This course explores the influential and often overlooked role of Jain intellectual communities in shaping the Tamil literary and grammatical traditions. Learners will examine key texts like the medieval grammar Naṉṉūl and trace the historical and linguistic footprints of the Samaṇars from Magadha to South India. By distinguishing between received tradition and empirical evidence, students will develop a rigorous framework for evaluating the load-bearing Jaina corpus in Tamil.