Kalugumalai Jain Beds

Kalugumalai Jain beds in Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are dedicated to the Jain religious figures. Constructed in rock cut architecture, the unfinished temple is believed to have been built during the reign of Pandyan king Parantaka Nedunjadaiya (768-800 CE). The rock-cut architecture at Kalugumalai is an exemplary specimen of Pandyan art. The other portions of Kalugumalai houses the 8th century unfinished Shiva temple, Vettuvan Koil and Kalugasalamoorthy Temple, a Murugan temple at the foothills. There are approximately 150 niches in the bed, that includes images of Gomateshwara, Parshvanatha and other Tirthankaras of the Jainism. The Jain beds are maintained and administered by Department of Archaeology of the Government of Tamil Nadu as a protected monument.