Career
At the age of seventeen, he got married to Soundaravalli and soon after his marriage, he moved to Chennai to work as a sud-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. In his time in Madras Christian College he toured throughout Tamil Nadu giving lectures on Saivism. At about the same time he started a society for Saivism called Saiva Siddhanta Maha Samajam. As a young teacher he was popular with his students who would visit his house to listen to his lectures.
(Though he changed his name (Marai = Vedham; Malai = achalam; Adigal = swamy) only in the 1916, we chose to address him as Maraimalai Adigal (for the period prior to 1916)out of sheer respect for that great Tamil Scholar/ leader )
"Tamil made optional" by Madras University : In the year 1910 a decision was made by the Madras University to make Tamil language (vernacular) as optional for graduation in Arts subject leaving English as a medium of education. Some members of the University, who were inimical to Tamil but unashamedly calling themselves as Tamils made a proposal to make English and Sanskrit as compulsory subjects. In the absence of a true Tamil who could oppose that shameful act, only a European member took strong objection to that move and questioned as to how Tamil, a language rich in literature and grammar spoken by the majority people could be made as optional, while making Sanskrit, a language not spoken by anybody be made as a compulsory subject. Thus their sinister attempt to make Sanskrit as compulsory failed miserably.
Maraimalai Adigal Left the Job: Because of the above decision of Madras University many Tamil teachers lost their jobs. Realizing the vast knowledge and his great capacity as a teacher Miller the then Head of Christian College Madras and other friends insisted that Maraimalai Adigal be given a job in the college and should not leave the job. As the opportunity to teach Tamil got considerably reduced and number of students opted Tamil was minimal, the need for full-time teacher was not a required. Maraimalai Adigal had refused the offer of Miller and other friends from other colleges and resigned his Christian College job to lead an ascetic life in a serene atmosphere outside the city and to study and do research in Tamil.
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