Maraimalai Adigal (15 July 1876 – 15 September 1950) was a Tamil language orator and writer and father of Tanittamil Iyakkam.

He advocated the use of Tamil devoid of Sanskrit words and hence changed his birth name Vedhachalam to Maraimalai.

[2] At the age of seventeen, he married Soundaravalli and soon after his marriage, he moved to Madras to work as a sub-editor to a journal Siddantha Deepikai.

Later, in March 1898, he quit this job to work with V. G. Suryanarana Sastri as a teacher in Madras Christian College.

[1] In 1910 a decision was made by the Madras University to make the vernacular Tamil language optional for graduation in Arts subjects, leaving English as a medium of education.

As the opportunity to teach Tamil was considerably reduced and few students opted to study it, the need for a full-time teacher was not a required.

Adigal refused the offer and resigned to lead an ascetic life in a serene atmosphere outside the city and to study and do research in Tamil.

Other than essays and novels he wrote books dealing with literary criticism, philosophy and religion, history, psychology and politics.

[4] His collections of poems to the Hindu god Sri Murugan, which he composed during the times of illness were published as Thiruvotri Muruhar Mummanikkovai in 1900.

These included Maranathin pin Manithar Nilai (Human Life stage After Death), Mesmerism and Hypnotism and Tholaivil unarthal (Telepathy).

The Kazhagam made efforts to make people of all castes, creeds and religions to worship Sri Siva together.

[7] Maraimalai Adigal himself claimed that the non-Brahmin stance of Self-respect movement was born out of his views and principles.

[8] Nevertheless, the atheist stance of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, who was heading the Self-respect movement, was observed by Maraimalai Adigal and his followers as counter productive.

[9] On this issue, Ilavalaganar, a student of Maraimalai Adigal wrote: Saivism is not one iota different from the primary aim of the Self-respect movement.

Ka as he was popularly known) and an eminent Saivite scholar himself, to arrange for a statewide tour to counter the propaganda of the Self-respect movement.

[13] Although the apology and reconciliation were at a personal level between Periyar and Maraimalai Adigal, the difference in ideologies still made their followers to cross swords.

[5] Upon his death, on 15 September 1950,[3] according to his will, the books were left for the people of Tamil Nadu and thus a library named after him was started in 1958 by the then MD, Padmashri V.Subbiah Pillai of South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society Ltd. at Linghi Street, Chennai.