Chennai :

Fourteen Jain rock beds dating back to the 5th century AD have been excavated inside three caverns on top of a hill in Vellore district.

The beds were found on the Bhairavamalai in Latheri on the Vellore-Gudiyattam road when Jeeva Kumar, a Jain priest, was on a study tour in search of abandoned and neglected Jain sites in Tamil Nadu. “It was difficult to climb the hill because the rock steps to the caverns were almost lost over the years. Recently, the locals have built a temple near the caverns. They have also built a flight of 1300 steps for the new temple. Unfortunately, there is no passage to these caverns that house the ancient rock beds,” says S Jeeva Kumar, who has excavated a number of Jain sites in various parts of Tamil Nadu.

The hill is situated in a small village called Kukkara Palli and scholars say the word ‘palli’ has a strong association with Jainism.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / M. T. Saju, TNN / July 21st, 2014