Introduction
1. Origin of the Samana Religion
2. Samana Philosophy
3. The Discipline of the Samana Saint
4. The Discipline of The Arukata Household
5. Coming of Samanam to Tamilnadu
6. Ascendence of Samanam
7. Religious War
8. The Decline of Samanam
9. Samana Religious Principles in the Hindu Religion
10. Sacred Samana Sites
11. Present-day Samanars and Samana places
Appendixes
Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy’s Bibliography
Translator’s Bibliography
Biography
Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy (1900-1980) was a prominent Tamil scholar known for his interdisciplinary research in history, literature, and religion. Some of his renowned works are Christhavamum Tamizhum (Christianity and Tamil; 1936) Samanamum Tamizhum (Jainism and Tamil; 1954), Bouthamum Tamizhum (Buddhism and Tamil; 1940), Pathonbatham Nootrandil Tamil Ilakkiyam (Tamil Literature in the Nineteenth Century; 1962), and Kalapirar Aatchiyil Thamizhagam (Tamil Country under the reign of the Kalabhras; 1976). In honour of his contributions to Tamil Studies, the Tamil Nadu government nationalised his works in 2000.
Darun Subramanian is Ph.D. student in the Department of Cultural Studies, EFLU, Hyderabad, India. His research interests include Tamil and Global Modernisms, Translation Studies, Postcolonial Print Cultures, and Intellectual History. He was a South Asia Speaks Fellow (2022) for translation and a Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellow (2020). His writings have appeared in Sahapedia, and he is a contributor to the volume Global Modernists on Modernism: An Anthology (2020).
Arun Prakash Raj N is Ph.D. student in School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi, India. His research interests include Religious History, Public History, Social Movements and Print Cultures. He has successfully completed Sahapedia UNESCO Fellowship in 2019 on the Buddhist and Jain traditions in Tamil region. His writings have appeared in Tamil magazines like Neelam and Kanaiyazhi. He is the co-founder of Pagir – A Cultural Forum.
