Thirunanthikarai Cave Temple

Thirunanthikarai is a village situated in Thirparappu panchayath, in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.

Thirunanthikarai Cave Temple is one of Kanyakumari's most ancient temples. Believed to have been established in the 9th century AD, this temple is one of Jain religion's founding stones. Earlier, there were several sculptures present inside the temple, which attracted devotees and visitors.

Entrance to Thirunanthikarai Rock-cut Temple

Thirunanthikarai Rock-cut Temple

Board inserted by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

We stayed there for a long time. By showing another one rock they told that recently the farmers of this village found there is a sculpture of the great Tamil Poet Thiruvalluvar. The history says that Thiruvalluvar born here in this village. So the research is going on here about that. We relaxed for a long time in the pleasant and fresh situation. Some monkeys accompanied with us to entertain. Then we came back to the rock-cut temple. Since it is controlled by Archaeological Survey of India, we didn’t get the permission to take the photos inside.

way to rock top temple

steps to rock top temple

rock top temple

view from top of rock

Although the sculptures do not exist at present, there are stone carvings that narrate many interesting tales pertaining to the Indian culture and religion. One of the stone carvings state that King Raja Raja Chola captured Muttom and renamed it as Mummudi Chola Nalloor. As per research, King Raja Raja Chola celebrated his birthday at this temple in AD 1003. This temple served as home to an ascetic named Veeranandi, who preached Jainism during the 8th century. Currently, the temple is under the maintenance of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and is an interesting place to visit.