Jain Journal 1966 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 43

GLEANINGS
Lotus-Gatherer, Sittannavasal
In turning from Tirumayam to Sittannavasal one turns to a different world altogether. It is believed that the rock-cut temple at the latter place was excavated by the first Mahendravarman in his, as he might have considered it later, unregenerate days when he had been a Jaina. Sittannavasal was a strong centre of Jaina influence for no less than fifteen centuries, from the third century B. C. to the thirteenth A.D.
Though it has vanished, that world was artistically gifted. The five images in the sanctum and in the ardhamandapa are all majestic and serene. They are deities of a vital religion. It must have been in their honour that the famous murals in this shrine were painted. Originally