I had seen a slew of pictures of the splendid images of the Tamil Nadu caves. But a real life vision was what I desired most. On one of my official visit to Kerala, I thought of visiting caves of Tamil Nadu. I booked my excursion tour through 'Kerala Goa Holiday Travel Com.'. From Kerala I boarded a plan for Maduri, from there I was driven to my destination in a comfortable A/C cab. My accommodation was booked with one of the good hotels located along the Dindigul Road. I enjoyed a typical Indian cuisine as I have developed the taste for it in my all-previous visits.

Next day morning after breakfast, my whole day tour was organized for the cave temples. In way my guide up dated me about many facts of the temples. The Jain temples in Tamil Nadu had a history of 1000-year in South India. The several monuments scattered in the peninsular region of the Indian subcontinent only confirm this. There are many Jain shrines, images, and monasteries carved in the hills of Tamil Nadu.

My guide Gopal was a well-trained guide and an educated young man. Seeing my inquisitiveness he further told me that these carved caves are about 26 in number and are spread in and around Madurai. The caves belong to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The names of the monks who lived in these cave-dwellings and the men who carved them are engraved on these monuments.

It was just amazing to see these wonders of the world, I was quite surprised that how these caves are cut from the volcanic lava in the forest ravines of the Hills. I was wonder struck at the unique blend of architecture, sculpture and paintings. To my delight, these caves suggest a well-defined form of architecture, which broadly resolves into two 2 Centuries.

Most of the caves are replete with paintings depicting events from the life of Lord Mahavira. I could only wonder at these ethereal and exquisite paintings - human hands are capable of such artistry. I drove to the top of the hill and was spell bound by the huge carved image in a standing position, with a serpent's hood spread above his head. I was told that Paraswanathar, the 23rd Jain Tirthankara was the holy God in Jain religion.

The striking feature in side the caves are the constructions of the stone beds, Gopal showed me that how the one end of these horizontal rocks is slightly raised as headrest. The construction of the cave was just superb, the upper portions of the caves are shaped in such a way as to prevent rainwater from entering them and were located near water sources to meet the basic need of the ascetics. I was wondering how much expertise architecture was required for setting up of these monasteries.

My trip to the caves of Tamil Nadu was more than a lifetime experience. Never have I seen such majestic objects of ancient art.