Tirumalai Jain Complex
Tirumalai is an ancient Jain center near Arni in the Tamil Nadu state of India. There are a few other places called Tirumalai in South India. The famous Tirupati Tirumala temple and a Murugan hillock temple near Tenkasi are also named Tirumalai. This Jain center is not to be confused with them. This has no connection with other sites with a similar name.
Tirumalai, also called Arahanthagiri, is located in the Tiruvannamalai district. Today, we can hardly find Tamil-speaking Jains. The Jains in Tamil Nadu state are primarily from Rajasthan or Gujarat states. The marble temples of Jain Tirthankaras that are found all over Tamil Nadu were built by them in the last one or two centuries. However, in ancient times, Tamil Nadu was full of Jains. In fact, most of the oldest Tamil texts available today were directly or indirectly related to Jainism. Similar to the granite temples of the Hindus, the Jain temples were also built with grand towers, beautiful vimanas, attractive sculptures, and other architectural elements. Only a few people in Tamil Nadu realize that such ancient Jain temples exist. Tirumalai is one site where we could find such ancient Jain symbols in large numbers. In the olden days, it was called by different names, such as Vaigavur and Srisailapuram. It is believed that the Jain monks lived in the hills of the village right from the 7th century CE. This article will focus on all those ancient Jain sites of Tirumalai village.
Neminatha Sculpture
A few groups of shrines are located atop the hill, and a few other temples and caves are situated in the foothills.
Climbing up a flight of around 150 steps and a few sloppy rocks, we would reach the Neminatha shrine. It enshrines the impressive 18 feet tall rock-cut carving of Neminatha. It is the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu state. It is believed to be a Chola period work (12th century CE). (I could not find any record to prove it was done by the Cholas, though). The sculpture is simple and plain without any ornamentation. The 22nd Jain Tirthankara is found naked and in a standing posture.
Parshvanatha Shrine
Further going up, there is a giant boulder that reminds us of the famous butter ball rock of Mamallapuram due to its similarity.
A small shrine for Parshvanatha is located there. A small stone image of Parshvanatha, the 23rd Jain Tirthankara, is found in the standing posture and a five-hooded serpent is upon his head.
The period of the temple is not recorded anywhere, to my knowledge. The sculpture must be much older than the later period structure of the shrine.
Holy Footprints
Further up on top of the hill are three holy footprints (Padams) engraved on the rocks. A rare variety of Devaalari tree is found nearby. It has been planted in such a way that the flowers from the tree fall directly on one pair of holy footprints.
It is said that three Jain monks sacrificed their lives without taking food or water on this hill. To commemorate them, the holy footprints of those monks are engraved. There are some later-period inscriptions found near the footprints. One inscription is from the ASI in the 1930s.
From the top of the hills, we could get an aerial view of the entire town and, importantly, the impressive towers and vimanas of the Jain temples at the foothills.
Vijayanagara Period Jain Temple
A beautiful three-tiered tower, a more beautiful three-tiered vimana on top of the sanctum, impressive sculptures on the Maha Mandap - all these belong to a Vijayanagara period temple at the foothills. Structure-wise, it looks more remarkable than the Kundavai Jinalaya (the Chola period Jain temple), located beside this. It must have been built in the 16th century CE. 24 Tirthankaras adorn the vimana, whereas different Jainism-related images adorn the tower.
The sanctum enshrines a feet-tall lime mortar image of Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. The Yaksha and Yakshinis are found on either side. The backside wall and the ceiling are full of fresco paintings of Jainism images, probably done during the Vijayanagara period or later.
Outside the temple tower, there is a small shrine enshrining Panchaparameshti.
The temple has a small front side Maha Mandapa. The Chola period inscriptions are also found on the boulders, which are now part of the temple complex.
A small stone image of Mahavira in the sitting posture is found in the Ardhamandapa, and another icon of Mahavira is found in the Maha Mandapa. In the prakara, a serpent stone image is located.
Kundavai Jinalayam
Behind the temple of Mahavir, the Jain temple called Kundavai Jinalayam is located. It is believed to have been built by Kundavai, the sister of Raja Raja Chola, in the 10th century CE. The presiding deity of the temple is Neminatha.
The sanctum enshrines the small stone image of Neminatha. He is found in the seated posture with two disciples on either side.
In Ardha Mandapa, there is a bigger black marble image of Neminatha, and in Maha Mandapa, a small-sized white marble icon of Neminatha is found. These are all later additions.
In Maha Mandapa, there are many beautiful metal icons of Neminatha, and a few other Tirthankaras and Jain deities are located in separate shrines.
Brahmadeva, Jwalamalini, and a few other Tirthankaras are also found in the Mukha Mandap of the temple. The pillars in the Mukha Mandap have some interesting carvings.
Bali peetha and a platform for flagstaff or deepa stambha are located towards the sanctum.
In the prakara, a peetha is installed to commemorate the Moksha attained by a Jain monk at the beginning of the 20th century CE. He was Shrivatheebha Simha, who wrote Kshetra Sintamani.
Cave Paintings
A few steps from the Kundavai Jinalayam would take us to caves where the Chola-era paintings on the ceiling and the Vijayanagara paintings on the walls are found. Some portions of the cave could be seen only by crawling.
If we lie down on the floor and look at the cave's ceiling, it appears like a colorful carpet hanging atop. The paintings of Dwarapalas and other Jain figures are found on the walls. In one cave, a big painting depicting Jain Tirthankara in the middle, surrounded by women, animals, and various celestial beings, is found.
The bas-relief of a Tirthankara is found on the top surface of the rock. And that rock leads us to the caves. There are a few shrines nearby that are dedicated to Kooshmandini seated on a lion, Bahubali with Brahmi and Sundari, Adinatha and Parshvanatha with Padmavati. (When I visited the temple, I could not go to these closed shrines).
King's Sculpture
In the interior village, there is a statue of a King (probably Nayaka?) with three consorts and another statue of a king surrounded by four maids. The locals call him Raja Raja Chola, which is funny.
Inscriptions
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment