Ancient Jain Cave

India / Tamil Nadu / Melur /
This cave belongs to 9-10th century B.C. and was home to the ancient tribal people before the Jain monks took shelter here. The cave contains ancient rock art on the ceiling and walls, which were dated to 1st century B.C. It is said that the art depicts some interesting human figures and animals which were drawn with animal tail brushes using red oxide. The Cave also contains a Jain relief sculpture and few stone beds. There were also few Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions around the beds. On the face of the cave, just above the entrance, there is an inscription which contains the name of the city as 'Mathirai'.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   10°4'52"N   78°14'17"E
This article was last modified 13 years ago