Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s15.1

c23.s15.1

No survey of Jainism in the Tamil country, however brief, can be complete without mentioning the enormous contribution made by the Jainas to the growth of Tamil literature from the earliest times up to about the 16th century a.d. While justice cannot be done to this vast subject within the scope of the present study, mention must be made at least of such outstanding works by Jaina authors like *Tolkāppiyam* and *Naṉṉūl* among the grammatical works, *Cilappatikāram*, *Cīvakacintāmaṇi* and *Peruṅkatai* among the epics, the immortal *Kuraḷ* and *Nālaṭiyār* among the ethical works and *Tivākaram*, *Piṅkalantai* and *Cūṭāmaṇi* among the lexicons. To this already formidable record may be added what is surely the most basic and fundamental contribution by the Jainas to Tamil viz., the development of a script for the language leading to literacy and the later efflorescence of Caṅkam literature in the early centuries a.d.²