Jain Journal 1997 07

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

Page 34

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KUMARI : KARNATAKA-TAMIL NADU JAINA RELATIONS
The Stalapurana of Srabanabelgola describes Chamundarāya to have belonged to the lineage of the Pandya rular of Madurai.95
Whether or not the Jaina royal families of Karnataka owe their origin to Dakshina Maduria is not a point that needs to be assessed here in the light of the above sources. However, it is obvious that Jaina royal families of Karnataka had intimate relation with the ruling families of Tamil Nadu during the hey days of Jainism which appears to have lasted until 7th century A.D.
Jainism was neither the faith of the royal house nor did it receive any royal patronage in a big way thereafter. Liberal donors, merchant guilds and assemblies appear to have saved the Jaina monuments seeking the gracious approval of the rulers through the ages.
From the above accounts, it may rightly be surmised that the period covered by the post seventh century in South India was marked by wordy warfare and learned religious disputations among the Jains, Buddhist, Saivas and Vaishnavas. Each sect was anxious to preserve its tenets and spread them among the masses by taking the royal support.
The Jaina era, ie, the period of Jaina predominance in Tamil Nadu, appears to have lasted only until 7th century A.D. In Karnataka, it moved ahead until 11th century A.D. It is signigicant that the Jaina influence did not end abruptly in Karnataka though their strength decreased the influence continued to survive for centuries to come.
References 1. Munivamsabhyudaya, Rājābalikathāsāra. 2. Medieval Jainism, p. 217. 3. South Indian Jainism, p. 25-32. 4. Comprehensive History of Jainism, Part-1, p. 132. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. E.C. X. Nos : 35.72 (Malur). 8. Ibid.
Simha Vishnu, the Pallava Ruler of Kanci is believed to be a contemporary of Avanita, the Ganga ruler of Avanita to the period of Simha Vishnu, see
the Western Gangas of Talakad.) 10. M.A.R. 1938. 11. E.C.X, No. 35.72 (Malur). 12. J.I.T. Nos. 350, 351