Devaneya Pavanar (also known as G. Devaneyan, Ñanamuttan Tevaneyan; 7 February 1902 – 15 January 1981) was an Indian scholar who wrote over 35 research volumes on

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. Additionally, he was a staunch proponent of the " Pure Tamil movement" and initiated the Etymological Dictionary Project primarily to bring out the roots of Tamil words and their connections and ramifications with

Nostratic Nostratic is a hypothetical language macrofamily including many of the language families of northern Eurasia first proposed in 1903. Though a historically important proposal, it is now generally considered a fringe theory. Its exact compositi ...

studies. In his 1966 ''Primary Classical language of the World'', he argues that the

is the "most natural" (') and also a proto-world language, being the oldest (') language of the world, from which all other major languages of the world are derived. He believed that its literature, later called

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

and usually considered to have been written from 200 BCE and 300 CE, spanned a huge period from 10,000 to 5,500 BCE. Mainstream linguists, geologists and historians do not subscribe to his theories. Devaneya Pavanar composed many musical pieces (''Isaik kalambakam'') and many noteworthy poems, including the collection of ''Venpa.'' The title ' was conferred on him by the

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

State Government in 1979, and he was also addressed as Dravida Mozhi nool Nayiru ("Sun of

Dravidian languages The Dravidian languages are a language family, family of languages spoken by 250 million people, primarily in South India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan, with pockets elsewhere in South Asia. The most commonly spoken Dravidian l ...

").Tamil Nadu Government press release
/ref>

Biography

Gnanamuthu Devaneyan Pavanar was a Tamil professor at Municipal College, Salem, from 1944 to 1956. From 1956 to 1961, he was the head of Dravidian department at Annamalai University. He was a member of the Tamil Development and Research Council, set up by the Nehru government in 1959, entrusted with producing Tamil school and college textbooks. From 1974, he was director of the Tamil Etymological Project, and he acted as president of the International Tamil League, Tamil Nadu. (U. Tha. Ka.). The Chennai District Central Library is named after Devanaya Pavanar and is located at Anna Salai, Chennai.

Views on Tamil versus Sanskrit

Pavanar's ''Vadamoli Varalaru'' argues that hundreds of Sanskrit words can be traced to a Tamil origin, and at the same time he insisted that pure Tamil equivalents existed for Sanskrit loan words. He claimed that Tamil is a "superior and more

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

" language than

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. In his view the Tamil language originated in "

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...

" ( '), the cradle of civilisation and place of

origin of language The origin of language, its relationship with human evolution, and its consequences have been subjects of study for centuries. Scholars wishing to study the origins of language draw inferences from evidence such as the fossil record, archaeolog ...

. He believed that evidence of Tamil's antiquity was being suppressed by Sanskritists. Pavanar's timeline for the evolution of mankind and Tamil is as follows: * ca. 500,000 BC: origin of the human race, * ca. 200,000 to 50,000 BC: evolution of "the Tamilian or ''Homo Dravida'' ", * c. 200,000 to 100,000 BC, beginnings of Tamil * c. 100,000 to 50,000 BC, growth and development of Tamil, * 50,000 BC: Kumari Kandam civilisation * 20,000 BC: A lost Tamil culture on

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

which had an advanced civilisation * 16,000 BC: Lemuria submerged * 6087 BC: Second Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king * 3031 BC: A Chera prince wandering in the Solomon Islands saw wild sugarcane and started cultivation in Tamil Nadu. * 1780 BC: The Third Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king * 7th century BC: ''

Tolkāppiyam ''Tolkāppiyam'', also romanised as ''Tholkaappiyam'' ( , ''lit.'' "ancient poem"), is the oldest extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. It is the earliest Tamil text mentioning Gods, perhaps linked to ...

'', the earliest extant Tamil grammar In the preface to his 1966 book '' The Primary Classical Language of the World'' he wrote: In a chapter entitled ''Tamil more divine than Sanskrit'', Pavanar gives the reasons why he judges Tamil to be "more

" than Sanskrit, arguing for "Primary Classicality of Tamil", he enumerates:

Publishing history

The ''Central Plan Scheme for Classical Tamil'' of the Centre of Excellence for Classical Tamil recommends :"To publish the translated but not yet published Sattambi Swamigal's ''Adhibhasa'' which seeks to establish that Tamil is the most ancient language. When published, it will provide an impetus to Pavanar's findings" The literary works and books of Pavanar have been "nationalised" by the Government of Tamil Nadu in the course of the "Golden Jubilee year of National Independence" (2006). This means that the copyright for Pavanar's work is now owned by the state of Tamil Nadu, his legal heirs having been compensated financially.BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR 2002 – 2003
Directorate of Tamil Development, Government of Tamil Nadu

Awards and honours

* A Silver plate presented to him by the Tamil Peravai, Salem in 1955 in appreciation of his service to Tamil.
pallar.org * A Copper Plate presented to his by the

Governor of Tamil Nadu The governor of Tamil Nadu is the head of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Governor (India), Governors in India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at the central level. They exist in the Sta ...

1960 in appreciation of his contribution to the collection of administrative terms in Tamil. * A Silver Plate presented to his by the South Indian Saiva Sinddhanta Works Publishing Society, Thirunelveli Ltd., in 1970 in appreciations of his research work in Tamil philology and etymology. * Official centenary celebrations of Pavanar were held at Sankarankoil (5 February 2002) and Gomathimuthupuram (6 February) of

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

district and at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

(8. February), attended by the Minister for Education and the Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. * In February 2006, a commemorative stamp of Devaneya Pavanar was released by the Postal Department in Chennai.

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

19 February 2006
*In October 2007, a memorial was installed at

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

by the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

in honour of Devaneya Pavanar. Tamil * , 1940. * , 1943. * = The mother of the Dravidian languages, , 969* ("etymological essays"), , 1973. * , 1978. posthumously: * , 1982. * , 1985. * , 1985–2005 * , 1991. * , 1999. * , 2001. * centenary edition: ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** , 2000. ** ("comparative linguistics"), 2000–<2001 > ** , 2001. ** , 2001. ** , 2001. ** , 200101. ** , 2001.

References

External links

Devaneya Pavanar (Official Website)

publications
(worldcatlibraries.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavanar, Devaneya 1902 births 1981 deaths People from Tirunelveli district Poets from Tamil Nadu Tamil-language writers Tirukkural commentators Tamil poets Tamil activists Tamil language activists Academic staff of Annamalai University 20th-century Indian poets Indian male poets 20th-century Indian historians Pseudoarchaeologists Pseudohistorians Pseudolinguistics Language and mysticism