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Buddhism amongst theTamils was historically found in theTamilakam region of India andSri Lanka.[1]
The heritage of the town ofNākappaṭṭinam is found in the Burmese historical text of the 3rd century BCE and gives evidence of a Budha Vihar built by theKing Ashoka. An inscription fromAnuradhapura, Sri Lanka dated to 2nd century BCE records the association of Tamil merchants with Buddhist institution.[2]
Ancient ruins of a 4th-5th-century Buddhist monastery, a Buddha statue, and a Buddhapada (footprint of the Buddha) were found in another section of the ancient city, now atPallavanesvaram.[3]
Nāgappaṭṭinam was a Buddhist centre of the 4th-5th century CE. Itsstupa dates from this era. Buddhism disappeared from this city as of an unknown date but was revived as of the 9th century. (H.P.Ray, The Winds of Change, Delhi 1994, p. 142) In the 11th century,Chudamani Vihara was built by the Javanese king Sri Vijaya Soolamanivarman with the patronage ofRaja Raja Chola I.[4] The "Animangalam Copperplate" of Kulothungachola notes that “Kasiba Thera” [Buddhist Monk] renovated the Buddhist temple in the 6th century with the help of Buddhist monks of "Naga Nadu". This "nagar annam vihar" later came to be known as "Nagananavigar". Buddhism flourished until the 15th century and the buildings of the vihara survived until the 18th century.Kanchipuram is one of the oldest cities inSouth India, and was a city of learning forTamil,Sanskrit, andPali and was believed to be visited byXuanzang. He visited the city in the 7th century and said that this city was 6 miles in circumference and that its people were famous for bravery and piety as well as for their love of justice and veneration for learning. He further recorded thatGautama Buddha had visited the place. It was during the reign of thePallava dynasty from the 4th to the 9th centuries thatKanchipuram attained its limelight. The city served as the Pallava capital, and many of the known temples were built during their reign. According to Tamil tradition, the founder ofZen,Bodhidharma was born here.[5][6][note 1]
In the 8th century CE, Buddhist monkVajrabodhi, the son of a Tamil aristocrat, travelled from Tamil Nadu to theTang capital ofChang'an, via Sri Lanka andSrivijaya, after mastering the art ofTantric Buddhism. He took a plethora of new theological beliefs to a China that was largely followingConfucianism orDaoism. Vajrabodhi's contribution to the growth of Tantric Buddhism in China has been recorded by one of his lay disciples, Lü Xiang.[9]
Various scholarly works dating back to the 2nd century common era saw the birth of classical Tamil works composed by eminent Tamil poets with Buddhist philosophical themes and insights illustrate the impact that Buddhism had in the world of Tamil scholarship.[10] One of the classical products of that period is the ancient Tamil Buddhist epic-poemManimekalai by the celebrated poetChithalai Chathanar is set in the town of Kaveripattanam.[11][12]
The Madras High Court was hearing a plea by the Buddha Trust in Salem, which said that the idol was originally that of the Buddha, but over time it was taken over and was worshipped as that of Thalaivetti Munniappan. The Madras High Court has declared that the statue of the main deity at a temple in Salem district is that of Buddha and not a Hindu deity. The idol in the temple is currently being worshipped as Thalaivetti Muniappan. The High Court was hearing a plea by Buddha Trust, based in Salem, who had filed a petition in 2017 saying that the idol is of the Buddha. Taking cognisance of a report filed by the state archaeological department that a preliminary inspection has revealed that the statue of the Buddha, Justice N Anand Venkatesh has ruled that the idol is indeed originally that of the Buddha.
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