Rock-Cut Cave Shrine (Kudumiyanmalai)
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Kudumiyanmalai is one of Tamil Nadu’s most important historical temple sites, combining rock-cut heritage, rare inscriptions, and centuries of temple development.The rock-cut cave shrine may have been excavated in the 7th century CE, and some scholars connect it to the Pallavas, possibly during Mahendra Pallava I.Kudumiyanmalai is important because it preserves both Jain and Hindu heritage on the same hill, showing the religious and cultural transition of the region over time.The temple and hill were known by different names in inscriptions, including Melakoil, Thirumulattanam, Thirumetrali, and the hill as Tirunalakkunaram. The present name Kudumiyanmalai appears in a 17th-century inscription of Mallappa Pallavarayar.