Subramania Bharati

• Context (PIB | TH): PM released works of Subramania Bharati on his birth anniversary.

About Subramania Bharati

• He was also known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar. He was a Tamil poet, freedom fighter, and social reformer.
• He knew 32 languages, including three foreign languages. He considered Tamil and all other Indian languages to be in no way inferior to English.
• His writings on nationalism and independence played an important role in inspiring the masses in Tamil Nadu to support the Indian freedom struggle. Bharati’s compositions are mostly short lyrical outpourings on patriotic, devotional, and mystic themes, earning him the title of a lyrical poet.

• His best-known works include “Kaṇṇan Pattu” (Songs to Krishna), “Panchali Sapatham“ (Panchali’s Vow), and “Kuyil Pattu” (Kuyil’s Song).
• He translated Vedic hymns, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, and the Bhagavad Gita into Tamil.
• He started his career as the Assistant Editor of the Tamil daily Swadesamitran in 1904 and later edited the Tamil weekly “India” and the English newspaper “Bala Bharatham“ with M.P.T. Acharya.
• He assisted Sri Aurobindo in the “Arya” journal and later “Karma Yogi” in Pondicherry. His translation and adaptation of “Vande Mataram“ became a potent rallying cry for the nation’s freedom fighters.
• Bharati wrote “Panchali Sabatham,” an epic poem based on the Mahabharata, criticising social injustices and advocating for reform.
• He faced persecution for his views from the British authorities and orthodox elements within his own community, which led to his exile in 1908.