________________
JAIN JOURNAL
In the 9th century A.D., Kerala was ruled by Ceraman Perumal. He conquered the Pandya and Cola kingdoms besides the independent Jaina Ayi chieftain of Kanyakumari. After his conquest, Perumal was crowned Emperor of all the Tamil kingdoms of South India. Ceraman Perumal was a Saivaite Hindu and the foremost lay disciple of Sundaramurti Nayanar, the last amongst the four leaders of the Saivaite revivalist movement in Tamilnadu. The movement was started by Saint Jnanasambandhar in the 7th century A.D. The Emperor brought a large number of Brahmins from Coladesa for performing pūjā ceremonies in the Saivaite temples of Kerala. He built several Siva temples and opened free feeding houses for Brahmins in different parts of the country. All those Jainas converted to Saivism were freely fed throughout the year. The Perumal and Sundaramurti undertook a pilgrimage to all the Siva temples in Kerala and Tamilnadu accompanied by hundreds of Saivaites singing devotional songs including instrumental music glorifying Lord Siva. They took processions, danced in ecstasy singing kirtans in praise of Siva. During this spectacular pilgrimage, Sundaramurti converted thousands of Jainas to Saivism. The Nayanar struck the final blow to uproot Jainism from Kerala and Tamilnadu but it continues to live in Tamilnadu upto this day. In Kerala, Jainism lingered until the 16th century A.D. and disappeared totally leaving behind a few temples and several relics including a few Tirthankara images, the living monuments of non-violence, brotherhood and peace. In modern Kerala, there is not a single lineal descendant of the early Jainas except a few hundreds of Karnataka Jainas who have settled in Wynad. They are planters and traders. They have built a few temples besides educational and charitable institutions in Wynad. In the early centuries, Wynad was a notable centre of Jainism in Kerala. A few images and inscriptions were discovered in Wynad.
Among the early Cera kings, Senkuttuvan ruled Kerala in the middle of the 2nd century A.D. He was a benevolent ruler. Senkuttuvan and his family members professed their traditional religion of Jainism. A Tamil Academy of Literature patronised by the Pandyan king functioned at Madurai, the capital of Pandyan kingdom. Senkuttuvan was a generous patron of the Academy. The Cera kings were great patrons of Tamil and its literature. They gave handsome gifts to poets and scholars who were authors of beneficial literary works promoting Tamil and enriching its literature. The court and the spoken language of the people was Tamil. It was only five hundred years ago, Thunchath Ramanuja Acarya, a gifted poet and an accomplished scholar in Tamil and Sanskrit made the Malayalam scripts, purified the then existing spoken and written language and wrote three monumental poetical compositions in Malayalam in Manipravalam Kilipathu style consisting of Sanskrit and Malayalam,
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
