Yanai Malai
The maximally 150 m high Yanai Malai ( Tamil : யானைமலை) is a narrow but elongated ridge consisting of granite rocks with several relief sculptures of the Jain religion in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The entire hill is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India .
location
The approx. 160 to 280 m above sea level. d. Yanai Malai is located near the village of Narasingam about 12.5 km (driving distance) northeast of the city of Madurai .
history
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In contrast to the Samanar Malai, there are no rock inscriptions on the Yanai Malai that could indicate the beginning of the use by Jain monks. The sculptural reliefs carved into the natural rock face show standing (= penitent) or seated (= meditating) Tirthankaras and are mostly dated to the 7th or 8th century; a forest nymph ( yakshi ) on the side of a standing Jaina figure is extremely unusual. Some natural rock caves may have been used as sleeping places by the ascetics; Smaller, shallow water catchment basins were carved out of the rock in a painstaking and probably centuries-long work.
Narasimha temple
At the foot of the north-west flank of the hill is the Hindu Narasimha Perumal temple , which was carved into a rock wall in the 7th century and is dedicated to an avatar of the god Vishnu . The entire temple district was redesigned in the 15th or 16th century under the rule of the Vijayanagar Empire and provided with an entrance gate ( gopuram ), the figures and pseudo-architecture of which are brightly painted; a large temple pond is in front of the temple.
Ladan Koil
According to a Vatteluttu inscription, a three-portal and staircase temple ( Ladan Koil ) in honor of the god Karttikeya (Tamil: Murugan ) was carved into the rock in the 8th century south of the Narasimha Temple . The block-like parts of the pillars are decorated with rosettes .
Web links
- Yanai Malai - Photo + Info (PDF, English)
- Yanai Malai, temple - photo + information (English)
- Yanai Malai, granite quarries etc. - photos
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 9 ° 58 ′ 15 ″ N , 78 ° 11 ′ 31 ″ E