Also known as Mu. Va. and Varatharasanar, was a Tamil scholar, author and academic from Tamil Nadu, India. He was a prolific writer whose published works include 13 novels, 6 plays, 2 short story collections, 11 essay anthologies, a book on the history of Tamil literature, books on Tamil linguistics and children's books. During 1961–71, he was the head of the Tamil department at the University of Madras. In 1961, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil for his novel Karithundu. During 1971–74, he was the vice-chancellor of the University of Madurai.