Jain Legend Vol 3

Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

Page 108

Later on aiva saint J nasambandhara was invited. After telling him the terms of the opportunity, he was requested to use his extraordinary powers to treat the King of his incurable disease.
J nasambandhara, meditating on Lord amkara, started treating the king. In front of all present, he quickly cured the king of his incurable disease and made the Hunch (Kubja) Pāņdya into handsome (Sundara) Pāņdya. As per the terms of the treatment, Sundara Pāņdya declared Jnasambandhara as the royal religious teacher and converted ceremonially into aiva religion.
This conversion of Sundara Pāndya from Jainism to aiva religion highly influenced the commoners as well. In the process, J nasambandhara also enhanced his influence over the commoners. J nasambandhara, in connivance with the queen and the prime minister of Sundara Pandya made several offers to Jain monks to prove the greatness of their religion and thus got them engaged in several miraculous debates. Based on the defeats of Jain monks in these debates, and as per the writings in 'Jain Samh ra Caritam' he had 5000 Jain monks crushed to death in the oil mills of Madurai. In this way, Jnasambandhara forcefully started destroying Jain temples and monasteries and converted Jain followers as
aiva followers.
On the other hand, aiva saint Appara also had Pallavar ja Mahendra Varmana-I converted from Jainism to aiva religion. He, like Jnasambandhara, started collective destruction of Jain temples, monasteries and ma has along with torturous and forceful mass conversion of Jains to aiva religion.
All these acts resulted in mass exodus of Jains from K mc and Madurai to other safe heavens. The remaining Jains either converted to aiva religion or those who considered Jainism as dearer than their life were killed by the followers of these two aiva saints.
These acts were so destructive on Jainism that it can be termed as religious uprising and mass murder. This attack made Jainism, which was most influential religion in Tamilnadu for centuries, bruised so badly that all efforts of last thirteen centuries have not been able to even
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