Visvanatha Kanakasabhai Pillai (1855–1906) was an Indian lawyer, historian and Dravidologist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. He was the first person to attempt a chronology of ancient Tamil Nadu. He was also one of the first people to deduce the references to a long-submerged legendary continent, Kumari Kandam, in texts such as Silappadhikkaram.
Kanakasabhai was born in Madras Presidency in 1855. His ancestors hailed from Mallakam, Jaffna in Ceylon.[1] Kanakasabhai's father V.Visvanatha Pillai, author of Tamil-English dictionary, from Mallakam.
Kanakasabhai was a lawyer but developed a keen interest in Tamil history and after practising for a few years, he left the profession and became a full-time historian.[1]
Kumari KandamEdit
From 1895 onwards, Kanakasabhai published a series of articles in the Madras Review about a long-submerged land that lay to the south of Cape Comorin.[1] These theories of his were based on ancient Tamil and Buddhist sources.[1] These papers were subsequently published in his book The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.[1]
Three years later, in an editorial in the Siddhanta Deepika, Nallaswami Pillai hinted that Lemuria was the long lost land of Kumari Kandam.[1]
The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years agoEdit
In 1904, Kanakasabhai published his magnum opus, The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago. Dedicated to Sir S. Subramania Iyer, the book was made up of sixteen chapters, each of which examined the life, culture, geography, trade, religion and philosophy of the ancient Tamil country based on the descriptions in two ancient Sangam epics, the Silappatikaram and the Manimekalai. The book is considered to be a classic and as one of the first notable efforts to research the history of Sangam periodTamil Nadu.
Kanakasabhai postulated entirely new pathbreaking theories in his book. He was the first person to suggest the existence of a Kumari Kandam based on his reading of the Silappatikaram. He also claimed that the Tamils were originally settlers from Bengal and that the word "Tamil" itself was derived from the ancient port of Tamralipta.[2] He postulated a new theory that the Dravidian upper classes originally hailed from Mongolia.[3]
Kanakasabhai was the first historian to attempt a systematic chronology of Tamil history.[4] Kanakasabhai believed that the Sangam age might have flourished even in the 2nd century AD.[5] He based these claims on the Gajabahu synchronism proposed by Seshagiri Sastriyar.[5]The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago also had anti-Brahminical overtones. Kanakasabhai accused Tholkappiyar of a conscious attempt to "foist caste system on the Tamils".[6]
CriticismEdit
Kanakasabhai's claims of Mongolian origin for Tamils and the relation of the word "Tamil" with Tamralipti have invited sharp criticism from contemporary historians.[3] At the Madras Presidency College lectures in 1896, a European said that Kanakasabhai's claims demonstrated the "comparative worthlessness of Hindu history".[1]
WorksEdit
The Great Twin Epics of Tamil.
Desikachariar. Dravidian kingdom:The conquest of Bengal and Burma.
The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago. Higginbotham's. 1904.
NotesEdit
^ abcdefghSumathi Ramaswamy (2005). Fabulous Geographies Catastrophic Histories: The Lost Land of Lemuria. Orient Blackswan. p. 267. ISBN978-81-7824-110-4.
The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago. Full text in wikisource
Books of V. Kanakasabhai at the Noolagam project
October 17, 2023
kanakasabhai, visvanatha, kanakasabhai, pillai, 1855, 1906, indian, lawyer, historian, dravidologist, lankan, tamil, descent, first, person, attempt, chronology, ancient, tamil, nadu, also, first, people, deduce, references, long, submerged, legendary, contine. Visvanatha Kanakasabhai Pillai 1855 1906 was an Indian lawyer historian and Dravidologist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent He was the first person to attempt a chronology of ancient Tamil Nadu He was also one of the first people to deduce the references to a long submerged legendary continent Kumari Kandam in texts such as Silappadhikkaram Visvanatha Kanakasabhai PillaiBorn1855Died1906Occupation s Historian lawyer Contents 1 Ancestry 2 Early life and education 3 Kumari Kandam 4 The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago 5 Criticism 6 Works 7 Notes 8 External linksAncestry EditKanakasabhai was born in Madras Presidency in 1855 His ancestors hailed from Mallakam Jaffna in Ceylon 1 Kanakasabhai s father V Visvanatha Pillai author of Tamil English dictionary from Mallakam Early life and education EditKanakasabhai graduated in arts from Presidency College Madras and joined the Indian Postal Service 1 Kanakasabhai was a lawyer but developed a keen interest in Tamil history and after practising for a few years he left the profession and became a full time historian 1 Kumari Kandam EditFrom 1895 onwards Kanakasabhai published a series of articles in the Madras Review about a long submerged land that lay to the south of Cape Comorin 1 These theories of his were based on ancient Tamil and Buddhist sources 1 These papers were subsequently published in his book The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago 1 Three years later in an editorial in the Siddhanta Deepika Nallaswami Pillai hinted that Lemuria was the long lost land of Kumari Kandam 1 The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago EditIn 1904 Kanakasabhai published his magnum opus The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago Dedicated to Sir S Subramania Iyer the book was made up of sixteen chapters each of which examined the life culture geography trade religion and philosophy of the ancient Tamil country based on the descriptions in two ancient Sangam epics the Silappatikaram and the Manimekalai The book is considered to be a classic and as one of the first notable efforts to research the history of Sangam period Tamil Nadu Kanakasabhai postulated entirely new pathbreaking theories in his book He was the first person to suggest the existence of a Kumari Kandam based on his reading of the Silappatikaram He also claimed that the Tamils were originally settlers from Bengal and that the word Tamil itself was derived from the ancient port of Tamralipta 2 He postulated a new theory that the Dravidian upper classes originally hailed from Mongolia 3 Kanakasabhai was the first historian to attempt a systematic chronology of Tamil history 4 Kanakasabhai believed that the Sangam age might have flourished even in the 2nd century AD 5 He based these claims on the Gajabahu synchronism proposed by Seshagiri Sastriyar 5 The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago also had anti Brahminical overtones Kanakasabhai accused Tholkappiyar of a conscious attempt to foist caste system on the Tamils 6 Criticism EditKanakasabhai s claims of Mongolian origin for Tamils and the relation of the word Tamil with Tamralipti have invited sharp criticism from contemporary historians 3 At the Madras Presidency College lectures in 1896 a European said that Kanakasabhai s claims demonstrated the comparative worthlessness of Hindu history 1 Works EditThe Great Twin Epics of Tamil Desikachariar Dravidian kingdom The conquest of Bengal and Burma The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago Higginbotham s 1904 Notes Edit a b c d e f g h Sumathi Ramaswamy 2005 Fabulous Geographies Catastrophic Histories The Lost Land of Lemuria Orient Blackswan p 267 ISBN 978 81 7824 110 4 V R Ramachandra Dikshitar 1947 Origin and Spread of the Tamils The Adyar Library pp 59 a b V R Ramachandra Dikshitar 1947 Origin and Spread of the Tamils The Adyar Library pp 58 Kamil Zvelebil 1975 Tamil literature BRILL p 36 ISBN 978 90 04 04190 5 a b Nagendra KR Singh 2001 Encyclopaedia of Jainism Anmol Publications PVT LTD p 6439 ISBN 978 81 261 0691 2 V Zvelebil Kamil 1992 Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature BRILL p 257 ISBN 90 04 09365 6 External links EditThe Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago Full text in wikisource Books of V Kanakasabhai at the Noolagam project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title V Kanakasabhai amp oldid 1176812446, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
