, one of the three most ancient Indian religious traditions still in existence, has very small presence in Kerala, in south India. According to the 2011 India Census, Kerala only has around 4500 Jains, most of them in the city of Cochin and in Wayanad district. Medieval Jain inscriptions are mostly found on the borders of Kerala proper, such as in Wayanad in the north-east, Alathur in the Palghat Gap and Chitharal in Kanyakumari District. Epigraphical evidence suggests that the shrine at "Tirukkunavay", perhaps located near Cochin, was the major Jain temple in medieval Kerala. The so-called "Rules of the Tirukkunavay Temple" provided model and precedent for all other Jain temples of Kerala. Some of the Jain temples in Kerala were incorporated by the Hindus at a later stage. The temple images are worshiped as Hindu gods and considered as part of the Hindu pantheon. It is not uncommon for Hindus and Jains to worship their deities in the same temple.
History
Jainism in Iron-age/early historic Kerala
It is possibility that Jainism arrived in modern-day Kerala in the third century BCE soon after Maurya emperor Chandragupta Maurya, accompanied by Jain sage Bhadrabahu I, made the pilgrimage to Sravana Belgola. Their followers might have journeyed further south, into present dayTamil Nadu and Kerala. A number of caves, donated by the early historicChera chieftains to the Jains, can be found in the Karur-Pugaliyur region of western Tamil Nadu. Utiyan Cheral Atal, a Chera chieftain, is stated to have died by starvation through a practice similar to the Jain sallekhana vrata. Utiyan Cheral was wounded on the back by his Chola rival Karikala in a battle. The Jain temple built on Oorakam Hill is more than 1,500 years old.
, who is traditionally credited as the author of the Tamil epic Chilappatikaram, was probably a resident of a Jain vihara known as "Kunavayir kottam". Some scholars identify Kunavayir kottam with Tirukkunavay or Trikkana Matilakam, now known as Matilakam, a village near Cochin. Matilakam was also known as "Gunaka" and "Kunaka" in the medieval period. Archaeological excavations conducted at Matilakam in 1970, revealed an 8th-9th century CE foundation, structurally different from the standard Hindu temple foundations in shape. Whether it was the same as the kottam at Kunavay or not, epigraphical evidence suggests that the shrine at Tirukkunavay was the major Jain temple in Kerala. It is assumed that the so-called "Rules of the Tirukkunavay Temple" provided model and precedent for all other Jain temples of medieval Kerala. A dating system known as the Tirukkunavay Era was also present during this period. Inscriptions mentioning the Tirukkunavay
Tiruvannur/Tirumannur Inscription: royal order of the Chola emperor Rajaraja I, from Tiruvannur Temple, near Calicut
Alathur Inscription - Images of Mahavira with the Gandharvas, and Parsvanatha have been recovered from Alattur.
Talakkavu Inscription: from Talakkavu in Putadi, Wynad. The location of the Jain temple is now lost to the scholars.
Kinalur Inscription - connects Kota Ravi "Vijayaraga", the Chera king at Kodungallur, with "Kunvay-Nallur". The location of the Jain temple is now lost to the scholars.
Based on the Talakkavu Temple Inscription, it is calculated that the Tirukkunavay Temple was founded some time at the close of the 7th or the beginning of the 8th century CE. It seems that by 15th century, the Tirukkunavay Temple was transformed to a Siva temple. The deity of Kunaka is called "Purari" in the poem Kokasandesa. The location of the temple is now lost to the scholars. Other Hindu temples in Kerala with Jain characteristics are
Kallil, Perumbavoor - Images of Mahavira, and Padmavati and Parsvanatha can be found in the temple.
Paruvasseri, Peechi
Bhagavati Temple, Tiruccanattu Malai, Chitharal, Kulithura - Images of Mahavira, Devi and Parsvanatha can be found in the temple.
