ARUMUGA NAVALAR one who translated the Bible in to Tamil. Though many translations were made before him his work has been acknowledged and used by the church. The words 'DEVAN' and 'KARTHAR' to denote Jehova and Jesus were coined by him.
Arumuga Navalar (1822-1879) was born on December 18, 1822 to L.
Kanthappap Pillai and Sivagami Ammai as a last son in Nallur, Yazhpanam, Ceylon
(Sri Lanka). Unlike the present, he studied the Indian clasiical language
Sanskrit and also Tamil. He continued his studies in a Christian Missionary
school. Recognizing his knowledge, he was asked to stay on at the Jaffna
Wesleyan Mission School to teach students. Peter Percival, the principal,
appointed him with a request to translate the Bible into Tamil. He worked with
Percival from 1841 – 1848. He was responsible for the current Bible available
in Tamil. The words, “Kartthar”, “Devan” etc., were used by him only.
In this context it must be emphasised
that though Arumuga Navalar fought against the conversion of the Tamils to
Christianity, he was not a religious fanatic. He was a good friend of Rev.
Percival who was a Wesleyan missionary teacher at Jaffna Central College. Even
the Tamil scholars of Madras of the 19th century acclaimed his effort as the
best translation. This aspect of his life revealed not only his command of
English and Tamil but also proclaimed to the world his broad thinking and
religious tolerance.
