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vii
inscriptions"1. The fact that many, if not all of these early cave inscriptions which, as revealed by their palaeography, were written in Brahmi characters during 3rd century B.C.-3rd century A.D., were caused to be engraved by the early Jainas of the Tamil country affords historical support to the alleged antiquity of Jainism in Tamilnadu. The existence of Jaina pallis, sramaņas and their abodes in the Madurai-Tiruchirappalli region during this early period is clearly borne out by these inscriptions. Later inscriptions afford evidence that these caverns were occupied as late as the 12th century A.D.
The celebrated literary giant Kundakundācārya, who probably belonged to the 1st century A.D., is the earliest tangible historical personality in the annals of Tamilnadu Jainism. He is believed to have founded the Mula-samgha; tradition gives him the secondary name of Ēlācārya and attributes to him the authorship of the Tirukkural, revered by the Tamilians as the Tamil Vēda. The 2nd century A. D. saw Jainism making further strides in the Tamil country through the efforts of another important Jaina scholar, Samantabhadra, 'one of those prominent Jaina gurus of early times who were responsible for the diffusion of Jainism in the Tamil country'. The Kathakōṣas of Prabha1. K.R. Venkatarama Ayyar : Transactions for the Year
4
1957-58 Archaeological Society of South India, pp. 24-25.
P.B. Desai; Op. cit., p. 55.
2.
3. See below, p. 29
4. B.A. Saletore: Mediaeval Jainism (Bombay, 1938), p. 224; M.S. Ramaswamy Ayyangar: Studies in the South Indian Jainism (Madras, 1922), p. 44.
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