Jaina Studies: A Historical Overview

Abstract

This chapter is in two sections. Section i gives an overview of the scholarly perspectives on Jaina ‘entry’ into the Tamil country in the early centuries BCE, through a perusal of the early inscriptions (Tamil Brāhmi) found at various places across Tamilnadu. Section ii looks at the ‘discovery’ of the Jainas through colonial and oriental writings. A related section looks at the ‘recovery’ of the self through works of Tamil Jainas (such as A. Chakravarti) writing about their own histories and, more importantly, the need to distinguish the Digambaras from Śvetāmbaras and the important work of scholars such as ‘U.Ve.Ca’ who bring palm leaf manuscripts of the Jaina classics into print form. The early nineteenth century and twentieth century seem to be a busy period in establishing records, the Jainas as a distinct sect. There is a slightly detailed dwelling on the Mackenzie manuscripts in relation to the Jainas. The chapter argues that there was already an awareness of Jainism in the southern and, specifically, Tamil context, through works of Orientalists and the colonial officials. The colonial state, of course, centralises the records and, thereby, community histories, in a sense. The Tirukkuṟaḷ was translated, and Caldwell had identified the Dravidian culture as being a distinct and evolved one, with a specific mention of the Jaina contribution to the Tamil language and literature. Ellis, Beschi and others are names the Tamil Jainas even today remember with respect. The Jainas remember Beschi as Vīramāmunivar. Then, of course, there is a brief detail about the Jaina community asserting their distinct identity (against being clubbed as ‘Hindu’) in law courts, during the colonial period and thereafter.