Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

Author(s): A Ekambarnathan
Publisher: Bharat Varshiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha

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JAINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF TAMILNADU
Tirumalai cover a variety of subjects like poetry, grammar and rules for monks and laymen.
The Jaina temple of Kanakamalai Alvar at Ponnur of the same district contains Pandya and Vijayanagar stone records(ARE : 415,416,417/1928-29). Here, the cult of Jvalamalini was popularized by one Helacharya who is assigned to the 9th century A.D. His teachings were later codified by Indranandi Yogindra in his work Jvalamalini Kalpa. Yet another centre of Jaina influence in the same district is Karandai adjacent to Tirupparambur (Ms 19, Sec.3). The temple, herein, dedicated to Kunthu Tirthankara with a separate shrine for Vardhamana flourished in the Chola period and it was known as Virarajendrapperumpalli. (ARE : 129,131, 132,135, 141/1939-40). By about 1747A.D., the gopura of this temple was renovated (ARE : 136/1939-40).
Pulal, near Chennai, said to be the capital of the Kurumbas, had been a Jaina centre since early times. It has been pointed out that the Kurumba tribes of Karnataka after migrating southwards established their power in Tondaimandalam region which was divided into 24 political units. They become Jaina converts and later on built many Jaina temples. This place was a Jaina centre with a temple dedicated to Adinatha in the Chola period. (A. Ekambaranathan: 1996). Now it has been completely renovated in the Nagara style by the Svetambara Jains.
The Ponninatha temple at Pundi is one of the famous Jaina temples in Tondaimandalam. The legend of the temple (Ms 11,Sec 9) relates the origin of the temple to two hunters and a monk in severe austerity, namely, Arhadeva. More than the reliability of the legend, the importance of it lies in its preservation of the name of the local Sambuvaraya Chieftain called