Glory Of Jainism

Page 12

- ll - The same is also the historical - language. The best classical works in poetical metro in Tamil are composed by Jaina Acharyas. The Tamil language has been in existence for more than two thousand years.. It is unchanging and virile. The credit for its virility, stability, authenticity, logevity and richness in literature should go to the Jaina versatile writers, because of the fact that they were the originators of its grammar, logic, rhetorics and prosody. Every la nguage undergoes :: some change in the course of centuries, but there has been no change at all in the original grammar of the Tamil language in the past several centures. This is the considered view of some eminent Tamil schokes. The highest ethical and moral code in Tamil is considered to be the Kural. The Tamil people regard this great work as their Panchama Veda. After prolonged, heated and strenous controversies among Tamil schola rs, many of them have unanimously expressed the view that the Rural is the work of a Jaina schola r. It is equally sacred as the Vedas and the Gita to the people of Tamilnad. Some noted Tamil scholars have declared that the Tamil language would lose its charm if the works of Jaina writers were excluded from its literature, I have included an Appendix containing the names and the Karnataka and Tamil works of Jaina Acharyas and authors. The purport of my above remarks is to show that it was the Jaina authors who were the ipso facto oreators of literature in almost all the Indian languages. Most of their wonderful literary works have been destroyed by Yavana invaders from communal disturbances and also by the ravages ..12.