Roja Muthiah Research Library cordially invites you for the monthly lecture
Prof. M. Anandakrishnan Endowment Lecture Series
Roja Muthiah Research Library
invites you for a
lecture on
“The Publication of Ramalinga Adigal’s Tiruvarutpa”
by
Dr. Rick Weiss
Time: 5.00 – 6.30 p.m.
Venue:
Roja Muthiah Research Library
3rd Cross Road, Central Polytechnic Campus
Taramani, Chennai 600 113
Telephone: 2254 2551 / 2254 2552
Tea will be served at 4.30 p.m.
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Summary of the talk
The publication in 1867 of Tiruvarutpa, a book of verses by the Tamil Shaiva mystic Ramalinga Adigal, was a landmark event for his followers, but it also prompted the beginning of a dispute within Shaivism that would continue for decades. This paper looks specifically at the publication history of Tiruvarutpa, detailing the efforts of his followers to collect his verses, Ramalinga’s reluctance to cooperate with the publication work, and the content and structure of the volume that was published, especially the apparati that frame the publication. The paper will consider the motivations of Ramalinga’s followers in publishing a volume of his verses, at this transitional time when printed works were increasingly replacing manuscripts as the primary media of textual communication.
About the Speaker
Rick Weiss is Senior Lecturer of South Asian Religions at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is currently working on a book on Ramalinga Adigal’s writings and institutions. He has previously published a book on siddha medicine, Recipes for Immortality (OUP, 2009).
About Prof. M. Anandakrishnan
Prof. Anandakrishnan obtained Ph.D in Civil Engineering (1960) from the University of Minnesota, USA. He served as Professor of Civil Engineering at IIT, Kanpur between 1963 and 1974. He served the United Nations in the UN Centre for S&T for Development(1978-1989); as the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University (1990-96); and as Vice-Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education from 1996-2002. Currently he is the Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Rajasthan; President, Ranganathan Centre for Information Studies (RCIS), Chennai; President, Tamil Nadu Academy of Sciences, Chennai; Member, Board of Management, NUEPA, Delhi; Member, High Power Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education in India and Chairman, Executive Council, Science City, Chennai. He was Chairman, MIDS between 2003 and 2008. He has served as Chairman or Member of several high level committees of MHRD, UGC, AICTE and NAAC. His honours and awards include Padma Shri from the President of India (2002); the Order of Scientific Merit from the President of Brazil (1996); Distinguished Leadership Award of the University of Minnesota (2003); Honorary Fellow of the Indian Society for Technical Education (2005); UGC National Swami Pranavananda Saraswati Award in Education (2006); Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, India and Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.
