Paruthiyur K. Santhanaraman

Writer and Pravachan Pundit Paruthiyur K. Santhanaraman

Dr. K. Santhanaraman, M.A., D.Litt., Ph.D, Retired as the Deputy Treasurer from the Reserve Bank of India in Chennai after a forty year service. He also served as a guest faculty member of Reserve bank of India and handled many classes on banking and HRD. Santhanaraman is also a well-known orator and author of several books and numerous articles on aspects of Tamil culture.

Santhanaraman has been giving religious and literary lectures and discourses on various topics since 1965. He is also presently involved in contributing articles to many leading magazines. Santhanaraman had written over thirty-five books so far. His elaborate commentary on Abhirami Anthathi is very famous and great scholars had appreciated it.

His wife Prof. V. Hema did her doctoral research on ‘Tanikai Puranam’. She has trained thousands of science teachers in India and abroad and is associated with five Tamil Nadu universities. Dr. Hema Santhanaraman served as a Professor in Government Collages. She is also a writer and gives programs in the All India Radio and television Channels. They both are well known Tamil scholars of experience and erudition.

Santhanaraman and Hema have introduced a new pattern of performing pravachans. They appear together on the platform and speak alternatively in cricket commentary style. This new and unique style attracts the audience.

Agriculturists of Paruthiyur respect Santhanaramans have written the ‘Paruthiyur Stala Purana’in which all the temples of Paruthiyur and the greatness of  Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri and other sons of the soil are described. He wrote in detail about the Kalyana Varadharaja Perumal Temple  in Paruthiyur. Santhanaramans had extended their moral and monetary support to all the developmental projects of Paruthiyur Temples.

Paruthiyur Dr. K. Santhanaraman’s article in ‘Ambal Darisanam’ October 2006 issue under the title “ Iruvar Nookil Raman”, explains the work of two great men who were experts on the Ramayanam, Sri Periyavaachan Pillai Krishnan of the thirteenth century and Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri of the nineteenth century. Both these experts had interpreted the Ramayana ’s Balakanda sloka “ Aham Vedmi Mahathmanam”. Periyavachan Pillai had written over ten explanations for the same and Krishna Sastri had written over 100 explanations on the same sloka. Santhanaraman says ‘Rasanishyandini’ shows the scholarship of Krishna Sastri in Tarka Sastra ~ the science of cross questioning.

Paruthiyur K. Santhanaraman writes about eighteen Mahaans in his book ‘Arulalargal’ describing their selfless and righteous life dedicated to charity and how their lives had been a guide to humanity. An article by Dr Hema Santhanaraman in Amuda Surabi, the longest surviving literary monthly magazine, titled “Ramayanam Krishna Sastrigal” is also enlightening. It gives a brief summary of Sastri’s life and introduces the purpose for the recent renovations and Kumbabhishekam in 2003.

The Santhanaramans continue to write and give lectures and the recent popular ones include on the temple dedicated to Tamil poet in Mylapore, Chennai for Thiruvalluvar, where he writes about the temple four-feet-tall Moolavar idols of is installed on a two-feet-high platform. Panchaloha Utsava idols of Valluvar and Vasuki are also kept in the same sannidhi. Santhanaraman’s lectures on Abirami Anthathi with his interpretations and wide commentary shows his scholarship and knowledge on the subject. Most of their lectures take place in Temples, lecture halls, schools and universities.