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Tamil Jains (Tamil Camaṇar, Nayiṉār, from Prakrit ''samaṇa'' "wandering renunciate") are Tamils from Tamil Nadu, India, who practice Digambara Jainism (Tamil ). They are a microcommunity of around 85,000 (around 0.13% of the population of Tamil Nadu). Tamil Jains are predominantly scattered in northern Tamil Nadu, largely in the districts of Madurai, Viluppuram, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Thanjavur. Early Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in Tamil Nadu date to the 3rd century BCE and describe the livelihoods of Tamil Jains. ''Camaṇar'' wrote much Tamil literature, including the important Sangam literature, such as the ''Nālaṭiyār'', the ''Silappatikaram'', the ''Manimekalai'' and the ''Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi''. Three of the five great epics of Tamil literature are attributed to Jains.〔Jaina Literature in Tamil, Prof. A. Chakravartis〕 ==Origin of Jainism in Tamil Nadu== Some scholars believe that Jain philosophy must have entered South India some time in the sixth century BCE. Literary sources and inscription state that Bhadrabahu came over to Shravanabelagola with a 12,000-strong retinue of Jain sages when north India found it hard to negotiate with the 12-year long famine in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. Even Chandragupta accompanied this constellation of sages. On reaching Shravanabelagola, Bhadrabahu felt his end approaching and decided stay back along with Chandragupta and he instructed the Jain saints to tour over the Chola- and Pandyan-ruled domains. According to other scholars, Jainism must have existed in South India well before the visit of Bhadrabhu and Chandragupta. There are plenty of caves as old as the fourth century found with Jain inscriptions and Jain deities around Madurai, Tiruchirāppaḷḷi, Kanyakumari and Thanjavur. A number of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions have been found in Tamil Nadu that date from the second century BCE. They are regarded as associated with Jain monks and lay devotees.〔''Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the 6th Century A.D.'', Iravatham Mahadeva, Harvard University Press, 2003〕〔http://jainsamaj.org/rpg_site/literature2.php?id=595&cat=42 RECENT DISCOVERIES OF JAINA CAVE INSCRIPTIONS IN TAMILNADU, by Iravatham Mahadevan〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tamil Jain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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