Unraveled Insights Behind The Kazhugumalai Jain Beds

Abstract

This research explores the rock-cut heritage of Kazhugumalai, situated in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, as a definitive archaeological and epigraphical record of early medieval Jainism. Renowned as the "Ellora of the South" for its monolithic Hindu Vettuvan Koil, Kazhugumalai simultaneously serves as the largest repository of Jain inscriptions and sculptures in far south India. This study examines the iconographic program of over 150 bas-relief Tirthankara figures, analyzing their stylistic evolution under the patronage of the early Pandyas. Centrally, the paper focuses on the collection of nearly 102 Vatteluthu inscriptions that document a sophisticated monastic network. Unlike royal land-grant charters, these "votive labels" serve as primary evidence for an "open-air university," detailing pedagogical lineages between monk-teachers (kuravadigal) and students (manakki). These records reveal a significant socio-religious phenomenon: the high status of female ascetics (kurattigal), who are recorded as both esteemed scholars and independent donors. By synthesizing archaeological evidence from primary works by C. Sivaramamurti and P.B. Desai, this research argues that Kazhugumalai was not merely a site of isolated penance but a thriving center of Jain theology and religious syncretism that interconnected major southern Jain hubs like Kottar and Chitharal. The findings underscore the enduring legacy of the Jain community within the broader cultural and architectural landscape of the Tamil country during the 8th and 9th centuries C.E.