Tamil Jain

Tamil Jains
	Bhattaraka Swami Laxmisena, Mel Sithamur
Total population
	83,359
Languages
	Tamil
Religion
	Jainism

Tamil Jains (Tamil Samaṇar, from Prakrit samaṇa "wandering renunciate") are ethnic-Tamils from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who practice Jainism, chiefly the Digambara school (Tamil Samaṇam). The Tamil Jain is a microcommunity of around 85,000 (around 0.13% of the population of Tamil Nadu), including both Tamil Jains and north Indian Jains settled in Tamil Nadu. They are predominantly scattered in northern Tamil Nadu, largely in the districts of Tiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Villupuram, Ranipet and Kallakurichi. Early Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in Tamil Nadu date to the third century BCE and describe the livelihoods of Tamil Jains. Samaṇar wrote much Tamil literature, including the important Sangam literature, such as the Nālaṭiyār, the Cilappatikaram, the Valayapathi and the Civaka Cintamani. Three of the five great epics of Tamil literature are attributed to Jains.^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Jaina Literature in Tamil, Prof. A. Chakravarti

[census-1] Cite error: The named reference census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Jaina Literature in Tamil, Prof. A. Chakravarti

[1]

[2]

Total population
Bhattaraka Swami Laxmisena, Mel Sithamur
83,359^[1]
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Jainism