Jina Kanchi Jain Math, Melsithamur, is a Jain Matha that is located near

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

Villupuram district Viluppuram, Villupuram or Vizhuppuram is one of the 38 districts that make up the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded on 30 September 1993, prior to which it was part of the Cuddalore district. Vizhuppuram district lies in the way of the ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is the primary religious center of the

Tamil Jain Tamil Jains (Tamil language, Tamil Samaṇar, from Prakrit ''Śramaṇa, samaṇa'' "wandering renunciate") are ethnic-Tamils from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who practice Jainism (Tamil ). The Tamil Jain is a microcommunity of around 85,0 ...

community. It is headed by the primary religious head of this community,

Bhattaraka Laxmisena Laxmisena, or Lakshmisena, is the name given to the head (Bhattaraka) of the Mel Sithamur Jain Math. Current position Bhattaraka Laxmisena of the Mel Sithamur Jain Maṭha is the primary religious head of the Tamil Jain community. The Bhattarak ...

Swami.

History

The Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram areas have been an important centre of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

since ancient times. Historically, there was a Jain Math at

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

but it was shifted to its current location here. Venkatappa Nayak (1570-1600) is said to have given permission during his reign to build this Sittamur Jain Temple. Later, in 1860 CE, a Jain official in the Madras Provincial Services, Sri Baliah, dismantled several stone-pieces including the great stone elephants from the Gingee Venkataramana Temple, to make edifices in the Sittamur Jain temple. Among them the great stone elephants placed at the foot of the Termutti (car-stand), are noteworthy.

Overview

There are two temples and one of them is dedicated to Parshvanatha. The other temple is dedicated to Malinatha and it was originally a boulder containing rock-cut images of

Bahubali Bahubali (, ) was the son of Rishabhanatha (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of the ''Chakravarti (Sanskrit term), chakravartin'' Bharata (Jainism), Bharata. He is a revered figure in Jainism. He is said to have meditated ...

, Parsvanatha,

Adinatha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

and Ambika yakshi. These images were carved in the 9th century CE. Parshvanatha temple or Raja Gopuram is a seven storeyed tower with a total height of more than 70 feet. Images of tirthankaras are carved on temple walls. Main idol of Parsvanatha temple is a black colored 14 feet idol of Parsvanatha in Padmasan posture. The 52 feet manastambha in temple is a monolith. Malinatha Temple is also known as Thiruvooram Palli or Kattam Palli. The carvings of Tirtankaras Bahubali, Parshvanatha, Adinath bagavan, Mahavira and Yakshi Dharma Devi belonging to the 7th century sculptured on a single rock here is a testimony to the workmanship of those days.

Other Temples

*Gingee Jain Temple: Gingee Jain Temple is a very ancient and famous temple. This temple is dedicated to Adinatha. *Vilukkam Temple: This is a small temple dedicated to Adinatha. *Thayanur Temple: This temple is built more than 1000 years ago. This temple is dedicated to Mahaveer Swami. The other deities you can find in this temple are Yakshi Padmavati, Yakshi Dharmadevi, Brahma Devar and Navagraham mandap. *Kolianur Temple: The presiding deity in this temple is Adinath Bhagwan who is seated in a Padmasana posture. Stone carved idols of other deities in the temple include Padmavathi Yakshi and Navagraham.

Location

The Math is located 20 km off

Tindivanam Tindivanam is a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in Villupuram District after the headquarters town Villupuram. Important roads from north to s ...

and 10 km east of

Photo gallery

Mel_Sithamur_Jain_Math,_Tamil_Nadu.JPG, Mel Sithamur Jain Math Bhattaraka Laxmisena, Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.jpeg,

resides at this Math Residence of Bhattaraka Laxmisena, Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG, Residence of

at the Mel Sithamur Jain Math Courtyard of the Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG, Courtyard of the main temple during a religious festival Primary idol of Parshwanath, Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG, Mulnayak of Parshva within the main temple at the Math Festival, Mel Sithamur Jain Math, Tamil Nadu.JPG, During a festival morning at the Math Gingee_Jain_Temple_11.jpg, Gingee Jain Temple near Mel Sithamur Jain Math

References

External links

Mel Sithamur Jain Math imagesBlog on the Mel Sithamur Jain MathMel Sithamur Jain Math imagesRath Yatra celebrations during Mahavir Jayanti at the Mel Sithamur Jain Math
{{Villupuram District Viluppuram district Jain temples in Tamil Nadu Archaeological monuments in Tamil Nadu 9th-century Jain temples