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Kalugumalai (Tirunelveli - Tamil Nadu)

Kalugu Malai literally means Eagle Hill. The hill has 2 main sections, a Hindu temple and a Jain abode. The Jain abode is the just spectacular. 
It is a series of several relief sculptures done on a monolith rock!!! These were sculpted during the period of Paranthaka Nedunchadaiyan Pandyan king.
Right at the centre is a newly built temple of Chenniyamman. Behind is a small locked up chamber having 1 scene made of relief sculptures, depicting Parswanatha with Padmavathy & Dharnendra & Kamdan. Sadly there is a concrete structure around it and the relief itself has been covered with plaster. Gladly everything else is left untouched and protected by the ASI.

To the left is the section that has all the Thirthankaras depicted in several rows with a couple of words about them below each of their sculpture.  
Apart from the Thirthankaras, there are a couple more scenes. One is of Ambika. Ambika is a Yakshi of Neminatha, who also had a parellel life in the earth as a human being, as a wife of a man. The man doubted her and asked her to show her heavenly self to him and she did, with her tall, golden body that sent him awe-struck. Accompanied are her 2 children and lion in the scene.
Another scene is of Parsvanatha with his yakshi Padmavathy. Atop him is the yaksha Dharnendra as a hooded snake, protecting him. Beside him is Kamdan, a character that tries to kill him earlier but later surrenders to him. Both time frames are shown in the same frame!

There is one seated Thirthankkara with triple umbrella. Sadly he's been beheaded. There's another standing Thirthankara with 2 yakshis on either sides.

To the right is another section that has few thirthankaras in rows and a 3 scenes. They are shown seated on lion thrones and one has an elephant hood.
Further atop, climbing a few flights of stairs is another, single scene. Here the Thirthankara is much larger. From here the view was spectacular and the next destination, Vettuvan Koil was visible. That's coming up in the next post.

 TO GET THERE:
From Tirunelveli: 53 km towards Sivakasi
From Sivakasi: 38 km towards Tirunelveli

 Dedicated to Prof.Swaminathan & Co...

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

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