p20231 Samanam or (Jainism) in Ancient Tamilnadu

This lesson traces the history of Samanam or Jainism in ancient Tamilnadu, and discusses the various factors that contributed to the rise and decline of Samanam in Tamilnadu. It enumerates the basic tenets of Samanam, and highlights the efforts of 2 renowned Samana ‘thirthankaras’ or saints in spreading Samanam among the masses.

Several religions flourished in ancient Tamilnadu. Samanam was one of them. Like all other religious movements, Samanam also made use of the Tamil language as a means of religious propagation, thus indirectly contributing to the growth of Tamil. The word ‘samanar’ means ‘thuravi’ or ascetic. Samanam laid a lot of emphasis on a life of renunciation. Samanam was also known as ‘Jainism’, ‘Aarugatham’, ‘Nigandam’, ‘Anekanthavatham’ and ‘Siyadhvatham’. As the samana ascetics are called ‘Jinas’, or the ‘conquering saints’ who have overcome all the worldly desires, Samanam is also known as Jainism. As the deities of Jainism are Arugar, the 24 thirthankaras, it is sometimes referred to as ‘Aarugatham’.

Samana ‘Thirthankaras’ or saints were instrumental in spreading the doctrines of Samanam. According to the history of Samanam there were 24 thirthankaras. Of these, it is believed that only the last 2 thirthankaras- Parsvanathar and Vardhaman Mahaveerar - actually lived. In Samanam the thirthankaras were equal to God. They were the holy men who had raised themselves to perfection through a life of discipline and they were treated with great reverence. Parsvanathar and Mahaveerar played a significant role in propagating Samanam.

Vardaman Mahaveerar who lived around the 4th century B.C. had 11 disciples. The last 2 of his disciples, Badrabahu and Vaisaka Munivar were instrumental in bringing Samanam to Tamilnadu. Badrabahu was the religious head of the Jains from 317B.C. to 297 B.C. He was also the religious guru of King Chandragupta. Two texts ‘Brihathkatha Kosam’ and ‘Rajavali Kathai’ record the story of Badrabahu’s migration to South India. According to these texts, foreseeing a great famine, Badrabahu left the Kingdom of Magada with his followers and reached Sravanabelagola in Mysore. From here he sent his disciple, Vaisaka Munivar, to the neighbouring Chozha and Pandya kingdoms to spread the doctrines of Samanam. A Buddhist text called ‘Mahavamsam’ asserts that Samanam was practised in Tamilnadu even before the 3rd century B.C.

Samanam flourished in ancient Tamilnadu owing to various reasons. Chief among these was the fact that Samanam condemned caste divisions and treated all men as equals. Moreover, samana saints rendered service to the people by practicing 4 forms of ‘daanam’ or charity which they considered to be their foremost duty. They donated food, gave refuge to the helpless, imparted education and offered medical assistance to the poor and the needy. This brought them closer to the people. They used Tamil, the language of the people, to propagate their doctrines. However, this glorious era of Samanam was short lived. Intense rivalry between various religions and the rise of the Bakthi movement in Tamilnadu paved way for the decline of Samanam. The Bakthi movement fostered Saivam and Vaishnavam which soon replaced Samanam and Buddism. People found the doctrines of Saivam and Vaishnavam much easier to practise than Samanam. These factors contributed to the decline of Samanam in Tamilnadu.