Studies in South Indian Jainism

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About the Book The history of Jainism in South India and its influence on the life and thought of the people is a fascinating subject. As the authors themselves point out, all the materials for a final verdict are not yet available and the conclusions reached can only be tentative and provisional. This book contains information about Jainism and the history of Jain religion. It tells about Nations rise and fall; kings conquer and pass away in the dust; the forms of political life and social effort have their day and cease to be; religious systems and strange rituals move for a brief hour their adherents but in this vast process of Becoming, there are elements of permanent value, which remain our inheritance and the inheritance of our children for evermore. In the following pages an attempt is made to trace the history of a people, sincere and great in their day and to estimate, in however tentative and fragmentary a fashion, the value of their contribution to the rich and fruitful stream of South Indian Culture.

About the Author M. S. Ramaswami Ayyangar collections on the Jainism in south India and its influence on the life and thought of the people is a fascinating work by him. An attempt is made to trace the history of a people, sincere and great in their day and to estimate the value of his contribution to the rich and fruitful stream of south Indian culture.

B. Seshagiri Rao is a learned South Indian author, his subject of interest is Jainism. since his child hood, information's about Jainism and the history of Jainism is the famous collection done by him.

Introduction Indian Culture is a web of many threads. The subtle and fearless intellect of the Hindus, the illumination of the Buddha, the abounding humanity of the Jain, the commercial genius and the responsive adaptability of the Dravidian, and the fierce zeal and organizing energy of the Arabian Prophet, have all entered into the inner sanctuaries of the people's life and even to-day shape their thought, energy and aspiration in curious and unsuspected ways. Nations rise and fall; kings conquer and pass away in the dust; the forms of political life and social effort have their day and cease to be; religious systems and strange rituals move for a brief hour their adherents;-but in this vast process of Becoming, there are elements of permanent value, which remain our inheritance and the inheritance of our children for evermore. In the following pages an attempt is made to trace the history of a people, sincere and great in their day and to estimate, in however tentative and fragmentary a fashion, the value of their contribution to the rich and fruitful stream of South Indian Culture.

I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the Trustee of Vizianagram Samasthanam, M.R.Ry. Rao Bahadur V. T. Krishnamachariar Avl., B.A., B.L., whose zeal for true learning and culture alone enabled me to carry on my studies, the results of which are embodied in this little volume and to our revered Principal M.R.Ry. Y. Narashimham Pantulu Garu, M.A., F.M.U., whose inspiration and love of research, c courage me at every step in my undertaking If I have, therefore, failed in my purpose to throw light on one of the sequestered corners of South Indian History and trace the early history of one of the innumerable religious sects of India-that, alas! now occupy an obscure position, it is not due to lack of support, financial or otherwise, on the part of the College management.

To my readers I have to offer a word of explanation. These "Studies" do not, by any means, pretend to be a final or full account of the Jains in South India. The time is not yet when such a work can be confidently under- taken. If the Brahmi and cave inscriptions of the Madura and Ramnad Districts can be correctly and incontrovertibly interpreted, if mile- stones in the long history of Tamil literature, admittedly the oldest of the Dravidian literatures, can be firmly planted and if the vague mass of tradition about the existence and activities of the famous Madura Academy, known as the Tamil can be proved to be true and its date fixed even approximately beyond doubt or controversy, one may claim to be proceeding on the right road towards true historical reconstruction. As it is, the information available on the subject of these "Studies" is sketchy and meagre and I have done my best to whet the desire of scholars for further research on this and kindred topics.

**Contents and Sample Pages**