S. Kanapathipillai (27 April 1899 - 13 March 1986) was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil literary figure and Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 revivalist

Revivalist

Revivalist may refer to:* An individual who is involved in a movement of Christian revival* Revivalist artist - a performer dedicated to reviving a musical or cultural form from an earlier era* Revivalism...

 in the school of Arumuga Navalar. His father was Sinnathamby Pillai of Madduvil. Kanapathipillai was enrolled at the Navalar Kaaviya Paadasalai, under Kumaraswamy Pulavar

Kumaraswamy Pulavar

Chunnakam Kumaraswamy Pulavar was a well known Sri Lankan Tamil scholar and poet from Maylani village in Chunnakam township in Jaffna peninsula in the British held Ceylon now known as Sri Lanka. He lived from 1854 to 1922...

, where he pursued higher studies in classical Tamil and literature

Tamil literature

Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...

. He was also guided by Swami Vipulananda

Swami Vipulananda

Swami Vipulanada , also known as Vipulananda Adigal, was a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher and ascetic from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Vipulanada was an early pioneer associated with the Indian-based Ramakrishna Mission in Sri Lanka...

, while still a student at the Navalar Kaaviya Paadasalai.

In 1925, he became one of only four people from Jaffna

Jaffna

Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...

 who had been bestowed the Pandithar qualification by the Madurai Tamil Sangam

Madurai Tamil Sangam

Madurai Tamil Sangamalso known as 4th Tamil Sangam was a language academy founded by Prince Paandi Thurai Thevar and other Tamil language scholars to promote the use of Tamil language and Tamil culture in the late 19th century in British held India....

. Kanapathipillai was a trained teacher and was in charge of the Saiva Teachers Training School at Thirunelveli, Jaffna, from 1929 until he retired. He was also knowledgeable about Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

, about Saiva Siddhanta and is a revered Tamil scholar of high repute and was given the title of "Pandithamani". In his last years he lived at his residence in "Kalasalai Veedi" in Thirunelveli, Jaffna..