An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s12.t3.4

v1.c19.s12.t3.4

Scattered all over the Tamil country, at several spots in the E. Ghats, particularly in the region around Madurai, is a series of natural caverns made habitable by the cutting of beds and drip-ledges. These austere cells were meant as residences for Jaina recluses. As in Orissa, the nature of several of these caves was altered in about the 7th to the 9th century by carving sculptures and reliefs.