The impalement of the Jains is a South Indian legend,[1][2] first mentioned in an 11th-century hagiographic Tamil language text of Nambiyandar Nambi.[3][4] According to the legend, Sambandar, who lived in the 7th century CE, defeated the Tamil Jain monks in a series of debates and contests on philosophy, thereby converted a Jain Pandyan king to Shaivism. The episode ended with the (voluntary)[5][6][7][8] impalement of 8,000 Tamil Jains or Samanars as they were called.[9]
Tamil literature and Tevaram songs like III.345 portray Jain monks as conspiring and persecuting Sambandar. However, there is no reference to any impalement of Jainas in Sambandar’s own poems or Tamil writings for about 400 years after him.
According to the early version of the legend, the Jains voluntarily impaled themselves in order to fulfill their vow after losing the debate. According to a much later version of the legend found in Takkayakapparani – a war poem, the newly converted king ordered the Jains to be impaled at Sambandar's instigation. The Pandyan king, variously called "Koon Pandiyan" or "Sundara Pandyan" in the legend is identified with the 7th century ruler Arikesari Maravarman.
^Lorenzen, David (2023-11-15). The Kapalikas and Kalamukhas: Two Lost Saivite Sects. Univ of California Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-520-32494-7.
^Truschke, Audrey (2021-01-18). The Language Of History: Sanskrit Narratives Of A Muslim Past. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. p. 334. ISBN 978-93-5305-000-9.
^William P. Harman (1992). The Sacred Marriage of a Hindu Goddess. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 42–. ISBN 9788120808102.
^Klaus K. Klostermaier (5 July 2007). A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition. SUNY Press. pp. 255–. ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4.
^Callewaert, Winand M.; Snell, Rupert (1994). According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 201. ISBN 978-3-447-03524-8.
^Hiltebeitel, Alf (1988). The Cult of Draupadi, Volume 2: On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess. University of Chicago Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-226-34048-7.
^Raman, Srilata (2022-04-26). The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal (1823–1874) and Modern Dravidian Sainthood. Routledge. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-317-74473-3.
^Olson, Carl (2015). Indian Asceticism: Power, Violence, and Play. Oxford University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-19-022531-5.
^Roy C. Amore (30 October 2010). Developments in Buddhist Thought: Canadian Contributions to Buddhist Studies. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-0-88920-701-1.
and 13 Related for: Impalement of the Jains in Madurai information
TheimpalementoftheJains is a South Indian legend, first mentioned in an 11th-century hagiographic Tamil language text of Nambiyandar Nambi. According...
Madurai (/ˈmʌdʊraɪ/ MUH-doo-rai,[failed verification][failed verification] US also /ˌmɑːdəˈraɪ/ MAH-də-RY, Tamil: [mɐðuɾɐi̯]) is a major city inthe Indian...
Annales du Musee Guimet, in Paris. ImpalementoftheJainsinMadurai, a Shaivite legend about the killing of around 8000 Jains by the Pandyan king Koon Pandiyan...
The use ofimpalementin myth, art, and literature includes mythical representations of it as a method of execution and other uses in paintings, sculptures...
ordered their killings with the consent of Sambandar. Around 8,000 Jains were said to have been killed by impalementin which the victims were forcefully...
Jainism is a religion founded in ancient India. Jains trace their history through twenty-four tirthankara and revere Rishabhanatha as the first tirthankara...
defeats the monks in debate, the Pandya king and some Jains convert to Shaivism. Other Jain monks die inMaduraiofimpalementinthe aftermath. Sambandar died...
Corporation ofMadurai is the civic body which administers the city ofMaduraiin Tamil Nadu, India. Madurai is one ofthe oldest living cities inthe world...
wooden stick and planted on the ground.) Those Jains scattered from Madurai and hid themselves in forests and caves situated in this village. A rock pond...
The Chennai Silks is chain of retail textile shops in South India. Its founder Thiru. A. Kulandaivel Mudaliar, who was living in a village near Avinashi...
there were reports of possible human sacrifices intheMadurai area to pacify goddess Shakthi for getting power to develop the illegal granite business...
names among them. When they rebelled, they were impaled by Koon Pandiyan at Samanatham near Madurai. Mahendravarma Pallava under Appar, a reformed Saivite...