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of this dynasty round about the beginning of the Christian era and a couple of centuries after it, had a Jaina guru, and the Jainas continued to be their spiritual heads righ upto the 5th cent. A.D.443 GUERINOT444 mentions a couple of inscriptions which go to prove that some kings of the Cholas were not unfavourable to Jainism as they granted lands in favour of Jaina temples.
It was, however, under the Pāņdyas and the Pallavas that Jainism had to face tough days. Before their conversion to staunch Saivism, they were probably not unfavourable to Jainism. UPADHYE remarks in this connection, that "the kings of Conjeepuram were patrons of learning: since the early centuries of the Christian Era upto the 8th century A.D., from Samantabhadra to Akalanka, we hear that Jainism was being propogated round that place. It is not improbable, therefore, that the Pallava kings at Conjeepuram, during the first centuries of this era, were patrons of Jaina religion and were themselves Jainas by faith". 445 In fact Kāñci and Madurā were great Jaina centres. It is said that the Digambara scholar Samantabhadra converted king Sivakoți of the Pallavas, a Saiva devotee, to Jainism by showing him a miracle, 446 and that in the 7th century A.D. Akalanka defeated the Buddhists in a debate after which a certain king Himaśītala drove them away to Ceylon.447
Brāhmanical leaders like Kumārila and Sankarācārya (8th century A.D.), and the Saivites under Nānasambara Appara (7th century A.D.), Sundaramūrti and Māņikka Vācakara (9th century A.D.), however, led a compaign against Jainism which resulted in the conversion of many Jainas. All these in collaboration with the Vaishṇava Alvārs effectively checked the spread of Jainism. 448
Royal patrons also sided with these faiths. Mahendravarman of the Pallava dynasty embraced Saivism, and the Pandyas of Madurā followed them. All considerations of religious toleration were set aside and Mahendravarman destroyed a large number of Jaina monasteries.449 "But what is surprising is not that contemporary Śaiva and Vaishnava Saints should have pictured darkly the Jainas in their religious works, but that the traditionally generous Hindu mind should have portrayed in a series of frescoes on the walls of the Golden Lily Tank of the well-known Minākshi temple at Madurā,
443. J.A., XII, 2, p. 74. 444. Op. cit., Nos. 167, 171, 478. 445. Prv. Intr., p. XIIII. 446. GLASENAPP, op. cit., p. 62. 447. Ibid. 448. See ArYANGAR and RAO, op. cit., pp. 70ff. 449. SMITH, EHI, p. 472.
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