Jaina Monuments and Places First Class Importance

Author(s): T N Ramchandran
Publisher: Veer Shasan Sangh Calcutta

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JAINA MONUMENTS
In the early stages Jaina influence existed side by side with thal of Buddhism. The Sthalapurāņa of nearly every temple in (onjeevaram conhms the belief of the people that "Conjee varam was for ages a Buddhist and alterwards a Jaina town."
This takes us to the very interesting qucstion of the religious history of Tiruparullikunram which is as interesting as its sccular one, and is cqually rich for the reason that a place like Jina-Kāño hīpuram, Oure of the l'idyāsthānas sacred to the Jainas cannot be othcrwise. A study of the local traditions, and of the inscriptions in the temple and on the samüdhi peclestals reveals a regular heirarchy of sages who figure in some of these inscriptions as master (guru) and disciple śişya).
Their main work appears to have been propagation of the Digainabra Jaina religion. With erudile scholarship some of these sages combined rars laçl and accommodation to other faiths like Hinduism, which stood them in good stead, for they not only secured for their religion the patronage of the king of the land, but also protected them from Hindu fury. By slow degrees these sages began to acquire, apart from the religious hold that they already had, much political influence in the country.
Jaina contribution to the literature of South India is rich,. most of its contributors being religious enthusiasts. From Manimekalai and Silappadikāram, two Tamil epics of the Sangam age, yve Icarn that the Jainas were roughly divided into two sections the munis or ascetics such as those at Jina-Kāñchī, and the Srärakas i.e., laymen. "The most scholarly among these enthusiasts grouped themselves into various sanghas or monastic orders or communities for an effective propagation of the faith. Each sangha was divided into many ganas and each gana into many gachchhas. There are four sanghas which characterise the Digambara church, viz... (1) Nandi (2) Sena, (3) Deva, and (4) Simha sanghas. From inscriptions we learn that a sangha called the Dramila sangha, probably the one that established itsell at Madura,