xiii

1. Yapparunkala Virutti (with Kurippurai).

2. Tolkappiyam-eluttadhikaram.

They were neatly written on paper, ready to be passed on to the press for printing on or about 1944. The former was edited by Vidvan M.V. Venugopalap Pillai, a Tamil Pandit of Conjeevaram and the latter by the late C.R. Govindaraja Mudaliar, retired Tamil Pandit of the Pachayappa's College, Madras. These manuscripts bearing R.Nos. 7161 and 7162 respectively could not be taken up for publication immediately but the former has now been selected for publication under a scheme of the Government of India for the Development of Modern Indian Languages.

The staff of this library has not made any change in the press copy that was handed over by the Official Trustee of Madras. The entire press copy including the indices, etc., was prepared by Vidvan M.V. Venugopala Pillai. Though the text and the commentary were already printed some years ago by the late S. Bhavanandam Pillai himself, the same has been edited afresh by the learned Vidvan with very useful explanations, illustrations, etc., in the foot-notes. He has also added several indices. The work deals mainly with prosody in Tamil poetry in an elaborate form. My thanks are due to Sri V.S. Krishnan, Pandit of this library who went through the proofs of the major portion of the text and also to Sri M. Pasupathy and Sri T. Krishnamurthi, Pandits of this library for going, through the proofs of the preliminary matter and the appendices.

On account of the great speed with which the press copies were prepared, edited and rushed through the press, a few mistakes might have crept in. It is hoped that the learned scholars who read the work will make necessary corrections, if any.

In this connection, I shall be failing in my duty if I do not express my thanks to the Controller of Stationery and Printing, Madras, for scrutinizing the quotations of the private presses, for supplying the required stationery for printing, for passing the printing bills from the presses in a very short time and for taking up the printing of one of the manuscripts in the Government Press itself.