The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal (18231874) and Modern Dravidian Sainthood (Routledge South Asian Religion Series)

This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Śaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga’s own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th –mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal’s ideology of compassion, cīvakāruṇyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil Śaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity – Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315794518 has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Œaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga’s own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, and between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such a hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th and the mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates not only that Ramalinga Swamigal’s ideology of compassion, civakarun.yam, had a long genealogy in pre-Modern Tamil Œaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity – Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature, and subaltern studies. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 Note on Transliteration 12 Introduction 14 Part I Retrieving Ramalinga Swamigal 30 1 Pulavar to Prophet. A 19th-Century Religious Life 32 2 Ramalingar the Master and the Cittar 53 3 The Context of Compassion 90 4 Hunger and Compassion – the Cīvakāruṇya oḻukkam 121 5 Anti-Hagiography 163 Part II Recreating Ramalinga Swamigal 198 6 Śaiva Ferment 200 7 The Life and Times of Ñāṉiyār Āṭikaḷ (1873–1942) 213 8 Tiru.Vi.Ka: Ramalingar’s Camaracam as Radical Equality 246 9 Ma.Po.Ci – Ramalinga Swamigal and Modern Dravidian Sainthood 278 Conclusion: Ramalingar Redux 311 Bibliography 331 Index 350 "This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Śaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga's own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th -mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal's ideology of compassion, cīvakāruṇyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil Śaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity - Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies"-- Provided by publisher Introduction -- Part I: Retrieving Ramalinga Swamigal: 1. Pulavar to Prophet. A 19th century Religious Life -- 2. Ramalingar the Master and the Cittar -- 3. The Context of Compassion -- 4. Hunger and Compassion: the Cīvakāruṇya ol̲ukkam -- 5. Anti-Hagiography -- Part II: Re-creating Ramalinga Swamigal: 6. Śaiva Ferment -- 7. The Life and Times of Ñān̲iyār Āṭikaḷ (1873-1942) -- 8. Tiru.Vi.Ka: Ramalingar's Camaracam as Radical Equality -- 9. Mā. Po. Ci: Ramalinga Swamigal and Dravidian Sainthood -- 10. Ramalingar Redux -- Conclusion -- Bibliography