Sittanavasal Cave

In News

• Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India has undertaken conservation measures and also introduced digital checks to track public access in  Sittanavasal.

About

• Sittanavasal Cave (also, Arivar Koil) is a 2nd-century Tamil ?rama?a complex of caves in Sittanavasal village in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India.
•  Its name is a distorted form of Sit-tan-na-va-yil, a Tamil word which means “the abode of great saints”.
• This is the only place in Tamil Nadu where we can see Pandya paintings.
• The monument is a rock-cut monastery or temple created by Tamil ?rama?a, it is called the Arivar Koil, and is a rock cut cave temple of the Arihants. 
• It contains remnants of notable frescoes from the 7th century. 
  • The murals have been painted with vegetable and mineral dyes in black, green, yellow, orange, blue, and white. 
  • It is considered by historians to be one of the oldest inhabited areas in the district, and a major centre of Jain influence.
  • The artwork on the ceiling of the sanctum and the ardha mandapa of Arivar Kovil is an early example of post-Ajanta cave paintings of the fourth to sixth centuries, done using the fresco-secco technique (a process that dispenses with preparation of the wall with wet plaster).
  • Faint outlines linger of dancing girls on the ‘ Ardha mandapam’ pillars.
• The Sittanavasal Cave is listed as one of the Adarsh Smarak Monuments by the Archaeological Survey of India.

• The  site and art was first mentioned by local historian S. Radhakrishnan Iyer in his 1916 book General History of Pudukottai State. 

Source:TH