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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
21]
CONTRIBUTION OF JAINISM
TO THE CULTURE OF TAMIL NADU
The Tamil people form one-fifth of Indian population and one- hundredth of World population. The Tamil language happens to possess a distinct position, in respect of its antiquity and its still preserving maximum Proto-Dravidian scatures among the Dravidian group of Indian Languages viz., Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. Morcover with their far ancient or Pre-Aryan historical background, with the peculiar geographical situation of their land, with their trade-contacts with overseas people of different civilization and culture, in the West as well as the East, and with the infiltration and impact of the North-Indian unorthodox religions like Jainism and Buddhism, and later, Vedic Brahmanism, the Tamilians have had their own cultural traditions and way of life, and yet, they form a significant cohesive unit of the colourful civilization and culture of India as a whole. And in shaping such cultural traditions and way of life of the Tamil people, Jainism
has played its own role for several centuries and has made its • own contribution.
After long-time and careful research, eminent scholars have come to conclusive opinion that Jainism appeared in the Tamil
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