Professor A. Dakshinamurthy

தமிழில்

Dakshinamurthy Ayyaswami (b. 1938) is an eminent Tamil scholar, writer, orator, and a celebrated English translator of classical, medieval, and modern Tamil Literature. He is the winner of the Indian Presidential Award for Lifetime Achievement in Classical Tamil  – The Tolkappiar Viruthu (2015) and Sahitya Akademi’s Bhasha Samman Award 2019 for his contribution to the Classical and Medieval Literature in the Southern Region.

Dakshinamurthy has authored 5 scholarly books in Tamil, and has published the English translations of 32 Tamil works—20 classical, 3 medieval, 9 modern. He edited the volume “Pattuppattu—Text, Transliteration, Translations in English Verse and Prose” published by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil. He has written nearly 100 research articles in both English and Tamil on Classical Tamil literature, Tamil grammar, ancient Tamil history and culture, the art of translation and more. 

He authored the highly acclaimed history book in Tamil “Thamizhar Nagarikamum Panpadum (The history and culture of the Tamils, 1973)” which has remained popular among the Tamils for the past fifty years and has seen eleven reprints and a second edition. His scholarly commentary to the Sangam classic, Ainkurunuru and Tamil books including Sangailakkiyangal Unarthum Manidha Uravugal, Peyarum Pinnaniyum, Tinai pulavarum Deivap pulavarum, Tamizhiyar Cinthanaikal bear testimony to his erudition in the classical texts.

Dakshinamurthy is an acknowledged authority on the Classical Tamil corpus, especially the Sangam literature. He is a pioneer in the field of complete English translations of classical Tamil works. Driven by his passion to propagate the glory of ancient Tamil literature to the world at large, Dakshinamurthy, since the 1980s has devoted his life to the cause of Tamil through translation. Due to his sustained efforts, he accomplished for the very first time the complete, accurate, and faithful English translations of 20 Classical Tamil Books—13 Sangam anthologies, 7 Patinenkilkanakku works. The credit of offering the first complete translation of the Akananuru (1999) goes to him; it is his magnum opus. He is the first scholar to offer a faithful English translation of Natrinai in 2001. His award-winning translation of Kuruntokai is the second complete translation made available in 2007, after a span of 31 years since the first translation appeared in 1976. It is also considered the first error-free translation of the classic. He is the second scholar to translate all the ten books of Pathuppaattu in the year 2012, after a wide gap of 66 years, since the first work of J. V. Chellaiah appeared in 1946. He is also the first scholar to translate all the six Akam books of the Patinenkilkanakku division into English in 2010. So far the published works of Dakshinamurthy contain 5175 metrical lines of Classical poetry.

In addition to translating the Classical Tamil works, Dakshinamurthy focuses on the translation of medieval and modern Tamil literature also. He has translated 3 medieval works – Neethivenbha, Abirami Anthathi, and Perumal Tirumozhi into English. As one of the early pioneers who propagated the works of the revolutionary Tamil poet Bharathidasan through translation, he offered the first English translations of the poet’s seven earliest Tamil works: Sancheevi Paruvatthin Saral & Puratchikavi (1990), Irunda Veedu (2001), Nalla Theerppu (2005), Kathala Kadamaya, Kadal Mel Kumizhikal, Thamizhachiyin Katthi (2006). He has also offered the verse translation of Mahakavi’s Bharathy Sixty Six. Sahitya Akademi published his English translation of A. S. Gnansampandan’s Sahitya Akademi award-winning Tamil book, ‘Kamban Oru Pudhiya Parvai’ under the title, ‘Kamban – A New Perspective’ in 2013. See Books

Early life, Education and Employment:
Born as the youngest son of a farm couple in a small village called Neduvakottai in Thiruvarur district of Tamilnadu, India, Dakshinamurthy had a very humble beginning. He is the first degree holder of his family and the first to receive a Masters in his village.

He had his initiation and growth in Tamil studies at Annamalai University, Chidambaram under Tamil luminaries like Professor T. P. Meenakshisundaran and Mahavidwan Sa. Dhandapani Desikar. He received his B. A (Hons) in Tamil in 1961 and B.Ed in 1962 from the Annamalai University. He received his M. Phil degree (1978) and Doctorate in Tamil (1988) from the Madras University, both working on Sangam Literature.

Having served as a teacher for 33 years in various institutions like A.V.C College, Mayiladuthurai,  A.V.V.M Sri Pushpam College, Poondi, Tamilnadu, Dakshinamurthy retired in 1996 as the Principal of Senthamil Arts College, Madurai Tamil Sangam, Madurai.

Awards and Honors:
The Government of Tamilnadu recognized him in 1991 with the “Bharathidasan Certificate of Merit” for the book ‘The Poems of Bharathidasan – A Translation” In 2003,  the Tamilnadu government honoured him with the prestigious Bharathidasan Award for his service to Tamil.

The Government of India honored him with the Indian President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Classical Tamil, the Tolkappiar Viruthu(2015). Sahitya Akademi conferred to him the prestigious Bhasha Samman Award 2019 for his contribution to the Classical and Medieval Literature in the Southern Region.

Thisai-Ettum Translation Award 2012, BAPASI’s Kalaignar Porkili Award 2013, and S.R.M University’s G. U. Pope Translation Award 2017 are few of the many notable honors he has received. (See awards and titles )

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