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3. JAINISM IN TAMIL NAD Karnataka and a few in those of Andhra Dēša. This is as it should be; for women are well-known as devout supporters of the faith in all religions. But it is only when we study the epigraphs of the Tamil country that we come across, for the first time, a large number of ladies who were not merely the lay followers of the faith or even solitary recluses and nuns, but also played the role of teachers and preceptors guiding the religious activities of
e creed. From the successions of such teachers indicated in these records and the allusions to their large following, we have to assume that there were regular monastic orders of lady preceptors and that some of them even oocupied the status of pontiffs. These Kurattiyārs of the Tamil land have to be distinguished from the Śrāvikās or lay disciples who are found in all parts and from the Kantis and Ajjis (Sanskrit Aryā), signifying nung and female recluses who are mentioned in the inscriptions of Karnātaka, or from the Sādhvis who are more familiar in North India.'
The Kurattiyārs of the Tamil country constitute a surprisingly unique class by themselves. According to the conception of the Digambara school women are not entitled to attain Möksha in this life. The Yapaniyas, a well-known sect of Jaïnism in the South and having some common doctrines both with Digambaras and Svētāmbara, are characteristically distinguished for their view which advocates liberation or wukti for women in this life: strināṁ tad-bhavā mākshah. The factors that contributed to the growth of the institution of lady teachers in the Tamil land on such a large scale are not fully known. This subject requires further study and research.
Royal PATRONAGE: It was a privilege of the Jaina faith to claim the patronage and support from royal princes and princesses of many a distinguished ruling family of the Tamil country. Adverting to the Pallavas the famous instance is that of Mahöndravarman I who was an adherent of the doctrine. Reference to a lady of the Pallava house who was a devotee of the Lord Jina is found in an inscription at Tirumalai and this has been noticed
1 Heart of Jainism, p. 232. 2 Ibid. Compare Pravachapasāra, Translation, p. 28. Also see, Jainism and Karnataka
Culture, pp. 138-39. 8 Journ. of Bomb. Uni. Arts and Law, Vol. I, p. 227. Thurston has noted the
existence, in the South Arcot District, of a sisterhood of nuns called Aryanganin, who are some times maidens and some times women who have left their busbande but in either case take a vow of chastity; Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol. II, p. 433. These thitast evidently belong to the Digambara Seot and probably represent
meagre survival of the ancient institution of nans in South India Aryångauis are Argångapas or Aryas which was the term used to denote the sisters of the ascetio order. Its tabdhara dorm Aljt is often met with lo Kannada inscriptions. Compare Ajjiya of Prakrit literature,
