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26
THE ORIENT
of Mylapore, the birth place of Thiruvalluvar, the famed saintpoet who wrote the Kural. One of the Panchamahakavyas in Tamil, Jivaka Chintamani containing 3145 verses was completed with astounding speed in 8 days. Under the parable of a human passion, the erudite Jain poet narrates the Soul's journey on earth through perilous courses until its ultimate emancipation and attainment of bliss.
Two other Sangham classics regarded as of Jain origins are the Kural and Naladiyar. The Kural could well be described as the New Testament of the Dravidians. Thiruvalluvar, its author who flourished in the 2nd century A.D. has been claimed to have been a Christian, Jain, and Hindu by the respective followers. It contains 133 Chapters each with 100 Kurals or couplets. The terse verses explain the ultimate aims of human life. Its ethical undertone is so akin to Jainism that Jain scholars call it "our own Bible." The Naladiyar, like the Kural, is a compendium of good conduct. Its forty chapters each consisting of ten stanzas were the works of different bards and compiled by Padumanar probably in the 8th century A.D. Mainly of Jain origin, it is regarded as an excellent ethical handbook intended for a righteous life.
Madurai, Kanchipuram, Pudukottai and Anaimalai were great centres of both Jainism and Buddhism from where they continued to influence the cultural life of the Tamils for over a thousand years. Ponniyakkiyar or Golden Yakshi of the Panchapandavamalai in the North Arcot district; the towering hill range of Sittannavasal or abode of the revered Siddhas or Jains; the rock-cut Arivarkovil or the temple of Arhat with its unique frescoes in the former Pudukkottai state; Madurai, the seat of the Sangham predominated by Jain poets and the centre of the revivalistic activities of the great teacher Ajjanandi, have all been Jain shrines spreading the message of the good life for the past many centuries.
Both Jainism and Buddhism flourished in Kerala till the 10th century. The famous Bhagavati temple at Tirucharanam in south Travancore and the Nagarajaswami temple at Nagercoil where the images of Mahavira and other Tirthankaras are still seen and adored were originally Jain. The famous temple near Sultan's Battery in Wynad in north Kerala is the "finest ancient Jain temple in Kerala' which continues to draw innumerable devotees. By its precepts and practice of ethical absolutism and stringent demand for moral perfection, Jainism all along aroused deep veneration from the people of southern India. Its selfless monks and nuns have been sincere social workers who by their healing presence and exemplary life have always won the people's hearts. Jainism's abiding messages of non-injury and tolerance pervade the religious life of southern India as reflected
in the long prevailing communal harmony there.
