Armamalai Cave paintings

Armamalai Cave paintings

Located in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, Armamalai Cave is known for a Jain temple with ancient paintings, Petroglyphs and rock art. The cave has three parts with walls of mud and adobe, turning it into complex of three shrines – trikūta. The cave belongs to 8th century AD. The ceiling and walls of the cave are covered with beautiful color paintings depicting the stories of Jainism, many of them don’t survive to date. These paintings are similar to murals in Sittanavasal cave which is located 250 km south of Armamalai Cave. Western part of ceiling is adorned with floral designs with lotus as dominating motive – similar as in Sittanavasal.