Kanthadai Vaidya Subrahmanya Aiyar (1875 – 7 November 1969) was a Tamil epigraphist and historian. He is considered to be the first person to conclusively decipher the cave inscriptions of Tamil Nadu as a form of Tamil-Brahmi.
Early life
Subrahmanya Aiyar was born in Avinashi Tirupur in 1875 and was educated in Trichinopoly. On completion of his education, Aiyar obtained a job at the Coimbatore Collectorate in Ootacamund where his abilities were recognised by Chief Epigraphist V. Venkayya who in 1906, inducted him into his team.
Career
Subrahmanya Aiyar worked as a government epigraphist from 1906 to 1932. He edited South Indian Inscriptions Volumes VI, VII and VIII and wrote for the Epigraphia Indica. In 1938, he published a monumental 3-volume work Historical Sketches of Ancient Deccan.
Works
- Aiyar, K. V. Subrahmanya (1917). Historical Sketches of Ancient Deccan. Modern Printing Works.
- Aiyar, K. V. Subrahmanya (1924). The Earliest monuments of the Pândya country and their inscriptions.
Notes
- Indira Parthasarathy (3 August 2003). "Records and revelations". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Straight from the Heart - Iravatham Mahadevan: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan". Varalaaru.com.
- T. S. Subramanian (1 January 2009). "Jaina treasure trove in Mankulam village". The Hindu.
References
- N. Subrahmanian (1988). "K. V. Subrahmanya Aiyar". Tamilian historiography. Ennes Publications. pp. 119–120.
- "Prominent Epigraphists of Sanskrit and Dravidian". Archaeological Survey of India.