Jaina Literature in Tamil

Author(s): A Chakravarti, K V Ramesh
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 58

JAINA LITERATURE IN TAMIL
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he had to report the proceedings of the House of Commons. He was particular to see that the Whigs had not the better of it. When such is the general mentality of the Tamil students and when the real spirit of research adopting the scientific and historical method is still in its infancy, it is no wonder that we have nothing worth the name of Tamil literature. Hence we are handicapped in our own attempt in presenting anything like a historical account of Jaina literature.
Turning from this digression to an examination of our work, we have to mention certain salient facts contained in the book itself. The book contains three great topics, aram, poruļ, inbam i.e., dharma, artha and kāma. These three topics are interpreted and expounded as to be in thorough conformity with the basic doctrine of ahimsā. Hence it need not be emphasised that the terms here mean slightly different from what they imply in the ordinary Hindu religious works. Later Hindu religious systems, in as much as they are resting on the Vedic sacrificial ritualism, cannot completely throw overboard the practice of animal sacrifice enjoined in the Vedas. The term dharma could mean, therefore, to them only varṇāšramadharma based upon Vedic sacrifice. Only three Indian systems were opposed to this doctrine of Vedic sacrifice: Jaina darśana, Sānkhya darsana and Bauddha darśana. Representatives of these three darśanas were present in the Tamil land in the pre-revivalistic period. In the very