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Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s12: 4.10 Evolution of Early Jainism in the Tamil country

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s12

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4.10 Evolution of Early Jainism in the Tamil country

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Based on the distribution, frequency and contents of the Jaina inscriptions in Tamil-Brāhmī and Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu included in the present Corpus, it is possible to discern three distinct stages in the evolution of early Jainism in the Tamil country (see Table 4.2).

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| No. of Early Jaina inscriptions in the Corpus | | | | |
| Region | Early (ca. 2-1 cent. B.C.) | Middle (ca. 1-3 cent. A.D.) | Late (ca. 4-6 cent. A.D.) | Total |
| Pāṇṭiya | 53 | 10 | 7 | 70 |
| Cēra | 1 | 13 | 3 | 17 |
| Toṇṭai | -- | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Cōḻa | -- | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 54 | 26 | 16 | 96 |

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Table 4.2. Regional and temporal distribution of Early Jaina inscriptions in the Tamil country.

4.10.1 Early period (ca. 3-1 centuries B.C.)

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The earliest Jaina inscriptions in the Tamil country are found in the Pāṇṭiya region with most of them clustered around Madurai. The palaeographic evidence indicates that Jainism must have arrived in the Pāṇṭiya country not later than the 3rd century B.C. The new faith received active support from the Pāṇṭiya dynasty and the local merchant communities as indicated by the inscriptions at Mangulam (Nos. *1-6*, ca. 2nd century B.C.) and Alagarmalai (Nos. *36-48*, ca. 1st century. B.C.). The presence of Old Kannada expressions and personal names in the cave inscriptions, especially at Sittannavasal-A (No. *49*, ca. 1st century. B.C.), points to Karnataka as the route through which Jainism reached the Tamil country. It is also likely that the Tamil-Brāhmī script was adapted from the Mauryan Brāhmī in the Jaina monasteries (*paḷḷi*) of the Madurai region some time before the end of the 3rd century B.C. as the earliest cave inscriptions are dated to about the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. It appears from the absence of reference to sects that the early lithic records in the Tamil caves belong to the period before the schism between the Digambara and Śvētāmbara sects. It is arguable from palaeographic evidence that the Early Tamil-Brāhmī cave inscriptions are the earliest lithic records of the Jaina faith in India, as the Mangulam inscriptions of the time of Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ appear to be earlier than the Jaina Prakrit inscriptions at Mathura and those of Kharavela of Kalinga.

4.10.2 Middle period (ca. 1-3 centuries A.D.)

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There is a sharp fall in the total number of cave inscriptions in this period. The centre of Jainism in the Tamil country appears to have shifted from the Pāṇṭiya to the Cēra region in the early centuries A.D., as indicated by the sharp fall in the number of inscriptions in the Pāṇṭiya country and the equally sharp rise in their number in the Cēra country during this period. As in the Pāṇṭiya country in the earlier period, Jainism was patronised by kings, and local merchant communities in the Cēra country also, as seen from the Pugalur inscriptions (Nos. *61-72*, ca. 2nd and 3rd centuries. A.D.). Contacts with the Jaina community in Karnataka continued in this period also, as indicated by what appear to be Kannada personal names in the inscription at Tirupparankunram (No. *55*, ca. 1st century A.D.). The earliest literary evidence of Jainism in the Tamil country belongs to this period; e.g., *uṇṇāmaiyiṉ uyaṅkiya maruṅkiṉ āṭā-p-paṭivattu āṉṟōr pōla* 'like the (Jaina) monks whose bodies are emaciated by fasting and not bathed' (*Aka.* 123). There is also literary evidence from the Caṅkam poems that Jaina monasteries (*paḷḷi*) existed in cities like Kāviri-p-pūm-paṭṭiṇam and Madurai even during the early centuries A.D.¹

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¹ *Paṭṭiṉa.* 53; *Matu.* 475-488.

4.10.3 Late period (ca. 4th-6th centuries A.D.)

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The era of natural cave shelters came to an end during this period. The Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions at Sittannavasal-B and Tiruchirapalli-B (Nos. *101-107* & *108-110*, ca. 5th century A.D.) are the last of the Jaina cave shelters in the earlier tradition. A new type of Jaina monuments appears in the Tamil country in the 6th century A.D. in the form of the *nicītikai* inscriptions at Paraiyanpattu and Tirunatharkunru (Nos. *115* & *116*). These are epitaphs engraved on the bare summit of boulders commemorating the places where Jaina ascetics fasted unto death. Even though these Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions are earlier in date, they clearly belong to the *sallekhana* ('religious fasting unto death') tradition of Karnataka which has more numerous examples than the Tamil country. The *nicītikại* inscriptions represent a fresh wave of influence from Karnataka, though contacts between the Tamil and Kannada Jaina communities existed even earlier in this period as indicated by the inscription at Nekanurpatti (No. *83*, ca. 4th century A.D.).

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During most of this period, the Tamil country was under the rule of the Kalabhras, said to be tribal invaders from Karnataka following the Jaina faith. They displaced the traditional Tamil monarchies and held sway over the Tamil country for nearly three centuries until they were expelled in the last quarter of the 6th century A.D. by Kaṭuṅkōṉ, the Pāṇḍya, from the south and Simhaviṣṇu Pallava from the north. It is, however, significant that there is no inscriptional evidence for increased support to Tamil Jainism during the Kalabhra rule; on the contrary, the number of Jaina inscriptions decreased further during this period reflecting the unsettled conditions following the invasion.

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The earliest epigraphic evidence for the construction of temples and monasteries in brick and mortar is found in the Pulankurichi inscription of King Cēntaṉ Kūṟṟaṉ (ca. 500 A.D.).¹ There is now a general consensus that he was a Kalabhra ruler as the name Kūṟṟaṉ does not occur in the Pāṇḍya dynasty, and as there is clear Kannada influence on the language of the inscription (e.g. *avaru*, *ūru*, *aruḷḷittār*, etc). The inscription relates to the administrative arrangements made for three places of worship, two of them Hindu (*dēvakulam*) and the other Jaina (*tāpata-p-paḷḷi* which was located in Madurai). The inscription provides evidence that the Kalabhras, acting in the tradition of the rulers of the land, did not discriminate between the Hindu and Jaina places of worship.

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¹ Y. Subbarayalu and M.R. Raghava Varier 1991: pp. 57-69.

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