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152
THE SANGAM AGE.
1
islands and the insignificant position which Buddhism occupied in the life of the people. The conclusion, therefore, is obvious that ManiMēkalai was composed at a period when Buddhism was making rapid strides in Sāvakam and the neighbouring islands. This formative period, even according to Dr. Krishnaswami Ayyangar, is to be sought for in the time intervening the visits of Fa-hien and I-tsing and that is between the 5th and 7th centuries of the Christian era. If the date of Manimekalai is to be sought in the 2nd century A.D., how can we 'account for the spread and predominance of Buddhism in Sumatra and Java in the time of Chāttanār? For, it should be noted, that even during the time of Fa-hien, Buddhism in that island was not worth speaking of.
Another piece of internal evidence may be of internal pointed out here, which shows clearly that, what
ever might be the date of the Sangam, Manzmēkalui belongs to the sixth or seventh century A.D. In canto 12 of this work, Aravanavadigal thus speaks of the condition of Buddhism in South India then. “ The Dharma has languished in this world, and forms of error are increasing. Yet I do not despair. I continue to preach the Law which few care to understand in the hope that the Dharma might be established to a little extent."1 Thus the grey-haired monk laments the decline of Buddhism in the
Yet another
piece
evidence.
1 This is not a literal translation. to be conveyed here
Only the idea is sought
