SITTANNAVASAL ROCK CAVE
10.500000,78.750000
Description
A man-made Jaina »cave temple« (rock-cut chamber used for religious purposes), possibly excavated from laterite or granite (note 1), contains wall paintings (rock art), and is SI no. 166 »Rock-cut Jain Temple« (note 2). Sort of nearby is the –>Eladipattam Natural Cavern. SITUATION: The Jain temple lies in the eastern group of burials at Sittannavasal, a small town 58 km along the road south of Tiruchchirappalli (note 3) and 16 km north-west from Pudukkottai (N10°23': E078°49') in the block of Annavasal N10°28': E078°42' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003). CULTURAL HISTORY - rock art: »Sittanavasal, a site of an ancient Jain monastery with fine fresco paintings in a rock cave. Many of them are typical of the 9th century Pandyan period and include exquisitely detailed pictures of animals, fish, ducks, people gathering lotuses from a pond and two dancing figures. There are also inscriptions dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries« (note 4). According to Vijaya Sherry Chand, »… the Sittanavasal beds are now protected by iron grilles … Sittannavasal is well known; the Raja of Pudukottai got its frescoes restored about a century ago. The famous frescoes are in the rock-cut temple facing west and facing east on a neighbouring hill (a gentle 10 min climb) are the beds. The 17 beds have the characteristic "dindu” (pillow-lofts) and are now behind a grille. These beds are believed to be later Jaina beds, and provide the names of many monks who spent their lives here. The resonance inside the square sanctum of the cave temple (after a meditation sound is produced) has to be experienced« (note 5).
NOTE 1: »Pudukkottai State … granite and laterite are used for building. The laterite is a very hard variety, and the old fort of Kilvellikkottai is built entirely of it« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 20: 235). NOTE 2: asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_tamilnadu.asp (accessed 2008.05.31): Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai (ex Madras) circle (undated): Alphabetical List of Monuments - Tamil Nadu.- NOTE 3: Tiruchchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, Trichinapalli, Trichinopoli, Trichinopoly and Trinchinopoly at N10°49': E078°41' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) is indicated as »Tiruchchirappalli« on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 116 D4) and »Tiruchirappally« on AMS sheet NC44-05 Tiruchirappally (U502 series, 1955 edition). NOTE 4: tamilnadu.south-india-tourism.com/tamilnadu-india-… (accessed 2004.10.31). NOTE 5: Vijaya Sherry Chand (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) iimahd.ernet.in/~vijaya/sit.htm (accessed 2008.06.01).
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Eladipattam Natural Cavern | ||
| 6.6 | KUDUMIYANMALAI CAVERN | ||
| 6.6 | MELAKKOIL ROCK TEMPLE | ||
| 6.6 | KUNNANDARKOIL CAVE TEMPLE | ||
| 8.3 | SAMANAR KUDAGU, Narthamalai | ||
| 8.3 | Pazhiyileeswaram Rock Temple | ||
| 8.3 | VISHNU, Narthamalai (Cave of) | ||
| 14.9 | KOKARANESHWAR CAVE TEMPLE | ||
| 14.9 | SHIVA, Devarmalai (Cave of) |