INTRODUCTORY

tains the remains of what is known as the aramanai (palace), evidently of this chief, which is a small brick structure with a triple arch on its front side. Behind this are ruins of other brick buildings which are reported to have yielded some old coins, occasionally washed down by rains.

The early cave temple at Pillaiyarpatti.
4. Among the places inspected by the Second Epigraphical Assistant mention may be made of Pillaiyarpatti in the Ramnad district which has a rock-cut cave temple, with early sculptures carved on its walls. Such rock-cut temples abound in several places in the Pāṇḍya country including the famous Ānaimalai cave-temple of Narasimha excavated in A.D. 770 by Madhurakavi, the Pāṇḍya minister mentioned above. The palaeography of a short label inscription of two lines engraved in characters of about the 7th century A.D. found on one of the pilasters of the Pillaiyārpatti temple suggests for this cave a date nearly a century earlier than that of the Ānaimalai cave and makes it the earliest cave-temple known so far in the Pāṇḍya country.

Antiquites at Tummalakunta, Gorikapaduand Remidicharla.
5. Of the villages visited by the Reader, mention may be made of Agnigundāla in the Vinukonda taluk, Guntur district, which has a big dolmen in a field composed of huge unhewn rocks, the top slab of which measures about 8’ long by 5’ wide and ½’ thick. Round about the village of Tummalakunta are sites of ancient burials in fields. Huge boulders are arranged in circles each about 15 feet in diameter, and a large slab of about eight feet square and one foot thick is placed in the centre. It is reported that on excavating one such circle, pots of different sizes with ashes and pieces of bone inside were found with in the four walls of the cists built of hewn stone. At Garikapādu in the same taluk are two big life-size images in stone in high relief one bearing the label Perumalidasulavaru, which by its pose and curly hair reminds one of the images of the Buddha. On its two upper corners are shown female attendants with chauris. The lower portion is broken and lost. The other image which has a beard and wears a long and elaborately designed gown, sash and sword hanging therefrom and a lofty head-gear evidently represents a local chief who is sculptured with folded palms in worshipping attitude. At Rcmidicharla are the ruins of a structure called Mannēpāṭi-gudi with a circular hall, the wall of which is built of bricks measuring about 15” long by 8” wide and 2 ½ ” thick. The walls have fallen down and the debris now fills up the hall inside. Sewell notices the ex’stence of dolmens at this village (List of Ant., Vol. I, p. 67).

Jaina antiquities at Lakshmesvar.
6. Nāgāvi in the Gadag taluk and Agadi in the Haveri taluk visited by the Telugu Assistant are rich in traditions relating to Nagarjuna for whom there is actually a temple in the former village. The forest of Agadi extending up to Siḍenūr is largely associated with this divine who is believed to have buried here underground some valuable Nāgārjuna tradition at Nagavi and Agaḍi. medicinal preparations. The forest abounds in stone circles on raised levels signifying the burials of pre-historic times. Some of these when excavated by private enterprise are reported to have yielded broken earthen vessels and bones at a depth of about 6 feet. The ancient town of Lakshmesvar in the Miraj State which should have extended over a vast area is now represented by a small village with the ruins of early temples and buildings scattered all around it to a distance of 5 or 6 miles. The most important of its suburds is the Basti-Baṇa with its Jaina temple called Śaṅkha-Jinālaya or Śaṅkha-Basti containing in the left mandapa of its central hall a shrine which is an excellent piece of workmanship with exuberant decorations. On the four corners of this shrine are four standing figures of Chaturmukha Tirthakara each about 5 feet in height, besides the 1008 smaller figures pf Tirthankaras who have attained siddha-hood, which are cut on all the sides of the shrine. This is a rare example of exquisite workmanship next in beauty only to the shrines at Baḷagāvi in Mysore which is rich in Jaina sculptures. Saundatti in the Parasgod taluk of the Belgaum district is famous for its temples of Yellamma, Paraśurāma and Jamadagni (besides a

Home Page