We don’t normally associate the Cholas with the Jains. But an inscription at a Jain temple in Tirumalai indicated that Kundavi, sister of the great Raja Raja Chola had given grants to this 1000-year-old shrine. Even today locals refer to the Tirumalai Jain Temple as Kundavi Jainalaya. It was a rather hot afternoon and we were a small group of students walking around the rocky terrains of Tirumalai, located in the Thiruvannamalai district, looking for Jain caves and Jain sculptures. Our guide was the late Dr. R. Venkatraman, Retd Professor of Art History, Madurai Kamaraj University who explained to us the legacy of Jain temples in Tamilnadu. We had just finished a course on Jainism in Tamilnadu. Tirumalai or Arhasugiri, called “The Holy Mountain” is home to two Jain temples, three Jain caves besides several inscriptions. It is believed that thousands of monks had meditated here and we could see the footprints of some of the seers who had attained nirvana here.
The sun was rather merciless as we climbed up a hillock where the Tirumalai Jain temple was built, to see a 17 feet monolith of Neminatha, the 22nd Tirthankara. Born as a prince, he is believed to be associated with Krishna and he is apparently seen with a conch or a chakra with him. According to the legend, Neminatha could not accept the fact that his wedding feast would lead to the slaughter of goats and he, therefore, renounced the world. The monolith is believed to be the tallest carving of Jain sculptures in Tamilnadu
