Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

Author(s): A Ekambarnathan
Publisher: Bharat Varshiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha

Page 24

JAINA TEMPLES of 23
to meet the expenses, the very next year the Sambhuvaraya chief made an additional grant of 2000 kuli land infavour of the Yakshi.12
The Chandraprabha temple located to the north of the Adinatha temple seems to have come into existence in the 11th century A.D. At that time, it was a brick-built temple with a shrine preceded by an antarala and ardhamandapa. Subsequently, it was enlarged with a mahamandapa, mukhamandapa and gopura, and these components were constructed with granite blocks. The three storeys of the vimana contain square and rectangular shrine models interspersed by stucco figures of Tirthankara and their attendants. As the temple in its original form is a brick structure, it is devoid of epigraphical documents mentioning the benefactions made infavour of it. The 11th century principal image of Chandranatha in the shrine was replaced by a huge stucco figure of the same Tirthankara, probably in the 16th century, when the temple witnessed large scale renovation. Recently also the temple has been extensively renovated by the local people and thereby the earlier architectural features are lost.
Tirumalai - Kundavai Jinalaya
Tirumalai is a small village about 12 kms. north-west of Polur in Tiruvannamalai district. It attained Jaina importance in the 9th century A.D., when the natural caves on the hillock came to be occupied by recluses. Subsequently, structural temples were built at the foot of the hillock, accommodating the lower cave. The temple on the rear side is known as Kundavai Jinalaya, believed to have been built by Kundavai, the elder sister of Rajaraja chola I. At the
time of its construction in the 10th century, it had only