Tamil Jains are Tamils from Tamil Nadu, India, who practice Digambara Jainism . They are a microcommunity of around 85,000 . Tamil Jains are predominantly scattered in northern Tamil Nadu, largely in the districts of Madurai, Viluppuram, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Thanjavur. Early Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in Tamil Nadu date to the 3rd century BCE and describe the livelihoods of Tamil Jains. Camaṇar wrote much Tamil literature, including the important Sangam literature, such as the Nālaṭiyār, the Silappatikaram, the Manimekalai and the Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi. Three of the five great epics of Tamil literature are attributed to Jains.
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