CHENNAI: An 11th-century granite sculpture of Jain Tirthankara Mahavira has been unearthed at Melathooval village near Mudukulathur in Ramanathapuram district, offering fresh archaeological evidence of the spread of Jainism along historic trade routes in southern Tamil Nadu
The sculpture came to light following a tip-off from a police constable, Velmurugan, who alerted authorities to the presence of an ancient idol partially buried in the village. Members of the Chennai-based Ahimsa Walk group subsequently intervened to secure the artefact, with local resident Karuppanan and villagers assisting in constructing a temporary shrine to safeguard it.
V Rajaguru, a government school teacher and president of the Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, who inspected the site, said the find was consistent with earlier discoveries indicating the presence of Jain settlements along key commercial corridors in the region. “Traces of Jainism, including Tirthankara sculptures, have been identified along major routes such as the East Coast corridor and arterial roads linking Ramanathapuram with Madurai, Kerala and Thondi,” he told DT Next.
He noted that such findings were not isolated, but formed part of a wider network extending into neighbouring districts, underscoring the role of merchant activity in facilitating the spread of Jainism.
The sculpture, carved in black granite and measuring about three feet in height and two feet in width, depicts Mahavira seated beneath an Ashoka tree in the ardha-paryanka posture. The figure is placed on a throne adorned with makara motifs over a lotus pedestal, with a prabhavali behind the head and a triple-umbrella motif above—an important symbol in Jain iconography. Flanking the central figure are two attendants holding fly-whisks.
Rajaguru said the stylistic features of the sculpture point to an 11th-century CE origin. He added that Jain ‘pallis’ or monasteries were typically established along trade routes where merchant communities halted, often consisting of simple structures centred around a Tirthankara idol.
The findings have been communicated to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, which is yet to undertake its own assessment of the site.
Archaeological evidence at the site further suggests early habitation. Black-and-red ware pottery fragments, datable to the Iron Age, are scattered across a mound covering nearly 20 acres, indicating that the settlement may have been continuously inhabited for over two millennia.
According to Rajaguru’s documented work on the district’s archaeological landscape, such sites reflect layered cultural phases, linking early habitation patterns with later religious developments.
A consecration ceremony was held after the sculpture was installed in the newly erected shrine. Members of the Ahimsa Walk group, including its leader Professor Kanaka Ajitha Das and Tamil Nadu State Minorities Commission member Pon Rajendra Prasad, participated in the event.
The discovery adds to the growing body of evidence highlighting Ramanathapuram’s historical role as a conduit of trade and religious exchange, with Jain communities leaving a durable imprint along routes that connected the Tamil coast with the hinterland.