There was one younger brother to the founder of Kaumara mutt Ramananda Swamigal. He was Venkatachala gounder and his wife was Kuttiammai. They had a daughter, but they prayed Ramanandar to grace them with a male child. He did so, giving holy ash. In due course, on 18.04.1892 a boy was born and they named him as Kandaswamy.

Kandaswamy had his elementary education in the village school, run by one Thottaia gounder. Kandaswami was intelligent and his teacher praised him for this.

Kandaswami lost his parents when he was still young, brought up by his elder sister. Though he was rich, the death of his parents made him think about mortality and non-permanence of the world. He began his spiritual pursuit in his tender age and reached Kaumara mutt when he was 12 only.

An anecdote is told in Sri Ramananda Vijayam, (a collection of anecdotes happened in the life Ramananda swamigal, written in prose along with verses by Kandaswamy swamigal) Kandaswamy swamigal had a dream that he had gone to Thiruvannamalai and there he had a dharsan of Lord Muruga in the form of Ramananda swamigal, in the eastern tower.

Kandaswami swamigal told this to Ramananda guru and he happily blessed him. From that day swamigal deeply involved himself in doing prayers, reading scriptures and workshipping Lord Dhandapani.

Apart from these, Kandaswamy swamigal was equally interested in raising gardens in and around mutt. So many flowering trees and so many evergreen shadow trees gave the mutt a natural environment cool and beautiful.

After reaching Kaumara mutt, Kandaswamy Swamigal did not learn from any teacher. Thiru Senthilnayagam pillai, son of Vannaccarabam, would visit the mutt so often. From him Swamigal learnt the Tamil grammar and varieties in minor literature like Pillaittamizh, Kalambagam, Ula etc. He

 

learnt sanskrit from scholars whenever they visited. Likewise the malayalam, he learnt himself through one devotee. He had the blessings of Lord Muruga and the blessings of his Guru. Therefore verses flowed from his heart spontaneously, in thousands.

On 22.01.1918, when he was 26, he registered a document, donating all the inherited properties to Kaumara mutt. He was such a matured soul, to renounce everything to attain everything higher.

He was not even 30 years, when he began to compose verses on different forms of prosody like anthathi, Yamakam, Tiruppukazh, vannam etc. His literary contributions are so many in number and on so many Gods and places.

Ramananda swamigal was in Palani for sometime. He decided to make Kandaswamy Swamigal as the Chief of the mutt. Accordingly on 29.01.1923 he handed over the responsibility and made Kandaswamy swamigal as an ascetic.

Ramananda swamigal was always in meditation. He could not be seen easily. Many came to mutt to have their grievances solved. Kandaswamy swamigal was easily accessible and fulfilled their wishes. Friday discourses continued by him.As requested by Ramananda swamigal, he composed 3 vannam verses on Vannaccarabam.

Once Ramananda was on a pilgrimage to Kerala, where he happened to see ‘Bhaktha Mala’ a prose-book in Malayalam. It was a translation from sanskrit, written by Chandradatta. It contained brief stories about vaishnavites, devotees of Goddess and saivites. There were 103 vaishnava devotees. The Guru asked Kandaswamy swamigal to write an epic on these. Thus came ‘Bhaktha Manmiyan, a great contribution containing 7373 verses. The introduction ceremony took place for 13 days from 24.05.1928 to 05.06.1928. Thiru Murugadasar composed 153 verses highlighting this ceremony.

Kandaswamy swamigal’s poetic capability was par excellence. Within a short time he would write the verses as if they came from his memorised skill. His verses are deep in meaning, having many poetic forms with

 

imagination the hard forms like yamaka and tiripu. Those who were nearby then were astonished to see his capability. Within a single night, he made a minor literature, ‘Perum Karunai malai’, 102 verses on the Goddess at Avinashi.

It happened one day, when he went to Karamadai, to introduce a minor literature ‘Karaimadai Ranganathar malai’ on 02.02.1945, the manuscript was left in mutt. Swamigal was not perturbed and produced new verses on the stage itself.

Kandaswami Swamigal was well versed in three languages of Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam. Yet his whole love was for Divine Tamil. He learnt the great works Pulavar Puranam and Tamil Alankaram of Dhandapani swamigal from top to bottom. But there was no hatred towards other languages.

Kandaswamy swamigal was an ascetic to the core. Therefore there are no many notings on worldly things in his verses. But he was very particular in teaching the people to shun killing of animals and avoid meat eating. This was his main principle. Whether offering to God (so called meat eaters) or experiment as a medicine - no one should take animal flesh as food. The second principle of his was, to spread the importance of worship in temples. To support and propagate these two, he widely travelled in villages, stayed with people and preached non-violence. He was very firm in not going to the temples where the animal sacrifice was prevailed.

He was a good orator and an able teacher. Friday assembly was a routine religious discourse of swamigal. Among his students were, the third pontiff of Kaumara mutt, Gajapujai Sundara swamigal, the pontiff of Perur Thavatthiru Santhalinga Ramasamy Adigal, Siravai Thambi swamigal alias Marudachala Adigal and the great poet Ku. Natesa gounder.

Whoever is born on this earth, one day he has to shed this carnal body, after undergoing the effects of twin Karmas. There is no exception to this. Kandaswamy swamigal a great sage and scholar had diabetes. There was a wound on his right leg. Doctors gave the opinion it would be better to amputate the leg below the knee. On 09.12.1948 it was done. Everybody hoped he would survive. But God’s will was otherwise and he

 

breathed his last on 10.12.1948, the next day, which was Revathi Star and Friday.

It was more painful for the first sannidhanam, to see his successor die while he was alive. Kandaswamy swamigal’s body was laid to rest in the cave already arranged in the Kaumara Sabha building. When the first sannidhanam left his carnal form in 1956, he was also laid to rest nearby.

Daily worship, Guru Puja and the birth day celebrations are going on in the mutt. Kandaswami swamigal left this world when he was 56, but his books would live for ever and he would live for ever in them.