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FOREWORD
Dr. T. G. KALGHATGI, M.A., Ph.D.,
PROFESSOR AND HEAD,
DEPARTMENT OF JAINOLOGY,
UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS, MADRAS 600 005.
A Persian poet has compared the universe to an old manuscript of which the first and last pages have been lost. It is not possible for us to say easily how the book began and how it is likely to end. For centuries, man has been trying to discover the lost pages. That is knowledge. "Jaina inscriptions in Tamilnadu - A Topographical list" compiled by Dr. A. Ekambaranathan and Dr.C.K. Sivaprakasam is an admirable attempt in discovering the lost pages in the history and development of Jaina influence in Tamilnadu. The inscriptions and palm-leaf manuscripts are reliable source materials for understanding the course of the influence of Jaina thought on the life of the people of Tamilnadu, and the authors have put in strenuous efforts in collecting the documents for the benefit of scholars of Jainism.
As the authors say in the preface, there is no doubt that Jainism played an important role in the socio-cultural mileu of the Tamils and left an indelible mark on the life and thought of the people in this area. The Jaina vestiges in the form of monuments, sculptures, paintings and inscriptions give scope for scientific study of the history of Jainism in this part of the country.
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