By the banks of Kaveri in Mayavaram. Coming in the Andhra family hailing from Dubash (Dvibashi) Ramaswamy Iyer, in whose name Dubash Agraharam was active as on 1910. Married to Yanamandram Ramalinga Iyer and losing him when she was still in her teens in 1871, the girl took a unique step forward. She began to devote herself into Sanskrit education and that too a deep study of Advaita school of Vedanta. She rose to such a level that a jottings she made in Sanskrit for her own use, later she was persuaded by her friends to bring out as a publication, came out in 1910 as Advaitadeepika.
Sometimes back I was writing about Sadhu Nityanandammal and now Kamakshi Ammal of Mayavaram. Many years back I wrote about Patthi Yatirajammal of Sri Perumbudur and Kalyani Mami. Do I have a special eye for these illustrious women forgotten or do these great women give me darshan I do not know. But generally I do have a complaint to make. Even in our families we do not take so much seriously the wonderful wealth of memoirs in our women be they our elder or younger ones. But if you care to listen and I mean 'listen' to what they say, you will understand a different dimension of life, missed pitiably by the always-rushing menfolk.
Coming back to Kamakshiammal of Mayavaram, Advaitadeepika published by T S Natesa Sastriyar of T S Natesa Sastriyar and Co, Oriental Booksellers etc., Mayavaram in 1910 with an English translation still reminds one of the great lady and the life she carved out for herself at such early years. A small book of 40 pages in Sanskrit but full of intricacies of logic like anumana, paksha, sadhyata, dosha, pakshaviseshana, anyatarasiddhi, asrayasiddhi, sadhyaprasiddhi, sadhanaprasiddhi, sadharanyam, asadharanyam, vyabhichara, anupasamhara and the like. Luckily we have the translation of Natesa Sastriyar. But imagine what would have been her mental stamina to think in these lines and write a book of terse sanskrit as a just personal jottlog.
Srirangam Mohanarangan
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