Thirucharanathumalai (Tiruchchāraṇattumalai) is a hillock located in

Chitharal The Chitharal Jain Temple and Bhagavati Temple are located near Chitharal village in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. They consist of stone beds with inscriptions, and two monuments – one rock cut Jain temple with outer wall reliefs ...

village from

Marthandam Marthandam is a major trade centre in Kuzhithurai municipality across National Highway (NH 47) in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Formerly known as Thoduvetty (another name for the Marthandam market region), it was a portion ...

, and from

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

. Tiruchchāraṇattumalai, which means 'holy hill of the Chāraṇas', derives its name on account of its association with the Chāraṇas, a class of

sages A sage (, ''sophós''), in classical philosophy, is someone who has attained wisdom. The term has also been used interchangeably with a 'good person' (, ''agathós''), and a 'virtuous person' (, ''spoudaîos''). Some of the earliest accounts of t ...

who had attained mastery over nature. It was originally a

Jaina Jaina can refer to: * Jain/Jaina, a follower of Jainism, an ancient classical religion of India ** List of Jains, a list of various notable Jains ** Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) * Jaina Island, an archaeological site ...

place of worship and assembly centre. On the top of the hill under a path that seems naturally hanging there in a temple with

mandapam Mandapam is a panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The famed Pamban Railway bridge and Vehicular bridge lie to the East of this Panchayat Town. Mandapam is Tamil Nadu’s largest refugee camp for Sri ...

, corridor and balipeetam with a madappalli (kitchen). There are 3 sanctums housing

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 ...

, Parswanatha and Padmavathi Devi. The idol of Bagavathi was installed instead of Padmavathi Devi by Sri Moolam Thirunal, king of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

in 1913. Above the hanging path, there is a dilapidated tower on a rock on the northern side.

Bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

sculptures of all the 24

Tirthankaras In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', a fordable passage across '' saṃsāra'', the sea of interminable birt ...

are found. Some inscriptions belonging to the 9th century are also found here. It was a Jain training centre for both males and females in those days.

References

Kanyakumari Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu {{Kanniyakumari-geo-stub