Court restrains committee from damaging Yanaimalai

Mohamed Imranullah S.

The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday restrained a high-level committee, constituted by the State government on December 30 to consider the possibility of creating a sculpture park by carving the Yanaimalai near here, from causing any damage to the hillock.

Passing interim orders on a public interest litigation petition challenging the constitution of the committee headed by Commissioner of Archaeology Department, Justices Prabha Sridevan and B. Rajendran said that it should not even take rock samples from the hillock without obtaining permission from the court.

The judges also ordered notices to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Archaeological Survey of India, State government represented by the Tourism Secretary, Madurai Collector, Yanaimalai Othakadai panchayat president and a few other officials returnable in four weeks.

Ms. Justice Sridevan said that the court prima facie did not find any reason for altering the Yanaimalai, which derived the name from its resemblance to an elephant in squatting posture. “We think that the particular rock formation itself is unique. It is a record of history of evolution,” she said.

A. Mahaboob Batcha, managing trustee of the Society for Community Organisation (SOCO) Trust, a voluntary organisation here, filed the PIL petition. He sought a direction to the Union government to acquire the hillock and ensure its proper protection without disturbing its original character.

According to him, the hillock was a solid block of gneiss approximately 3 km long and 90 metres tall. Stating that it resembled the Ayers Rock of Australia, he claimed that the hillock had been declared as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

It has sites of archaeological importance such as a Jain cavern with Bas Relief of Mahavira, Parsuvanath and others. Ancient Tamil Brahmi scripts on the hillock describe it as ‘Ivakunram,’ meaning elephant hill. The Narasinga Perumal temple on the hill also contains ancient Tamil Vattalethu inscriptions.

The petitioner alleged that the plan to crack the hillock would only benefit the “granite lobby.” Already several hills in the district had been razed to exploit granite.

His counsel T. Lajapathi Roy said those living near Yanaimalai considered the entire hillock to be divine and hence it should not be disturbed.

The Special Government Pleader contended that the government had not taken any final decision on creation of the sculpture park. The committee was formed only to consider the feasibility of the project.

The petitioners’ apprehensions were based on surmises and conjectures.

Remains are of a Jain temple, says monk

DNA
Vadodara: The remnants of an ancient temple, which were found on the SSG hospital premises during digging a few days back, are of an ancient Jain temple. This was claimed by a Jain monk who visited the site on Monday. The remnants included an arc, some carved stones and an idol.

MSU vice-chancellor, Ramesh Goel, has appointed a committee to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report in this regard.

The remnants were found while digging was going on for construction of an auditoriumat the SSG hospital. Dr Adish Jain, who was passing by the place, saw the sand stones found at the site.
On a close look, he was astonished to see carvings on the stone. He immediately informed senior officials of the hospital about it, and soon the archaeology department officials were informed about the remnants.

According to a team of archaeology department, which visited the spot, it was difficult to state whether the remnants were of a Jain temple or Hindu temple, as the architecture of both kinds of temples are more or less the same.

Senior members of the Jain Youth Association, along with Jain monk Niranjansagar Suriswarji Maharaj Saheb visited the spot on Monday.

After observing the carvings and stones, he said these were the remnants of a Jain temple. Talking to DNA, association's principal Deepak Shah said, "The remnants belong to a jain temple, thought to be of the pre-Moghul era. MSU V-C, along with senior members of the university also visited the spot. He has appointed a committee to investigate the matter and file a detailed report. We have demanded conservation of the temple's remnants as this is a part of our ancient heritage."

It may be noted at this juncture that in 1992-93 idol of a Jain Tirthankar was found during the stone installation ceremony of the urological department at the SSG hospital. In 2001-02, some other sandstones were also found on the hospital premises. According to investigations, they belonged to 14th century. Before that, some coins and an idol were found in 1951-52 from the SSG hospital premises.

The archaeology department has initiated investigations to get information about the remnants found.

Remnants of Jain Temple found from hospital

DNA
Vadodara: The remnants of an ancient temple were found while digging ground near the nursing hostel of SSG Hospital here.

The remnants contain an arc, some carved stones and an idol. After preliminary investigations, the remnants are believed to be of a Jain temple.

While digging of ground for the construction of an auditorium at SSG hospital was going on, some sand stones were found along with the soil. Dr Adish Jain, who was passing by the place, saw the stones. He found them interesting and when he took a close look at them, he was astonished to see carvings on the stones.

He immediately informed senior officials of the hospital about it, and soon archaeology department officials were informed about the remains.

A team of archaeology department rushed to the spot, and during investigations found an arc, an idol and some carved stones from the site. According to archaeology officials, it was difficult to say whether the remnants belonged to a Jain temple or Hindu temple as their architecture are more or less the same.

Talking to DNA, ex-superintendent and dean of the hospital Dr Kamal Pathak said, "It is for the third time that the remnants of a temple have been found from this area of the SSG hospital.
In 1992-93, an idol of a Jain tirthankar was found during the stone installation ceremony of the urological department at the hospital. In 2001-02, too, some other remnants of sandstones were found from the hospital premises.

Relic with traces of Jainism discovered

Relic with traces of Jainism discovered

MYSORE: Archaeologists involved with excavations at historic Talakad village have found an inscribed stela which authenticates the existence of
Jainism in the region.

According to a press release issued by the archaeology department here, this inscribed stela with a Jain image dated to 978-79 AD was unearthed from already excavated Basadi site at Talkad. The inscription reads that sage Balachandramuni known for his unblemished character and quality attained heaven in 978 AD, the release says , adding that this "nishidige" was created by Kundana Somidevi.

Archaeology director Gopal said this relic and inscription throws open a flood of information on several facets of Jain culture. Balachandramuni was the discpline of Maladharideva of Kondakundanvaya, Desigana and Pustakamnaya, and a great scholar.

The release said the inscription reveals that Balachandramuni attained his heavenly abode after five days of fasting and Kundana Somidevi who erected this stela was the sister of King Nolamakulantaka Marasimha II (963-74 AD) . The inscription was written by scribe Immadi Perumadiachari Bahulavelenga.

The release disclosed that Kundana Somidevi is none other than the lady who had gifted a beautiful Jain bronze image now preserved in Sharavanabelagola Jain mutt and she was the daughter of Ganga King Butuna III(940-63) and wife of Rajaditya of the Chalukya dynasty.

Note said the carving of this stela is unique in the sense that it is designed and decorated like a small shrine having six essential arts of a shrine. The fagade has the relief of sage Balachandramuni in "Kayotsarga" posture between two pilasters.

The team of archaeologists included M S Krishnamurthy, R Gopal and T S Gangadhara, ephigraphist H M Nagaraj Rao deciphered the inscription .

From TOI, Mysore

Jaina treasure trove in Mankulam village

CHENNAI: The ruins of two Jaina prayer halls (Chaitya grahas), belonging to the Tamil Sangam age and estimated to be about 2,200 years old, have been excavated atop a hill near Mankulam village, about 20 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The ruins are adjacent to two of the five caves that have the earliest Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in Tamil Nadu. The caves have several beds hewn out of the rock-floor, where the Jaina monks rested.

The Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department excavated the ruins of the prayer halls in 2007. The excavation yielded large-sized bricks, grooved tiles with holes, black and red potsherds and L-shaped iron nails. The Department has published a book on this excavation.

V. Vedachalam, retired senior epigraphist, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, estimated that these halls were “the earliest Jaina brick structures in Tamil Nadu.” He asserted, “No brick structure of this kind has been found in any Jaina site in Tamil Nadu.” The monks, who lived in the nearby caves, must have prayed in these chaitya grahas, which could have had an auspicious symbol or a cult object, he said.

The foundation and walls of the halls were built of bricks, which measured 35 cm x 17 cm x 6 cm. The roof was made of wooden rafters with grooved tiles that were held in place on the rafters by the L-shaped iron nails driven through the tiles.

These structures were similar to those found at the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills, near Bhubaneswar, Orissa, which were important Jaina centres, said Dr. Vedachalam.

In 1882, Robert Sewell, civil servant and antiquarian, first noticed a few inscriptions on the brow of the caves on the Mankulam hill, near Meenakshipuram. Epigraphists V. Venkayya and H. Krishna Sastry tried to read them. Attempts to decipher them bore no fruit until K.V. Subrahmanya Aiyer, who pioneered the reading of the Tamil-Brahmi script, recognised them as having been inscribed in Brahmi. He concluded, in 1924, that the script’s language was Tamil. Others who contributed to the decipherment of the Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions found in Tamil Nadu included T.N. Subrahmanian, Iravatham Mahadevan, Dr. R. Nagaswamy and Dr. Y. Subbarayalu.

On the Mankulam hill, there are five caves, with six Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in four of them. They belong to the 2nd century B.C. The long inscription found on the brow of the rock, close to the first Jaina prayer hall, gives details of how the Pandya king Nedunchezhiyan was instrumental in sculpting the beds in the cave as “dhammam” for the chief Jaina monk “Kani Nandan.” Another inscription is about “Sadikan,” father of Nedunchezhiyan’s brother-in-law, sculpting the beds for Kani Nandan.

Dr. Vedachalam said: “Mankulam was a great Jaina centre. It must have been the largest Jaina centre in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam age. The existence of the chaitya grahas, Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and the Jaina beds [together in one place] are of national importance.”

Today, the Jaina beds have been desecrated with graffiti incised on them or painted in different colours.

New Jain Sites Found in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Over the last three months, two rock art sites, two caverns with Jaina beds, and dolmens have been discovered within a radius of 25 km on the hillocks behind the Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district.

Members of the team that found the sites, said the discovery of Jaina beds confirmed the earlier view that present-day Villupuram district was once a prominent centre of Jainism. The presence of the rock art sites and dolmens showed that the area had been under continuous human occupation for 3,000 years, they added.

On June 1, K.T. Gandhirajan, an explorer who specialises in art history, T. Ramesh, a researcher in archaeology, and others found a big cavern with Jaina beds and rock art on a hillock called Pancha Pandavar Kal, near Vadagal village in Gingee taluk.

The hillock, located 15 km behind the Gingee fort, forms part of a chain of hills in the area. The team found a series of Jaina beds on the floor of the cavern and pre-historic paintings on the boulder surface opposite the beds.

“The beds are of primitive nature. They are not evolved. They are about 2,000 years old,” said Mr. Gandhirajan.

Raised “pillows” had been hewn out of the rock-floor at one end of the beds. Channels were cut to drain out rainwater from the beds or the floor was scooped out to collect rainwater.

The rock art consists of a painting of a deer done in white kaolin with outlines in red ochre.
“This is really rare,” Mr. Gandhirajan said. While this figure of a deer is about 3 feet by 3 feet in size, there are tiny drawings of deer and lizard (udu mbu in Tamil) on the adjacent rock surface, as if to contra-distinguish their size. He estimated that the paintings might belong to circa 1000 B.C.

“These paintings were done by pre-historic men — by hunter-gatherers who used to live in this cavern. Much later, the Jain monks occupied them,” Mr. Gandhirajan said.Earlier finds
Three months earlier, the team found about a dozen port-holed dolmens on a hill near Devadanampettai, on the way to Tirukovilur, about 15 km from the Gingee fort. While most of the dolmens were found disturbed, a few were intact.

About 2 km away, the team discovered a small rock art site, with drawings in white kaolin of marching men or men with raised hands.

About 25 days ago, Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Gandhirajan found 11 Jaina beds on a hill near Kanchiyur village, 28 km from Gingee.

According to T. Arun Raj, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, Jaina beds had been discovered recently at Thirunarungkondai near Ulundurpet, Paraiyanpattu and Melkudalur. There are remains of the structural Jaina temples at Tirunarungkondai, Melsithamur and Thondur near Tindivanam and Melmalayanur near Tiruvannamalai. All these places are in Villupuram district.

On the hill at Sirukadambur, there is a bas-relief of 24 Jaina tirthankaras. “Adjacent to this, we have an inscription about a Jaina monk who went on a fast-unto-death. This inscription belongs to the transitional period from Tamil-Brahmi to Vattezuthu,” he said.

There are rock art sites in the district at Sethavarai and Kizhvalavu.

“In addition to these relics of Jainism, we have now discovered these Jaina beds in two places. All this show that the present-day Villupuram district was a prominent centre of Jainism,” Mr. Arun Raj said.

11th century Jain statue found

Kshitiz Gaur,TNN

AJMER: A medium-sized black stone statue of 17th Jain Tirth-ankar Kuntunath, dating back to 11th century, has emerged during excavations in holy town of Pushkar, about 15 kms from here.

The statue is one of the more than 36 statues found in last one year at old Pushkar and Ghat areas of the region. The discoveries con-firms of a religious congregation being held at the place some time in the medieval period.

Eighteen more such statues have been discovered in old Pushkar alone, including a Shivling of nearly one thousand year old, rare statue of god Kartikeya, statue of Vishnu and more Jain Tirthankar statues.

The statue of Jain Tirthankar Kuntunath in a meditating posture appeared when renovation work was going on at the famous Varaha temple in Pushkar. It bears characteristics of Jain architecture - curly hair, sharp features on face, etc. The style of meditation is also peculiar of Jain philosophy.

The statues have been kept in the government museum at Akbar Fort in Ajmer. Archaeologists and historians are studying different perspectives of new scripts of Chouhan dynasty of 11th century.

Two months ago, more than 20 statues were found during construction work on a personal land near Jat Vishramsthali behind the famous Bramha temple. The work containing scriptures in Ingal and Pingal, local dialects spoken during 10th century, and representing the meditation postures, dates between 6th and 11th centuries.

"These new discovery shows that Jainism flourished well at the time of Hindu ruler Prithvi Raj Chouhan,"said Akbar Fort museum superintendent Syeed Ajam Hussein. "Pushkar has the importance of multi-religious studies. The statues are in very good condition,"he said, adding that the statues bear pure art of Jain sculptures and therefore have significance for the scholars and archaeologists.

About 8 years ago, a metallic statue pertaining to Jain religion was also found in the area which dated back to more than two thousand years. "The period is important because that was the time when the region was ruled by Hindu kings, and Ghajnis invaded the land,"added Ajam.

"Pushkar is an ancient city and clues are there that Vikramaditya of 6th century had studied in Pushkar. The land has more treasure dug under it,"said a Pushkar-based archaeologist Rajendra Yagnik. "More than 4 times, the university at Pushkar was ruined by the invaders. This university was unique with Samkhya, Yoga and Jain philosophies being taught there,"he said, adding, "A group of Italian archaeologists also visited the place and gathered information of scriptures found here."

Structure with artefacts found below Paharpur site temple

Archaeologists have found another ancient brick-built structure with floor and artefacts under the basement of the main temple at world heritage site Paharpur.

Earlier, two brick-built structures of Gupta dynasty were found during an excavation, according to archaeologists of the Department of Archaeology.

Dr Md Shafiqul Alam, director, Department of Archaeology, said the recently excavated structures were built in pre-Pal period.

"Most probably the structure of temple was built by followers of Jain religion," Alam added.

Nahid Sultana, custodian, Rabindra Kacharibari, Sirajganj and member of the excavation team, said the 2.1-metre width brick-built structure crossed the basement of the main temple built by King Dharmapala in the eighth centaury.

The structure was found in the northeast corner of more than 1,200 years old main temple "Somapura Maha Vihara", which is locally known as Paharpur Monastery.

Md Mahabub-ul-Alam, assistant custodian, Paharpur Museum and excavation team member, said a huge number of potsherds have been found under the monastic cell no-21 in the northeast corner of the Vihara.

Probably, these were used over 1,500 years ago, said Mahabub, adding that it is likely to be the first habitation over the virgin soil in this area.

World famous archaeologist Dr KN Dikshit believes there was a Jain monastery at Paharpur but no traces have survived.

Archaeologists of the archaeology department believe the recently discovered structure was the part of the Jain temple.

There has so far been no structural existence of Jain temples in Bangladesh. But Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang saw several Jain structures during his visit to Pundranagar in Bogra and adjacent areas in 639-645 AD, said Mahabub.