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Fathoming history of the caves
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Jain caves at Karukalakkudi are among the numerous such vestiges around the city that confirm how Jainism flourished in the region
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Photos: S. James
Impressive (clockwise) A view of the cave, historic paintings, medicine grinding pit and Brahmi inscriptions.
Jain caves found in abundance around Madurai district hold a mystic charm, a testimony to the presence of Jainism over a 2000 years ago.
The Jain vestiges at Karukalakkudi village, 46 kilometres from Madurai, are no exception.
From the road, the hillock Pancha Pandavar Padukkai Thittu looks like a pile of huge and round boulders.
Narrow steps between huge rocks lead to the spacious Jain beds that could have accommodated around 20 Jain saints.
A huge tortoise-shaped rock is the main structure with ‘Brahmi’ inscriptions. On the eyebrow of the rock, a ‘kadi’ is carved to let the rainwater out.
The Brahmi inscription reads ‘Elaiyur Arithin pali’ – meaning the beds were carved by Arithin belonging to place Elaiyur.
This inscription belongs to Second Century B.C.
Bas-relief structure
On the right side of the cave, the Jain Tirthankara’s bas-relief sculpture belonging to 9 to 10 century A.D is seen in a sitting posture.
The Thirthankara is sitting on an ‘arthapariyanga asana’ posture under a tree umbrella, which represents three worlds – heaven, earth and underworld.
The vattezhuthu inscription under the bas-relief informs that that the sculpture was carved by Achanandi.
There is a structure similar to ‘simhasana’ where the statute of ‘Thirthankarar’ might have been kept with reverence.
Historic paintings
In the centre, there are few distorted colourful paintings hard to decipher.
The paintings belong to around 500 B.C.
The next to the row of beds, there are about half-a-dozen pits of different shapes such as a tray, leg, oval and round shaped.
“These structures might have served as grinders to grind medicines,” according to archaeological sources.
Unlike other Jain vestiges, Karukalakkudi hillock has a first floor.
A series of steps carved out from the rocks leads the way to another set of Jain beds and few historic paintings that make us to wonder about the efforts gone behind the creation of the structure. In the first storey, a painting of a ‘bull’ is seen.
The painters have used ‘red ocher’ pigments to draw the paintings on the rocks.
The village has been famous since Sangam Age (3rd century B.C to 3rd century A.D) and it is evident from the megalithic burials which have been unearthed from the village.
The Department of State Archaeology has dug out a stone oil maker.
Other inscriptions
On the top most part of the cave, there is another 10 century A.D. inscription written in ‘vattezhuthu’ all in praise of Pallitharaiyan – a minister of Pandya king. The village also has other historical important places such as Muthalamman Temple belonging to the period of Sadaiya Varman Sundara Pandyan – I (13th century A.D), a pond at Vayaliparai and Salt water spring. An inscription at the site informs that Sundarapandiya Pitchai Aasari of Piranmali and Algappan an accountant jointly constructed a barricade during 18th century A.D.
S.S.KAVITHA
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