Jainism has an extensive history in the Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, although practiced by a minority of Tamils in contemporary times. According to the 2011 India Census, Jains represent 0.12% of the total population of Tamil Nadu, and are of the

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

sect. Tamil Jains are primarily concentrated in northern Tamil Nadu, in the districts of

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Viluppuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a Municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major railway junction, ...

, Kanchipuram,

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separ ...

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai ( Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruva ...

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

and

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

History

Early

Tamil-Brahmi Tamil-Brahmi, also known as Tamizhi or Damili, was a variant of the Brahmi script in southern India. It was used to write inscriptions in the early form of Old Tamil.Richard Salomon (1998) ''Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptio ...

inscriptions in Tamil Nadu dated to the 3rd century BCE and describe the livelihoods of Tamil Jains. The oldest known Tamil kings were recorded to follow the Jain religion which makes Jainism, the second oldest religion in Tamil Nadu. Inscriptions dating back to 8th century CE were found in

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...

narrating the presence of Jain monks in the region. The

Kalabhra dynasty The Kalabhra dynasty, also called ''Kaḷabrar'', ''Kaḷappirar'', ''Kallupura'' or Kalvar, were rulers of all or parts of Tamil region sometime between the 3rd century and 6th century CE, after the ancient dynasties of the early Cholas, the ...

, who were patrons of Jainism, ruled over the entire

ancient Tamil country Tamiḻakam ( Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Na ...

in the 3rd–7th century CE. Pallavas followed

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

but also patronized Jainism. The Trilokyanatha Temple in Kanchipuram and Chitharal Jain Temple were built during the reign of the

Pallava dynasty The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

. The Pandyan kings were initially

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

but later became Shaivaites. Strabo states that an Indian king called Pandion sent

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

"presents and gifts of honour". The

Sittanavasal Cave Sittanavasal Cave (also, Arivar Koil) is a 2nd-century Tamil Śramaṇa complex of caves in Sittanavasal village in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name is a distorted form of ''Sit-tan-na-va-yil'', a Tamil word which means "the ab ...

and Samanar Malai are Jain complexes that were built during the reign of Pandyan dynasty. The Cholas patronized Hinduism, however, Jainism also flourished during their rule. The construction of Tirumalai cave complex was commissioned Queen Kundavai, elder sister of

Rajaraja Chola I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

. The Tirumalai cave complex consists of 3 Jain caves, 2 Jain temples and a high sculpture of Tirthankara Neminatha which is the tallest idol of Neminatha and the largest Jain idol in

. The Digambara Jain Temple in

Thirakoil Thirakoil is a village in Tellar taluk in Tiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The major occupation of the people living at this place is agriculture. Etymology It is believed that this place got its name from the word "'' ...

and the Mallinathaswamy Jain Temple in

Mannargudi Mannargudi () is a town in Thiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mannargudi taluk. The town is located at a distance of from the district headquarters Thiruvarur, 36 km from Kumbakonam, 40 km fro ...

were both built during the reign of the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE ...

Decline of Jainism

Royal patronage has been a key factor in the growth as well as the decline of Jainism. The Pallava king

Mahendravarman I Mahendravarman I (600–630 CE) was a Pallava emperor who ruled the Southern portion of present-day Andhra region and Northern regions of what forms present-day Tamil Nadu in India in the early 7th century. He was a scholar, painter, architec ...

(600630 CE) converted from Jainism to Shaivism under the influence of Appar. His work '' Mattavilasa Prahasana'' ridicules certain Shaiva sects and the Buddhists and also expresses contempt towards Jain ascetics. Sambandar converted the contemporary Pandya king to Shaivism. During the 11th century,

Basava Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Cha ...

, a minister to the Jain king Bijjala II, succeeded in converting numerous Jains to the

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...

Shaivite sect. The Lingayats destroyed various temples belonging to Jains and adapted them to their use. The

Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

king

Vishnuvardhana Vishnuvardhana (r. 1108–1152 CE) was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the modern state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in c.1108. Originally a followe ...

(c.11081152 CE) became a follower of the

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

sect under the influence of saint

Ramanuja Ramanuja ( Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...

, after which Vaishnavism grew rapidly.

Art

Influence on Tamil literature

Tamil palm-leaf manuscript of Ciṟupañcamūlam 2

Parts of the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

in Tamil are attributed to Jain authors. The authenticity and interpolations are controversial because the Sangam literature presents Hindu ideas. Some scholars state that the Jain portions of the Sangam literature were added about or after the 8th-century CE, and it is not the ancient layer. Tamil Jain texts such as the ''

Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi ''Civaka Cintamani'' ( ta, சீவக சிந்தாமணி, lit=Jivaka, the Fabulous Gem, translit=Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi), also spelled as ''Jivaka Chintamani'', is one of the five great Tamil epics. Authored by a Madurai-based Jain ...

'' and ''

Nālaṭiyār The Nālaṭiyār ( ta, நாலடியார்) is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the Eighteen Lesser Texts (''Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku'') anthology of Tamil literature. This belongs to the post Sangam period cor ...

'' are credited to Digambara Jain authors. These texts have seen interpolations and revisions. For example, it is generally accepted now that the Jain nun Kanti inserted a 445 verse poem into ''Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi'' in the 12th-century. The Tamil Jain literature, states Dundas, has been "lovingly studied and commented upon for centuries by Hindus as well as Jains". The themes of two of the Tamil epics, including the ''Silapadikkaram'', have an embedded influence of Jainism.

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...

, the earliest surviving epic in Tamil literature, was written by the monk

Ilango Adigal Ilango Adigal ()() was a Jain monk and a poet, sometimes identified as a Chera prince. He is traditionally credited as the author of '' Cilappatikaram'', one of the Five Great Epics of Ancient Tamil literature. He is one of the greatest poets ...

. This epic is a major work in Tamil literature, describing the historical events of its time and also of then-prevailing religions, Jainism,

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and Hinduism. The main characters of this work,

Kannagi Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic '' Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfa ...

and Kovalan, who have a divine status among Tamils, were Jains. M. Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and writer stated that "the virtuous Jains have adorned our 'Tamil mother' with innumerable jewels of literary works. If you remove these works of Samanars, the world of Tamil literature would wear a deserted look; such is the contribution of Jain poets to the Tamil language. The ancient kings have also encouraged and supported these noble efforts."

Jain structures

There are 26 caves, 200 stone beds, 60 inscriptions, and over 100 sculptures in and around

. This is also the site where Jain ascetics wrote great epics and books on grammar in Tamil. The

temple is regarded as one of the finest examples of Jain art. It is the oldest and most famous Jain centre in the region. It possesses both an early Jain cave shelter, and a medieval rock-cut temple with excellent fresco paintings comparable to Ajantha paintings; the steep hill contains an isolated but spacious cavern. Locally, this cavern is known as ''"Eladipattam"'', a name that is derived from the seven holes cut into the rock that serve as steps leading to the shelter. Within the cave there are seventeen stone beds aligned in rows; each of these has a raised portion that could have served as a pillow loft. The largest stone bed has a distinct

inscription assignable to the 2nd century BCE, and some inscriptions belonging to the 8th century BCE are also found on the nearby beds. The Sittannavasal cavern continued to be the "Holy Sramana Abode" until the 7th and 8th centuries. Inscriptions over the remaining stone beds name mendicants such as Tol kunrattu Kadavulan, Tirunilan, Tiruppuranan, Tittaicharanan, Sri Purrnacandran, Thiruchatthan, Ilangowthaman, Sri Ulagathithan, and Nityakaran Pattakali as monks. The Kazhugumalai temple from the 8th century CE marks the revival of Jainism in Tamil Nadu. This cave temple was built by King Parantaka Nedunjadaiya of Pandyan dynasty.

Mel Sithamur Jain Math Jina Kanchi Jain Math, Melsithamur, is a Jain Matha that is located near Gingee, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the primary religious center of the Tamil Jain community. It is headed by the primary religious head of this commun ...

is headed by the primary religious head of this community, Bhattaraka Laxmisena Swami.

Complexes

* Tirumalai *

Kalugumalai Jain Beds Kalugumalai Jain beds in Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are dedicated to the Jain religious figures. Constructed in rock cut architecture, the unfinished temple is believed to have b ...

* Samanar Hills *

* Armamalai Cave * Mangulam * Vallimalai Jain caves *

Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription, also known as Umai Andar or Umaiyandar temple, is a rock cut cave temple with inscriptions at the foot of the Thirupparankundram rock hill's south face. It is located in the town of Thirupparankund ...

* Kurathimalai, Onampakkam * Panchapandavar Malai * Seeyamangalam * Kanchiyur Jain cave and stone beds * Andimalai Stone beds, Cholapandiyapuram * Adukkankal, Nehanurpatti * Ennayira Malai File:Tirumalai_Neminatha_Statue.jpg, The 16 meter statue of Neminath, the tallest Jain sculpture in Tamil Nadu. File:Thirakoil-Parsava nathar.JPG, Parshvanatha at Thirakoil, 8th Century File:Onampakkam Mahaveerar.JPG, Mahaveer Swami at Kurathimalai, 8th Century AD File:Kizhavalavu (Kilavalavu) -Jain Sculptures.JPG, Jain Reliefs at Panchapandava Bed, Kizhavalavu, 9th Century File:Vardhaman Keezhakuyilkudi.jpg, Image of Mahavira at Samanar Hills, 9th century File:Jain Sculptures at Othakakai, Madurai.jpg, Jain Sculptures at Othakakai File:Chitharal malaikovil.jpg, Chitharal malaikovil, before 425 AD File:Seeyamangalam Jain image.JPG, Mahavir, Parshavanatha and Bahubali, Seeyamangalam, 9th century File:Jain Sculptures, Jain Cave, Vallimalai.jpg, Tirthankar and Ambika, Vallimalai Jain caves, 9th century

Temples

* Mannargudi Mallinatha Swamy Temple *

Arahanthgiri Jain Math Arahanthgiri Jain Math is a Jain Matha that established near Tirumalai in August, 1998. The Math is headed by Bhattaraka Dhavalakeerthi. History History of Arahanthgiri Jain Math starts from the period of 322–185 BCE as the Last ‘Shrutkeva ...

* Trilokyanatha Temple * Vijayamangalam Jain temple * Alagramam Jain Temple * Karanthai Jain Temple * Chitharal Malai Kovil * Poondi Arugar Temple * Adisvaraswamy Jain Temple, Thanjavur * Chandraprabha Jain Temple, Kumbakonam File:Tiruparuthikundram (15).jpg, Trilokyanatha Temple, Kanchipuram File:Jain temple, Mettupudur 2.jpg, Vijayamangalam Jain temple File:Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG, Mel Sithamur Jain Math headed by Bhattaraka Laxmisena File:Mannargudi Mallinatha Swamy Temple.png, Mannargudi Mallinatha Swamy Temple File:Upper Temple Complex at Tirumalai.jpg, Arahanthgiri Jain Math File:Desur Digambar Jain Temple.jpg, Shri Adinatheeswarar Jain Temple, Desur File:Chitharal jain temple1.jpg, Chitharal Jain Temple File:Gingee_Jain_Temple_6.jpg, Gingee Jain temple,

Villupuram district Viluppuram, Villupuram or Vizhuppuram is one of the 38 districts that make up the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded on 30 September 1993, prior to which it was part of the Cuddalore district. Vizhuppuram district lies in the way of the ...

References

Citation

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Jainism topics Jainism in India Tamil Nadu