Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s12.t3.2

c23.s12.t3.2

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.