Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c28.s8.t7.9

c28.s8.t7.9

**115.3 *va[c]caṇanti*** N. of a senior Jaina monk < *vajjanaṁdi* (Pkt.) < *vajranandī* (Skt.). It is interesting to compare the name with those of three Jaina monks known to Tamil tradition:
(i) *vajjaṇaṁdi* (Pkt.): According to *Darśana-sāra* (Pkt.) written by Dēvasēna in 853 A.D., Vajjaṇaṁdi, a Jaina monk, founded the Drāviḍa Saṁgha at Madurai in 525 Vikrama Era corresponding to 468-69 A.D. (A. Chakravarti, revised edn. 1974:p. 17, note 1).