Kumarathunga Munidasa
කුමාරතුංග මුනිදාස
Born(1887-07-25)25 July 1887
Idigasaara, Dickwella, Matara,
Sri Lanka
Died2 March 1944(1944-03-02) (aged 56)
Panadura, Sri Lanka
EducationAnanda College
Alma materDikwella Buddhist School
St.Thomas' College, Matara
Wewurukannala Pirivena
Occupation(s)Writer, poet, journalist
Notable workHela Havula
SpouseLilly Laviniya Peiris
Children6
Awards14

Kumaratunga Munidasa (Sinhala: කුමාරතුංග මුනිදාස; 25 July 1887 – 2 March 1944) was a pioneer Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) linguist, grammarian, commentator, and writer. He founded the Hela Havula movement, which sought to remove Sanskrit influences from the Sinhala language. Considered one of Sri Lanka's most historically significant scholars, he is remembered for his profound knowledge of the Sinhala language and its literary works.[1]

Personal life

The second youngest of twelve siblings, Kumarathunga Munidasa was born on 25 July 1887, in Idigasaara village, Dickwella, Matara, Sri Lanka.[2] His mother was Palavinnage Dona Gimara Muthukumarana (or Dona Baba Nona Muthukumarana) and his father was Abious (or Abiyes) Kumaranatunga. His father, a physician who practiced indigenous medicine, kept Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts on Ayurveda medicine, Astrology, and Buddhism.[3]

Munidasa originally attended Wewurukannala Pirivena to learn Pali and Sanskrit in order to become a Buddhist monk, but his family disapproved. He then switched to the government teachers' college in Colombo, graduating in 1907 after two years of training.[2]

In 1921, Munidasa married Lilly Laviniya. Kumarathunga Munidasa died on 2 March 1944, at the age of 56.

Career

His first appointment was as a government teacher in the Bilingual School of Bomiriya. He was later promoted to the position of principal of the Kadugannawa Bilingual School. After 11 years, he was promoted again to the position of inspector of schools. He remained in that role for four years.[4]

His first book, Nikaya Sangraha Vivaranaya, was an analysis of a Scripture on the Buddhist Monastic Orders. Munidasa was a member of the Sinhala Maha Sabha of the Swabhasha movement, which started as a protest against the English-educated elites.[4] In the following years, he made several poetry and short stories such as Udaya, Hath Pana, Heen Seraya, Magul Kema and Kiyawana Nuwana.[5]

Munidasa spoke of language, nation, and the country as a Triple Gem, linking these entities to the Buddhist concept of refuge. To pursue these sources of refuge, he founded the Hela Havula, which consisted of people who shared his views on Sinhala language and literary interest. Members of the group often engaged in debates and discussion of recommended literature. It was the starting point for many Sri Lankan scholars and artists and the organization.

Munidasa revived the Lakminipahana newspaper and started the Subasa and Helio magazines to teach and promote the correct use of Sinhala.[6]

Novels

  • Hathpana
  • Heenseraya
  • Kiyawana Nuwana
  • Magul Keema
  • "Mage pasala"
  • "Piya Samara"
  • "Shiksha Margaya"
  • "Sirimath"
  • "Nalawilla"
  • "Pahan Katuweki"

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Lessons Who Created Literary Taste". Silumina. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 Ahubudu, Arisen (1989). පුජිත ජිවිත (in Sinhala). Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. pp. 139–153.
  3. ↑ Coperahewa, Sandagomi (1 July 2011). "1. Purifying the Sinhala Language: The Hela Movement of Munidasa Cumaratunga (1930s-1940s)". Modern Asian Studies. 46 (4): 857–891. doi:10.1017/S0026749X11000291. S2CID 146835398.
  4. 1 2 Coperahewa, Sandagomi (July 2012). "Purifying the Sinhala Language: The Hela Movement of Munidasa Cumaratunga (1930s–1940s)*". Modern Asian Studies. 46 (4): 857–891. doi:10.1017/S0026749X11000291. ISSN 1469-8099. S2CID 146835398.
  5. ↑ "Kumaratunga Munidasa". Sri Lanka Poems. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Sahdasomi Coperahewa (1998), "Cumaratunga as a Language Planner". The Sunday Times.
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