Book Title: Mahavira and his Teaching
Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti
________________
312 K. A. NILAKANȚA SASTRI & V. RĀMASUBRAMANIAM, 'AUNDY
38. It must, however, be said to the great credit of Jainism that we do not find even a single instance of a Jaina nun or monk caricatured in either Tamil or Sanskrit literature of the south. Such was the high level of personal character and conduct maintained by the inmates of the Jaina monasteries. Nevertheless, Mahendra Vikrama Pallava reverted to neo-Brahminism not long after he ascended the throne, due to the influence of his friend and adviser, Dharmasena, who had also left his Jaina monastery to embrace Saivite mysticism. The melodious hymns, sung by the latter in Tamil, got for him the titles of ‘appar (father) and 'Tirunāvukkarasu' (Master of the Tongue). And he was destined to become later the first of the four great Saivite saints (Saivasamayācāryas).
39. That was an epoch of great political turmoil. Even the great literary giant, Dandin, had to leave Kāñci and wander about for about a decade due to the Chaļūkya and other invasions and wars. The Choļa region, which had gone under the Pallavas from the Kaļabhras, had not yet regained its stability. The Pandyas too, though relieved of the Kaļabhra nuissance, had troubles with the Cheras and their neighbouring minor chieftains, besides the growing threat of the powerful Pallavas themselves. The atmosphere of the Tamil Land was thus quite congenial for all sorts of hope-giving, miracle-mongering and mystic theologies. And when the Vaishnavite Ā! wārs and Saivite Samayācāryas began to sing their Tamil hymns of ecstacy, addressing a personal God, the Tamil Hindu renaissance was fairly on its feet in the Pallava and the Choļa realms.
40. There was, however, a different picture in the Pāndya kingdom. From the pre-Christian epoch of Visakha Muni and Kunda-Kundācārya, the suburban hilly tracts of the city of Madhurai were studded with Jaina caves, housing hermits and novices. We have noticed the epigraphs of Neduñcheliyan and other chieftains recording their donations to the then Jaina recluses. After Mahendra-Vikrama's reconversion to Hinduism, the Pāņậya-Pallava confrontations became more and more
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
