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Chintamani: its excellence.
94 JAINS AND TAMIL LITERATURE.
cantos of 30 Kadais, the work is dedicated to the three great capital cities of the Tamil land. The story is so well known that it is needless to give a summary of it here.
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Valayapadi is an unpublished Jain work. A study of the 50 and odd poems of this epic published a few years ago in Sen Tamil indicate that the epic treats of lives of Jain sages.
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Chintamani.-The greatest in importance, of the Jain works, is of course Chintamani. The frequent use of the double plural' kal' in Chintamani indicates that its author belongs to the period of the Alvars whose writings are replete with such a kind of double plural. Tiruttakkadevar, the author of Chintamani, is an eminent Sanskritist. His work not only contains what was best in Sanskrit literature but also gives us the essence of the Sangam poems. Add to these a thorough and intelligent grasp of the chief tenets of the Jain faith. It treats of the life of a king, Jivakan, from his birth to the attainment of bliss. The various incidents connected with the life of this hero are intended to preach the following morals :—
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1. That a king should not be hasty in his action and that he should consult his ministers several times before determining on final action.
2. Ruin is the ultimate result of the actions of those who keep with women.
3. Preceptor's orders and his advice should be implicitly obeyed.
