“Thrikkaṇamathilakam” as a Jain Centre

Mathilakam played an important role in the development of the Jain tradition in Kerala. It is considered in the Saṅgam period, Thrikkaṇamathilakam was a famous Jain centre during the Chēra dynasty rule. There is a popular opinion that Mathilakam as ancient Kuṇavayiṛ kõttam, Thrikkaṇamathilakam or Thirukkuṇāvai, the place where Iḷaṃgo Aḍigaḷ composed his epic Cilppadikāram. This paper is an attempt to shed fresh light on the unexplored corners of the history of Thrikkaṇamathilakam as a Jain centre. There are various inscriptions mentioned about Kuṇavayiṛ kõttam, Thrikkaṇamathilakam, or Thirukkuṇāvai. This inscriptional analysis can be termed as a landmark in the history of Jainism in Kerala. Fragmentary inscriptions from Mathilakam, which have been read with the help of an epigraphist, can be marked as an original contribution to this study. In this paper, the author included all the inscriptions chronologically related to the region. On the other side, this study is an answer to the question, i.e., “what was the contribution of Chēra to Thrikkaṇamathilakam?”, “what was the reason behind the decline of Thrikkaṇamathilakam?” etc. This research is interdisciplinary in many aspects and focuses on the closer look and scientific documentation of Mathilakam based on historical, archaeological, inscriptional and literature aspects.