Vallimalai Jain caves are located in

Vallimalai Vellore Vallimalai is a village in Katpadi taluk ( Vellore North Taluk ) of Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located from Vellore City and it is near Ponnai. It is known for Subramaniyar temple, a Hindu temple for Murugan. (; ta, ...

village in Katpadi taluk of

Vellore district Vellore district () is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. It is one of the eleven districts that form the north region of Tamil Nadu. Vellore city is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, the district had a popu ...

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 ...

History

Jain Sculptures and inscription, Jain Cave, Vallimalai

Vallimalai Jain caves contains natural caverns that were inhabited by

Digambar ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing n ...

monks in early historic period. The monks from

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

used to come here during the late-

maurya period The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

. The smooth and polished beds were carved during the rule of

Satavahana dynasty The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late ...

. A total of five inscription are found with one of the inscriptions dating back to 8th century. The Jain carvings were created during the reign of

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

King

Rachamalla II Rachamalla II () was an emperor of the Western Ganga dynasty. Biography Rachamalla II was an emperor of the Western Ganga dynasty whose minister was Chavundaraya. See also * Vallimalai Jain caves Notes References

* 9th-century Indi ...

in c. 870 CE after conquest of this region from

Chola kings The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

. An inscription, below the sculptures, states the name of Devasena of

Bana Kingdom The Bana was a dynasty based in South India, who claimed descent from king Mahabali. The dynasty takes its name from Bana, the son of Mahabali. The Banas faced opposition from several neighbouring dynasties and served some major dynasties such as ...

along with his Jain monks Bhavanandin and Aryanandin. Vallaimalai was an important Jain center during 8th-9th century.

Architecture

Vallimalai is an important Jain site with several carvings of sculptures of

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

. The caverns is with height varying between . There is also a temple in the region which was converted to a Hindu temple. The caves consist of three chambers, two of these chambers contain images of Jain tirthankar. Above this group, there are the remains of a wall, believed to have been a small fort occupied by Jains. A

torana ''Torana'' ( sa, तोरण; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and ...

is found above Jain images similar to carvings of

Badami cave temples The Badami cave temples are a complex of Hindu and Jain cave temples located in Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in northern part of Karnataka, India. The caves are important examples of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami ...

. The Jain sculpture are engraved on two spots, one on the norther side of Murugan temple and second on the southern side, with one sculpture with superhuman dimensions. There is an image of

Ambika Ambika may refer to: Mythology * Ambika (goddess), an avatar of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Parvati, and Shakti * Ambika (Jainism), a Jain Yakshini goddess * Ambika (Mahabharata), the wife of Vichitravirya was also the mother of Dhritarashtra, ...

sukhasana Lotus position or Padmasana ( sa, पद्मासन, translit=padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha ...

position wearing a necklace, armbands, and crown. Ambika is depicted sitting on a lion with carvings of her two sons below her pedestal. There is also image of

Padmavati Padmāvatī may refer to: Deities * Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune * Alamelu, or Padmāvatī, a Hindu goddess and consort of Sri Venkateshwara of Tirupati * Manasa, a Hindu serpent goddess * Padmavati (Jainism), a Jain attendant goddess ( ...

with 4 hands, holding

goad The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a type of long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod. The ...

and

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

in upper right and left hands.

Conservation

These caves are protected by

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

. In 2014, "''Ahima Walks''" was organized in the region to promote the place.

Reference

Citations

Bibliography

Books

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Web

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External links

* {{Authority control 9th-century Jain temples Jain temples in Tamil Nadu Vellore district Jain rock-cut architecture Caves of Tamil Nadu Jain caves in India