Jain Journal 1994 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 11

162
JAIN JOURNAL
and rousing religious feelings in the minds of common man. When paid a visit to Madurai, he happened to cure miraculously the acute abdominal disease of the king, Kanpāņdya, who then professed Jainism. As the Jain monks failed to cure him of his disease, they were put to several hardships and finally about 8000 of them were persecuted at the instance of Sambandar. The King, thenceforth, embraced Saivism. 3
Sambandar is also said to have been responsible for the persecution of Jains at Punatagai near Tiruvõttür. According to Periyapur ānam, when the Jains came into confrontation with the local Saivites, Sambandar is stated to have defeated and persecuted the Jains by performing the mirracle of transforming a male palmyra tree into a female one. This episode had given rise to carving of miniature sculptures representing impalement of Jains in the same temple.
King Mahendra Pallava I of Kāñchi was a Jaina in his early life, but later got converted to Saivism by Saint Appar who was himself a Jaica monk for sometime, heading the monsatery at Tiruppa tiripuliyür near Cuddalore. The king. after his change of faith, is believed to have destroyed the same Jaina monastery and out of its ruined materials erected a Siva tempe at Tiruvatigai.5 Mahendra's conversion to Saivism from Jainism is accepted by historians on the basis of his Trichy-inscription mentioning his change of faith from 'hostile conduct' (implies to Jainism) to Saivism. But scholars do not admit the tradi. tion regarding persecution of Jains and destruction of their monastery by the king.?
Palayarai near Kumbakonam had a Jaina settlement with which also Appar is connected in a conflict. He is stated to have brought to light a linga hidden by the Jains in their temple and converted the shrine into an edifice of the Saiva pursuation. Even though Jaina vestiges do not find place at Palayāļai now, its association with Jainism stands corroborated by a 9th century A.D. epigraph from Kalugumalai,
3 Ibid., Sambandar Purāṇam, 600-850. 4 Ibid., 975-983 5 Ibid; Tirunāvukkarasar Purānam, 145-146. 6 South Indian Inscriptions : (SII), Vol. I, No. 33, p. 29 7 C. Minakshi. Administration and Social life under the Pallavas, p. 206; K. A.
Nilakantasastri, A History of South India, p. 424 8 Periyapuranam, Tirupāvukkarasar Purāņam 294_95 9 SII, vol. 5, No. 320