Page:Introduction to Tamil Poetry.pdf/9

 tributed greatly to Tamil Literature by his prose writings. Umaru Pulavar, a convert to Islam, composed in this cen- tury "Chirāpurāņam” an epic depicting the life and adventures of -Mahomed the Prophet. (Thãyumânavar composed several psalms in the 18th century A.D. which have received admiration and approba- tion because of the broadened and cosmopolitan outlook which he had taken. He has shown in his poems how there could be a happy combination and blending of Siddhanta and Vedanta. Constantius Beschi alias Viramā Munivar arrived at Goa in 1708 A.D. and threw his lot in the midst of the Tamils and composed several catechisms and prose trea- tises, including the story of Guru Noodle, the simple. He composed also an epic called Tēmpāvani in which the life of St. Joseph has been marvellously told. The Lexicon, entitled "Chatura Akarathi” which he compiled also marks a milestone in the history of lexicons in Tamil. Arumuga Nāvalar of Jaffna and Rāmalinga Aạigal of the South Arcot District contributed greatly to the thought of the time and influenced the public in a large measure in the 19th century. Arumuga Nāvalar was a prose writer par excellence and Rämalinga Swamigal was an inspired writer of devotional poetry of the period. The latter was noted for the simple and upostentatious way in which he approached the general public and his poems were not only for the learned classes but also for the masses. pounded the view that God comes to the rescue not only of the learned and the cognates but also of the unlearned, down-trodden and uninitiated. Maha Vidwan Minakshi- sundaram Pillai was a prolific writer of the 19th century, and judged by the mere quantity of poetry he has no com- peers. He was responsible for giving Sthalapuranam for places which did not enjoy such privileges before. In the modern period, the foremost star that glitters in the firmament is Subramania Bhărathi, the National Poet He pro-