A history teacher in Madurai is preparing a lesson on the Tamil region from about the sixth to the ninth centuries CE, when states had emerged there. She first reads out a hymn in which a woman devotee of Shiva describes herself in her own words. She then shows the class an old inscription recording gifts made to a Jaina monastery in the same region. Finally, she asks the students to think about where such monasteries usually found their support in those centuries.
Which of the following best describes the support that Jaina monasteries in this region had in those centuries?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Steady support from merchant and artisan communities, with royal patronage received now and then
Option (1) Steady patronage from the Pallava and Pandya rulers, with merchants giving little support — Incorrect. The Pallavas and Pandyas did give some patronage, but only now and then. The steady support came from merchants and artisans, so this option reverses the two sides.
Option (2) Steady support from merchant and artisan communities, with royal patronage received now and then — Correct. Jainism and Buddhism had long drawn their main support from merchant and artisan communities. Royal patronage came only occasionally, so this option gives both parts in the right balance.
Option (3) Support from the Nayanar poet-saints, who praised Jaina teachers in their hymns — Incorrect. The Nayanars were opposed to Buddhism and Jainism. Their hymns show strong hostility to these traditions.
Option (4) Support from the chiefs of the older Tamil chiefdoms, who gave them land in villages — Incorrect. The chiefdoms belong to the early first millennium CE, before the Pallava and Pandya states. The support of Jaina monasteries came from merchants and artisans.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.4 Relations with the state |