A milestone in Tamil historical and Buddhist studies: Dr Arangamallika

I express my sincere thanks to Dr. B. Jambulingam for his patience in waiting for my review of his outstanding work, Buddhism in Chola Nadu.

It is both my pleasure and privilege to read this book and write a note on it. Dr. B. Jambulingam is an erudite scholar who served as an administrative staff at Thanjavur University for nearly three and half decades. His devotion to and in-depth knowledge of Buddhism are highly remarkable. His continuous contributions to the study of Buddhism, particularly during the Chola period, are both authentic and valuable.

The book reflects his keen interest in exploring Buddha statues, reviewing historical literature, examining historical accounts, and analysing references from the travelogues of the Chinese pilgrim Yuan Shuang. His documentation of Buddhist temples and viharas discovered across Tamil Nadu is exemplary.

Through Dr B. Jambulingam' s extensive field research, he identified numerous Buddha statues during from the 10th to the 13th centuries CE. During this period, the Bhakti movement in Tamil literature also gained prominence in Tamil Nadu. Although the Nayanmars and Alwars strongly opposed Buddhism, the religion continued to flourish and received support from the people. This is evident from the inscriptions and records preserved during the period, including those associated with the Pandya rulers in South Arcot during the 12th century CE.

Another important inscription has been identified in the Varadharaja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram. Significant records relating to the history of Buddhism and its remnants were preserved at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Recently, the Dutch government handed over some of these valuable inscriptions and records to India.

At the outset, I congratulate Dr. B. Jambulingam for his vision and dedication to Buddhist studies based on extensive fieldwork. This work is a milestone in Tamil historical and Buddhist studies. For his research, he visited several places in Chola Nadu, including Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Poompuhar.

This compilation serves as an important historical record of Buddhism and will inspire future researchers to undertake further studies in this field. Dr. Jambulingam's work encourages scholars to explore the Buddhist heritage of Tamil Nadu and sheds new light on this rich and significant tradition.

I once again congratulate Dr. B. Jambulingam for his remarkable contribution to Buddhist scholarship and Tamil historical research.

Best wishes,

Dr. Arangamallika

Professor and Head in Tamil (Rtd)

Ethiraj college for women

Chennai

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Thanks: Dr Arangamallika

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