Kalugu malai or vettuvan koil…where is this place. For those of you who have visited Ellora Kailasantha temple these pictures may seem vaguely familiar…this is a unique effort of early pandya rock cut temple…its in tuticorin district, in a small place near Kovilpatti….to the uninitiated …you may ask what’s so special..simple, it’s a monolith … carved out of the face of mountain side….Now see the pictures and the detailing once more.
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Such a stupendous effort – carved top down, to the last detail….a superlative effort, but sadly few locals know of this monument. Such a great craft has been forgotten, so too are their amazing creations. Sadly no amount of crying is going to bring back this artform to life, at least lets learn to properly appreciate them. This is the only service we can do to the unknown sculptor…..
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Yes, indeed and thanks to Vijay. The article on Frontline was quite illuminating in that it showcased a whole lot of of Jaina monuments. It also spoke about many structures being barely 200 years old (I hope that is not a printing mistake – did they mean 1200 years old?? This is because the script which was read out by the Epigraphist Vedachalam was the Old Tamil Grantha and/or Tamil Brahmi only – is it not? that mean the Jaina monuments are much older – though not covered in this site). However, in Frontline Vedachalam also mentions that these monuments dispel one theory that around 6-7th centuries Jainism ended in Tamizhagam, because these monuments (associated with Pandiyan kings who ruled between 815-865 AD) marked a revival of Jainism in Tamizhagam between the mid 8th to early 9th centuries AD.
Quite illuminating, really. Thanks once again.
dear cheenu
Thanks for the enthusiastic responses. I will post shortly on sitthanavaasal, where too we have jaina influence and some of the most remarkable paintings of tamil lands ( sadly lost – or can i say destroyed – for lost can be found)
rgds
vj
kalugumalai you pl read the dinamalar deepvali malar article written by me13years ago
9600772841 my contact no
//பல தமிழிருக்கே தெரியாத அவல நிலை….மாண்டவர் மீண்டும் வருவாரோ… அது போல இதுவும் ஒரு அழிந்த கலை ….இந்த திறமைகள் அழிந்து விட்டன …. இனி சிற்ப கலை மீலாது…..இது போன்று இன்னொன்று கட்ட இயலாது//
வருந்ததக்க, ஆனால் உண்மை… :((
Kalugumalai is 20 kms east of kovilpatti and is in virudhunagar dist not as reported in this post