My Eyes Of India

Arittapatti Caves and Shivan Temple Introduction Arittapatti is a small village located in the Madurai district, it belongs to Melur Taulk. It is additionally called Aritapatti or Pancha Pandava Padukkai from the Mahabharata legends. Arittapatti may be a village set near a rocky hill about 25 kilometers northeast of Madurai. it's one among the oldest known Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, also the oldest known Shaivism-related Lakulisha iconography in Tamil Nadu and Jain monuments. History of Arittapatti The above Tamil Brahmi inscription is dated to about the 2nd-century BCE. it's located near the Jain Tirthankara relief with Vatteluttu script inscription. Since this rounded script emerged and came into use in and after the 6th-century, the Tirthankara relief was likely carved into the rock about 800 or 900 years later.  This, alongside the 7th-century rock-cut Shiva temple on the western side of same rocky hills within the same village (but an extended walk), a...