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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
country through twin streams of Jaina teachers, monks and recluses: One following from the Telugu country on its way to Ceylon; and the other proceeding from the Mysore region viz.., Sravanabelgola. The first was the earlier, sometime prior to the 4th Century B.C. and the other in C.300 B.C. The first team entered as a part of Lord Mahāvīra's dharmacakra that had started long back and later had moved, through Kalinga (Orissa), into the Telugu country. The second procecded from Śravanabelgola, wherein a Jaina colony was already raised by the great migrating congregation (Samgha) of twelve thousand monks, headed by Bhadrabahu and accompanied by his royal disciple, Chandragupta Maurya, moving from Madhyādesa owing to the terrible twelve year famine.
All these teachers and monks had missionary zeal; and Jainism being a faih of pre-eminently humanitarian values with healthy ethical discipline, well-defined for ascetics as well as householders, very well impressed the Tamil people and gathered followers. Two characteristic features, deeprooted in the Śramanic cultural tradition, viz., bhramanaśīlatā (denying to themselves a fixed abode and keeping on moving from place to place, except during rainy retreat - varsavāsa) or aniyatavāsa (unsettled life) and lokabhimukhatā (their honouring and adopting the language of the people of the soil on which they lived and moved), gradually boosted the number of followers in various susceptible areas. Originally being Prakrit-speaking migrants, they learned the local language, used it as their medium of teaching and preaching and duly cultivated if for literary purposes. Moreover their usual method of preaching or teaching religious tenets and inculcating healthy rules of individual and social conduct through interesting moralising stories, illustrations etc. had abiding influence on the religious and social life of those people in early days. Then it is through the various and valuable literary products of Jaina teachers and scholars, that the general cultural life was influenced most. If we take a comprehensive view of all these factors, we have but just to repeat
what Prof.S. Vaiyapuri Pillai has rightly observed years ago “So far Jain Education International. For Private & Personal Use Only
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