Arhantagiri Jain Temple

Tirumalai, also called Arhantagiri, the holy mountain of the Arhat, includes Jain caves and temples: the Kundavai Jinalaya from the 10th century, a Mahavira temple from the 16th, and a Parsvanath temple of the 17th.

The Kundavai Jinalaya sits atop the hill with an engraving of Mahavira flanked by two lions. Partly excavated and partly built within the caverns of the rock, it is rich in sculpture and bas-relief and contains the tallest Jain idol in Tamil Nadu, the monolithic Neminatha. The sanctum enshrines a feet-tall lime mortar image of Mahavir with Yakshas and Yakshinis on either side, the back wall and ceiling covered with fresco paintings of Jainism, probably of the Vijayanagara period or later.

A few steps from the Kundavai Jinalaya are caves with Chola period paintings on the ceiling and Vijayanagara period paintings on the walls. Some portions can be seen only by crawling; lying on the floor and looking up, the painted ceiling appears as a colourful carpet hung above. The walls carry Dvarapalas and Jain figures, and one cave holds a large painting of a Jain Tirthankara surrounded by women, animals and celestial beings, comparable to those in the Ellora caves. The painting of Parsvanath with the five-hooded snake is one of the most notable in the complex.

The large cavern at the base, thought to have been built around the 9th century, was converted into 30 separate chambers in the 10th, possibly to house monks. As at Ellora, celestial beings are shown performing a ritual on a Tirthankara. Nearby are shrines to Kushmandini on a lion, Bahubali with Brahmi and Sundari, and Adinath and Parsvanath with Padmavati. A big boulder recalls the butterball rock of Mamallapuram, and three holy footprints are engraved on the rocks at the top of the hill.

An inscription on a buried rock in front of the gopuram, from the late 10th century, refers to the site as Vaigai-malai, the mountain of Vaigai, thought to connect with Vaigavur, the historic name of the village at the base. Two further inscriptions on the hilltop call it Vaigai-Tirumalai, the holy mountain of Vaigai.

An inscription of 1024 CE names the Kundavai Jinalaya, said to have been commissioned by Queen Kundavai, sister of Raja Raja Chola, one of two such Jain temples she commissioned. The footprints of the Jain monks Vrishabhsenachrya, Samanatabhadracharya, Varadattachrya Munivar and Sri Vadeepa Simhasuri commemorate their nirvana near the temple.

The inscription on top of the hill, dated to the 11th year of the reign of Rajendra Chola, gives a long list of countries won by him. Further inscriptions of Rajendra Chola (12th year), Raja Raja Chola (20th year), Vira Pandya and Raja Narayana Sambuvaraya stand in and around the temples.

At the advent of the 3rd century BCE, Chandragupta Maurya, with his guru Bhadrabahu and thousands of disciples, came to Shravanabelgola in Karnataka, Bhadrabahu being the last Acharya of the undivided Jain sangha. Bhadrabahu and his disciples then moved to Tirumalai, and it is believed that the monks who accompanied him attained nirvana, freedom from the birth-death cycle, at this very site.

A rare variety of Devaalari trees grows nearby, planted so that the flowers fall directly onto one pair of holy footprints. The Kuntahavai Jain Temple here features a painting of the Samavasarana, like the one at Shravanabelgola, with paintings of Ambika, Parsvanath and Bahubali recalling the frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora.