Parithimaar Kalaignar

Parithimaar Kalaignyar was a Vedic scholar and priest born in a Brahmin Iyer family as Suryanarayana Sastri who lived in the 19th century. He studied the Tamil language intensively and, along with Maraimalai Adigal, started advocating 'purification' of the language by removing Sanskrit loan words. He also changed his original name "SuriyaNaaraayana Shaasthrigal" translated into "Centamil" (classic Tamil) as "ParithiMaal Kalaignyar" meaning 'the scholar by the name of the Black God (Thirumaal, referring to Vishnu), the master of the Sun God'.

References

* - See all Tamil leaders at senthamil.org.
* - Tamil Nadu government encomium on Parithimaar Kalaignyar.