denies
the fact of souls having an origin. And with the removal
of the only objection that could be raised against the
796 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAf CHETTIAR
system, the Pancaratra can hardly be discredited as
subscribing to erroneous doctrines. JSamkara himself
virtually admits this in the third sutra.
To explain the matter a little more in detail— In
reply to the difficulty raised in the first two sutras, it is
urged that Samkarshaua, Pradyumna and Aiiiruddha
denote only the highest Brahman and not the individual
souls, manas and individuality. It is only the person
who is imperfectly acquainted with the Bhagavata system
who will assert that it speaks of souls as having an origin.
All that it says is that Vasudeva, out of his infinite
mercy, takes on four forms to render Himself accessible
to His devotees. The purpose of these manifestations is
the same as that of the Avatars generally. The scripture
declares: "though unborn He assumes manifold
forms."3
The question now to be decided is : Which of these
two interpretations is the right one? The sutra in
whose interpretation there is the greatest measure of
divergence is the third. Vijnanadi bhave va tadaprati-
shedhah. Literally translated, it runs as follows:—" Or,
on account of their being knowledge and ultimate cause,
there is non-contradiction of that." As expanded by
Samkara it reads:— " Or, if they (i.e., Samkarshana
and the rest) are to be taken as Brahman and not as the
soul, manas and egoity, still there is non-contradiction of
that (i.e., there is non-contradiction of the objection
already raised against the Bhagavata system, viz., the
impossibility of origination)."
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 797
According to Ramanuja the sutra means: " Or, on
account of (their) being Brahman, there is non-contra-
diction of that (i.e., Pancaratra is uncontradicted)."
The word ' tat means for Samkara 4 the difficulty point-
ed out at the outset.' Kamanuja takes it to mean Pan-
caratra. On Ramanuja's interpretation, the first part
of this sutra states an antecedent; and the second part,
its consequent. But on Samkara 's view, it means that
the difficulty with regard to the origin of the jiva may be
got over; but that the difficulty of the origin of the
vy alias would have taken its place and that, in any case,
the objection of the impossibility of origination would
remain unanswered. Clearly, this is far-fetched. It is
not quite satisfactory to say that one part of the sutra
refutes the objection already raised, while the other part
states a fresh difficulty. Such an interpretation would
be justified only if the sutra were really two.
The particle *' va ( 3T ) occurring in the third sutra
of this adhikarana is a clear indication of a change of
side in the argument. Numerous examples may be cited
both from the Purva-Mimamsa and the Vedanta sutras
to show that the particle ' va ' with or without the nega-
tive particle fc iia ' ( q ), is used to denote such a change.4
As Thibaut says " ____ it however appears to me that
the explanations of ' va ' and of the ' tat ' implied in
Ramanuja's comment, are more natural than those
resulting from Samkara ?s interpretation."
(II iv 9);
i ll iv
iii 2) i ^ ^
iii iii 63); $^r (» ^ iii ii 28);
798 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl
Further, having accepted at the outset in unequi-
vocal terms the theory of the Vyuhas, Samkara's con-
demnation of the selfsame theory exhibits a clean
volteface.
Samkara interprets the last sutra to mean that since
the Pancaratra talks lightly of the Veda, it is unvedie.
But this is based on a misunderstanding. The text
declaring that Sandilya found no lasting bliss in the veda
and turned to the study of the Pancaratra does not intend
to decry the Veda. It aims at extolling the Pancaratra.
Take an analogous case. In the Bhumctrvidya? Narada
says that with all his study of the Vedas, Itihasas and
Puranas, he knew only the mantras but did not know the
self. Obviously the statement that the knowledge of the
self is not attainable by any means except the know-
ledge of the Bhuman aims at glorifying this latter know-
ledge.
Vacaspati-misra in his Bhamati identifies the teach-
ing of Oudulomi with the Pancaratra" and explicitly
asserts that according to the Pancaratra system the jiva
is without an origin.7 In the face of this, how can it be
argued that the Pancaratra is devoid of authority, as
it speaks of the origination of souls ?
5 Sacred Books of the East, Vol. xxxiv, p. lii.
6 It is not known on what authority this identification is made.
Compare Ranga Ramanuja's Bhavaprakasika a commentary on Sruta-
prakasika, II, iv, 21.
f fa
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 799
Amalananda, the author of Kalpatam, says that the
cardinal doctrines of the Pancaratra are sound and arc
even entitled to respect, but that it appears to differ from
the Vedantic teaching only in one respect, namely its
reference to the origin of souls. And even here the
Pancaratra does not really intend to teach that souls
originate. Like the upanishadic texts speaking of souls
as originating, the Pancaratra text must be taken in a
secondary sense.8 Samkara himself has admitted in his
comment on II, TIT, 17 that the scriptural passages
referring to the birth of souls must be understood figura-
tively as standing for association with new bodies.
Commenting on the third sutra, the Vrttikara, who was,
according to one tradition, a direct disciple of Samkara,
says, " If the terms Samkarshana and the rest denote
Brahman, then we do not refute the Pancaratra, in
fact, it would be the same as our system."9
If the Pancarafra system were unquestionably
orthodox, why, it may be asked, should it be discussed in
the company of philosophies whose heretical nature is
exposed? As Ramanuja pertinently remarks, having
confuted the Pasupata Agama, the Sutrakara has neces-
sarily to dispel the doubt the Pancaratra also may, in
so far as it belongs to the class of agamas, be lacking in
force. To establish that the Pancaratra stands on an
8
ftracr
ffcf
Sutra-Vrtti Ed. by Mahamahopadhyaya Harihara Sastri. Sri Vidya
Press, Kumbakonam, p. 41.
800
altogether different footing, the Sutrakara has per force
to discuss the nature of the Pancaratra. A discussion
on the Pancaratra will not cut into the general scheme of
this section, because the opponent (pratyarthi} here is
not the follower of the system, but he who believes in its
heretical character. Or, as Vodanta Desika puts it, the
second pada of the second adhyaya, whose object is to
show that certain darsanas are not rivals to Vedantic
thought, first points out that systems such as the
Sankhya, the Bauddha and the Jaina are not worthy
rivals since they are backed by unsound logic and then
establishes that the Pancaratra cannot be reckoned a
rival, for the simple reason that it is in fundamental
agreement with Vedantic teaching.10 " . . . . it would
not be unnatural ", says Thi bant, " to close the polemical
pada with a defence of that doctrine which in spite of
objections has to be viewed as a true one ".u
It is difficult to reconcile oneself to the thought that
Badarayana condemned the Pancaratra doctrine in the
Vedanta-sntra but extolled its greatness in the Moltsa-
dharma and elsewhere in his MahalJiarata. Even if the
identity of Badarayana with Vyasa were to be disputed,
there is no gainsaying the fact that Badarayana sub-
scribes to the views expressed in the Mahabharata. For
he frequently cites passages from that work in support
of his views.
t:: It
II ii 35
11 Sacred Books of the East, Vol. xxxiv, p. HI.
LIGHTNING
BY
N. S. SUBBA RAO, M.A.
The age in which we are living has been called an
age of electricity. Large amounts of electrical energy
are generated at various parts of the world and put to
all imaginable uses. In fact, we might say without much
exaggeration, that there is no type of mechanical work
to-day which cannot be carried out cheaply and more
efficiently with the aid of electricity.
Although the large-scale harnessing of electric
power is of recent origin, our planet has almost from its
birth been endowed with immense sources of electric
energy. This energy often displays itself during
thunderstorm, in those luminous discharges in the
atmosphere, known as lightning. The awe-inspiring
character of these displays made people look upon the
thunderclouds * as the arsenal in which God keeps His
artillery of thunder and lightning, at times to strike the
children of men with reverential awe, or to inflict on
them some great punishment/
It is therefore not surprising that no systematic
study of lightning was made till very recently. In
1752, Benjamin Franklin carried out his famous experi-
ment with a kite at Philadelphia and demonstrated that
eleciric charges and sparks could be drawn from
thunderclouds and that these charges exhibited the same
properties as similar charges obtained by artificial means
in the laboratory. We now know that lightning is the
visible manifestation of the passage of electricity either
between two thunderclouds or between a thundercloud
101
800
altogether different footing, the Sutrakara has per force
to discuss the nature of the Pancaratra. A discussion
on the Pancaratra will not cut into the general scheme of
this section, because the opponent (pratyarthi) here is
not the follower of the system, but he who believes in its
heretical character. Or, as Vedanta Desika puts it, the
second pada of the second adhyaya, whose object is to
show that certain darsanas are not rivals to Vedantic
thought, first points out that systems such as the
Rankhya, the Bauddha and the Jaina are not worthy
rivals since they are backed by unsound logic and then
establishes that the Pancaratra cannot be reckoned a
rival, for the simple reason that it is in fundamental
agreement with Vedantic teaching.10 " . . . . it would
not be unnatural ", says Thibaut, " to close the polemical
pada with a defence of that doctrine which in spite of
objections has to be viewed as a true one ".u
It is difficult to reconcile oneself to the thought that
Badarayana condemned the Pancaratra doctrine in the
Vedanta-sutra but extolled its greatness in the Mokm-
dharma and elsewhere in his Mahabharata. Even if the
identity of Badarayana with Vyasa were to be disputed,
there is no gainsaying the fact that Badarayana sub-
scribes to the views expressed in the Mahalharata. For
he frequently cites passages from that work in support
of his views.
10,
:: II
. II ii 35
11 Sacred Books of the East, Vol. xxxiv, p. Hi.
LIGHTNING
BY
N. S. SUBBA RAO, M.A.
The age in which we are living has been called an
age of electricity. Large amounts of electrical energy
are generated at various parts of the world and put to
all imaginable uses. In fact, we might say without much
exaggeration, that there is no type of mechanical work
to-day which cannot be carried out cheaply and more
efficiently with the aid of electricity.
Although the large-scale harnessing of electric
power is of recent origin, our planet has almost from its
birth been endowed with immense sources of electric
energy. This energy often displays itself during
thunderstorm, in those luminous discharges in the
atmosphere, known as lightning. The awe-inspiring
character of these displays made people look upon the
thunderclouds ' as the arsenal in which God keeps His
artillery of thunder and lightning, at times to strike the
children of men with reverential awe, or to inflict on
them some great punishment.'
It is therefore not surprising that no systematic
study of lightning was made till very recently. In
1752, Benjamin Franklin carried out his famous experi-
ment with a kite at Philadelphia and demonstrated that
electric charges and sparks could be drawn from
thunderclouds and that these charges exhibited the same
properties as similar charges obtained by artificial means
in the laboratory. We now know that lightning is the
visible manifestation of the passage of electricity either
between two thunderclouds or between a thundercloud
101
802 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
and earth. The electricity in the thundercloud is static
or immobile until such time when it is set in motion
during the lightning flash, unlike the current (or dyna-
mic) electricity with which we are very familiar.
A thorough investigation of lightning in its various
aspects has been carried out by Schonland, Malan, Collens
and others, under the direction of the Lightning Research
Committee of the South African Institute of Electrical
Engineers. During these researches several hundreds
of lightning flashes were photographed with the aid of a
special camera known as the Boys Camera. The camera
consisted of a fixed plate and two lenses revolving in a
circle in front of it at the ends of a diameter. The lenses
had a focal length of 15 cm. and were mounted with their
centres at a distance of 10-1 cm. apart. The lens system
was rotated by hand at a speed of 1500 revolutions per
minute. With the aid of these photographs it was
possible to detect the occurrence of a number of indivi-
dual discharges in the same discharge channel separated
from each other by exceedingly short intervals of time
and to measure their velocities. These photographs
were supplemented by those taken on an ordinary
camera. These photographs showed the flash in its
relation to the neighbouring objects and helped to locate
the region in which the flash occurred. A slow moving
camera, with only a single rotating lens instead of the
two lenses in the Boys Camera, was also employed. It
made one revolution for every 59 revolutions of the Boys
double lens camera. As the cameras have to be kept
open for some time before a discharge occurs they must
be worked in the country away from the glare of cities.
The fixed camera helps to fix the position of the flash,
the slow camera gives the order of occurrence of the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 803
individual flashes and the fast Boys camera separates
the components of a flash and reveals what may be
described as its fine structure.
Lightning Hashes are of two kinds, consisting of
discharges between one cloud and another or between a
cloud and the earth. In general it was noticed that
tiiere were 2 or 3 intercloud discharges before one to the
ground. A lew cases where the discharge occurred
without previous intercloud discharges have also been
observed, in such cases the discharges to ground have
been found to be very frequent and violent.
Every lightning tiasii is composite 111 character, the
number of component strokes being variable ranging
irom 1 to t>. ine component strokes are separated irom
eacn otiier by intervals of about -UUi to 0-M second, tlie
most frequent interval being 0-03 second, bchonland
snowed tiiat single strokes are most irequent and that
those witli mure than six components are rare. The
origin of the separate strokes appears to be due to tJie
existence of separate generating centres at different
parts ol the cloud. Quite a large number of discharge
ciiannels liave been found to be if shaped. These arise
irom separate generating centres in a cloud and have a
common stem formed by one stroke and utilised by the
other.
Each of these component strokes is itself double,
consisting firstly of a leader stroke from cloud to ground
quickly followed by an intense and fast moving main
stroke. The leader stroke is of two kinds, stepped or
dartlike, the stepped leader being more common. The
leader stroke advances forward for a distance of about
804 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
50 metres, appears to pause for a while (50-90 micro-
seconds) and advances another 50 metres and so on until
it reaches the ground. The leader stroke thus estab-
lishes in a series of steps a conducting* channel between
cloud and earth, and enables the return or the main stroke
to travel at a very fast rate from the earth to the cloud.
The dart leader appears to take a direct path to earth
in one step and it is believed that it may be using a
channel previously prepared by a stepped leader too
feeble to be photographed.
The leader stroke is heavily branched, the direction
of branching indicating its direction of travel. The
main stroke follows in eveiy detail the path traced out
by the leader stroke. After every one of the branching
points the intensity of the discharge appears to be
reduced.
The nature of the stepped leader is explained on the
assumption of a slow moving negative pilot streamer
which advances into virgin air with velocities of
1-0 X 107 to 2*0 X 10* cm. second and provides an ionised
channel along which the stepped leader travels. The
stepped leader travels much faster, with velocities vary-
ing from 1-3 X108 to 3-2X109 cm. second and catches
up the tip of the pilot steamer. Then there is a pause
till a further ionised path is prepared by the pilot for
the advance of the stepped leader. This explanation is
supported by the fact that the ratio of the length of the
path travelled by a stepped leader, to the time of pause,
is a constant and is equal to the velocity of the pilot
steamer.
Estimates of the various quantities involved in the
discharge process were made from a study of the photo-
graphs taken with the cameras already described. The
805
photographic study was later supplemented by electrical
studies of the discharge process. It is interesting to
observe that the study of the development of the spark
discharge in the laboratory, carried out by Allibone and
Meek, showed characteristics similar to those of the
lightning flash.
The calculation of the total amount of electrical
energy expended over the surface of the globe in the
form of these lightning flashes gives astounding figures.
The average quantity of electricity carried by a lightning
discharge is 20 coulombs.. This means that the average
current must be of the order of 20,000 amperes. Each
flash as a rule discharges a cloud completely and it is
known that an active cloud produces one flash every
20 seconds. The thundercloud may thus be looked upon
as a huge electrical machine which expends 2 or 3 million
kilowatts continuously during its hour or two of activity.
From data collected by Brookes from various parts
of the globe, it is known that the earth experiences
16,000,000 thunderstorms per annum or 44,000 per day.
This means that at any instant there are on the average
1800 thunderstorms in progress at different parts of this
world or that 100 lightning flashes occur every second.
Over the earth therefore thunderstorms are continuously
expending energy at the rate of 4 X 109 kilowatts. This
huge figure is likely to tempt scientists to device a method
of tapping even a small bit of this energy and to utilise
it for the good of humanity. However tempting the
prospect may seem, no such effort has proved successful
This stupendous amount of energy is used up in
several ways. Most of it is dissipated in the form of
heat and the luminous effects observed are the result of
the heating to incandescence of the lightning channel
806 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
A small portion of the energy is used up in the genera-
tion of Hertzian waves known as atmospherics. A study
of lightning and its relationship to atmospherics has been
made in great detail by several observers. Chief among
them may be mentioned Watt, Appleton and Herd. The
results of researches on atmospherics supplement the
data on lightning referred to above, and in some cases
provide information of great value which cannot be
obtained by either visual observation or photographic
registration.
It was very early (1926) established by Appleton,
Watt and Herd that lightning discharges are capable of
producing radiation fields similar in wave form and
magnitude to those of atmospherics of distant origin.
The above authors studied atmospherics with the aid of
cathode ray oscillographs and concluded that the dura-
tion of atmospherics were of the order of a few
milliseconds. Others employing a tuned wireless receiver
and an Eithovan string galvanometer have given
durations ranging between 0-2 and 0-5 second. Munro
and Webster working with an aperiodic receiver and a
cathode ray oscillograph, with a time base of the order
of 0-1 second, pointed out that atmospherics really con-
sist of a number of discrete pulses separated by clear
intervals.
It was noticed by the author (1935) during experi-
ments on atmospherics, carried out with the aid of a
tuned receiver and a galvanometer of period of about
1 second, that certain thickenings or dots occurred in
the trace of the galvanometer motion. The number of
thickenings or dots indicate the number of separate
impulses received by the galvanometer during a short
interval. It was pointed out that the total duration of
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 807
atmospherics is about half a second and that tbiese
consist of a number of components, the fine structures
of which can be revealed only with the aid of a cathode
ray oscillograph.
All these observations on the structure of atmos-
pherics may be correlated with the details of the
structure of the lightning discharge and there is ample
evidence to show that we must look to thunderstorms and
their accompanying lightning discharges as important
sources of atmospherics. Several attempts made to
correlate the occurrence of atmospherics with the special
type of meteorological conditions necessary for the
building up of thunderstorms have yielded very valuable
information. R. Bureau (1926) and others have con-
cluded that atmospherics are the phenomena that give
evidence best for the passing of a meteorological disturb-
ance in tropical regions. The other meteorological
variables give indication of the meteorological disturb-
ance, when it has reached the observing station, while
atmospherics announce it a few hours in advance.
Experiments were carried out by the author of
this article (1940) with the aid of two receiving sets
tuned to 400 metres and 40 metres respectively and two
galvanometers of periods of about 2 seconds. Atmos-
pherics were ^recorded for short intervals every hour
throughout the day, over a period of nearly a year. It
was found that sunset had a decided effect on atmos-
pherics, an effect which may be aptly described as trigger
action. The radiation from the sun exerts a restraining
influence on thunderstorm activity, the occurrence of
lightning and the generation of atmospherics. With the
setting of the sun, the restraining influence is removed,
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
the trigger as it were is pulled, lightning flashes occur
and the regular thunderstorm commences.
The investigations of Macky (1933) on the deforma-
tion and breaking up of water drops in strong electric
fields point to the conclusion that inside a thundercloud,
the splitting of the drops and the building up of high
potentials are accompanied by small local sparks. These
sparks are too feeble to be observed visually or with the
aid of a camera. The author has pointed out that the
occurrence of these sparks may be detected from a study
of atmospherics on the short waves and that these give
advance information regarding the existence of meteoro-
logical conditions in the atmosphere favourable for the
building up of large thunder clouds. The work of the
author has further shown that prolonged atmospheric
activity on the short waves appears to be connected with
the formation of meteorological depressions. The study
of atmospherics therefore not only provides additional
data on lightning but at the same time provides a new
method of forecasting weather and the occurrence of
meteorological depressions long before such formations
are detected by the ordinary methods.
REFERENCES.
Allibone and Meek 1938 Proc. Roy. Soc. 166, 97-126.
Appleton, Watt and Herd 1926 Proc. Roy. Soc.
A. Ill, 615.
Bureau and others 1926 Jour. Roy. Met. Soc. 52, 198.
Macky 1933 Proc. Roy. Soc. A. 133, 565.
Malan and Collens 1937 Proc. Roy. Soc. 162, 175-203.
Schonland 1932: Atmospheric Electricity (Me-
thuen),
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 809
Schonland 1938 Proc. Roy. Soc. 164, 132-150.
Schonland and Collens 1938 Proc. Roy. Soc. 143,
654-674.
Schonland, Hodges and Collens 1938 Proc. Roy. Soc.
166, 56-75.
Schonland, Malan and Collens 1935 Proc. Roy. Soc.
152, 595-625.
Schonland, Malan and Collens 1938 Proc. Roy. Soc.
168, 455-469.
Subba Rao 1935 Jour. Annamalai University, IV, 50.
Subba Rao 1936 Nature 136, 653.
Subba Rao 1941 Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. Vol. 14, No. 2.
102
OUR FOUNDER
BY
PROF. P. A. SUBRAMANYA AIYAR, M.A.
The Rajah of Chettinad, the founder of the
Annamalai University is a Nagarattar. The Nagarattars
are a Tamil-speaking community living mainly in the
Rainnad District and here and there in the Pudukottah
State in the Presidency of Madras.
They are of the Vaisya caste, that caste to which
the ancient Hindu law-giver assigned industry and com-
merce in his great scheme of division of labour. Engaged
in commerce from time out of mind, thoy are keen
business-men. The arithmetic of their book-keeping has
astonished and puzzled the entire banking world. The
rapidity and accuracy with which, without the help of
pencil and paper, a ten year old brat among them can
do an intricate sum in the calculation of interest can
send expert Florentine " counter-casters " blushing.
But they are as soft-hearted philanthropists as
practical business-men. In business itself can their
philanthropy be discerned. A debtor among them, if
any, never takes advantage of the law of limitation and
never baulks the creditor of his money simply because
the creditor forgot to sue him before the document
became time-barred. But theirs is not merely this
negative philanthropy. Brought up in an atmosphere
of the true ancient Hindu dharma, they are trained
experts in the art of giving away. The feeding of the
poor and the building of temples have gone on for ages
here with their money. And to-day they have added to
tlieir already crowded programme-sheet of items of
expenditure, the by-no-means-cheap item of founding
and maintaining schools and colleges.
Rajah Sir Annamalai Chcttiar of Chettinad founded
the Annamalai University in June 1929. It was then,
and has been so far, the only University in India that
owes its existence to one man's charity. How long it
will enjoy that proud distinction depends on how long
the other Kuberas of the country take to be inspired
by his example.
THE NUCLEUS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
The Annamalai University was not a sudden crea-
tion; it was a gradual growth. It developed out of a
college affiliated to the Madras University.
The Sri Minakshi College, Chidambaram, was
founded in 1920. Small as it was when started, only
nine years old as it was when it gave place to the
Annamalai University, it had a history of its own, not
uninteresting and not without inspiration to true lovers
and promoters of knowledge.
The country has known very well and will remember
for ever the late Dewan Bahadur S. Rm. M. Rm. Rama-
svvami Chettiar, the junior of the two elder brothers of
our Rajah Saheb. It was the name of this great and
distinguished member of the Nagarattar community that
was written in indelible characters in the Minutes Book
of the Chidambaram Municipality in the year 1912
when at his own sole cost, he helped Chidambaram for
ever to drinking water from the Coleroon. The Dewan
Bahadur started in 1913 a High School at Chidambaram
that men agreed in gratitude to call the Ramaswaini
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
Cliettiar Town High School. To him work in verity was
.Worship ; and he wanted the High School to adopt that
for its motto. Inscribed in bold capitals, on a piece of
wood, the motto has hung any day; these twenty-seven
years at the threshold of the new school.
In less than half a dozen years after the foundation
of the school, however, the philanthropist was, to the
great ill fortune of eager scholars and indigent parents,
gathered prematurely to his forbears. But Saraswati
is an Immortal. And history shows that She is pre-
paring to live the most vigorous life precisely when She
seems most to languish. The Renaissance was preceded
by what in European History is by common agreement
called the Bark Ages. All the time the Dewaii Bahadur
was running his High School, the country was getting
gradually acquainted with another member of the family
at Chettinad who was in a few short years to make
himself the contemporary Micacnas of our land.
Eajah Sir Annamalai Cliettiar, then simple
Mr. Annamalai Chettiar, was the youngest of the three
brothers of whom the Dewan Bahadur was the second.
Young at the time as he was, obscure certainly he was
not. Already as early as the summer of 1915, his eager
eye had discovered a golden chance for the exercise of
his charity. They say that money burns in little boys'
pockets, and spend it they must ; wealth in the chests of
these Nagarattars appears very much like money in little
boys' pockets; at any rate, the particular Nagarattar
gentleman of whom we are speaking, found it impossible
to withhold charity in the presence of an object calling
for charity. In 1915, after contributing handsomely to
the hostels of the American College, at Madura, he came
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 813
forward with an offer to endow several lakhs of rupees
on, and meet the entire cost of the management of,
the Madura College, Madura, provided the entire
management was transferred to the hands of a
responsible committee of seven. And as an earnest of
this offer he purchased land for thirty thousand
rupees and put it at the disposal of the young men of
the college for a play-ground. But as the proviso by
which his offer was conditioned was, even after the lapse
of live years, neither fulfilled nor seemed likely ever to
be, IVIr. Chettiar had to content himself with what he had
done and to cast about once more for a fit recipient of
his charity.
It was at this hour that it pleased fate to deprive
Chidambaram of the great philanthropist, the Dewan
Bahadur. But there is always a soul of goodness in
things evil, and God fulfils himself in many ways. This
event unhappy in the extreme to the public of Chidam-
baram, carried just some little consolation with itself in
that it placed Mr. (then Rao Bahadur) Annamalai
Chettiar immediately in charge of the tasks the Dewan
Bahadur had undertaken. He became the manager of
the infant High School at Chidambaram, and as the
sequel showed, became its manager to some purpose.
It was in November 1918 that the management of
the High School passed into the hands of the Rao
Bahadur. On June 24, 1920, the Sri Minakshi College,
Chidambaram, was an accomplished fact. That day
Chidambaram (South Arcot, one should say) gained
what Madura had lost.
The founder of the new college believes as firmly in
modest beginnings as in earnest endeavours. The College
814 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTlAR
was, to begin with, to be an Intermediate College — a
second grade college in the language of South Indian
academicians. And even as an Intermediate College, it
wras to offer instruction only in non-science subjects
among the optional groups; for Physics, Chemistry,
Botany and Zoology require apparatuses and laboratories
which it takes time to get ready.
The College was affiliated to the Madras University.
It was housed temporarily in the High School building;
that, by the way, means that the High School had been
erected on a scale calculated to afford room to such guests
as the new college.
South India stood astonished at what was doing at
Chidambaram; Mr. Littlehailes, then Director of Public
Instruction, Madras (and afterwards Chief Commis-
sioner for Education with the Government- of India
and later, Vice-Chancellor of the Madras University)
officiated at the opening ceremony of the new institution.
Thus came into being a small college, which, Heaven and
good men's hearts all blessing it, was going very quickly
to expand and prove the nucleus of the present
University.
THE FIRST GRADE IDEA.
For two years from 1920, the Sri Minakshi College
was an Intermediate College. But the head of the noble
founder had gone pregnant with great ideas for its
development. It had already conceived a plan for
erecting a big building on the site of the grove opposite
the Chidambaram Railway Station and just on the other
side of the Railway fence to the east, Negotiations were
soon afoot for the purchase of it for about a lakh of
rupees. Now the nearness of it to the Railway line
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 815
necessitated the approval of the transaction by the South
Indian Railway. To get that approval was therefore
to be the first step in process. One Friday evening in
October 1920, the founder whose visits to Chidambaram
in those days were more frequent than now, sent for a
certain lecturer in the college who happened to be
acquainted with Trichinopoly, and asked him to go to
that place the next day and see the Agent of the South
Indian Railway on the business. The man agreed.
But it so happened that he was just then back from an
after-noon jaunt to the beautiful village of Tiruvetkalam,
half a mile on the other side of the Railway line. As the
man's head was full of it, he could not help observing to
his master that a college founded on that site would be
an ideal one at once far from the maddening crowd and
under the greenwood tree — as if Hardy had named his
novels for the very purpose of describing this college
to be! The eyes of the founder dilated, as his heart
expanded, at the suggestion. Directly the idea was
suggested, tho proposal to interview the Agent of the
South Indian Railway was dropped. It was on the con-
trary decided that oarly the next morning the founder
should visit Tiruvetkalam with a party of people con-
nected with the college.
The next morning the party drove to the place in
two stately vehicles drawn each by a pair of stately
bullocks. The one in which the founder (with two
others) drove, reached the spot earlier than the other.
The founder alighted first and the two others in the
bandy got down after him. That moment a proud and
merry pair of kites flew just overhead and sounded their
characteristic note so heartening to the Hindu. They
flew so near the ground that the penumbras they cast
816 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
were visible to an observant eye. The founder instantly
reacted to the occurrence. His happiness was visible,
and in a voice tremulous with emotion, he said to the
two that stood by and to those in the other bandy who
had by then come up with them, " God granting me life
for a year more, I build a college on this very spot which
it has pleased Him to indicate by means of this unmis-
takable sign." Well, some men find joy in the sight of
hoarded wealth. Some reluctantly spend, when com-
pelled, the money they have hoarded. Where, in the
division of men under categories do you think Mr. Anna-
malai Chettiar that day belonged ?
The words the Rao Bahadur uttered on that occasion
were solemn ones. They struck awe in his hearers. But
the awe was greater when the speaker directly proceeded
to translate his speech into action. There are countless
dreamers of day-dreams among us who not seldom
bestow on the ears of their friends the benefit of a clear
(and often clever) enunciation of their plans and pur-
poses; but not many among these ever proceed to the
step that lies next after the enunciation. Not so in this
case — of course not. Plans were immediately invited.
Many were drawn, discussed and dismissed before one
could be decided upon.
But at this juncture occurred an event as iC exactly
designed to show that in the affairs of business-men,
if man proposes business invariably disposes. The
founder's over-seas business now urgently called his
attention and ho was, as it were, dragged to the other
side of the Bay. Long was his stay there — longer than
we expected or he himself wished. When at last he
returned home, the year 3921 was already old. His
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 817
disappointment was keen at the thought that his institu-
tion was still an Intermediate College, still housed in the
High School and still not in a position to offer instruc-
tion in Science subjects even in the Intermediate. As
the urge for its development was imperative on him, he
decided that if, for the moment, it could not adopt
Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry on the optional side
and expand horizontally, it could yet grow vertically by
the B.A. course being started with History and
Economics among the optionals.
THE NEW BUILDING.
The College indeed was now first grade. But it had
110 house of its own, and had clean outgrown the room
that the High School could afford it.
O! knowledge ill-inhabited worse than Jove in a
thatched house !
Not many days however went by before the con-
struction was started of the contemplated college at
Tiruvetkalam. On June 29, 1922 was the B.A. in-
augurated; that very month were trenches dug, on the
chosen site for the structure to be. One Mr. Duraiswami
Ayyar of Sengudi (our workmen's Sengudi Ayya) was
both architect and building superintendent.
His supervising ability left nothing to be desired.
It was as vast as the resources of his master. On July
2nd, 1923, that is in less than twelve months' after
the beginning, the building was ready for our occupa-
tion. Three hundred and sixty feet from north to south
and sixty from east to west, and one storey high, it was
an extraordinary feat of brick-masonry to be performed
during a single process of the sun, But what is not
103
818 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
possible to men possessed of wealth, and a willingness to
spend it, and served by people, true to their salt ?
The building is now what they call the Arts Block
in the University — Arts Block though, as a fact, it
accommodates Botany, Zoology nnd part of Chemistry.
We moved to it at the reopening after the summer
vacation in 1923. That day we added the First Group
in the Intermediate and Mathematics in the B.A., to
our courses of studies. That day the numerical strength
of the College more than doubled itself: in 1922 our
students had numbered 97; in 1923 we had 148 on the
rolls.
THE HONOURS IDEA.
All this time, honours were being showered thick
on the founder. A Rao Bahadur till as late fas 1920,
he became a Dewan Bahadur in 1921. In the year
following he was Knighted by a sovereign — it was his late
Majesty King George V — who evidently knew a good
man when he saw one. But a man of action like our
philanthropist attaches more value to the achieving of
honour than to the gaining of honours, to doing good
deeds than to winning recognition therefor. While the
King Emperor was greeting him with ever newer titles
as the years went by, he was going on expanding the new
foundation at Tiruvetkalam. In 1924 the college had
its first regular Students' Home. Students that had for
a year occupied barrack-like apartments improvised at
short notice at Tiruvetkalam, now quitted them for what
in comparison with them, was verily a mansion. And
for living in it, every undergraduate had to pay a rent
of one rupee a month. " A ridiculously low sum!" one
would exclaim. Yes, quite. But high-minded charity is
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 819
not seldom guilty of such ridiculous acts, and not seldom
ignorant of their ridiculousness.
When the Students7 Home was building, Philosophy
was being instituted in the B.A. And as early as June
1925, this first grade college had the Honours courses
added to it in as many as three subjects: English
Language and Literature, History and Economics. In
the June following, it got affiliated to the University in
Physics and in Chemistry in the B.A. The building in
which the laboratories and lecture-halls relating to these
branches were contained had been constructed some time
in 1925 and were now declared open by Viscount Goschen,
then Governor of Madras and Chancellor of the Madras
University.
People in the Annamalai University now call it the
Science Block. It lies north of the Arts Block and is
linked to it by an over-bridge. Great was the gala our
students and teachers had that day. The Governor
performed the opening ceremony in the morning amidst
great eclat. Then followed a breakfast of the kind that
only the Rajah of Chettinad is known to give in the
South Country. In the afternoon there wras a lecture
by Mr. A. Ramaswami Mudaliar (now Sir A. Rama-
swami Mudaliar, Commerce Member in the Viceroy's
Executive Council) presided over by Dr. C. R. Reddi.
Sir Annamalai Chettiar was himself present. The two
speeches were worthy of each other, and the hall and the
audience worthy of them both. Attention held the
hearers mute except at those (frequent) moments when,
at an uncommon sally of wit or an unexpected turn of
expression, admiration ran high and applause rose
loud. It was as if an argument in la\v had been started
820 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
by Coke and finished by Bacon, good Queen Bess sitting
the performance through.
1927 AND 1928.
The chronicler pauses here, as pause he well may.
For the years 1927 and 1928 were years purely oi
establishing, years during which, as the sequel showed,
the founder was holding his breath and girding his loins
for the next leap. That leap was to be the greatest of all
that he had yet taken. It was but proper then that we
should remain for a time where we had been.
We might certainly have started Honours studies in
Physics and in Chemistry. But we did not; we con-
tented ourselves with getting our men ready for it. The
founder sent our lecturer in Physics to England in the
autumn of 1928 to pursue higher studies in the Univer-
sity of London. And it looked as if until acts of
preparation like this should be over, no further stage in
the growth of the institution was to be attempted. Here
therefore we pause just to take stock of what had been
achieved.
In 1928, the Sri Minakshi College was a first grade
college affiliated to the Madras University. It taught,
besides the compulsory subjects (English and the
Second Language) Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
(or the First Group of Optionals) and Ancient History.
Modern History and Logic (or the Third Group of
Optionals) in the Intermediate. In the B.A. (again
besides English and the Second Language) it offered
instruction in Branch I (Mathematics), Branch II-A,
(Physics), Branch II-B (Chemistry) Branch IV (Philo-
sophy) Branch V-A (Hisotry) and Branch V-B (Econo-
mics).
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 821
To accommodate these branches of study we had
two buildings — the Arts Block raised in 1923 and the
Science Block constructed in 1926. Our students
numbering 426 at that date were housed in two big blocks
of hostel building. They boarded in four messes, (or
sections as they are popularly called in this part of the
country) built quite adjacent to the Students' Home.
Four of the teachers of the college had quarters on the
premises : the Principal who was the head of the institu-
tion and three others who held office as wardens of the
hostel. Looking back on what was doing here in those
days we of the Annamalai University feel to-day a
legitimate pride in what had been accomplished in so
short a time and in him who had accomplished it all.
Our building programme had been started in 1922.
It had gone on till 1928. At the rate of about a lac a
year on the average, we had spent seven lacs of rupees
so far on buildings.
Well, a solid material possession, that. And what
was its spiritual valued Values differ with different
people. But a point of some significance is well worth
pondering in connection with the structures built
from 1922 to 1928 by Sir Annamalai Chettiar. When
we moved to our new college building in 1923, at Tiruvet-
kalam, the place was little better than a wilderness.
There indeed was a small temple and, surrounding it, a
few hamlets. Human faces could indeed be seen here
and there in that nook. But more than eighty per cent
of the area going by the name of Tiravetkalam was out
of doubt, a wilderness. Prickly pear that used to meet
the eye everywhere in South India (until a few years ago
when an insect imported from Australia swept it all off;
822 RAJAH SIR AiVWAMALAl CHETTIAR
the country), had grown dense all over the place.
Poisonous reptiles and insects had found cosy habitats
amidst this thick growth. Even by day jackals could be
seen playing in and out of the thickets as merrily as
kittens in a house. And when we lodged our students
in their hundreds in temporary sheds amidst these sur-
roundings, we of the college (and its manager and
proprietor, Sir Annamalai Chettiar) undertook a grave
responsibility. Menacing was the danger from reptiles.
Our boys and ourselves however seemed to possess a
charmed life. It was really astonishing. But to minds
i hat can reflect there need be nothing astonishing in this.
Had not a whole labouring population over a vast tract
of country been afforded work and comfortable wages for
full six years? Had not thousands been placed for six
years above anxiety in the matter of keeping the wolf
from the door? How many bricklayers, carpenters,
masons, workers with the spade, hewers of wood and
drawers of water, how many of them all had not had a
comfortable time of it, had not been — some of them — even
helped to a competence? And how many hearts there-
fore were not blessing the donor? These blessings are
not nothing. The human heart speaking in the fulness
of gratitude and uttering a prayer on behalf of the
good-doer is not nothing. And it was not without due
thought that the sage promised heaven to builders of
houses and payers of wages. How could Sir Annamalai
Chettiar that great house-builder that liberal wage-
payer come by anything but good in the course of a
charitable enterprise he had undertaken?
Buildings worth seven lacs are of course things of
value. But this spiritual wealth? What do you esti-
paate its value at?
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 823
THE ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY.
All of a sudden, in the spring of 1928, newspaper
readers were taken agreeably by surprise one morning
when they read an announcement that Sir Annamalai
had endowed twenty lacs of rupees on a University to
spring into existence on the site of the Sri Minakshi
College and that the site, the buildings, the libraries,
laboratories and furniture belonging to the college
should be made over to the University to be. The public
congratulated us, the staff of the college, but in the same
breath blamed, as is its wont, us and our founder for
not having given it any inkling as to what had been
going on within the college. The public would have
been more to the point if it had blamed us, the staff, for
not having read the founder's thoughts. The fact was
that we were as innocent of the new development as the
public itself. If the founder resembled the kings of the
Ikshwaku line in that both they and he earned money
only to give it away,1 he resembled a great king of that
line in another respect: in that he and the great king
mentioned never published their intentions and pro-
posals until their intentions and proposals materialised
and could be inferred by men by a process of arguing
back from the results to the causes.2
While the public was indulging in angry mutterings
at not having been taken earlier into the founder's con-
fidence, the founder was proceeding at a round pace with
the work of the University. A bill was introduced in
the provincial legislative house (then the Legislative
: II
824 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Council) for the creation of a University at Tiruvet-
kalam. It was to be a teaching residential and unitary
University.
The day of the discussion of the bill in the legislative
house was perhaps the proudest clay in the life of the
donor. It was a holy act that he was performing: he
was dispelling darkness and bringing light. He was
doing it with money earned overseas, earned, as people
now know, even at the peril of one's life on strands and
shores far off. It was a holy act, And the character
of the act showed itself in this: that while the bill was
being discussed in the house of legislature, all parties
were united, and no dissentient voice was anywhere
heard. The poet cries that in the penance grove of
Parvati lions and elephants, wolves and sheep were seen
clubbing together. So holy was the occasion. Let us
recall to the minds of our readers that on the day of the
bill, the Treasury Bench and the Opposition, the Chief
Minister and Mr. Satyamurti were at perfect accord.
The Bill becoming an act in September, the Univer-
sity began to function in the succeeding June. The staff
of the old Sri Minakshi College were absorbed in the new
University. The number was considerably increased by
men being taken from outside. The appointments were
to be made, according to the constitution, by a body called
the Board of Selection. But as this body was mainly
elective, and as those very bodies which were to be its
constituencies had not been themselves constituted, a
temporary Appointments Committee was created and
that Committee did all the appointing for the year.
THE INFANT UNIVERSITY.
The Governor of the Province was the Chancellor
of the University. Viscount Goschen was then Governor
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 825
of Madras and became our first Chancellor in June 1929.
But when the University authorities, the Senate, the
Academic Council and the Syndicate were constituted,
it was already December and Viscount Goschen's period
of Governorship had run out. The opening function
of our Senate in March 1930 was performed by his suc-
cessor, Sir George Frederic Stanley. Since that date
the Province has had two more Governors and the Young
University two more Chancellors. Sir Frederic Stanley
was succeeded by Lord Erskine and he by Sir Arthur
Hope, our present Chancellor. Brought up in the best-
traditions of English liberal education every one of these
Chancellors has been an ardent champion of higher
education. The Chancellor of three Universities at once,
the Madras University, the Andhra University and our
own, each of these noblemen has shown himself noble
in his disposition towards seats of education.
Our Pro-Chancellor is by the Act, our Founder, the
Rajah of Chettinad — yes, the Rajah of Chettinad. Our
Founder had by now become a Rajah. The bill for his
University had not been beaten into an Act on the legisla-
tive anvil two months, when there came a New Year day.
On that day it pleased his sovereign to call him a Rajah —
him and all the first sons after him among his de-
scendants. How well it was in the fitness of things ! It
is customary in this ancient land for Rajahs to score
wealth and spend it in encouraging learning. The
founder of a University does become by that very royal
act a Rajah in reality; and his Majesty King George V
simply recognised an accomplished fact when he hailed
this patron of higher learning a Rajah.
Great was the jubilation in the country; particularly
at Kottaiyur where thousands of Nagarattars gathered
104
826 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
and greeted their honoured compatriot on cloth of gold,
and at Annamalainagar where teachers and students
felt, each of them, as if a kingdom had fallen to his lot.
At Annamalainagar? What and where is Annamalai-
nagar? As King G-eorge V was calling Sir Annamalai
Chettiar Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the Madras
Government rechristened old Tiruvetkalam, the seat of
the University by the name Annamalainagar. Truly
there seem to be tides in the fortunes of places as in
those of men. How else are we to account for the
translation of a habitat of jackals into a temple of
learning?
THE UNIVERSITY.
Besides tKe Sri Minakshi College three other
(smaller) institutions went to the making of the new
University: the Sri Minakshi Samskrt College, the Sri
Minakshi Tamil College and the Sri Minakshi Ptmdit
Training College. They were already three years old
and were turning out Siromanis and Vidvans of the
Madras University and certified pundits. The staff of
each of these institutions now joined us, and the institu-
tions formed the Oriental Faculty of the University.
On the 1st of July 1929 therefore the Annamalai
University was a unitary teaching and residental
University consisting of three Faculties of Studies : Arts,
Science and Oriental Learning. Among our students
were Tamils, Telugus and Malayalees. On our staff
were men from all parts of the country, distant Punjab
itself not excluded. It came up to Newman 's ideal of a
studium generate, an emporium of knowledge, one to
which students and teachers flock from all parts of the
world for the purpose of carrying on commerce in
knowledge.
VOLUME 827
As we had only the Arts Block and the Science
Block to accommodate this vast assemblage, we erected
temporary sheds for the housing of our new guests, the
Orientalists. But as patch-work business is never in
our founder's way, in but two years after the arrival of
these new guests, our Oriental Block was ready and the
temporary sheds were abandoned. This new block is
what you now see at the southern extremity of the old
Arts Block answering to the Science Block at the
northern, and linked like it to the Arts Block by means
of an over-bridge.
But progress did not stop here. As early as 1929,
that untiling patron of arts and letters, our founder had
started a Music Academy. Musicians from all quarters
of the country had come and set the Academy on its legs.
But at that time this institution did not form part of the
University. Soon however it did. In December 1931 the
Academic Council decided, and the Senate endorsed the
decision, that this Music School should form part of our
Oriental Faculty and that the Rajah of Chettinad, the
founder, should be approached, for his consent. The
Rajah saw that the measure if taken would but redound
to the glory of the University. And as whatever did
so commended itself to him, the consent sought was
without difficulty obtained. We are now in a position
to claim the teachers of Music at Annamalainagar for
our colleagues in the University.
In 1929, Science had indeed received its due share
of attention in that Honours Studies in Physics and in
Chemistry were started soon after the University had
begun to function. But we have been living in days of
an irresistible Science wave this quarter of a century
828 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTlAR
and Honours courses in Physics and Chemistry would
scarcely serve the turn of our student population. The
vast majority of them are ardent votaries to Science.
So in 1932, we started instruction in Natural Science —
Botany and Zoology — in the Intermediate; and, when in
two years from then, our young naturalists passed the
Intermediate Examination, we accommodated them in
the B.Sc. class in the branch which was after their
hearts.
But what did all this mean1? Why, only this: the
musicians and the naturalists knocked at our door for
living room. The naturalists who were, for the time
being, housed in the Arts Block pitilessly pushed our
office staff and our already vast and yearly growing
Library out of that block. We had nothing for it but
to turn once more to brick-masons and carpenters for
help in this stress. The Library and Administrative
Buildings which greet you to-day as you enter the pre-
mises were the result. They have cost us a pretty penny.
They and the Convocation Hall which lies between them
together cost us four lacs of rupees.
This pile is what they call the Srinivasa Sastri Hall.
Writing to us the other day a visitor of artistic taste and
educational enthusiasm said: " The Srinivasa Sastri Hall
is really the pride of your University; why, for that
matter, it is the pride of South India, I believe. How I
wish to pay another visit to those grand buildings I "
Grand buildings indeed; and one may also allow,
not wholly inartistic. But even they have not sufficed
our needs. Our musicians were still houseless. Our
students in the hostel had the same complaint to prefer.
And the guest-house we had was so small that without a
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 82&
really spacious structure for the accommodation of our
guests, we could not come up to any decent standard of
hospitality. Again were the engineering staff of the
University busy with plans and estimates, again did
brick-masons appear trowel in hand. Between 1936 and
1938 we raised no less than five substantial structures :
our music school, a dormitory for the rest of the musi-
cians after their exertions, the guest house which you see
overlooking the park and two new blocks of hostel
buildings. In 1939 another block still was needed for
our hostel and another block was brought into existence.
It has been already said that ours is a residential
university — the first of its kind, it will be conceded, in
our part of the country. 11* tiie residential ideal is to be
fully realised, it is obviously not enough to have rooms
for students; teachers have to be provided as well as
they. This fact we kept in view trorn the iirst. Our
Professors, Lecturers and Pundits have all of them got
residential quarters on the premises. The office staft
are there too. The Vice-Chancellor's bungalow stands
on the road to the University and is in tact the first
considerable thing that strikes the Hallway passenger's
eye as the train crosses the Coleroon bridge and steams
into South Arcot area.
And there we are with our men, materials and build-
ings. And yet our men and materials so grow every-
day— God be thanked — that every day they call for more
buildings. Our science students grow so numerous, and
our books so multiply in number that we wish that brick
walls and wooden shelves were elastic 1
Whence, one may ask, all this growth? What makes
$11 this expansion possible? The question is easily
830 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
answered. In the first instance, we must render thanks
to an enlightened provincial government that -has
given and is every year giving us large money grants,
that encourages us in every way in our endeavours
and that even in times of war like the present does
not wholly bang its door on us when we knock at it.
And then we have had a singularly noble succession
of Vice-Chancellors.' He that first filled that office
was Dewan Bahadur S. E. Ranganathan who has been
since thought fit to fill a higher office in the Council
of the Secretary of State. His successor was the Rt.
Hon'bte V. S. Srinivasa Sastri who by scholarship and
by a never to be ruffled temper has established his right,
these five decades to preside alike over the destinies
of educational institutions and offer counsel about the
steering of the ship of the state clear of schools on
tempestuous seas. And his successor, the present Vice-
Chancellor, is Dr. Sir Kurma Venkata Reddi Naidu, one
that has been in one capacity or another in the public
eye ever since the century began, has been without
interruption, chosen to high places in the Councils of
the Empire from the very dawn of Democracy in the
land, has seen and guided the birth and growth of self-
governing institutions in the country, has been from
time to time honoured with the personal regard of his
sovereign and has filled the exalted office of Governor in
the province of his own birth. How can an institution
like ours help growing and expanding under the rule of
heads like these ^ But above all we owe our rapid growth
to the constant and anxiously watchful care of him whom
the University claims as its parent, whose paternal love
has placed at the disposal of this child of his all that it
needs for its nutrition and development, whose head is
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 831
as wise in perceiving a noble cause as his heart is in
giving support to it and in whom the high-minded
charity of the East and the clear-headed business spirit
of the West meet and proclaim that, if it is a mark of
divine grace in the human being to strive, save and
serve/' then, East plus West is much the best.
THE PLACE OF MR. T. LAKSHMANA PILLAI OF
TRAVANCORE IN CARNATIC MUSIC
BY
DR. H. SUBRAMANI AlYAR, M.A.
Professor of Mathematics and Superintendent,
Observatory, Trivandrum.
The productions of Mr. T. Lakshmana Pillai of
Trivandrum, both as a Tamil Poet and a composer, have
been before the public eye for such a long time, that it
will not be inopportune at this moment to try to form
an estimate of their merits and so to fix his place,
especially as a Tamil composer, in the field of Carnatic
Music. In the present article, I propose to deal with
Mr. Pillai as a composer only.
In adjudging the merits of musical compositions,
and the place of a composer in Carnatic Music, we have
to take into consideration and examine some of the
important aspects of his compositions such as : —
(1) The literary correctness and worth of the
language employed in the compositions.
'(2) The value of the thoughts and sentiments
embodied in them.
(3) The excellence of the music in which they are
clothed, which includes also the fertility of
his musical imagination.
(4) The originality or creative power of the
composer.
(5) The purity of the style of his music.
As regards the literary correctness and worth of the
language employed in Mr, Pillai 's compositions, we do
833
not need to dilate much here, as they have been acknow-
ledged by such an eminent authority in Tamil as
Dhakshinathiya Kalanidhi Maha Mahopadhyaya Dr. V.
Swaminatha Iyer of Madras who, in the course of his
presidential speech at one of the musical demonstrations
given by Mr..Lakshmana Pillai at the First Line Beach,
Madras, expressed the opinion that Mr. Pillai 's Tamil
was faultless. This has led to his placing the name of
Mr. Pillai first among the living composers of South
India, in the message which he recently sent to the Music
Conference held at Annamalainagar this year.
As far the thoughts and sentiments conveyed by
Mr. Pillai's compositions, it will be well to point out
that the subject matter of the compositions falls under
three or four main heads, such as Philosophical, Ethical,
Devotional and Humanitarian. This will show the wide
range of the thoughts and sentiments set forth in song,
and will be found to be a healthy departure from the
stereo-typed nature of the subjects usually treated of by
other composers whose compositions are mostly of the
mampahi type. In his compositions, Mr. Pillai shows
a remarkable originality of thought and sentiment,
which will be welcomed by the educated and enlightened
section of the public, besides presenting a salutary model
for future compositions. Even in his purely devotional
songs, Mr. Pillai deals with the subject in his own
original fashion. His compositions are cosmopolitan in
outlook, and are imbued with a tenderness, fervour and
depth of feeling, rarely met with elsewhere. They are
not addressed to any particular deity, such as Rama,
Krishna or Subramania, but to the one Supreme Being,
whose manifestations or Avatars they may be taken to
be, thus appealing to the followers of all religions that
105
834 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
acknowledge one God, and entirely free from any
references which may tend to give even the slightest
offence to the religious susceptibilities of even the most
orthodox of every religion.
Coming now to the intrinsic excellence of the music
in which the sentiments are clothed, one feels the same
freshness, originality and exhilaration that one meets
with in the compositions of the great Thiagaraja or
Dikshatar; and this fact raises Mr. Pillai's compositions
to the highest level of merit, In support of this state-
ment, it is possible to quote from the testimonies of
competent men like Mr. Tiger Varadachariar and others.
But in this connection, I shall merely content myself
with quoting the opinion of Mr. K N. Sivarajan, B.A.,
expressed in the " People's Opinion "of which ho was
the editor. Said he on the llth October 1919,
" His (Mr. Pillai's) compositions taken as a whole
prove in the most convincing manner that Tamil is not
a wit behind Telugu in its capacity to produce highest
musical effects and also that he himself can take rank
with the great Tlriagaraja. Take with this, the wide
variety, the striking individuality and the absolute fresh-
ness of his pieces; they are enough to show how fertile
and original Mr. Lakshmana Pillai's imagination is in
the creation of musical forms of incomparable beauty
and attractiveness In their
felicity of diction, aptness of melody, uncommon origina-
lity of form, and fecundity and variety of variations,
his compositions rank with the best pieces of Thiagaraja.
They bear marks of genuine inspiration and as creations
of Mr. Lakshmana Pillai's musical imagination, will
ever remain to gladden the hearts of generations yet
unborn. It is the supreme privilege of genius to serve
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 835
humanity even after its bones had smouldered into dust.
Enshrining beauties of rare musical forms, Mr. Pillai 's
compositions, we are sure, must live for all time to
come."
Indeed, the beauties of Mr. Pillai ?s musical coin-
positions elicited the admiration of the highest order of
musicians, such as Messrs. Ganavisaradha Bidaram
Ivrishnappa, Konerirajapurani Vaidyanatha Iyer,
Uovindaswainy Pillai, Naina Pillai of Conjeevararn,
Uamachandra Bhagavatar of Trivandrum, (jana-
visaradha M. !S. Ramaswamy Iyer, Doraswamy Iyer of
Ernakulam and JSamalam Iyer of Tinnevelly, many of
whom expressed a desire to study them. The first named
musician actually studied a dozen songs from Mr. Pillai
direct, as also did Srimati Saraswathi Bai and others
from Madras.
In the matter of the introduction of variations in
musical compositions, Thiagaraja having been the
pioneer, Mr. Pillai kept that model in view. He how-
ever, never borrowed combinations from Thiagaraja or
any other composer, but relied on the exuberance of his
own imagination. His originality in this direction never
wavered, as will be apparent to any listener of his com-
positions.
Lastly, the style of music employed by Mr. Pillai in
his compositions is unexceptionally pure, like that of
Thiagaraja. He never yield to the temptation of
introducing Hindustani or other foreign styles into
his music for the sake of temporary pleasure or for
embellishment, or for popular applause, such aberra-
tions, in his opinion being injurious to the true genius
of Carnatic music.
836
Thus, viewed from every standpoint, it may be
affirmed without hesitation that Mr. Pillai is one of the
greatest living composers in Carnatic music, and this
accounts for his being styled as * Tamil Thiagaraja '
by Mr. M. S. Eamaswamy Iyer, and recently, by
Srimati Saraswathi Bai during her demonstration of
Mr. Pillai ?s songs at the Annamalai Music Conference.
Mr. Pillai was given the title, some years ago, of
Isai Tamil Selvar by the Madras Provincial Tamil Con-
ference, held at Tinnevelly. It will be seen therefore
that he was deservedly honoured with a full size oil
painting by the public of Travancorc, which is now
placed inside the Travancore University buildings.
Another portrait of Mr. Pillai was also unveiled some
time ago at Tinnevelly.
Among the most popular of his songs may be men-
tioned the following ten: —
Initial words. llaya.
••• Kambodi
i) ... Nelambari
... Kunthalavarali
... Kamas
... Sahana
... Shanmukhapriya
... Kamas
... VachaspatM
... Kanada
... Begada
CHIDAMBARAM AND THE DIKSHITARS OF THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY A.D.
BY
BHARATAKALANIDHI VIDYASAGABA VIDYAVACASPATI
P. P. SUBRAHMANYA SASTRIAR, B.A,
M.A. (MADRAS)
Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Curator
Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras.
Chidambaram lias always been famous not only for
its spiritual and religious excellence but also for its high
intellectual traditions.
In its long history Ironi the beginning of the
Christian era, the sixteenth century was really an epoch-
making era in its literary tradition. The great Poly-
histor Sriman Appaya Dikshitar spent the last part of
his liL'e at Chidambaram. Appaya Dikshita 's literary
activities ranged from 1570 to 1620 A.D. The reputed
author of more than 104 works distributed over all
branches of Sanskrit language and literature, he was a
star of the first magnitude in the literary horizon of
Chidambaram, which attracted unto it, because of his
presence, all the learned scholars of the day from far
and near, north and south.
The great Bhattoji Dikshita, the son of Lakshini-
dhara Pandita, the pupil of Sri Sesha Krishna and the
author of standard works in grammar like the Siddhan-
tanta Kaumudi, Praudhamanorama and Sabda-Kaus-
tubha came to Chidambaram to meet the illustrious
Appaya Dikshita and sat at his feet for being initiated
into the intricacies of the Vedanta Sastra. In his
838 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
Tattvakaustubha, Bhattoji Dikshita has exhibited ably
his profound mastery of the subject.
Among the many works of Appaya Dikshita, the
Taiitrikanmnamsa deserves special mention as therein
he has made a direct quotation from the Smriti-Mukta-
phala of the venerable Vaidyanatha Dikshita. Sriman
Vaidyanatha Dikshitar is well known throughout India
as the standard Law-giver of the South. Born in
Kandararnanikkam a village in the Tan j ore District, his
literary activities must have come to a close shortly
before Appaya Dikshita's began. The Smriti writer
Vaidyanatha Dikshita must be deemed to be identical
with the author of the Ramayanadipika a commentary
on the Ramayana. The author shows his Eamdbkakti
not only in his commentary on the Ramayana but also in
the benedictory stanzas prefixed to each of the seven
Kandas of his magnum opus the Smriti — Muktaphala.
Besides, the stanzas in which the composition of the
Smriti — Muktaphala and the Ramayanadipika are
referred to, are significant of the title of our author
wherein he refers to himself as Vaidyanathadhvrin and
not as Vaidyanatha or Vaidyanatha Dikshita as he is
popularly referred to. There does not therefore seem
to be any doubt regarding the identity of the authorship
of the two works; and Vaidyanathadhvari or Dikshita
must have been an immediate predecessor of Sriman
Appaya Dikshita.
In his Ramayanadipika 1-4-2 Vaidyanatha Dikshita
refers to the view held by others that the actual increase
in the number of Granthas in the Ramayana over the
prescribed 24,000 should be due to the admixture of long-
metres verses in the Trishtubh and the Jagati, which
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 839
exceed the thirty-two normal-lettered stanza. And this
is the view actually held by the slightly earlier com-
mentator on the Ramayana, Sriman Tsvara Dikshita the
author 'of both a Brihad — and a Laghu Ramayanasara-
samgraha, the date of composition of the former being
1518 A.D.
The sixteenth century in South India counts thus
the illustrious names of Isvara Dikshita, Vaidyanatha
Dikshita, Appaya Dikshita and Bhattoji Dikshita among
its literary votaries; and Chidambaram had the honour
of attracting these to the feet of Lord Sri Nataraja
whose cosmic Dance still continues in all its unabated
vigour even to-day as in days of old.
e.— All the works cited above are available in print or manuscript
in the Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library.
NATTUKOTTTAI CHETTIARS
Their Banking System
BY
P. J. THOMAS, M.A., D. PHIL., M.L.C.
On an occasion like the present, when we are
honouring the most distinguished of the Nattukottai
Chettiars, it may not be out of place to give a short
account of the banking activities of the Chettiar com-
munity which have enabled them for long to serve the
country, not only in the economic but also in the educa-
tional and other spheres of public activity.
In many respects, the Nattukottai Chettiars are, the
most remarkable bankers of India. To them banking
has not been the tail-end of trade; they nearly always
confined themselves to banking and their business
methods are of a highly specialised character. The
Chettiars' area of operation is also more extensive than
that of other similar communities. From their home in
Chettinad, they first expanded their business all over
Madras Presidency and the Indian States adjoining
thereto. Subsequently, attracted by the increasing
opportunities for profit opened out by the growth of
plantations in Ceylon, Malaya, Burma, and Straits
Settlement, the Chettiars went over to those countries,
and to-day they carry on an extensive banking business
all over Southern Asia, including Siam, French Indo-
China, Sumatra, Java, and neighbouring Islands. They
have penetrated into the innermost fastnesses of those
841
countries; they finance the rice trade of Burma and have
also important interests in Ceylon rubber and tea and
Malayan rubber.1 In fact their banking business in
India is to-day only a small fraction of their total
business.
The Chettiars are also called Nagarattars, because
they belong to certain nagarams (or townships), 9 in
number. At the head of each of those nagarams there
is a temple, which is maintained by the common funds
of the Nagarattars. The married couple (pulli) forms
the social unit of the community, and each such unit has
to contribute pullivari arid asti-vari to the temple. They
are devotees of Siva and are generally vegetarians. They
have built fine temples and have established several
choultries and poor houses, and have always shown readi-
ness to contribute liberally to public charities. From
ancient times, a percentage of the profits of all Chettiar
firms has been set apart for charity (magimai).
Like the Marwaris and Jains, they are sparing in
their expenditure on personal comforts and all their
daily avocations are characterised by extreme simplicity
and frugality. Yet they have been lavish in the making
of ornaments and in the building of houses. The barren
region of Chettinad is studded with numerous palatial
houses which cost on an average Rs. 100,000 each to
build; in Devakotta alone, there are many such houses.
The total investment in houses and jewels is estimated
at about Rs. 14 crores. When Chettiars go away on
1 Their connection with Ceylon and Malaya dates back to a time
earlier than the boom in tea and rubber; but they first went there chiefly
for trade and only subsequently took to banking. Madras Banking Com-
mittee's Proceedings. Vol. Ill, p. 1170.
106
842 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
business, their families generally stay in Chettinad. But
they always come home to perform their ceremonies, and
marriages are celebrated almost invariably in the ances-
tral homes.
Most of the indigenous banking communities of
India do not carry on money-lending as their sole busi-
ness. They may also be general merchants, commercial
agents, dealing in bullion, cotton, grain, cloth and other
produce, brokers or jewellers.2 Often money-lending is
only auxiliary to these occupations. Thus in Bombay,
U.P. and C.P. the bankers trade in grain and cotton and
carry on speculation. They purchase cotton and grain
at harvest and store them against a rise of price. The
Marwaris of Bombay operate on the cotton exchange,
and to them money-lending is only a side-line. Else-
where they are large landowners, or own mills and fac-
tories. In Bengal,3 they finance a considerable propor-
tion of the distributive trade. In fact most of the
indigenous bankers are but businessmen using their
capital to earn a profit and they undertake any kind of
business which in their view will bring profit. This has
always been the case in India. Money-lending was
auxiliary to trade and with the increasing vogue of joint-
stock banking in India, this tendency has grown more
conspicuous than before.
The Chettiar and the Multani are the principal
exceptions. Even among these two classes, there may
be several pursuing other trades as well, but nearly
always even those trades are allied to banking. For
example, the Multani buys and sells gold and carries on
2 Jain, Indigenous Banking, pp. 43-45.
? Bengal Banking Report, p. 185.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 843
internal arbitrage operations and some of them also buy
and sell commodities for their clients.' Arbitrage trans-
actions and dealing in bullion are auxiliary to banking,
and profitable, if safely pursued. The Chettiar sells
gold, but the sales are mostly unredeemed pledges. There
are also some who buy and sell gold as a regular
business.0 Speculation is usually associated with indi-
genous bankers, and in the case of several classes of
them, it is a fact that they have been speculating in
commodities as well as in bullion. Such speculation
ruined several wealthy bankers in the past, and now
there is much less of it than before. /The Multanis
seldom buy and sell commodities for themselves, and as
for Nattukottai (Jhettiars, they avoid speculative deal-
ings, and this partly explains the stability of their
business even in bad times.0
It is true that several Nattukottai Chettiars have
become proprietors of rubber and tea gardens, rice mills,
saw mills and other factories, not only in India but in
Ceylon, Burma and Malaya, but it must be admitted that
this was not due to deliberate design but was thrown
upon them by the failure of their debtors to pay up.
Thus m Ceylon, Chettiars have become owners of several
rubber and tea estates and oil mills ; and in Burma, they
have now much land in their possession. This apparently
was not due to the Chettiars' desire to become land-
owners, and in several cases the land was sold away
where an opportunity came; and although a certain
4 Indian Finance, January 18, 1930, p. 72.
6 Burma Banking Report, p. 197.
6 Madras Banking Committee, III, p. 1175. This was in the matter of
rice imports to Ceylon, and this gave a windfall to the Chettiars of Tiiu-
pattur and around. '
844 RAJ£H SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
number of Chettiars have taken to cultivation of land in
Burma by hired labour, it is not possible that the great
majority of them will give up their hereditary pro-
fession.7
ORGANISATION OF THEIR BANKING BUSINESS.
The business of most of the banking communities
of India is organised on the joint family basis.
Members of the family work in common as farmers and
the profits go to the common fund of the joint family.
Not only do they live in common, but they generally keep
a common mess. When such a firm takes outside part-
ners, they are taken only as working partners with a
share in the capital, and such partners are paid a fixed
salary and bonus according to the profits of the business.
Indeed as families get larger and larger division is
effected, not only of the capital but also of the clientele.
The above, however, is not true of the Nattukottai
Chettiars. With them, every married person of means
has his own business or becomes partner in another
business. When a Chettiar marries, he becomes
independent. He may live in the same house as his
parents, but he has his separate mess, and every year a
budget allotment is made by his parents for his main-
tenance. This custom has made the Chettiar more
independent and self-reliant than his compeers.
In spite of such pronounced individualism and self-
help, the Nattukottai Chettiars have developed among
themselves a strong tradition of mutual help and sodality.
In all the principal towns, where they carry on business,
they congregate in one common street and often live and
7 See Burma Banking Report, pp. 198-99.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 845
work in the same premises although their business may
be all separate. Wherever they go they maintain a
common temple, and have many economic, social and
other interests in common. Many of their iirms are
partnerships, and such partnerships may last many
generations. The same person may have shares in
several partnership concerns and tims there is strong
interlock of interests between them." Even when such
interlocking does not exist, the Chettiars are prepared
to guarantee each other, and in times of need, they are
ready to give generous aid to distressed iirms. They
guarantee each other when borrowing from the joint-
stock banks and such solidarity enhances their credit in
the market. This system of mutual guarantee has also
its evils, for when one firm fails many others may also
be involed in the failure and a general crisis may result.
(Such sodality is naturally stronger among the
Chetties in distant centres. 'Existing as a small alien
group with frequent blood relationship and with common
economic interests, descent, language, worship and all
caste associations, but divided in all these points from the
population around them was sure to generate a feeling
of sodality, especially as there was necessarily mutual
dependence in some matters, such as the occasional need
of liquid resources. ' y In Rangoon, Singapore, Colombo
and other outside centres, they all congregate in the same
street and even have their offices in the same building.
Thus all the Chetty firms at Rangoon are in Moghul
8 The firms are generally called by the initials of the different combin-
ing partner*. Thus P. M. R. M. means the partnership of Palaniappen,
Murugappen and Ramanathan. The name of the agent is often given after
the initials.
9 Burma Banking Report, p. 194.
846 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
Street and in close vicinity of their temple, where they
all meet in the morning daily for exchanging news and
for fixing up interest and terms of business.
There is also a strong communal system of arbitra-
tion obtaining among the Chettiars. Attached to every
temple (kovil) is a temple council (Panchayat), which
is composed of the elders among them and adjudicates
on all matters relating to marriage, monetary transac-
tions, family disputes, etc. The manager of the Kovil
arranges for meetings and records evidence; and the
award is given orally and not usually in writing. If the
parties do not abide by the decision, they may be
ostracised, and their marriages may not be celebrated
under the auspices of the Kovil.10 Similarly when a man
fails, a Panchayat is appointed to take up the matter and
they generally settle affairs in such a way that interven-
tion by the Court is avoided and the unsuccessful man is
given a chance to start life again as employee of some
other firm.
Similar institutions exist among other indigenous
bankers also. However, of late such institutions are
getting weaker owing to the onrush of individualism.11
Most of the indigenous banking firms are family
businesses or partnerships. The Multanis are organized
on a joint family basis and therefore the different
members of the family manage the business in different
parts of the country. The leading partners generally
live at Shikarpur or Bombay, and the junior partners
work as agents abroad. Besides members of the family,
others are taken as working partners.
10 Thurston, Castes and Tribes in 8. India, Vol. V, p. 263.
11 Jain, Indigenous Banking, p. 40.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 847
The Chettiars form partnerships, especially when
establishing firms abroad. Thus, excepting the Bank of
Chettinad (which is a private limited company registered
under the Indian Companies Act), the Chetty firms in
Burma are partnerships organised in India and repre-
sented there by agents sent from India. The money is
sent from India, and the accountants and clerks are also
Indians. Both in India and abroad Chettiars maintain
firms only in the larger towns and trade centres. Some-
times small agencies called Ulkade are opened in out-
stations and railway stations (railJiade) and these are
controlled by the agents in the larger centres.
The agent is the central figure in the Nattukottai
banking business, whether within the country or abroad.
He is often a relative of the partners and is engaged on a
three years' contract during which his board and lodging
is provided by the principal. Part of his salary (£ to §)
will be paid a month after appointment and the other
part after the expiry of half the period. The amount
of the salary will depend upon the ability and position
of the agent, the volume of transactions and upon the
distance of the agency from the head office. In Burma,
the usual rates range from 6,000 to 15,000 rupees for the
triennium. Besides pay, the agent is also given on
return a bonus which may vary from 6 to 10 per cent
of the net profit earned during his term. Six months
before the expiry of an agent's term, another person is
sent to the spot, to get acquainted with the details of the
business. The new agent classifies all the outstanding
loans as good or bad and sends a report to the proprie-
tors. If the two agents disagree reference is made to the
proprietors. The outgoing agent will then return to
848 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Chettinad and settle up with his employers, after which
he will go home and take rest for three years. He may
then offer himself for appointment to his old employers,
or set up a business himself. If the agent is an able
man, his employers may make him a partner in the
business.
An agent has usually an establishment of 5 to 6
persons, of whom the principal are the Assistant
(aduthal), the Cashier and the Accountant; others are
usually young persons learning the business and generally
help the principal employees by going on errand, etc.
All these persons are selected with great care, and careful
watch is kept on them. Severe punishment will be
meted out in case of dishonesty, and, to a Chettiar, caste
ostracism is a worse punishment than conviction by court.
An apprentice is usually paid no salary for the first
triennium, he gets only his board and lodging and pocket
money. On return home, he may, like the agent, receive
a bonus. After a year's rest, he is again sent out on a
fixed salary, anything between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 2,000.
The salary is increased at every succeeding periods
of engagement. The apprentice gradually becomes
accountant or cashier, and after 7 to 8 years may become
an assistant agent and sent to an out-station. After
about 15 years' experience, he becomes a full-fledged
agent The sons of large bankers have also to undergo
nearly the same training, although the period may be
shortened. The Chettiar is a firm believer in the maxim
that he who wants to command must first learn to obey.
Therefore the sons of wealthy families are also appren-
ticed.
COMMEMORATION VOLUM& 849
The working capital employed by the Chetty com-
munity has been estimated by the Burma Banking
Committee at about Rs. 120 crores, of which 75 crores are
in use in Burma, 25 in F.M.S. and the Straits, 14 in
Ceylon, 5 in Cochin China12 and only one crore in Madras
Presidency. According to the Madras Banking Com-
mittee *s estimate, the amount of working capital in
Madras is Rs. 6£ crores, and its volume of business is as
much as 11 crores.13 Another estimate was made by
Mr. Saverinatha Pillai, Assistant Commissioner of
Income-tax, in a memorandum which he placed before
the Committee. According to him the volume of business
in the Presidency is only 3 crores,14 apparently excluding
the Bankers of the Pudukottai State from his computa-
tion.
SOURCES OF THE CHETTY CAPITAL.
A banker is sometimes described as one who makes
profit with other people's money and his own brains.
Indigenous bankers in India do indeed make profit, but
it is not chiefly with other people's money. The system
of receiving deposits obtained from time immemorial,
but often it was done to oblige the depositor more than
to benefit the banker. However, with the increased
opportunity for investment, a demand for deposit arose
among bankers, and moneyed men deposited large sums
with them. But there was always a reluctance on the
part of Chettiars to receive current account deposits,
and, as the joint stock banks showed no such reluctance,
the bulk of Indian deposits went to them. At present
the indigenous bankers deal with their own money or
12 Burma Banking Report, pp. 210-11.
13 Madras Banking Report, p. 186.
14 Madras Banking Report, Vol. Ill, p. 1174.
107
850 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
money borrowed from joint stock banks. The Nattu-
kottai Chettiars still receive deposits, both on current
account (kata kanakku) and on fixed deposit (thavanai
kanakku). But such deposits form only a small part of
their working capital. According to one estimate, about
two-thirds of the Chettiars ' working capital is supplied
by the proprietors themselves, and of the rest more than
one-half comes as deposit from other Chettiars. Thus
only one-seventh of the capital comes from non-
Chettiars. It used to be rather more, but owing to the
failures of Chetty firms in recent times deposits from
the public are not at present so abundant as they used
to be.15 The Chetty capital thus deposited is chiefly the
money of married women and widows. Chetty women
receive fairly large dowries at marriage, and these
moneys are generally placed on deposit with a number
of firms. Chettiars will not generally place all their
money with one firm, but will distribute it among
different firms for the sake of safety. The non-Chettiar
capital that comes into Chetty firms is either deposited
by the public or borrowed from joint stock banks.
The kinds of deposit best known to Chettiars are
' Tavani ' (deposits and " Veyan-vatti ' deposits which
are both fixed deposits. The Tavanai deposit is for a
period of 2 months, and its interest is fixed monthly, on
the 16th day of the Tamil month. The depositors are
mostly Chettiars, and only these receive the full tavanai
rate fixed, while the others have to be satisfied with a
percentage or two less. The veyan-vatti deposits are
fixed deposits at fluctuating rates of interest described
by its excess in annas per Rs. 100 per mensem above the
15 Burma Banking Report, p. 213, Madras Banking Report, Vol. Ill,
p. 1176,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 851
current rate, and the usual period is three, six or twelve
months. Deposit receipts or Promissory notes are given
to the depositor; but it is understood that demand will
not be made till the prescribed period is over. Deposits
on current account are less popular owing to the necessity
for keeping liquid resources that it involves. The rates
on current account deposits are fixed monthly, on the
16th of^ every Tamil month, and they apply not only
to ordinary current account deposits by Chettiars and
others, but also to the rates paid by agents to the prin-
cipals for working capital supplied, and veyan-vatti rates
are calculated on the basis of the current rate as fixed
monthly.
THE (JLlEiNTELE OF THE CHETTIARS.
Chettiars lend to agriculturists as well as traders,
but, in the case of S. India, it cannot be said that they
finance agriculture or trade to any great extent. Agri-
culture in y. India is financed chiefly by the village
money-lender, who may be a shopkeeper or a landowner.
Some Chettiars do lend to these people and thus they
may be said to indirectly finance agriculture. In Burma,
on the other hand, Chettiars are first and foremost
financiers of agriculture. In Lower Burma, their deal-
ings are chiefly with landlords and agriculturists, but in
Upper Burma traders are their principal clients. In
fact, the Chettiars lend to all those who have personal
credit, whether they be agriculturists, industrialists or
traders. They lend for both short-term and long-term
purposes, and the purpose of the loan is seldom a con-
sideration for them. Most of the long-term loans given
by them are for celebrating marriages or other social
ceremonies or for other unproductive purposes. But
852 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
the amounts given for such purposes will depend upon
the security ottered. Generally money used to be lent
on promissory notes, whether it be for long-term or short-
term purposes. But now on account of depression
security is demanded. It may be land, houses, gold and
jewellery, or Government securities. For long-term
loans, land and houses are the usual security demanded ;
gold and jewellery are always acceptable as securities as
they are readily saleable. The rates of interest charged
by Chettiars vary with the parties, the time of the year,
the purpose of loans, the security offered, and the amount
of the loan. Except on first class town mortgages,
interest is not usually less than 12 per cent per annum.
The Chettiars have no fixed hours of work and are
accessible at all times. Their principal holidays are
Thaipuzam, Chitra-Pournami and Panguni Uthiram.
Accounts are kept in Tamil, on a system of single entry,
but two principal books are kept: the ' kurippu ' (journal
of daily transactions), and ' Peredu ' (ledger, each page
being allotted to one client). The ledger account for the
borrower has three cash columns for interest received,
credit and debit respectively, and the serial number of
the documents also are entered therein. It is also
customary to keep ' chittai ' books (rough notes), and
" bake ' (balance) books. Every month balance sheets
are prepared by the agents and, with copies of chittai,
are sent to the principal.
The Chettiars' system of accounting is elaborate and
accurate. Without the use of interest tables and calcu-
lating machines, they can easily calculate interest to the
lowest immi (l|3200th).10 The Chetty boys are trained
16 The fractions In use in S. India are ara (%), kal (%), arakkal
makani (1/16), ma (1/10), muntiri (1/320), inunl (1/3200).
COMMEMORATION VOLt/Mfi 853
at an early age to such accurate calculations and they
get a wonderiul mastery of arithmetic in the course of
their office work.
KEUENT TBENDS.
in recent years the (Jhettiars have modernised their
banking methods and. nave started commercial banks on
the joint-stock basis. The Bank of Chettinad, a private
limited company, is the most notable of such ventures,
and the Jttaja o± (Jhettniad is its Managing Director. Ol
late, the Chettiar capital has also penetrated into large-
scale industry, and to-day a good few cotton mills and
other factories are owned or controlled by; the Chettiars.
This is a desirable line of development and it is parti-
cularly gratifying to the present writer, as he had
repeatedly suggested in the past such new outlets for
(Jhettiar enterprise.1'
J3ut such developments have lately been impeded by
various factors, the most potent being the freezing of
investments resulting from the Great Depression of
1929-33. When the agriculturist debtors lost their pur-
chasing power, they were unable to pay their debts, and
a large part of the (Jhettiar capital thus got locked up in
land. In Burma alone, the Chettiars were forced to
become owners of extensive areas amounting to nearly;
3 million acres, being a fourth of the total occupied area
in Lower Burma. Measures have been in contemplation
for liquefying such torpid investments, but various
difficulties have arisen. The repatriation of such capital
may be a source of profit not only to the Chettiars but to
the country as a whole.
17 Journal of the Madras University, 193$, p, 33.
8,54
In spite of various adverse factors, Chettiars have
been able to utilize the new opportunities offered by the
development of hydro-electric power and the expansion
of communications. They have shown ample evidence
of financial virility, alertness and go-aheadness. Let us
hope that this great banking community will be in the
forefront of the movement for the economic development
of India which is likely to gather strength during and
after the war.
ENDOWMENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
BY
C. N. VAKIL
University Professor of Economics, Bombay.
In connection with the movement for the political
and economic emancipation of the country, the need for
education is imperative. The masses should have suffi-
cient elementary education to take an intelligent interest
in their own affairs as wrell as those of the community.
At the same time there should be adequate provision for
higher education because it is from the ranks of those
who have received such education that we can find leaders
of thought and action — either to lead the country in
politics and business or to help in the ever-growing
administrative work of a modern Government.
We find that the Provincial Governments in our
country have been giving increasing attention to the
spread of primary education. Legislation has been
passed towards this end. Municipalities and Local
Boards have been encouraged to undertake the work, and
though a great deal remains to be done, good progress
has been made in recent years.
While this is as it should be; secondary and higher
or University education does not receive that attention
from the State which it deserves. We find that in both
these spheres what may be called ' the commercial spirit '
has crept in. A large number of High Schools and
Colleges are run on the commercial principle, by which
is meant that the attention of those in charge of such
institutions is directed more towards earning profits than
856 HAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETT1AR
towards efficiency in teaching. There are a number of
Proprietary High Schools in the country in whose case,
it is quite easy to see how the commercial spirit works.
We do not have Proprietary Colleges; but we have
Colleges run by Societies which collect funds from the
public to run them. A good number of High Schools are
also organised in the same way. In some cases, the same
Society runs a school and a college or has a number of
such institutions under its control.
It may be pointed out that whereas Proprietary
Concerns may pocket the profits, in the case of Societies
the profits do not go to private individuals. The
Societies utilise such resources for extending their
activities, and to this extent there is no moral wrong in
the work of the Society, though it is a question whether
educationally it is sound.
But the question arises as to how is it that it is
possible to realise surpluses by running, let us say, a
College. The answer is simple. The number of students
attending colleges is growing. The desire to have a
University hall mark has spread and most parents wish
that their sons or daughters obtain University degrees,
if they can afford them. The fee income of the
colleges is thus bound to increase. This receipt can and
ought to be spent on recurring and non-recurring
expenditure for the institution. This is not always done.
The main item of recurring expenditure is the salary of
the staff . The salaries of the College Teachers have gone
so low in recent times that the right type of persons are
not likely to be attracted to this profession in future. If
this happens, and it has already happened in many cases,
the foundation of higher education will be weak and the
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 857
advantages which the country would legitimately expect
will be lost. Unfortunately the outlook regarding the
qualifications, status and work of a College Teacher has
been governed partly by the examination system of our
Universities and partly by the supply of highly educated
persons seeking such work overrunning the demand.
The examination system puts a premium on coaching of
students, and discounts all higher work on the part of
teachers. They are confined to certain text books in
their subjects beyond which they need not go, because
it does not pay to do so either to them or to their students.
The students believe in somehow passing the examina-
tions on the margin and not in obtaining knowledge of
any subject as such. The number of educated young men
who have obtained good degrees either in India or from
foreign Universities has increased in recent years. Thb
reason why they seek employment in colleges is not' tKafi
they want to pursue a scholastic career in all cases; in
many cases they have no other alternative, as the avenues
of employment in the country for people with high
academic distinctions are limited on account of various
reasons. The need for such persons is often exploited
and they have to work as teachers in colleges on what
may be called subsistence salaries. It is obvious that
one cannot expect proper work from men placed under
such circumstances and they invariably look out for more
remunerative type of work at the earliest opportunity;
or supplementary sources of income in any case.
Besides it is not difficult to find instances in which'
the persons on the staffs of colleges possess minimum
qualifications and have no inducement to do good work.
They simply carry on somehow. With this tendency in
the personnel of our College Teachers, the basis of
108
858 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
higher education has become weak and must therefore
be prepared to face the fact that the average graduate
turned out by our Universities is a man of poor calibre,
limited outlook and often fit for nothing. If we visualise
the colossal loss to the country in the form of the waste
of time and energy of the best youth of the country at
the best period of their life in Colleges, when they are
drudged through the examination for a pass degree by
the type of teachers referred to above, we shall immedi-
ately see the urgent need for a radical change in the
existing system.
This must not be construed to mean that we do not
have good Teachers in Colleges and good students. But
these are exceptions, and they are there in spite of the
system which hampers their work and provides little or
no stimulus.
If the leaders of thought in the country are really
sincere about the future of the country, they should
immediately set about thinking ways and means by which
this evil in our educational system can be eradicated
without any loss of time. Immediate steps must bo
taken to see that the status and remuneration of the
College Teacher is raised, that his profession is made
more attractive and is respected by all classes of people,
and that he is enabled to do his best to raise his own
standard of learning in his subject and that of his
students. Not even the best syllabus in any subject to
be found in our University calendars will be of any use,
unless the persons who are expected to deal with it are
of the right type. And this cannot be achieved in the
present circumstances.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 859
The chief point of attack is to see that the com-
mercial spirit in the running of our Colleges is
abandoned. This can be done only by having large
endowments from which the expenditure of the Colleges
can be met. The fees will always be a receipt which will
help to reduce expenditure. But the excess expenditure
must be met from sources, which are fixed and per-
manent, and independent of the whims of third parties.
Grants from Government of adequate amounts under
present conditions are not likely to be forthcoming.
Even if they do, they are likely to fluctuate with the
fortunes of the Government. Permanent endowments
alone can solve the problem. We have many charitable
trusts whose resources are being used for less important
purposes. Legislation should be passed to divert them
for endowments for higher education. At the same time
donor who have funds to give in charity should be per-
suaded to give suitable endowments for collegiate
institutions.
In this connection the Hon'ble the Raja of Chettinad
has set a noble example by donating a large sum for the
benefit of the Annamalai University. It is to be expected
that his foresight and generosity will be imitated by all
those who have been favoured by fortune. It is a fitting
tribute to him that this Commemoration Volume should
be presented to him by admirers on the day on which he
completes his 60 years.
SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC
BY
TIGER K. VARADACHARI
The entrancing power of real Music is universally
admitted. Even the child that sleeps in the cradle
is lulled to sleep by the sweet times ol its beloved mother.
The cows, and ihe venomous cobra are enticed by capti-
vating tunes, in i'erunkathai, one of the minor Tamil
classics we read of an wild elephant in rut being appeased
by the melodious strains poured forth from a guitar.
in the Pattuppattu of Tamil literature we read of high-
way robbers who let go their victims unmolested being-
overpowered by the chorus of divine music. Who does
not know of the sweet melody of the magic nute of Sri
Krishna, which made the (iopis of Brindaban forget
themselves and dance to the tunes of the sweet music L(
What then is the special virtue that is inherent
in Music, it is often said that the whole world is
musical or nathamayam and that music is nothing but
natural sounds well -organised and well-tuned. Paranar
speaks of the Lord that rules this Universe as
"ua-3jr(LfLi> u&ar^)iuu uffisprw" and Caiiyle observes that
Real Music can take us to the very edge of Heaven.
Real Music tends to create love and devotion and this
love tends towards amity among living beings. In the
Tamil Periyapuranam we read that Amayanayanar's
flute attracted even animals and that they actually forgot
861
their nature enmity for the time being, being over-
powered by the naptimes effects of music.
This powerful music had been present in every age
and clinic in the crude or refined form. Very good and
ordered music existed in the. Tamil land from times
immemorial. It is often said that in the Samaveda we
find the real basic elements of music. In the Tamil
land we find that music existed from a very long time.
Agastya is said to have written an elaborate treatise on
Music. In Paripadal we have stanzas to which special
poems have been allotted and one is likely to think that
most of the Panars or bands must have sung their poems
to the accompaniment of the lyre. It will be curious to
note here that the fine natural divisions of the Tamil
land vis. mullai, kurinji, palai, marudam and neydal had
each its own yal as well as the pan suited to it. The
wandering minstrels and hords who corresponded to the
Rhapsodes of Circeca were the recipients of very grand
presents from their patrons and were held in high
esteem.
In the 5th century 'B.C. we hear of the Natya-Sastra
of Bharata. About the 2nd century A.D. we have the
Tamil classic Silappadikararn which is a fine repository
of materials concerning ancient music. In the Arran-
gerrukathai of this splendid work, we see profuse
references to ancient works on music on Raga, Bhana
and Tala. It is well-known that Isai which stands
between lyal and Natakat-tamil is a connecting factor
between the two. In the above work we have some
glimpses of the various dances, or Kuthus of the period
and we are incidentally treated to the various kinds of
musical instruments known as the Torkaruvi, Tulaik-
karuvi, Narappukkaruvi and Kanjakkaruvi. Even the
862 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
minute details of the stage and its appertenances have
been scrupulously given and the various combinations of
the tunes have been dealt with. Here we do not have the
Saptasvaras named after Shadja, Rishapa, etc., but we
have in their stead the divisions known as Ulai, Hi,
Vilari, tarain, kural, tuttani and kaikilai. The swaras
no doubt correspond in number but the identity of the
above two divisions remains still a mystery. I can here
suggest, however, that future researches of interested
Tamil scholars who are themselves experts in Music may
bring to light the real connection that exists between the
Music of the age of Silappadikaram and the music of
later days.
The next stage in the history of South Indian Tamil
Music was reached when the Tevaram hymiiisls moved
from place to place chanting their divine Lyimis wher-
ever they went. Being great experts they were able to
flood South India with their hymns well-tuned and
adapted to the different poems. Each pan had its
appropriate kattalais and a lady descendant of Tirunila-
kanta-Yalpanar, who set the hymns of Sambhanda in his
yal, actually classified the above pans. The insistence
made by the Tevaram hymnists on the absolute necessity
of singing their verses in their appropriate pans, reveals
the fact that they were themselves masters in the art and
that they were quite alive to the ennobling effects of
music. Tirugnanasambhandar has styled by Sekkizhar
as ' i*ir*ffp@*r <st(L$i9puLf ' or the embodiment of the seven
svaras of Music. The Alwars too who flourished from
the 2nd to the 9th century A.D. have contributed vastly
to the growth of religious and devotional music. The
next stage in the history of Music falls in the 13th century
which saw the publication of the Sangita Ratnakara by
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 863
Sarangadara. This work has practically revolutionised
music and has ever since stood as a clear exposition of
Carnatic music. A commentary was written for this
work in the 15th century, when Purandara Dasa the
famous devotee poured forth his emotional verses.
About the middle of the 16th century one Rama Amatya
wrote his Swaramala Kalanidhi. Later on music was
highly encouraged . by the Naik Kings. Achyutappa
Naieker had an able minister by nnmo Govinda Dikshitar
and Venkatamakhi the son of this Dikshitar wrote his
Chaturdnndiprakasikai and he is generally considered
to have improved and reformed the 72 melakartas.
Elaborate changes were made in the old conception of
music and we may well say that modern music begins
with Venkatamakhi Kshetragna was a contemporary of
this musician.
The princes of Tanjore were liberal patrons of art
and the royal palace of Sarfoji could boast of a number
of Asthanavidvans both local and instrumental. In the
later 18th and the 19th centuries many Zamindars and
Matatipaties gave their best encouragement to Music of
the Mutts special mention must be made of Tiruva-
vaduturai, Dharmapuram and Tiruppnnandal and of
the Zamindaris Ariyalur, Ettayapuram, Ramnad and
Marungapuri deserve special notice.
Of the instruments that were in vogue in ancient
times the yal deserves special attention: The full length
of a ycal string was divided into 22 snitfs. The charac-
teristics of srutis have been well depicted in old works
and the three pitches known as Mandarnm, Madhyana
and Taram have been well dealt with. The interaction
of swaras has been well described and the same methods
864 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
of creating the various rasas through different tunes
could be seen in them. " Moreover, we can sen different
ragams or pans allotted to tho different parts of the day
with respect to the different effects they were likely to
produce on the hearer Marudam had been assigned to
early morning and Sevvali to the evening tide."
Thus we see the development of music in all its
various aspects in olden days. At present the Carnatic
music is holding its sway and the musical compositions
are mostly in Telugu or Ramskrit. Sri Thyagaraja the
prolific composer and divine musician departed this life
in 1846 and his Keertanams are everywhere sung in
Cutcheries and Kalakshepams. His illustrious contem-
poraries were Muthuswami Dikshidar and Ryama Sastri.
When Dikshitar was at Tiruttani, a sacred shrine dedi-
cated to Muruga, he composed his famous Krithi known
as ' W/siw^^r^s/r " and even now his song^ and Kritis are
distinguished by the above words. He has been depicted
as a performer of miracles and it is said that his Kriti
couched in the Bagam known as
actually brought forth rain when he was
at Ettayapuram. He was a strict follower of Venka-
kumabhi.
It must however be said here that though Venkata-
makhi recognised 72 melas based on the 12 notes of the
gamut, not all these 72 melas were in constant use.
Except the lakshana gi tarns there do not appear to
have been compositions in all the 72 janakaragas. It is
however satisfactory to note that the late Kotiswara
jAiyer, the grandson of Kavikunjara Bharathi has com-
posed some pieces for the 72 melas referred to above.
This musician was my best friend and his attainments
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 865
were of a high order. He was good enough to consult
me and I had the pleasure of suggesting some improve-
ments in his compositions.
This short sketch of the history of music will be
incomplete if mention is not made of that noble figure in
the music world, Mahavaidyanada Aiyer. A born genius,
he showed signs of his remarkable ability at a very early
date and was styled Mahavaidyanada Aiyer even in his
12th year. Himself a musician of the highest order and
his brother Ramaswami Aiyer, a great composer held
their leading position for a number of years in the
musical world and among his direct disciples we may
mention Sabesa Aiyer of music fame. Patnam Subrah-
manya Aiyer was a contemporary of this musical giant.
Having had the privilege of his acquaintance I can speak
with first-hand knowledge of some aspects of this musi-
cian. He used to practise music in the little hours of
the morning. His songs were of the cultured type which
involved great skill and effort. Akarasatakam was his
special feature and his gamakas were of a very high
order. When he took to singing thanams he was at his
best. He has composed a good number of Kirtanas and
they can be identified by the Mudra Venkatesa.
Poochi Aiyangar, the Samsthana Vidvan of Ram-
nad alias Srinivasa Aiyangar was the disciple of Patnam
Subrahmanya Aiyer, one Raghava Aiyer of Coimbatore
was another famous musician of the time and his
disciples Pallavi Venu and Masilamani Mudaliar were
also good musicians. Besides these we have had a
splendid galaxy of very able musicians who had contri-
buted greatly to the advance of Music.
109
866 RAJAH SIR AAWAMALAI CHETTIAR
At the beginning of the 20th century, a fear was
entertained in some quarters that music had fallen on
evil days. It is now very gratifying to note that every
attempt is made to see that pure Tamil songs and
Kirtanams are revived and that only Tamil songs are
sung in public and private entertainments. It will be as
clear as daylight that any individual could appreciate
the songs quite well only if they are in his own mother-
tongue and that songs in any other language, however
refined could not produce the same impression as songs
in the mother-tongue. The Tamil language is very rich
in these songs. The Tamilians were expert composers
and singers and gave vent to their feelings pleasurable or
painful by SOngS like &ii>&J&<suiR, jj/iiLD/rfersM//?, wmf&euittj
(3jp<53>GJuunrLL(5 and L9£pi«7\OTni songs mourning over the
dead. Besides these we have had,
£J/r<S&>61/LJU/TL!_®/E7
and other folk songs.
Coming to the major ones Arunachala Kavi's Rama-
natakam, Kavikunjaran's Kandapuranam Kirtanai,
Ramaswami Aiyer's Periyapurana Kirtanai, the famous
pada sahityam of Subbarama Aiyer, Mathurakavi and
others, the Pulliss, Kuravanjis and other songs are too
numerous to mention and it is high time that every
attempt to find them out and place them before th^ public
tOMMEM6RATl€>N VdLUMti 867
is made. The Tevaram hymns, Tiruppugazh, and
Kanadiccindu have all of them their pans or the musical
modes and I am sure that the present Renaissance will
be responsible for the promotion and publication of
similar songs.
Fortunately the lively interests evinced by Rajah
Sir Aimamalai Chettiar for the encouragement of pure
Tamil songs has materialised in the shape of the Tamil
Music Conference that held its sittings only a few days
back. This Conference has passed resolutions which are
very likely to improve the status and popularity of pure
Tamil songs. I must congratulate myself on the
excellent opportunity given to me by the Rajah of
Chettinad of presiding over the College of Music for a
number of years. I must acknowledge here the remark-
able readiness with which he came forward to help the
growth of music in this University by effecting then and
there any improvements that were suggested from time
to time. When one realises the extraordinary craving
for music that is perceivable at present which, I fear,
has culminated in a way in the degeneration of real
ordered music, the efforts of a philanthropist like the
Rajah Saheb will be conducive to the compositions of
pure Tamil songs planned on the lines of real and well-
ordered music. A Kalavinodha of a high order his
services to the sacred cause of learning and especially
musical learning are unparallelled and I invoke the twin-
deities enshrined in Chidambaram to bestow on this
Bhoja of the Tamil land and his family the long life and
the choicest blessings. He has completed his sixtieth-
birthday, May he live to see many more returns of his
birth-day.
D1AMAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF IONS
BY
P. S. VARADACHARI, M.A., M.Sc.,
AND
S. SRIRAMAN, M.A., M.Sc.
ABSTRACT.
The aim of this article is to present a connected account of recent work
on the magnetic susceptibility of ions. The influence of ionic interactions
on magnetic properties is briefly outlined from the point of view of Van
Vleck's paramagnetic term. Some emphasis is naturally laid on the con-
nected investigations published from the Physics laboratory of the Annamalai
University.
The molecular susceptibility of a polyatomic mole-
cule without a resultant spin is represented by Van
Vleck1 by the formula
_ s- 7* 4. * T y o^p) 38
mol - - 6rac* * r + * L^ hv (nl ; n)
The first term is the well-known term of Langevin while
the second is a paramagnetic term independent oi'
temperature and is brought about by the distortion of
the electronic system due to interatomic forces such as
are obtained in diatomic and polyatomic molecules. A
substance is diamagnetic or paramagnetic depending
upon whether the first or the second term is larger.
Pauling2, Stoner3, Slater4 and Angus5 have evaluated
the atomic susceptibility of mono-nuclear ions by wave
mechanical methods and hence the susceptibility of a
complex ion or molecule could be calculated from the
value of the constituents. However the disagreement
between these calculated values and observed experi-
mental values are quite definite and are very large in
some cases. This is what one would expect from the
fact that atoms when they combine bring about a distor-
tion of the outer electronic orbits. The second term in
869
the Van Vleck expression gives the effect of such distor-
tion on the magnetic susceptibility. According to Van
Yleck such distortion would introduce a paramagnetic
term and thus the susceptibility of a diamagnetic mole-
cule or the ion concerned will be reduced.
it is evident from the foregoing that the para-
magnetic term siiould vary with the different linkages
in the molecule and any new constraints brought into
play or any linkage that is loosened would have an effect
on the distortion and hence on the susceptibility of the
substance under consideration. Hence when a change
in x value is observed, one has to infer that there is a
definite change ni the electronic system of the molecule
or ion.
This suggests that it would be possible to discover
new constraints or linkages or a disruption of the same
when a molecule is placed in a particular circumstance
by evaluating the susceptibility of the molecule in that
case. To give an example a mixture containing two
types of molecules could be studied to find if there is any
interaction between them which would show itself in the
deviation that is exhibited from the additive law.
The interaction between molecules was studied over
a wide range0 by observing the effect of temperature and
dilution on organic liquids. Molecules with large dipole
moments were chosen for the investigation, since the
electrostatic field in such cases may have an effect on the
superficial orbits of the molecules. In the cases of nitro-
benzene, acetic acid and acetone no departure from addi-
tive law was observed which clearly showed that the inter-
action is quite feeble and is not sufficient in any case to
distort the orbits appreciably. Even in the case of acetic
acid and water where compound formation is definite
kAJAti SIR ANNAMALAl
from viscosity and Raman effect data the susceptibility
value is not affected. Hence if there is any departure
from additivity one has to infer that a serious change has
taken place in the electronic system. With this back-
ground an attempt is made in this paper to make a
systematic study of the changes that take place when
different types of salts are dissolved in suitable liquids.
When a salt is dissolved in a liquid, generally the
binding in the solid state is broken off and new con-
straints are brought about because of the attachment of
solvent molecules to the different ions of the salt. The
change in susceptibility that ought to be expected
therefore when a salt is dissolved in a liquid is due to the
difference in the paramagnetic term in the solid state
and in the state of solution.
It has been found that in general, a salt has a greater
susceptibility in the state of solution than in the solid
state. Table I gives the susceptibility of some simple
salts in the solid state and in the state of solution.
TABLE I.*
No. Substance.
Specific
susceptibility.
XD-XS
1 Sodium chloride
2 Potassium chloride
3 Calcium chloride
4 Sodium formate
Solid
Solution
.5150
.5270
.0120
.5243
.5310
.0067
.7147
.7291
.0144
.3667
.3691
.0024
.2929
.2946
.0017
.3018
.3049
.0031
.4584
.4620
.0036
.3661
.3679
.0018
Author.
HocartT
Rao and
SriramanS
5 Barium formate
6 Calcium formate
7 Sodium acetate
8 Barium acetate
It is seen that there is a small difference in the
susceptibility value in the two states, the value in the
state of solution being slightly greater in all cases. The
difference has been explained by Weiss9 as being due to
*AH values of x ia this paper are to be multiplied by 10 ~6
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 871
deformation produced in the ion in solution. Assuming
that changes in diamagnetic susceptibility are only half
as sensitive as ref ractivity, a correction has been applied
to the ionic values from experimental values of refrac-
tivity. While it should be conceded that the asymmetric
nature of the field in a liquid produces a distortion, its
effect would only be to dimmish the diamagnetic suscepti-
bility and not to increase it. Moreover it has been
already observed that the effect oC such a symmetry in
the field does not produce any marked changes in the
value as evidenced by the constancy of the susceptibility
over a wide range of temperature0 in the case of nitro-
benzene for which the anisotropy of the polarisation
field changes with temperature considerably.10 The
observed effect therefore must be explained by the
depolymerization of the complex water molecules on
introducing an electrolyte into it.
It is well known that water contains the two poly-
mers di-hydrol and tri-hydrol in great abundance at
ordinary temperatures.11 It has been possible to calculate
the susceptibility of the two polymers from their relative
abundance at different temperatures and the suscepti-
bility of water at these temperatures.12 It is found that
the susceptibilities of both the complexes are smaller
than that of the simple molecule just as one would expect
from the foregoing considerations. Hence a greater
abundance of the simple molecule due to the splitting
up of the complexes would result in an increase over the
additive value. A progressive heating would produce an
increase in the x value due to a correspondingly greater
proportion of the complex breaking into simpler ones
until finally a temperature is reached at which there are
po more polymers to be disrupted. When such a stage is
872
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
reached the x value would also remain constant even oh
further heating. This value would therefore correspond
to the sum of the susceptibilities of the ion and water in
the simplest state and hence the ionic susceptibility could
be calculated from the known value of water containing
only the simplest type of molecule. Cabrera and Fahlen-
brach13 have found that at 120° C. the x for water attains
the maximum value which corresponds to this simplest
state. In the calculation of ionic susceptibility, this
maximum value for water should be taken and that value
of the solution which does not alter on increase of
temperature must be used. Failure to take account of
this fact may result in an error of as much as 4% in the
ionic susceptibility.
Table II gives the susceptibilities of EbSCU and
some salts specially chosen for their homopolar nature.
An examination of the table reveals that in the case of
other compounds except HgCl2 and H2S(>4 there is a
large change in the x value on solution. It is well-known
that the halides considered here have nearly coavalent
linkages between the anion and the cation which there-
fore would produce a large distortion in the superficial
orbits of the anion. The susceptibility of the salt is
TABLE II.
No. Substance.
1 Sulphuric acid . .
2 Cadmium chloride.
3 Cadmium bromide.
4 Cadmium iodide . .,
5 Zinc iodide
6 Cadmium bromide.
7 Cadmium iodide ..
8 Mercuric chloride
Specific
susceptibility.
Solvent.
Author.
Solid
Solution
.387
.397
.010]
Varadacharii*
.411
.425
.014
Subramanianis
.382
.411
.029
Water.
.297
.363
.066
.306
.340
.034
.382
.297
.301
.415
.364
.301
*067^ Metny1
'0 \ alcohol.
therefore smaller than the sura of the susceptibilities of
the two ions in the free state. On solution, however, in
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 873
water or alcohol there is a partial disruption or at least
a loosening of the linkage resulting in the anion becoming
more free. This would mean a decrease in the distortion
of the orbits and a corresponding reduction in the para-
magnetic term. Hence in solution the diamagnetic
susceptibility increases and tends to approach the value
in the free state. Evidence is not wanting from Raman
effect data16 which definitely shows a decrease in the
intensity of the lines on solution.
EkSCh illustrates an intermediate position between
the salts of the type of NaCl and KC1 on the one hand
and the halfdes of cadmium, zinc, etc., on the other, the
linkage between the SO* ion and hydrogen being less
covalent than in the latter group. Hence the change that
is found in this case is smaller than the halides con-
sidered. In fact as the concentration of the acid in
aqueous solution is varied definite minima are observed
corresponding to the formation of complexes with water
at definite molecular proportions.
HgCl2 is an illustration of the principle that so
long as there is no dissociation of the molecule there is
no change in the susceptibility despite the presence of
the solvent molecules surrounding the solute molecules.
Further since there is no dissociation the polymers are
unaffected and hence the effect observed in Table I is
entirely absent. In such cases therefore the susceptibility
of the solution is that given by the additive law. Raman
effect data also support such a conclusion since there is
no alteration in the intensity of the Raman line on solu-
tion, the covalent bond being too strong to be broken up
by the dipole of the solvent.
Fajans17 has shown that the deforming power of a
cation is large when its size is small and its charge is
no
874 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
great. On the other hand anions suffer greater defor-
mation when their size and charge are both large. This
idea finds verification in the changes that are observed
as we go from chlorides to iodides where there is a
progressive increase in the size of the ion. When a
cation combines with an anion to form a molecule, the
susceptibility of the latter is the sum of the susceptibili-
ties of the constituent ions when there is no distortion
in any of them. If the same cation combines with
different halogen ions it produces greater deforma-
tion in the larger ions and hence the susceptibility of the
anion on combination is smaller than its value in the
free state. Hence the difference between the suscepti-
bility of the molecule and the sum of the susceptibilities
of the constituent ions becomes larger as the size of the
anion and hence the magnitude of the distortion
increases. When the molecule disrupts in solution there
is a release in the constraints and hence an increase in
the susceptibility, this being more pronounced as we
proceed from chlorine to iodine.
Table III exhibits a study of iodic acid and its salts
wherein a large change in susceptibility results on solu-
tion. Such a change is only to be expected from the
fact that the iodate ion is very large in size and hence
easily susceptible to deformation.
TABkE III.
Specific
susceptibility.
No. Substance. Ap-Xs Author.
*s *D
Solid Solution
1 Iodic acid .* .2667 .2352 —.0315 Rao and
Sriramans
2 Lithium iodate .. .2661 .2298 —.0363 „
3 Potassium iodate .. .2785 .2617 —.0168 „
4 Sodium selenite .. .2990 .3442 +.0452 „
The Raman spectra18 of iodic acid and its salts in the
solid state and in solution have been studied by
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 875
Venkateswaran. The acid in the solid state exhibits a
number of Raman lines the more prominent of which
have the frequencies 1397, 1249, 782, 713, 633, 377 and
328. In fairly dilute solution the first two lines disappear
completely and the frequencies 713 and 782 produce a
broad diffuse band. The higher frequencies mentioned
are entirely due to HIOs molecule which disappear in
dilute solutions. This incidentally shows that the
linkage between the hydrogen and the iodate ion has to
be regarded as homopolar which on disruption would
increase the diamagnetic susceptibility. The broad band
at approximately 779 would indicate because of its
breadth and dift'useness the formation of complex ions
such as LzOo which also finds evidence from chemical
data. This polymerization which shows itself in the
formation of the band accounts for the large deformation
which is produced on the iodate ion in solution. This
would result in a decrease in the diamagnetic suscepti-
bility in solutions.
We have therefore two opposing influences to con-
sider (1) the dissociation of the molecule (rather feeble)
which results in the increased diamagnetism and (2) the
polymerization and formation of complexes which would
reduce the diamagnetism to a large extent particularly
because of the large size of the ion. The latter however
predominates and hence a net reduction in susceptibility
value results. This explanation applies to a varying
degree to its salts and their solutions.
The case of sodium selenite is peculiar in that solu-
tion brings about a change in the valency of the selenious
ion. It is possible to calculate the susceptibility of
selenious acid and sodium selenite from the known ionic
values assuming the valency of 6 for - selenium. The
876 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
experimental values agree with the calculated value for
the solids. In solution, however, a change in the
susceptibility of the salt is observed which could be
accounted for by assuming a change in the valency cf
selenium from 6 to 4 on dissolving the salt in water.
Such an assumption is justified by Raman effect data.10
Thus a study of diamagnetic susceptibility of
different types of salts both in the solid state and in
solution gives us an insight into the nature of the
linkages involved and also the mechanism 01 solution in
general. The formation of complexes and their relative
abundance could be inferred with a fair degree of
certainty. It is also possible in favourable cases to
discover changes in valency and to decide between rival
constitutional formulae.
REFEKJBNCES.
1 Van Vleck: Theory of electric and magnetic
susceptibility, p. 275.
2 Pauling: Proc. Roy. Soc. 114, 181, 1927.
3 IS toner: Proc. Leeds Phil. Soe. 1, 484, 1929.
4 Slater: Phys. Rev. 36, 68, 19-30.
5 Angus: Proc. Roy. Soc. 136, 569, 1932.
6 Rao and Varadachari: Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 1,
77, 1934.
7 Hocart: Comp. Rend. 188, 1151, 1929.
8 Rao and Srirainan: Phil. Mag. 24, 1025, 1937.
9 Weiss: J. dePhys. 1, 185, 1930.
10 Rao: Ind. Jour. Phys. 3. 21, 1928.
11 I. R. Rao: Phil. Ma# 17, 1113, 1934.
12 Varadachari: Annamalai University Journal,
5, 18, 1935.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 877
13 Cabrera and Fahlenbrach : Zeits. f. Phys. 82,
759, 1933.
14 Varadachari: Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 2, 161, 1935.
15 Subramanian : ibid. 4, 404, 1936.
16 Venkateswaran : ibid. 1, 850, 1935.
17 Fajans: Eadio elements and Isotopes etc. 1931,
pp. 74-91.
18 Venkateswaran: Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 2, 119,
1935.
19 Ibid. 3, 533, 1936.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF
DHARMA
BY
T. VENKATARAMA DIKSHITAR,
SlROMANI AND VlSARADA.
Before proceeding to the subject proper, let us
understand the significance of the word Dharma with'
which we are concerned here. The words Dharma, Sri
and several others are so rich in significance that they
cannot be rendered satisfactorily into other languages.
We have got different meanings for the word Dharma
according to different systems of Philosophy.
The special significance of the word Dharma with
which we are concerned here has been explained by
Jaimini, the Sutrakara of the Purva Mimamsa system,
by the Sutra ^^1*3%$ *$:— Dharma is the cause of
good and not of evil, having Vedic injunction for its
sole authority. Sabaraswamin, the Bhasyakara of the
P.M. Sutras, has explained the word ^^11, thus r1 3tfFR
is any vedic injunction which urges men to any particular
action. From the word sffg:1 it is clear that even the
Bhasyakara follows the traditional meaning of the word
It may predicate a 9RT (sacrifice), ^R (giving)
(offering) and the like.
2fpT and erfa have been defined by Jaimini. The
enjoined by Vedic injunction consists of sacrificial
materials, Gods and the action ?fln .2
Sabaraswamin on P. M. S. 1-1-2.
2 o o 4-2-27.
879
A ffor3 is that in which in addition to the consti-
tuents of a qnT, there is JRfo offering oblation into the
fire.
has been defined by Sabaraswamin as the trans-
fer of one's ownership of a thing to another.4 In all
these three varieties of stf, the idea of giving up (33FT)
is a common factor.
No one will have an inclination for the performance
of Dharma, unless he is aware that it will produce the
desired reward. It has been established by Jaimini5 that,
in injunctions like6 ' one desirous of Heaven, should
perform the ^J^JfRT saci'ifice ', Svarga is that which
is to be attained (9M) and 3PT the means of its
attainment (ST^R). Svarga is the desired object which
naturally prompts the man to achieve it.
Now let us consider whether all beings — men,
animals and Devas — are entitled to perform Yaga.
Jaimini has decided that everyone who can perform 3PT
with all its accessories (aflf) is entitled to do it.7
Gods cannot perform sacrifices ; for, firstly there are
no other higher Gods for them to worship and secondly
they have no corporal existence.8 9IPT cannot be made
34 $o qo 4-2-28.
4. OnV 4-2-28.
5. s 6-1-1.
\
7. |o ^0 6-1-5.
8. <jo jfto 9-1-4.
880 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
in favour of one's own self and without 91FT, there is no
sacrifice. The statements such as9 ' Gods performed *ffi
sacrifice ' are only arthavadas. The nature of praise
involved in this is that even the Devas who have accom-
plished their objects, performed sacrifices and that it
goes without saying that men of knowledge shall perform
sacrifices.
Animals also desire pleasure. When they are tor-
tured by heat, they resort to shade. When they are
distressed by cold, they resort to sunshine. Not only this,
animals have a desire for a reward even in the next life.
Dogs9a are said to observe a fast on the fourteenth day
of the fortnight and hawks on the eighth day. From
these facts, we cannot conclude that animals have a right
to perform Dharma. They have no knowledge of the
Veda. The performance of Dharma requires a proper
understanding of the Veda. They cannot understand
that a particular sacrifice will lead to a particular reward
either in this or in the other world. Their observance
of fasting must therefore be due to some other causes
such as disease. Apart from this, they have no wealth
which is essential for the fulfilment of 3T*T. Thus it is
evident that neither Devas nor animals are entitled to
the performance of Dharma.
Now let us examine whether women also have a
right in Vedic rites. ^RteflJM says10 that only males who
I 341 KM.
$^f<WI 8*^1*1 1 Sabaraswamin on ^o ^p
6-1-4.
10. io jo o 6-1-6.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 881
are desirous of Heaven are entitled to perform sacrifices.
He bases his arguement on the masculine gender found
in the word
Another objection also is raised. Dharma can be
fulfilled only with substances such as *ftf| and sfrsq.
Without wealth, these articles cannot be obtained.
Women are neither mistresses of their fathers' property
nor of their husbands', because they are sold away by
their fathers and purchased by their husbands. In
olden days during the period of marriages some valuables
such as11 a pair of cows were given to the fathers of the
brides. As they are themselves property, they cannot
be the owners of wealth. They may even earn money
by spinning, tailoring and by other similar work; but
they have no right even over this money, because it is
stated in a Smrti12 that the wife and others have no
property and whatever is earned by them becomes the
property of him to whom they belong and that on these
grounds women have no independent right in the per-
formance of Dharma.
These arguments will not stand scrutiny. In con-
nection with the status of women, Jaimini says13 that in
the opinion of Badarayana all — without any distinction
of class, including women — desirous of rewards have the
right to perform Dharma. Jaimini expresses his own
view supporting that of Badarayana for whom he has
11. 9Tpf *ft fa-sr \
Sabaraswamin on P. M. S. 6-1-10.
13.
111
882 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
special reverence. When we say 4 man is mortal ' it also
signifies the mortality of woman. Similarly, the word
^nfcnr: includes all individuals without any specifica-
tion of sex.
Apart from this, the desire for obtaining a reward is
as strong in women as in men. It is only on the authority
of Smrti that women are declared to have no property.
The Sruti ' ^ ' urges everybody to perform Dharma.
If there is a contradiction between Sruti and Smrti
texts, the superiority of Sruti over the Smrti has been
established by Jaimini.14 Therefore in this case, dis-
carding the authority of Smrti, we conclude that women
are entitled to own money and to perform Dharma.
The Smrti which says that the wife has no property
should be understood to prohibit independent financial
transactions. Such transactions may lead to difficulties
and complications. Therefore the Smrti restricts her
independence only in respect of financial transactions.
Now we have to meet the objection that a bride is
purchased by her husband and that she is herself pro-
perty. If a pair of cows is the price of a bride, the price
should vary according to her beauty and quality, just as
the price of a commodity in a market varies according to
its qualities. As the offer of a pair of cows is uniform,
we have to admit that this offer is only a religious
formality.
The very word <Tft indicates that she has a right in
the performance of Dharma. This word has been
derived by Panini's Sutra15 from the word ift meaning
14. P. M. Adhi. 1-3-2
16, q^pjf qf&fft qp j£ 4-1-33,
$83
proprietor. Unless she has a right to the reward that
accrues from a *fl*T, the word ^\ will not be significant.
The al%fa*lfa also says10 4 A wife is certainly the
mistress of the household. The husband shall make an
offering only with the permission of his wife. ?
Thus it has been established that a woman can have
property and an equal right with her husband in the
performance of Dharma.
The next question arises whether the husband and
wife may perform the 3PJ separately or should do it
jointly. It may appear at first sight that the wife also
has independent right.
We have reasons to admit the joint rights of the
couple in the performance of Dharma. In sacrifices ghee
has to be purified by the couple by seeing it.17 This
qpty^jOT is an sis? of the sacrifice. If they have sepa-
rate rights in W , it will not be possible to have the
ghee purified by the couple.
It cannot be contended that when the wife performs
the sacrifice, she may engage her husband for purifying
the ghee by his sight and that when the husband does it,
he may engage his wife to purify it; because the word
q^ft means the proprietress, not a hired one and that word
is correlated to <?fa. m$ and Wffi are synonyms.
WTR means the proprietor of the sacrifice, not a
purchased one. Therefore if a sacrifice is performed
6-2-1.
&84 RAJAH SIR AflWAMALAI CHETTIA&
individually by either of them, the sacrifice becomes
defective by the absence of an 3f$ . Then the sacrifice
itself will not become effective.
Another reason also can be assigned in favour of
joint rights in «UR>«i . Partition between husband and
wife has been forbidden.18 Her status as wife enables
her to have proprietary rights even over the property
earned by her husband. If either of them does not
desire to perform a sacrifice, the ?JKI which is an essential
part of 3jpf cannot be performed. Therefore sacrifice
shall be performed jointly and 911*1 shall be made
together.
The Smrti definitely says19 'A woman should not be
ignored in the performance of qtf, *$ and *W. All
religious acts shall be performed jointly.'
Another Smrti says20 ' Commencing from the time
of marriage unity should be maintained in sacrifices and
their rewards. '
The Vedic text says21 ' A wife reaps the fruit jof
good actions along with her husband. They both bear
the yoke of a sacrifice. Being of one mind, they over-
come their enemies. They attain the unfading light in
the celestial world.
18-
20.
: I
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
These texts undoubtedly point out that the wife has
equal right with her husband in the performance of
sacrifice and also in the enjoyment of its rewards.
If joint right is admitted, the singular number con-
veyed by the affix in 3*ta may appear incongruous. Here
we have to view the agentship ( «f5o<q ) of husband and
wife in a sacrifice as indivisibly one and it belongs to
both (sqKffi) as 3^T^ of the Gods s*fa and 3FT in the
This joint right is restricted only with regard to
where Vedic mantras dominate; because women
have been prohibited from the study of Veda for various
reasons. . Every woman has got an independent right
with regard to ?R and ^ even during the life-time of
her husband. Even after her husband's death, she is
entitled to perform a[R: and <Jc[. ft^TW has established
by the application of g$ Wlfcl &sm22, the widow's right
to succeed to the property of her husband who lived
separately from his brothers.
It has already been stated that a woman can earn
wealth by spinning and other similar work, qf^q^q23
has clearly stated the various sources of wealth to women.
22. (jo iflo 7-8-7.
886 RAJAH SIR AMNAMALAl CHETTlAR
on auspicious occasions to deserving persons has
been highly praised in Dharina Sastras. <Jfl 24 has been
elucidated by STfcJ^Sr. It is an act of pious liberality
such as sinking of wells, construction of pleasure lakes,
tanks and temples, giving of food and creation of temple
gardens. It has been said1'0 that one who performs sacri-
fice attains ^f(. But one who does <Jq^4 is said to attain
also. ,
So far it has been proved that the wife has got
joint right with her husband in the performance of
sitcRi'i and independent right in ^H and <Jjfo& It
has also been proved that a woman gets property through
her father and other relatives 011 some occasions and she
has an equal right over the property earned by her
husband.
These facts prove that in ancient times women were
given equal status and independent position in religious
and household affairs. (Some Smrti texts which check
the freedom of women are intended for the maintenance
of their chastity which Hinduism considers a. priceless
possession for the fair sex.
Woman's tenderness of heart and ready sympathy
for human suffering have made ?R and <$, their
favourite forms of 9*?, and the world owes to women
some magnificent deeds of charity. Even more often
they have been the inspirers of such deeds on the part of
\
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 887
their male relations who have associated their benefac-
tions with their loved ones. One recalls in this connec-
tion the Kalyani and Kamala Nehru hospitals. But why
go so far? On the happy occasion of the
of Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar, one is reminded of the
three Sri Minakshi Colleges, including* the Samskrit and
Tamil Colleges, which that Prince of Charities estab-
lished in memory of his beloved mother whose name is
identical with that of the Goddess of Madura, and which
have blossomed into the Annamalai University.
Long Live Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar and his
family and Long Live the Annamalai University.
5ft
THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN A CHANGING WORLD
BY
V. R. VlRAMANI, B.A., (HONS.), LOND.
The British Empire as we know it to-day is sub-
stantially the creation of the 19th century. While the
Mother country moved towards democracy by slow and
easy stages the British communities which developed in
Canada, Australia and Newzealand were democratic
from the first. Throughout the first half of the 19th
century an aristocratic ruling class was responsible for
Imperial relations and those relations were by no means
easy or amicable. In the Mother country it was generally
assumed that colonial self-government was a half-way
house to independence. Self-government was readily
granted, but independence did not follow. In the history
of Canada the great landmark was Durham's Report.
Lord Durham advocated the union of Upper and Lower
Canada and the grant of full responsible government. A
Canadian ministry was to be formed representing the
strongest party in the Canadian Parliament exactly on
the lines of the British Cabinet. The British Governor
appointed by the King was to assume a neutral position
outside party politics; a position akin to that of the
King of Great Britain. It was not till 1846, when Lord
Elgin became Governor-General, that this materialised.
Australia too was given self-government and the right to
draft its own constitution. In the course of the next
twenty-five years Cape Colony and Newzealand were
ffiven the same rights. It must however be noted that
the Colonial Reformers in conferring the benefits meant
88»
them to apply only to domestic affairs in the colonies.
They meant to exclude from them the enactment of
tariffs and the disposal of unoccupied lands. These, they
held, were general interests of the Empire. But no
statute limiting the powers of the self-governing colonies
was ever enacted and the fiscal limitations were never
imposed. Thus, the wisdom or indifference of those who
expected the ultimate independence of the colohies
co-operated with the zeal oi4 the colonial reformers in
opening the way to the modern system.
By 1860 a further step was taken. (Great Britain
in the meantime had adopted Free Trade). Canada and
four of the Australian colonies had secured self-govern-
ment including the right to levy tariffs on goods from
the Mother country* In 1857 Canada formed itself into
a Federation which the Mother country ratified. Thus
with curious suddenness came Modern Imperialism.
Imperialism was first and foremost an emotion. " With
a shock of delight the men of 1880 rediscovered the
British Empire. They began to take pttde in the mar-
vellous achievement which had brought one quarter of
the population of the earth into a single fellowship of
peace. They saw themselves as citizens of something
far wider than a little nation-state concentrated exclu-
sively on the pursuit of the own interests. Regarding
the Empire no longer with complacency but with dismay
the dissolution of this august fellowship, they set them-
selves to give greater reality to the haphazard and
accidental bonds by which alone it seemed held together."
Many causes contributed to this change. The future
seemed to be with the great military powers. Russia
and Germany were becoming rivals to the British for the
possession of colonies. The scramble for Africa began
112
890 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
though it was luckily settled without recourse to war.
The Reform Bills at home drove the Mother country
to the side of her democratic colonies overseas. Aristo-
cracy was being rapidly merged into the plutocracy of
big business. Joseph Chamberlain was the spokesman
of this big business. Capital and industry increasingly
demanded tropical products as raw materials and new
markets for their surplus production. Imperialism
offered a way to both. Citizens of the self-governing
British dominions after escaping from the control of the
British government had at last found in their common
allegiance to the Crown the best expression of the
membership of world-wide Empire.
Imperialist policy took two forms; expansion and
close unity. The first resulted in the conquest of the
Transvaal, the opening lip of Rhodesia and the acquisi-
tion of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and the Sudan. On the
other hand, the attempt to formulate a scheme of
Imperial Federation ended in total failure. Equally
barren was Joseph Chamberlain 's policy of an Imperial
Zollverein or Customs Union launched in 1903. The
British Government was not prepared to abandon her
Free Trade system which this would involve. The
Liberal opposition raised the cry " your food will cost
more " and the 1906 elections saw the death of the
Zollverein. Meanwhile, accident gave the British a
method of adjusting Imperial relations. At the Jubilee
of Queen Victoria in 1887, the Prime Ministers of the
colonies were present and the Colonial Secretary held an
informal meeting of these ministers. In 1897 at the
Diamond Jubilee of the Queen this was repeated and
a third conference followed in 1902. In 1901 the
Australian Colonies had federated into the Australian
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
Commonwealth. The main scope of these conferences
was only discussion. No decision could bind the various
ministers assembled. The South African war also had
taught the British that they could have the colonies not
at the point of the pistol but by " close affection that
grows by common names, from kindred blood, from same
privileges and equal protection. These articles which
though light as air are strong as links of iron."
The Imperial Conference of 1907 discussed Imperial
defence, and a system of uniform organisation for the
forces of the Dominions and Great Britain was estab-
lished. Australia and Newzealand adopted universal
military training. When the Great War came in 1914
the self-governing dominions rendered every possible
service to Britain. It falsified one of the confident
hopes of Germany that the British Empire was a mere
fiction, that Canada and Australia were independent
nations, as indifferent to the welfare of Britain as the
United States of America, that India was only longing
for an opportunity to escape from British rule. These
misgivings were shared to some extent even by British
politicians, notably Lord Morley. But the Empire did
not disappear. Gallipoli will always be a sacred, even a
tragic, memory to Australia and Newzealand. The
Canadians served on the Western front. Botha and
Smuts in Africa rendered yeomen services and India
contributed the largest share in men and money.
This impressive demonstration of the loyalty of the
Dominions to the common cause rekindled the hope that
some form of Imperial Federation might be brought
about as a consequence of the War. On the other -hand,
to the Dominions the War was a sort of * coming of age, J
892 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
In the pride of their achievements on the battlefields of
Europe they realised that they were indeed independent
nations each with a great destiny in the world. The
place that their statesmen found on the Imperial
War Cabinet gave them hopes of treating with Britain
as independent nations. In fact the Empire had become
the British Commonwealth of Nations. This fullgrown
manhood of the Dominions was fully illustrated at the
Peace Conference in 1919. Canada demanded separate
representation for herself and got it. The Treaty itself
was signed separately by the Prime Ministers of the
Dominions also. These ministers in turn submitted the
Treaty to the Dominion Parliaments for ratification.
This was recognised by the League of Nations. In 1928
Canada was elected a member of the League Council.
Before the War it was recognised that the Domi-
nions, though self-governing, in all other respects,
accepted implicitly the lead of Great Britain in foreign
policy. Now, each Dominion claimed the right to pursue
its own foreign policy. Canada and the Irish Free State
(born in 1921) appointed ambassadors at Washington
to transact their own foreign relations with the United
States of America. The threat of war between Great
Britain and Turkey in 1922 brought forth an important
declaration from the Prime Minister of Canada. He
said " Under our system of responsible government, the
Canadian Parliament should determine, except in the
case of threatened or actual invasion, whether the country
should participate in wars in which other nations or
other parts of the British Empire may be involved. "
Clearly an Empire of which one part could decide to be
at peace while the rest were at wap was a political
organisation unknown to history.
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 893
These problems were then discussed at the Imperial
Conference of 1926. On the initiative of Lord Balfour
the following conclusions were unanimously adopted.
" The Dominions are autonomous communities within the
British Empire, equal in Status, in no way subordinate
one to another in any respect to their domestic or external
affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the
(jrown and freely associated as members of the British
Commonwealth of Nations." This was not all. The
discussions of 1926 were resumed in 1930 and practical
shape was given to these conferences in the Statute of
Westminster in 1931 which for ail practical purposes is
the last word on the relations governing the Empire and
the Mother country. It made clear the powers of the
Dominion Parliaments and was intended to promote the
free cooperation among members of the British Common-
wealth of Nations. Section 3 of the Statute runs : — The
Parliament of a Dominion has full power to make laws
having extra-territorial operation. "
Section 4 says: — " No Act of Parliament of the
United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this
Act shall extend or be deemed to extend to a Dominion
as part of the law of that Dominion unless it is expressly
declared in that Act that the Dominion has requested and
consented to the enactment thereof."
So, tjhe present position of the Dominions is that
they are practically independent states except for one
reason. As other links of Empire have been removed
one by one, attention has more and more been con-
centrated on the Crown as the point of unity in diversity,
the symbol of that free association which is the essence
of the Commonwealth. The Statute of Westminster still
894 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTZAR
further stressed the fact that even the title of the Crown
has to be accepted by Dominion legislaion and it is a
striking fact that the title of King George VI in the
Dominions rests solely upon Dominion law. The {Statute
also puts an end to the controversies concerning the
divisibility of the Crown.
In recent years the problem of Dominion neutrality
has been discussed a great deal. The dominions of the
British commonwealth share many oi the characteristics
of the European * neutral group . ' They are small
powers incapable of defending themselves against aggres-
sion by any of the great military dictatorships. They
have even less direct interest in the issues likely to give
rise to an European war. They are all distant from
Europe as well as disinterested in its more explosive
immediate problems. Thus, regarded as separate
sovereign State they face the problem of neutrality
like the United States of America. But apart from
the tremendous bonds of sentiment, blood and history
and the exceedingly close economic bonds, they have
an interest of national security that makes it practically
impossible for them to be neutral as between Great
Britain and any other foreign power. This feeling of
helplessness is naturally galling to nationalistic sentiment
in the Dominions. In Canada and South Africa this
feeling has led to bitter controversies, over rights of
neutrality and secession from the Commonwealth.
Strangely enough, however, irispite of their desire to
remain neutral, they followed the lead of Britain in
imposing Sanctions on Italy, though they soon found
out how futile it was. In the present groat straggle
though South Africa postponed its decision for a time
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 895
and then came in one of the side of Britain, the other
Dominions were the first to mobilise. Hence the problem
of neutrality is not a matter of principle but one of
expediency and prudence. The Dominions are likely to
decide on neutrality or active participation according
to the situation in which they find themselves. Here,
there need be no uniformity.
What then of the future of the Commonwealth?
The history of the various Dominions offers different
solutions. The interest of Canada in the colonial ques-
tion is secondary and remote. Her affinity is to the
United States, and she has realised the importance of
her connection with the States by concluding a number
of economic agreements. There is also a movement in
Canada to cut her off from the practical restrictions
which her union with Great Britain imposes. There-
fore it follows that her future is inextricably bound up
with the future of the United States of America. The
interest of South Africa, on the other hand, in the
colonial question, is direct and immediate. It has to be
noted that she is not connected with Britain by ties of
sentiment and blood. The country has an overwhelmingly
large Dutch population who have forgotten their native
homes and have come to consider Africa their land. Nor
has the Boer War been completely forgotten. No wonder
then, if she has begun to talk in terms of secession. The
possession of Tanganiyaka and South West Africa has
made her conscious of her power and she is determined
to hold them against any encroachments of the European
powers. So the future of South Africa lies in the direc-
tion of complete independence and secession might again
become a live issue. As regards Australia and New-
zealand, they have not yet begun to revolt so openly
896
against even this nominal tie of the Crown, probably,
because of their dependence on Britain for protection
from foreign forces. There is no doubt that Australia
fears Japan and without the aid of Britain her
position might become hopeless. Thus Australia and
NewzeaLind will probably remain longest within the
Empire. The Irish Free State has already broken away.
In all but name she is a republic. If she repudiates her
connection with the Crown, which she might very well
do, she too will have become a sovereign State. India
and the Crown colonies are fast developing a spirit of
defiance. Indeed it seems that the present war will
probably see India at least a Dominion, while the other
colonies will correspondingly progress towards that
status; for war is the most forcible of teachers. A
struggle whose watchword is freedom must bring greater
freedom to those who wage it. The present war is bound
to rouse the citizens to a more vivid consciousness and a
keener sense of their national dignity. In any case
unless brute force triumphs in Europe there is every
hope that the war will bring political freedom to those
who fight the battle for freedom.
THE LAW OF DEMAND
BY
C. W. B. ZACHARIAS, M.A., L.T.
The modern formulation of the Law of Demand as
given to us by Prof. J. R. Hicks in his latest work Value
and Capital and some years earlier by Prof. Gustav
Cassel in his Theory of Social Economy, marks a depar-
ture from the traditional Marshallian formulation in
that it is done without the aid of the concept of marginal
utility. Prof. Hicks replaces marginal utility by mar-
ginal rate of substitution and the law of diminishing
marginal utility by the law of diminishing marginal rate
of substitution, and carries out an analysis of demand1
with the individual scale of preference as the starting
point. This is done as he says, to remove from the
analysis " all concepts which may be tainted by quanti-
tative utility. " The inspiration for this is admittedly
derived from Pareto's use of indifference curves, though
Pareto himself did not, even after the discovery of the
new method, eschew the utility concept from his exposi-
tion. Prof. Gustav Cassel does the same thing on the
ground that the law of diminishing marginal utility is
an altogether formal law concerned with psychological
processes and wholly unnecessary for the economic
theory of prices.
The objection these theorists have is to the use of
quantitative utility in Marshall's analysis of demand.
In their view there is no valid method of measimng
utility and perhaps not even the possibility of conceiving
898 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
it quantitatively. So they attempt to eschew subjective
elements altogether from their theory and having done
that, they claim for it a superiority over the old. Now
if it is true that the use of quantitative utility vitiates
the law of demand, then it naturally follows that the
concept of utility should be excluded from the analysis,
and any theory which does that, is superior. So the
central question that awaits examination is whether any
justification can be found for Marshall's method of
measuring utility. This paper is an attempt to conduct
such an examination.
But first let us dispose of the question whether on
general grounds a theory which contains subjective
elements is necessarily inferior to the one which excludes
them altogether. Now there cannot per se, be any objec-
tion to the inclusion of subjective elements in an
objective theory, provided it is possible to convert what
is subjective into exact objective terms. When subjective
elements really play a part, it is not by arbitrarily
excluding them, but by honestly trying to convert them
into objective terms that we get a true insight into
phenomena. We cannot, therefore, take any formal
objection to the introduction of the utility concept in the
law of demand. As a matter of fact, a complete and
satisfactory explanation of demand must take us right
back to the psychological processes that lie behind human
conduct. The supreme merit of the utility approach is
that there is in it an attempt to relate objective human
conduct in the market place to the end which it seeks to
further. The attainment of satisfaction or utility is an
end, final and ultimate in itself. It is an end in a sense
in which the scale of preference from which the new
COMMEMORATION VOLUMfi
theorists start, can never be. It is idle to argue that
human beings behave in a particular manner just because
they desire to give effect to their scale of preference.
The scale of preference and the particular conduct that
is based on it are both mere instruments for the attain-
ment of that end which lies back of them viz. the
maximization of satisfaction. It follows then that an
explanation of demand couched in terms of ends is, on
the face of it, more acceptable than one that is based on
a mere instrument. It is immaterial to this question
whether the supposed ends are economic or non-economic.
The end that the individual human being seeks to attain
may be rational or irrational, economic or non-economic,
instinctive, habitual or impulsive, but there must be an
end towards which alone means can bo directed. One
may, for instance, believe with Prof. Robbins that there
are no economic ends and yet ask for an explanation of
demand in terms of ends, for that alone will give the
fullest revelation of human behaviour. This reasoning
implies that Tar from being an inferior theory, the utility
theory of demand i f it can be legitimately expressed in
quantitative terms is the only satisfactory theory of
demand.
The next question is whether there is the possibility
of quantitatively measuring utility. To investigate this
point, we have to submit the Marshallian method to a
rigid examination. Briefly stated, Marshall's method is
to measure the utility derived from the consumption of
a commodity and to express the measurement in terms
of money. Every individual is supposed to have . a
definite marginal utility of money, and that utility is
used as the measuring rod to measure the utilities
900 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
that commodities yield The question now is whether
this is a satisfactory method, li we lor the moment
take L'or granted that there is a definite marginal utility
of money lor each individual, this method will be found
to be quite legitimate and even admissible in a science
which Jays clann to objectivity. All the logical require-
ments of measurement are here fulfilled. Utility is
measured in terms of itself as is done in all physical
measurements. All measurements, physical or otherwise,
will be found on reflection to be relative and based on
arbitrary standards. Whether it is length or weight or
volume or area that we measure, we do it with an
arbitrary standard of length or weight etc., and express
the measurement as a ratio. We do nothing more nor
less than this when we measure utility with the marginal
utility of money. And if the measurement of length or
weight can be given a quantitative significance, there
will be slender ground for refusing it to the measure-
ment of utility. It may, however, be contended that
since the marginal utility of money is different for
different persons, it cannot be admitted as a valid
standard. This objection does little damage to the
measurement of utility, for if it is an objection at all it
applies equally to all measurements. We may, for
instance, ask whether the standard of weight or length
when used by different people has an identical signi-
ficance for them. Is it not true that a pound weight on
the palm of a child of two is very different in the sense
of weight it gives from the same pound weight on the
palm of a grown up man 6' 2" in height and 45" in girth If
The subjective sense of weight of that which is used as
a standard may be and will be different to different
persons, but that does not vitiate its use as a measure,
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 901
since objectively it is the same always. Similarly a unit
of money though it has different marginal utilities for
different people, can still be legitimately used as a
standard, for the objective significance it has, viz. its
purchasing power, is at a particular moment of time the
same 1'or all. It is because money has this double
quality that it is eminently suited as a standard for
measuring utility. Subjectively every person has a
marginal utility for money which enables him to measure
the utilities he has for other commodities. Objectively
money has a purchasing power which is the same for all
members of a community at a given moment of time.
Thus it is possible to compare the money expressions of
utility, one with another.
All this has been on the assumption that every
individual has a definite marginal utility for money.
This matters needs scrutiny now. Unfortunately here
we do not receive much help from Marshall himself. No-
where in his Principles has he undertaken a systematic
exposition of the concept of marginal utility of money.
The incidental remarks that he has made, do not
give us a clear idea of what his notion of that utility
was. He took it almost for granted, and did not give
much attention to it, for it was so self-evident to him.
However, we have to analyse it in order to find out
whether it is really suitable as a standard of measure.
Money has no direct utility for man, but only an
indirect or derived utility. That utility depends on the
utilities yielded by the goods and services on which
money is spent. If a person's income is given and the
market prices of various commodities are known, and
if we know also his manner of spending his income, the
902 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
marginal utility of money to him will bo seen to be
identical with the utility derived from the least
important use to which money is put. That utility will
be the marginal utility of income to him. The marginal
utility of income is what he will habitually attach to
every unit of money that he handles, so that it is
immaterial whether we speak of the marginal utility of
income or the marginal utility of money. From this it is
clear that to derive the marginal utility of money, certain
factors have to be given among which market pi-icos
figure prominently. It may on that account be argued
with much plausibility that the utilization of this concept
in formulating the law of demand involves circular
reasoning. But this is not really so. We have here to
distinguish between the original concept derived from
given objective factors and the secondary fictitious
concept that the human mind forges for itself. If the
given factors exist unchanged for a good length of time
as in the case of most persons they do, the marginal
utility of money may to an individual come to have a
significance apart from the factors from which it was
originally derived, and as a secondary fictitious concept
attain an independent status. A little introspection and
our own personal experience of what others do, will be
sufficient to confirm this. Such secondary fictitious
concepts the human brain delights to create. But on the
ground that they are secondary they cannot be rejected,
for they are really ready-reckoners of the mind wielding
*i paramount influence on human conduct, They occupy
in the mental process the same position as may be
assigned to reflex action in the nervous system. No
individual person goes to the market and bids for goods
with a mental vacuum. Every one of any experience has
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 903
already in him an independent marginal utility of money
which he brings to bear on his choice of offers. This
much is admitted by the new theorists, for in the relative
scale with which they york, money figures along with
commodities, sometimes have a higher rank and other
times having a lower. This will not be possible .unless
money is conceived to have for every individual a utility
of its own. So then the assumption that every individual
has a definite marginal utility of money made earlier in
the analysis is now seen to be quite warranted.
We may then conclude that Marshall's method of
measuring utility is for all practical purposes quite
legitimate, and there is no need to consider that thereby
his doctrine has become tainted. This does not mean
that the law of demand cannot be formulated without
the aid of tho utility concept. All that it means
is that among the alternative modes of exposition the
Marshallian system is equally valid with any other.
However, one may be permitted to express the doubt
whether a law of demand which starts from a scale of
preference will ever attain that finality which in
Marshall's theory constitutes its greatest attraction.
ORIENTAL LANGUAGES
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908 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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931
uffarffiruSsafu LJSOQJ/T^W
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
ULJirwr erujgiQL£>g$
®* Q U IT (Tfjeir . $)IEJ(&681U) $ (T IJ GSSt
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RAJAH SIR AtfNAMALAI CHETTIAR
eti eienerfi
uQ&Gti, QuirqtjGrr Qs/r®^^ QLLUJLGLDPULJ
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME
935
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(£ff
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Quppswssr.
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& IT
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937
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i Qujpefft uir^iBQeyr. 4
p &if)iLJ i&Qip^pp! uBLbGsr LO/T LDeoofi Lnei
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Q&treinesr a)%o(?<J/r^) r@$s\)(3upjpj,$
QJTLp$Gn&U u^l^^e LO&tfOT
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(By Bharafchi Dason)
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940
RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
Qeujpifiirerr
J UITG&U
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941
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pu (Sujpi-ejesr fi&
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(3)
943
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era3jbfl$iijgs)iT y* fairest Ljetieuif u<stiir LLSST evreor u n jb
pii &-u9orrr&Lj QuirpfS GtiKponir.
Gip pSsvib&imQtu
tL.u3i
Quirpfiltuirir,
Ljetieuir firq^Lib e.u9ir &fkp&air GJ often jyew/f
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946
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Quired jpir&<si—Lb
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Qp ! iS QiJirfijb UGn&6tiGf>v& Q&iresrjpj
Q&rressri—
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947
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nga /£W
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(Suirir
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
erest
. ^(75 tf/rso^,^^ Gl&irtpesr
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1 eresr^i
stressru
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i (S&err ;
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950 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
parrt. rear®
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eresrugi ^uuirir L/ajajjtfLg &.air/r« eema
to/rear
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954
uin- rt
(Learning in the midst of Art)
tr IT
Q&einSssru
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p A/r®.
956 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
" People want to know something about Dravidian Culture. South
India is a land of wonders ; but the wonder of wonders is that the history
of South India has not yet oome out," (Hindu March 1, 1939)
ftrr g\) /r eugj]
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67.
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME
957
Qfftriiu Ghr/rtDua se&ru^pgiLJ (Su&8(iyir
Lr>pp<sv>6U ;
L $)(E)86i)irK6S)<!BLJUjbj5l
($Kir(3(bff(r&& &fba<stiini. ^^^ fiirerr
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(£&iTu3A)&^rrjtJb,
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959
(Classic quality)
IT && SOOJILI /rear USWTLJ
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968 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
GJLfilTti
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Qiu&flesr " jqpjb Quir^iLu-ir^eSeor^ <gT6wrffl/LD "
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969
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
pern Qutr($&flp/8ti9&
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COMMEMORATION VOLUME
971
wirponp or>ir
iesr
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(Pandifcbamani, M. Kathiresa Chottiar)
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tr ffesrQaircv)t-. Qupp
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t— ^57.
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a iSesresrir
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977
&&iriLi&&e96yr (Malaria)
(LpenpemujiLjU) ufbfl aoii Qsnr^eviL. jrirao (Sir Ronald
Ross) er&trp
i&j (Plasmoquine) ereisrp LbQKsnp u-®aruprrrt
IT .
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kp effnir GJe!au$G$
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(Molokai)
jH(?<» ueiastf
978
RAJAH SIR ANWAMALAI CHETTIAR
f. en)tr ggrnfggL-f&nir uQaGL-nriflmir (Pretoria) OTSJ
Q&uja)pj)Q&t£]6ijrr68r
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A Qurresr
(Professor Max well Lefroy) oievrueuir y$ssii>pwn
(Entomologist)
LJITfT <$<$fT /. *£/ faJ 6U (T J01
3(Tf)ft&)u> &_oS/f Qr //D
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(Sidney Rawson Wilson)
COMMEMORATION VOLUME 979
serr uecrr ^ai/f. ^euiflffti pSsOtuaGtreuir eouuf-esrelm- & ironed
(Lieutenant Colonel Harrison) er^uir^, &iruL-&r
wrL_/f 3tiu&) (Captain Alexander Gemmel) er&
ir (?gg. i9. er&o. a/p/rASL-gar (Professor. J. B. S-
Haldane) sirjbp&ftp^Q^r #«DL- Qujpiu* /§«^<£
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eru/r G)o/p«ir/fl OQ/PL! (Sir Henry Head) er^ffp LL(ifjpgi€U
jysu/
980 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
eJcssrarsreevsd.
ssr (Gustaf Dalen)
iregfl , LLS&err fiL—L
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(acetylene gas)
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pesrir.
sir em {jftiUGOirgp (tutraSfbjpi. tS&tr
>, Gr>o)iL (White) ffrsi
to (Purace) «r«5r/D
COMMEMORATION VOLUME
981
rr ^/B7(»j6yr6Yr *-.ui9vuu> (Sodium) SeuuiStuti (Strontium),
i (Magnesium) fipiButi (Chromium), ®6i
i7/r L&rteoirLiffrr (Allesandro Malladra)*
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(Vesuvius)
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r. S. R. M.
r#6rr KT. L. L. D.
VIDWAN. T. P. PALANIAPPA PILLAI, B. 0. L.
S. V. O. I. Tirupati,
K. Ponniah Filial (University of Madras)
i^Gsrsoist //«ir® QpirtLG), Q&ff,
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAl CHETTIAR
er&rrD
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985
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ton (L.iy- ek eutigp
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U
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Qufiiu
eoRfitu GeSujremfi fierr^Lo uGsofluSp Sy?«»LD^(2W/r/r. 2
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siu(2&)6Tr $i
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QufrevpuSp GrteBuSeoflev rBSsouSp QuireSeB
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sesreurr gpjusrGKrrgw) Lc&o(Seu Qerr&ffQp iLfGnaQujpiQewrcir. 4
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LjtriLi-rr&p piss^r u)*r (30-9-1881)
UL^^3anr/T6ij7'/?#6ir.
(28-9-1941) ^LO
(Sspup, pii LL8ssr&(Bj
992 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
act (tj)£a$iu Q* iLfciuirfr B. A.
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(75/57
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f pti Q&etieupsnpp fiL&&(Vju> iSpit&Qu*
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETT1AR
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995
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997
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1001
(56V)
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1007
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1009
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Qupp ^^rjfiWL-iu jya&si
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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1013
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RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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1015
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J. U-
(Vidwan, G. Subramania Pillai, M.A., B,L.)
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4.
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1020
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1025
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1027
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15
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Dr. V. Swaminatha Aiyar,
51(75
ISO
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1035
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B. A,
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1047
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1049
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1055
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1056 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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1057
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1058
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II
FELICITATION ON THE OCCASION OF
SHASHTYABDAPURTHI OF
Raja Sir. Annamalai Chettiar? Ki.L.L.D.
By
Gayanapatu, Kirthanapatu, Abhinava Saraswathi. Kirthana
Saraswathi, Sangitha Samskritha Vidyaratna,
C. SARASWATHI BAI,
: il
33
1060 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
II R II
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: \
' afewwrt ^r? ST
BY
SANSKRIT DEPARTMENT
(Annamalai University)
n ^ n
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1064 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETTIAR
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Pandit S. RAMASUBBA SASTRI
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Pandit K. SRINIVASACHARI
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1072 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALA1 CHETT1AR
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1074 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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fort *m* ^^KnfofrfaiflHf fosnf&ri
II «nf ^
V. K. SESHADRIACHAR YA. Vidvan : Siromani.
:, «?4 '
1077
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1078 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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jRr
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Mrs. PADMASANI ARAVAMUTHACHARI
Rashtra Bhasha Visarad
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1034 RAJAH SIR ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR
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(non-interchangeable)
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t, (intuition), 3$^ (reason),
n
v «fR!ir
(periodicity of sex -desire) (frequency of sex-desire)
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