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JAINISY IN BOUTH INDIA
We may incidentally consider here one or two facts in regard to Jainism in the Tamil Nad also. While discussing the Jaina strongholds in the Madura region, we have noticed individually a number of Jaina antiquities in places like Muttupatti, Seţţippodavu and Pochchi Pallam." All these are known under the general name of Samaņarmalai or the hill of Jaina monks' Recently, consequent upon the representations made by the zealous Jainas of the area, this eminent hill has been brought under proper protection of the Department of Archaeology. The inscriptions of this place have also been studied more carefully.
Vijayanangalam in the Coimbatore Dt. which has treasured a few survivals of the faith to the present day, was one more stronghold of Jainism in the Tamil country.
II Jaina Monk SYMBOLISED The overwhelming volume of evidence adduced so far makes it abundantly clear that Jainism exercised mighty influence for several centuries on the cultural life of the people and moulded its course in its various channels. The Jaina monk and missionary carrying the light of the doctrine penetrated into the farthest recesses of the land and established a shrine and a monastery for the propagation of his creed. Leading á life of devotion and selfless service, he made great impression on the mind and heart of the masses who were attracted towards him. The Jaina monk attended not only to their spiritual yearnings and religious needs, but also looked to their material requirements. He provided food to the hungry, medical aid to the ailing and security to the afflicted.
. More than anything else, the rôle played by the Jaina monk in the realm of learning is supreme and ever shining. He educated the rising generations from the rudimentary knowledge of three Rs to the highest levels of literary and scientific studies. He initiated the intelligentsia into the mysteries of literary art and inspired their creative genius. All this produced epoch making results as witnessed by the posterity. Some of the best and earliest literary productions in South India are from the Jaina poets and authors. The torch of learning once lit was incessantly held aloft and radiant.
The Jaina contributions severally to the making of South Indian literatures are noteworthy. The grandeur of Kannada literature to a considerable extent and that of the Tamil one in a substantial measure, will be diminished if we exclude the Jaina works from their range. As we have observed in the early pages of this volume, Teluga literature too appears to have been partly indebted in its initial career to the Jaina authorship, although an amount of
1 Above, pp. 57 ff. 2 T, 8. Sripal: Samaņarmalai Chelvom (monograph in Tamil), 1954.
