Mahavidwan Kandaswamy Mudaliar (1838 – 1890) was born the only child of Ulaganathar and Parvathi, at Karur. The family owes its origin to Panjapatti in Salem district, and they moved to Coimbatore during the second half of the eighteenth century.

He was attracted to the Christian faith during his early days, but was subsequently mentored by the great scholar Chandrasekharam Pillai, which resulted in him becoming an ardent Shaivaite for the rest of his life. Kandaswamy Mudaliar was fortunate to have a great mentor–protégé lineage, which began with Madhava Sivagnana Munivar, followed by Kachiappa Munivar (author of ‘Perur Puranam’), his student Kandappaiyar, his student Saravana Perumaliyar, and his student Chandrashekaram Pillai.

Kandaswamy Mudaliar cleared his Uncovenanted Civil Services from a centre at Sevoor near Avinashi, and was appointed as a Vakil at the Munsif Court in Kollegal. However he chose to live in Coimbatore, and was later made a Vakil as per his wish. Those days, there were only 20 Vakils and therefore they could make a lot of money. The Vakils used to mark their fees in the corner of the case papers, and even if the parties went to another one of them, they had to pay the same. Kandaswamy Mudaliar was very reasonable, and did not follow the practice, for he was only interested in the development of the Perur Patteswarar Temple all his life. Whenever his presence was required at the temple, he used to transfer his work to another Vakil and leave for Perur immediately.

A number of scholars were well known to him, including Somasundara Nayagar, Sendhinadhaiyar Arumuganavalar, and Meenakshisundaram Pillai. Kandaswamy Mudaliar has written a lot about Perur, and he took steps to print the Perur Puranam from the palm manuscript for the first time through Madurai Ramaswamy Pillai, a.k.a. Ganasambandham Pillai. Later on, he worked to ensure that the Sthala Puranams of all the Paadal Petra Sthalams in Kongunad were available on print. Kandaswamy Mudaliar supported and patronized a number of Shaivaite Mutts, scholars, and even monks (who rendered floral services to temples) including Negamam Muthunagappa Mudaliar, Sittroor Kandaswamy Kavirayar, Thiruvannamalai Adheenam Vidwan Sri Arumuga Thambiran, and scholars from the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam.

Kandaswamy Mudaliar was the head of the Coimbatore District Temple Devasthana Committee, and he worked tirelessly for the renovation and restoration of Perur Patteeswarar Temple, for it was in a bad condition. He used the best of his abilities to influence the visiting authorities from Madras, and sorted out the legal differences in the classification of the temple lands, and brought them all under one category. This resulted in a substantial increase in the income of the Perur Devasthanam.

The temple cars were restored by him, and he established endowments for the Pachainayagi Ammaiyar Naatru Nadu Utsavam. He made ornaments for the deities in Perur as described in the scriptures. The Seeramalai, Thiruneelakantam, Gowrishankar Malai, Jatamakutam, and a number of Vahanams came about due to his commitment.

Kandaswamy Mudaliar patronized the Odhuvars who rendered Devarams in the Shiva temples by hosting them in his residence on Vysial Street. He took efforts to make the Utsava Vigrahams or processional deities for the 63 Nayanmaars at Perur in Panchaloham, and about ten of them were made during his time.

Sivakavimani C.K. Subramania Mudaliar, the only son of Kandaswamy Mudaliar, continued his legacy by rendering the famous treatise on Sekkilar’s Periya Puranam.