An Outline of the Religious Literature of India c8.s3.2

c8.s3.2

During the two centuries before our era, and probably in still earlier years, the religion expanded steadily both in the north and in the south. Sculptured remains and an inscription found at Muttra, the ancient Mathurā, and assigned to the first century B.C.,¹ reveal to us the growth of Jainism to the north-west; caves with fragments of sculptured frieze in Orissa may date from about the same time;² while the powerful influence which Jainism exerted on Tamil literature from the second century after Christ, if not from an earlier date, shows that the religion had achieved considerable success in the far south. From the Christian era onwards, if not earlier, Jainism spread into Gujarāt; and from the third century the community produced a large popular literature in the vernacular of that part of India.