Biographical Sketch of Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin

Paṇḍit Mahāmahopādhyāya M. Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and writer. He was born in August 1859 in the village of Punalveli near Srivilliputhur, Tirunelveli district^[1]. He belonged to a very respectable family. His father Muthusubba kavi was also a great scholar and poet. Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin made an intensive study of Vyākaraṇa and Vedanta and had deep erudition in both these śāstras. He was a pupil of Subba Dīkṣitar of Kadayan, a well known scholar of that time. He was appointed as a Sanskrit Paṇḍit in the year 1896 in the St. Peters College, Tanjore and continued there till the year 1907. During this period the late Mahāmahopādyāya Kuppuswami Sastrikal was a student under him. After 1907 he was employed as a Pandit in the Pachayappa’s High school and continued there till his retirement in 1920. After retirement he delivered speeches on Bhagavatgīta, Bhāgavata and Vedantasūtras in many places in South India. He passed away to the regret of many of his pupils and friends on the 17^th may 1928. He left behind him three sons. The second son T.L.Venkatarama Iyer, became a judge at the supreme court.

It was during his stay at Tanjore that his carrier as a writer began. He wrote at first commentaries on the two dramas of Bhavabhūti, Uttararāmacaritam, and Mahāvīracaritam, Anargharāghavam of Murāri, Bālarāmāyaṇam of Rajasekhara and Veṇīsaṃhāram of Bhatta Narayana. He also wrote Kārikās on the major Upaniṣads based on the Bhāṣya of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya. The last of his poems was Bhagavatpādābhyudaya, which gives an account of the life of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya.^[2] It may be regarded as one of the standard works on the life of the great Ācārya. At the Vidvat sadas held in the year 1903 at Tanjore, on the occasion of the visit of sir Sesadri Iyer, Dewan of Mysore, the kārikās were read and in recognition of their merit, the Dewan was pleased to confer the title of ‘Sūri’ on him. Ever since he was known to the scholar world as Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin. The government of India confirmed on him the title of ‘Mahāmahopādhyāya’.

Realizing the importance of producing prose works in simple Sanskrit to be read by students of Sanskrit, Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin wrote Bhārata Saṃgraha and later the Nalopākhyāna and the Rāmāyaṇa Saṃgraha. His prose was simple and lucid and at the same time vigorous and grammatical. In the years 1907 and 1908, the Board of studies of Sanskrit in Madras University, the chairman of which at that time was P.S. Sivaswami Iyer, and one of the members, V.Krishnaswami Iyer, prescribed these prose works for the matriculation examination. Even before the year 1900, while his uncle Swaminatha Iyer was District Munsif at Sattur, Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin came into contact with him. His scholarship in Vedanta was very much appreciated by his uncle. He then gave a letter of Introduction to his brother Justice Krishnaswami Iyer, at Madras. It was from that time his association with Sri V. Krishnasawami Iyer began. This grew into a great intimacy. Krishnaswami Iyer become an ardent admirer of the poetic genius of Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin. He gave great encouragement to him to write the other poems and prose works.

When Dr. Hultzsch, the great German scholar, was the Government Epigraphist here, he discovered the first two acts of an unknown drama called ‘Pārijā tamañjari inscribed on granite slabs. He sought the assistance of Paṇḍit Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin to reconstruct the text which was in part mutilated and also asked him to write a commentary on the work. Even after Dr. Hultzsch retired from his post and went to Germany, he was having correspondence with Paṇḍit Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin in Sanskrit. Dr. Hultzsch wrote many letters in genuine appreciation of the scholarship of Paṇḍit Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin.

Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin was also the author of many poems and dramas. The first of his poems was ‘Viprasandeśa’ based on the well-known story of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa of Rukmini sending a message to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He wrote also the Mahākāvya called ‘Kṛṣṇalīlāmṛta’ giving an account of the early life of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.^[3]

Among his minor poems are Viprasandeśa, Manasasandeśa and Veṅkaṭeśastava. His play Delhisāṃrājya represents the story of Durbar of king George 5^th at Delhi and Paulastyavādha the story of Rāmāyaṇa. As mentioned earlier he wrote many commentaries and his commentaries on Anargharāghava, Uttararāmacarita, Mahāvīracarita, Veṇisaṃhāra, Bālarāmāyaṇa and Ratnāvali are well-known.^[4]

As noted before in the field of simple prose in Sanskrit he has set an example. His “Bhīṣmavijaya” narrates the life of Bhīṣma the great Kaurava warier and imparts the ideal of virtue and discipline. Creating prose texts in simple Sanskrit meant for students, Paṇḍit Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin wrote Bhāratasaṅgraha and ‘Rāmāyaṇasaṅgraha’. By writing Bhārata and Rāmāyaṇasaṅgraha he did really a great contribution to the propagation of Sanskrit stories in an attractive style.

Soon after the founding of the Ranade library V. Krishnaswami Iyer outlined a plan for the publication of a serious of books resembling the “English men of letters” on some of the great ancient characters of our country. A series of lecturers also were delivered under the auspices of the Ranade library on Bhīṣma, Yajñavālkya and others by eminent Paṇḍits. In pursuance of this plan, he requested Paṇḍit Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin to write a short prose work (Bhīṣmavijaya) giving an account of the life of Bhīṣma in Sanskrit. In 1909 Bhāratasaṃgraha was published and was dedicated by him to Krishnaswami Iyer. It was prescribed as a text book in the university for B.A Degree examination for the year 1912.

During the time of the coronation of George 5^th in 1911 the Govt of Madras requested him to write an ode on the king. It was named as “George Deva Satakam”.^[5] This poem was translated in to English and was read on the occasion of the celebrations of the coronation at Delhi and at various centres in Madras. The Govt of Madras was pleased to give him a honorarium and in recognition of the merit of his poem. They awarded also a certificate of honour to him.

Many and varied have been the scholarly activities of this renowned Paṇḍit. He had a wonderful grasp of the Sanskrit language, vocabulary and grammar. His prose works encouraged good prose in Sanskrit literature during recent times. He had a profound knowledge in Indian philosophy. In private life, he was of a gentle and amiable disposition. He led an austere and pure life. He was poor and had a large family to support, but he always maintained the standard of plain living and high thinking. Apart from this we know little about his personal life. It has been noted that Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin was deeply attached to his father Krishnaswami Iyer and he used to spend a lot of his time in Ramaswami Sastri’s house. The conversation between the two was itself an education to the hearers. They spoke on many aspects of Sanskrit literature. The Krishnaswami Iyer gave unstinted support and encouragement to the paṇḍit’s scholarly activities. So great was his affection on the occasion of his death, his sorrow took the form of an Elegy Karuṇaka.

Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin may be considered as a leading figure in the early modern Sanskrit literature. His works were popular among the Sanskrit lovers.

In 1956, his son T.L Venkatarama Iyer wrote:

“My regret has been all the keener for the great interest which, the reading public has been taking in my father’s works. Many were the enquires received from quarters, known and unknown to me, concerning them and numerous requests for copies there of. But I could not respond, as the publications were most of them out of print. And latterly, as a result of the general cultural awakening and an increasing desire on the part of the public to study Sanskrit, there has been a steady rise in the demand for the works. It is hardly necessary for me to write anything about the important place which my father’s works occupy in modern Sanskrit literature, a place which has obtained international recognition.”^[6]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

M. Krishnamachaiar, History of Classical Sanskrit Literature, p.301.

[2]:

Vide Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin, Bhāratasaṃgraha, Ed., T.V. Balakrishnan Madras: Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute,1956, p. v.

[3]:

Ibid.,

[4]:

M. Krishnamachaiar, History of Classical Sanskrit Literature, p.302.

[5]:

Vide Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin, Bhāratasaṃgraha, Ed., T.V. Balakrishnan, p.vi.

[6]:

Ibid., p.i.