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TAMIL LITERATURE. 35 that, even then, Jain sages had commenced their work of preaching the Jain doctrine to the Tamils. Other than these, there are no records that illumine the obscure history of early South Indian Jainism. It is astonishing that, for some of the brightest periods of South Indian History, neither copper-plate grants nor inscriptions on stone are available. Such inscriptions as have been published by Government epigraphists deal more largely with medieval than the otarly, history of South India. For further information as regards early South Indian Jainism, we are therefore forced to depend mainly on the literature of the Tamils.
The literature of any country is the expression Tamil in memorable poetry and prose, of the life and its values character of the people inhabiting it. Tamil literature is no exception to this, and the long succession of books that make up the Tamil literature is a record of the inner life of the people, and of the hopes and beliefs of each succeeding generation. And any student who patiently examines it may glean much information for the reconstruction of South Indian History. An attempt is, therefore, made in the following pages to present, in a connected narrative, an account of the Jains based on such authentic evidence as can be gathered from Tamil literature. The whole of the Tamil literature may roughly Periods of
Tamil be divided into three periods : -1. The Sangam literature. or the Academic period. 2. The period of Saiva
literature :
