[1] After school he joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1955, graduating in 1959 with a first class BA honours degree.
[2] He received a PhD degree from the university in 1962 after producing a thesis titled A Study of the Language of Tamil Inscriptions of Catavarman Cuntarapantiyan and Maravarman Kulacekaran (1251–1350 AD).
[1][3] He entered the University of Oxford in 1962 as student of Thomas Burrow, receiving a D.Phil degree in 1964 for his thesis A Study of the Language of Tamil Inscriptions of the period 800 to 920 AD.
[2] He suffered head injuries after falling in the bathroom of his home and died at a San Francisco hospital on 1 November 2015.
[2] Veluppillai wrote several books and articles on Sri Lankan Tamil literature, history and politics.