Sittanavasal

A rock-cut cave temple holding some of the oldest surviving Indian mural painting outside Ajanta.

The paintings in the shrine and on the ceiling — a lotus tank with animals and gathering figures — are among the very few pre-Chola murals to survive anywhere in Tamil Nadu.

Nearby are stone beds cut for ascetics, with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions centuries older than the paintings. The site records a Jain presence in the Tamil country that predates the temples by a long way.

Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.