Yanaimalai (Elephant Hill) is a

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and tourist attraction in

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. It has Jain sculptures, a

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

temple, and a

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

temple, namely the Narasingam Yoga Narasimha Perumal Temple.

Etymology

The hill derives its name from the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

word ''yaanai'', meaning "elephant", and ''malai'', meaning "hill". The hill looks like an elephant in a sitting position. The site has had this name for over 2000 years.

Location

Yanaimalai is located in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated from 10 km from Madurai Mattuthavani bus stand. The hill stretches over and is high.

About

Yanaimalai is considered a sacred place by 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 ...

. Jain monks lived here during the

Pandyan Dynasty The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

. At the top of the hill can be found caves containing Jain

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

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 ...

, Gomateshwara, and other

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

s fashioned by Jain monks. There are also stone beds used by the monks for resting.

Tamil-Brahmi Tamil-Brahmi, also known as Tamili or Damili, was a variant of the Brahmi script in southern India. It was used to write inscriptions in Old Tamil.Richard Salomon (1998) ''Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prak ...

and Vattelettu inscriptions can be found on the hill. The Rock Cut Temple

Two Hindu temples are present in the foothills, one being the Ladan cave temple (Ladan koil), a Shaivite temple dedicated to

Muruga Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

, and the other being

Yoga Narasimha temple Thirukkadigai or Sholingapuram in Sholinghur, a village in Ranipet district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the ''Na ...

, a

temple dedicated to

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. Both are rock-cut temples constructed by the Pandyas, belonging to the 8th century. The place where the Ugra Narasimha temple is situated is known as Narasingam. Tamil-Brahmi and Vattelettu inscriptions in the temples shows their history. The Jain temple has been declared a protected monument by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

. The hill is rich in

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, and has been damaged by illegal quarrying. In 2010, the government of Tamil Nadu tried to set up a

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...

on the hill, but backed out after locals and activists protested against the idea.

Gallery

File:YanamalaiJainsculptures (2).jpg, Jain Sculptures File:YanamalaiJainsculptures (3).jpg, Jain Sculptures File:YanamalaiJainsculptures (4).jpg, Jain Sculptures

References

{{reflist Hills of Tamil Nadu Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu Jain rock-cut architecture Hindu temples in Madurai district Geography of Madurai Caves of Tamil Nadu Tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu 8th-century Jain temples