Ramanuja Kavirayar (1780, Ramanathapuram – 1853, Madras) was a Tamil savant and poet. Living in Madras, at that time the scene of the literary labours of several eminent Tamil scholars, many of whom were his own students, he dominated the world of Tamil letters. Ramanuja Kavirayar was the guru of George Uglow Pope (1820–1908), a Christian missionary who spent many years in Tamil Nadu and translated many Tamil texts into English, including the Tirukkural and Tiruvachagam. Pope has given currency to an interesting story relating to Ramanuja Kavirayar, which throws some light on his early life.