2011 Flashback – A Course in Jainism in Thirumalai
Early this year I did a short course in Jainism and the legacy of Tamil Jains , conducted by Dr. R .Venkatraman, Retd Professor of Art History, Madurai Kamaraja University and the Hayagriva study circle in Madras. And we visited a few ancient Jaina sites in and around Chennai in Tamil Nadu – Thirumalai , in Thiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu being one of them .
While the main site is referred to as Kundavi Jainalaya, after Raja Raja Chola’s sister who patronised it, the ancient site was filled is cave temples, paintings, monoliths, temples on hillocks and carvings – all probably dated between 10th– 15th century, patronized by various dynasties and rulers.I wrote my column , Inside Story for the Hindu Metro Plus early this year and here is the link .
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Wow!! Do these painitngs belong to the age of Cholas?
Great knowing about these ancient arts and painting!
These wall paintings seem to be of very ancient time. Love to see such rare sites.