Ponnur Malai Jain temple is an ancient

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

pilgrimage center located in Ponnur Hills in

Tiruvannamalai district Tiruvannamalai district (previously known as Central Arcot, Tiruvannamalai Sambhuvarayar District) is the largest and one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India. It was formed in the year 1989 through the bifurcation of ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

in India.

History

Ponnur Hill marks the place of birth for

Jain Acharya ''Āchārya'' () means the Head of an order of ascetics. Some of the famous achāryas are Bhadrabahu, Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Umaswami, Sthulibhadra. In Digambara Jainism, ''Āchārya'' has thirty-six primary attributes (''mūla guṇa'') ...

Kundakunda Kundakunda was a Digambara Jain monk and philosopher, who likely lived in the 2nd CE century CE or later. His date of birth is māgha māsa, śukla pakṣa, pañcamī tithi, on the day of Vasant Panchami. He authored many Jain texts such as: ...

. According to

beliefs, he visited Videha Kshetra and ascended to

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

from here.

Temple

The temple enshrines an idol of

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

inside the mukhya-mandapa. An idol of Jwalamalini was installed inside the temple in 1733 CE. The temple is noted for the worship of the

tutelary deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

Jwalamalini Jwalamalini or ( sa, ज्वालामालिनी, kan, ಜ್ವಾಲಾಮಾಲಿನೀ) is the Yakshini (guardian spirit) of the Eighth Tirthankara, Shri Bhagwan Chandraprabhu in Jainism and was one of the most widely invoked Yak ...

, who is popular among devotees. On Sundays, there is a tradition of carrying the image of Jwalamalini to the shrine of Helacharya, the originator of Jwalamalini tantric practices, in

Nilgiri Mountains The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

. The temple houses the footprints, which are annually anointed.

Gallery

File:Ponnur Hills - Visagacharya Tabo Boomi.jpg, Idol of Kundakunda File:Ponnur Hills - Visagacharya Tabo Nilayam Temple.jpg, Rishabhanatha File:Ponnur Hils.jpg, Entrance

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* Jain temples in Tamil Nadu Tiruvannamalai district Jain temples and tirthas Tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu Hills of Tamil Nadu {{Jainism-stub