ஹிந்து நாளிதழின் அங்கீகாரம்

The Hindu, 19-8-08 :-

A new translation into Tamil of the Mahabharata by Mr.M.V.Ramanujacharyar of Kumbakonam has been published. We heartily welcome this addition to Tamil Literature. It is a literal translation of the Sanskrit of Sri Vedavyasa, clothed in the simple style understandable by many. Pandit T.E. Srinivasachariar of the Kumbakonam College, has been engaged in the work of translation. His scholarship is a guarantee for accuracy. The first part now issued has been thoroughly corrected by Mr.M.V.Ramanujachariar of the Native High School, Kumbakonam. We have read several portions of the translation and are glad to find in both matter and manner all that are desirable in a popular work of the kind. The volume is entirely free from pedantry the besetting sin of indigenous scholars. The book has had the advantage of having passed through the hands of Maha mahopadhyaya Pandit V.Swaminatha Aiyar Avergal, of the Presidency College, Madras, and that, in our opinion, is no small recommendation. If a common literature is a bond among apparently different races, the Mahabharata can rightly claim to have produced a fusion of the Indian races more effectually than legal enactments or the example of a Moghul Sovereign.

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We sincerely hope that the Tamil speaking population of the Madras Presidency and in other parts of the world will largely patronise the patriotic labours of Mr. Ramanujachariar.

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The Hindu, 10-12-08:-

"The Tamil versions of standard Sanskrit works have almost all been free renderings of the original and have not so far quite clearly reflected the deep thought and rare beauty imbedded in the texts. So late in the day now, after so many literal translations have appeared in English and other languages, the Mahabharata which is an unfailing source for morality, wisdom and all good qualities is being offered to the Tamil Public in its literal form. Great credit is due to Mr.M.V.Ramanujachariar, Tamil Pandit of the Native High School, Kumbakonam, for having embarked on this grand project.  He is capable Tamil scholar himself and strives hard to make the literal Tamil translation read well and to remove the jarring effects of Sanskritic terminations and case endings in Tamil. He has entrusted the arduous task of translation to the eminent Pandits, Sathavadhanam T.E.Srinivasacharya of the Kumbakonam College and A.Venkatesacharya of the Gopal Vilas Library, Kumbakonam, both of whom are well-known for their erudite scholarship in Sanskrit.  *  * From a perusal of the first two parts now before us, we can confidently recommend it to the Tamil Public as reliable, good, readable and cheap. * * We wish the undertaking every success.

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The Hindu: 8-5-1916:-

"A HANDSOME GIFT TO A PANDIT.

Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar, Tamil Pandit of the Government College, Kumbakonam, who is engaged in the laudable enterprise of translating the Mahabharata into Tamil applied to the Board (District Board, Tanjore) for some monetary aid from the Chattram Funds towards the completion of his work, The volumes that have come out have received the commendation of competent critics, and the Board unanimously resolved to give him Rs.100 for each of the remaining 22 parts as they are issued and also to buy  the parts one copy for each of the schools maintained from the Chattram Funds.

   

Mr.Wood had desired that the venture deserved substantial encouragement and Mr.R.Narayana Iyer, I.C.S., supported the same with the recommendation that the Gift of the Board should be handsome enough to accord with the princely traditions of the founder of the charity from which the Board was to give."

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The Hindu: 26-11-21 :-

It is really a laudable attempt on the part of Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar, Retired Tamil Pandit, Government College, Kumbakonam, to provide a complete translation of Srimath Mahabharatham true to the original. It is work of stupendous magnitude requiring time, energy and money to bring it to a successful completion. Endowed with scholarly equipment and helped by his wide range of studies, the learned author has made his translation thoroughly successful. The language employed is chaste and flowing. The copy of Drona Parva before us affords good testimony to the sterling workth of the author, We trust that the excellence of his publication will attract a large number of readers and his book will command a wide sale so as to enable the Pandit to realise his great ambition of bringing into existence a Tamil translation of the great epic at an early date. Particulars regarding the books can be obtained from Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar, Editor, Tamil Mahabharatam, Mylapore.

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From the same: 23-12-21:-

(Reply to a query made by a gentleman in Bombay.)

 " Re.Mr.Sundaresan's enquiry about Valmiki Ramayana in Tamil"

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As regards Mahabharata in Tamil, Mr.M.V.Ramanujacharya of Mylapore, Madras, is the only one who has undertaken the stupendous task, and his translations published so far are fairly keeping pace with the voluminous original in Sanskrit.                     

                                                                                                         T.V.Krishnaswami Rao

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The Hindu: 8-6-29:-

The thirty-ninth part of the Tamil translation of Sri Mahabhartham from the original Sanskrit sources by Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar, retired Tamil Pandit Kumbakonam College, has just been published and we are glad to note that final stages of the great and valuable literary undertaking are nearing completion. As we have already stated this remarkable undertaking requires stupendous efforts and strong financial support. The learned Pandit by his patient endeavour and unceasing intellectual labour has almost achieved his grand object of presenting before the Tamil reading world, a reliable and faithful Tamil translation of the Mahabharatam. The current part contains portions of Udyoga Parvam and Vana Parvam. With the publicaiton of one or two parts more the full translation of the Mahabharatam written in chaste and classic Tamil will be before the public. The heroic struggle of the learned Pandit, guided by unbending optimism to achieve his ambition at any cost deserves all praise and it is the moral duty of the public, especially the Tamil reading public, to make the publication a financial success so that the arduous labours of a  great and well-equipped Tamil scholar may not go without public appreciation and true reward. The Rt.Hon.V.S.Srinivasa Sastri, in the course of a communication to the Pandit, observers:- "Your enterprise is great. In the literary world it would be hard to beat. If, being so near completion, it did not actually reach it, the Tamil-speaking community would incur great censure. In a world where desert and recompense were justly proportioned, service like yours will be rewarded by a adequate pension and the plaudits of a grateful and admiring public.

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The Hindu: 28-10-1930:-

We are glad that this magnificent work is nearing completion. To render the whole of the Mahabharata faithfully in simple idiomatic Tamil is not a easy task to be undertaken by a single individual. But, Mr.M.V.Ramanujachariar undertook to bring out such a translation without any promise of financial support from any public body or institution. We cannot, therefore, refrain from complementing him on his perseverance through the many difficulties that copped up unexpectedly during the course of publication. He had to employ several Sanskrit Pandits, for rendering different portions of the Mahabharata accurately into Tamil. He had to co-ordinate their work and make the translation uniform and harmonious; the translation had to be in easy flowing and idiomatic Tamil. There are a number of verses here and there in the Mahabharata which test the scholarship of the even the specialists in the subjects dealt with and there are other verses whose meanings are obscure. As regards such portions the high conception of his duties held by the learned translator had compelled him to suspend the publication of the translation till he could get them approved by those who have specialised in the Mahabharata and in the particular subjects dealt with. One such instance is referred to by the editor as having been the cause of delay of several months in the publication of the present volume which covers the earlier portion of the Vana Parva. With the publication of the later portion of the Vana Parva Mr.Ramanujachariar would be completing his magnum opus and earn the undying gratitude of the Tamil Speaking people.

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The Hindy: 19-2-1932:-

"A monumental work of scholarship which is also a rare service to the Tamil reading public, has just attained its completion with the publication of the forty-fifth instalment of the Tamil prose translation of the Mahabharata, edited by Mr.M.V.Ramanujachariar. Looking back across the quarter of a century which has elapsed since he undertook the work in the spirit of dedication, Mr. Acharyar may well congratulate himself on what must be regarded as a difficult achievement any where, but as something absolutely unique so far as the Tamil country is concerned. The Mahabharata is not only the longest poem in existence in any language: it is also one of the most difficult to translate faithfully and accurately. Cherished as a scripture by the devout Hindu it is at once a mine of spiritual truths and a fascinating picture of an ancient and opulent civilisation which has struck its roots deep in the soil. How arduous was the undertaking may be gauged from the following facts taken from the moving preface the Editor has written for the last volume. The completed work covers 9000 pages (demi size) and has involved an expenditure of about Rs.1,35,000 leaving the Editor out of pocket to the extent of Rs.15,000. The services of many of the ablest Sanskrit scholars in the Presidency were enlisted for the actual work of translation and the meticulous revision, involving retranslation in more than one case which the importance of the work and the existence of numerous recensions required. How exhausting must have been the editor's task of collating all this vast material and scrutinising it with a view to ensuring reliability, uniformity and readability may well be imagined; and to this were super-added the colossal difficulties of publishing a work on such a scale in times which were unpropitious and in a country where private philanthropy but imperfectly makes good the deficiency of a large book-buying public. It is all the more to Mr.Acharyar's credit that he has brought to port this grand co-operative enterprise leaving the Tamil public and lovers of scholarship everywhere very much in his debt."

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The Hindu: 22-3-1932:-

"TRIBUTE TO TAMIL SCHOLAR

Purse proposed to Mr.M.V.Ramanujachariar, Kumbakonam, 19-3-1932:-

To congratulate Pandit, M.V.Ramanujachariar and to present him an address and a purse on the successful termination of his translation of the Mahabharata into Tamil, a meeting of the citizens of Kumbakonam was held last evening in the Porter Town Hall under the Presidency of Mr.V.V.Srinivasa Iyengar, B.A, B.L, Advocate, Madras. A large and distinguished gathering was present.

The President praised the zeal and perseverance with which the learned Pandit had completed the monumental work of translating the Mahabharata into Tamil which he began as early as 1908 and said that it was a unique document which every literary aspirant ought to study with diligence. After referring to the high intellectual and moral qualities that were brought to bear in the scholarly translation of the work, he deplored the apathy of the public in appreciating such works of art and announced that the Sanskrit Academy of Madras had, at a meeting held recently, resolved to present an address to the learned Pandit and confer on him a academic distinction. He hoped that the proposal to honour the learned Pandit would find an enthusiastic and hearty response in the Presidency."

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The Hindu: 16-4-1932:-

                    A TAMIL SCHOLAR HONOURED

The members of the Madras Sanskrit Academy celebrated the Valmiki Day yesterday evening in the Sanskrit college, Mylapore, with the Hon. Mr.Justice Sundaram Chettiar in the chair. The occasion was also availed of to present a address to Brahma Sri, M.V.Ramanujachariar, who had translated the Mahabharata into Tamil.

Mr.V.V.Srinivasa Iyengar, in his introductory remarks, said that the Sanskrit Academy, though it had been in existence only forfour years had given a great impetus to South India for Sanskrit learning and Sanskrit culture. An Academy. if it were to serve the purpose of securing the purity and excellence of a great language and literature, should, from time to time, give public expression of its approbation of scholarly services rendered to such language and literature. Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar, after a herculean effort for nearly quarter of a century, had been able to complete a scholarly translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata into Tamil and the members of the Sanskrit Academy, to give public expressions to their feelings of gratitude and also as a mark of appreciation decided to present a address to Pandit Ramanujachariar.

The Chairman, in presenting the address to the Pandit, said that Mr.Ramanujachariar had completed his work in the face of many difficulties and obstacles. It was an instance of where diffidence made the man more careful and made him persist in his endeavour.

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The speaker then presented the address to Brahma Sri M.V.Ramanujachariar. The address was eclosed in a beautiful casket mounted on two ivory elephants.

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From the same: 18-4-32:

"The secretary of the Sanskrit Academy Madras writes:- The title of Bhasha-Bharata Dhurandhara was conferred on Pandit M.V.Ramanujachariar by the Academy on the 15th instant, at the public meeting held to celebrate the Valmiki Day at the Sanskrit College, Mylapore, under the auspices of the Academy."