Early South Indian Palaeography c13.3

c13.3

The caves and caverns in the Tamil country are associated with the Jains, Buddhists and the Ājivikas, whose arrival and spread formed one of the important aspects of the religious history of South India during the pre-Christian era. These religions appear to have reached the Tamil country in the third and second centuries B.C. when the Mauryan Empire was at the height of its power and influence under its rulers.