Tamil Bible author's grave discovered in Salem

The grave of Rev. Dr. Peter Percival, a distinguished scholar and educationalist who is credited with having translated the Bible into Tamil, was discovered last month.

The Wesleyan missionary who arrived Jaffna in 1825, apart from translating the Bible, has also authored the first Anglo-Tamil and Anglo-Telugu dictionaries.

His grave was found along with Robert Bruce Foote, a popular British geologist and archaeologist who is often considered the "Father of Indian Prehistory".

It was discovered by Archaeolgists Shanti Pappu, V.R. Pappu and Kumar Akhilesh, in the graveyard of the Holy Trinity Church at Yercaud, a hill station near Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Starting his career as a Wesleyan missionary, Percival first arrived Sri Lanka's Jaffna where he revived education and established girl's schools and hostels.

Percival, also the first Registrar of the University of Madras, apart from translating hymn books, prayer guides, has also translated hundreds of Tamil proverbs into English and wrote a book on Tamil proverbs.

His love for India led him to author Land of the Veda: India Briefly Described in some of its Aspects, Physical, Social, Intellectual and Moral.

Percival was also instrumental in developing and re-organising Jaffna Central College – one of the oldest and most distinguished of the modern secondary schools in Sri Lanka. It was here that Percival along with celebrated Tamil scholar Arumuka Navalar, translated the Bible into Tamil.

Percival eventually retired to Yercaud and died there in 1882. His daughter was married to Robert Foote - a year before the archeologist's famous discovery of stone tools at Pallaveram.