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Jainism in South India
The earliest references to the Jains in Tamil literature happen to be merely some oblique references in the so-called Sangam classics. There are a couple of poems in the Ahanānuru which refer to the
Jains as the "unwashed mendicants" from the character at least of one section of the Digambaras. One poem in the Purananuru collection which celebrates an ideal Brahman of quality and achievements refers to him as one who, amidst other qualifications, was remarkable for his capacity to defeat in argument those who presented theories opposed to his with authorities seemingly Vaidik. This seems to convey Buddhists and Jains and it may be the Ajivikas as well, whose theories and arguments may be capable of that kind of a description. Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, M. A., Ph. D. Among the classics of Tamil literature there are two that stand out as poems ascribed to the Jains. One is the Kural itself, and the other a poem more or less of similar subject-matter going by the name Naladiyar. They are both of them ethical handbooks intended for guidance in life
Rajasevasaktha Rao Bahadur
.: 102 :.
[Shree Atmaramji
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