Ladan Cave Temple, Yanaimalai, Madurai
Ladan
Cave Temple is a rock cut cave temple dedicated to Lord Murugan located at
Yanaimalai in Madurai District of Tamilnadu. Yanaimalai (Elephant Hill) is
a protected monument and tourist attraction in Tamil
Nadu. The hill stretches over 3 Kms (1.9 mi) and
is 90 metres (300 ft) high. It has Jain sculptures,
a Shaivite Temple, Ladan
Cave Temple, and a Vaishnavite temple,
namely the Narasingam Yoga Narasimha Perumal Temple. The hill is of rich in granite, and has been damaged by illegal quarrying.
In 2010,
the government of Tamil Nadu tried to set up a sculpture
garden on the hill, but backed out
after locals and activists protested against the idea. The Ladan temple has
been declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India. A small lane adjacent to the famous Lord Yoga
Narasimhar Temple leads visitors to a rocky terrain and then to the Ladan Cave
Temple, which is built in the style of early Pandya period.
Etymology
The hill
derives its name from the Tamil word Yanai, meaning "elephant",
and malai, meaning "hill". The hill looks like an elephant in a
sitting position. The site has had this name for over 2000 years.
Legends
The Thiruvilayadal Purana, written by Perumbatta Puliyur Nambi and later amended
by Paranjothi Munivar, says that the Chola king, who could not win the battle against the
Pandya ruler, sought the help of Jains. They created a giant elephant using their mystic
powers and directed it to kill the Pandya king and destroy his capital. But the
Pandya prayed to Lord Siva to save him and his capital. The Lord sent to him
the "Narasinga Asthram" (the eight-lettered word Namo Narayana),
which turned the elephant into a hill. To commemorate this event, a stone
elephant was installed in Madurai near the Vaigai facing the north, which is found near the
Yanaikkal bridge even today.
History
The
adjacent Narasimhar Temple was built by Parantaka Nedunchadaya Varaguna Pandya
in 770 A.D. Probably, the Pandya kings built the Vishnu and Muruga Temple at
the foot of the elephant hill as a countercheck to the then flourishing
Jainism. The Temple was named after the presence of Lada Sanyasi, whose
sculpture is inscribed at the base of the stairs. It is believed that Sanyasi
was from Bengal, which is referred as Lada Desam.
The
Temple
This rock-cut temple, dedicated to Lord Muruga and his
consort Goddess Devasena exclusively, belongs to eighth century A.D. Huge
tusk-shaped staircase from either side leads to the front mandapam where the
peacock and a cock stand on two pilasters (half pillars) on the left and right
side. The front mandapam also has sculptures of saints and kings who are all
attentive to the orders of their Lord. The roof is held by the dwarf structured
goblin freeze (boothakanagal).
The rectangular sanctum sanctorum has Lord Muruga and
his consort Goddess Devasena, on his left. Here, Lord Muruga has a band of
flowers (kannimaalai) on his head and crossed chain (channaveeram) on his
chest. Similarly, Goddess Devasena is decked beautifully in well-designed dress
materials and locks of hair are intrinsically carved to give the feel of a
wonderful modern hairdo.
This extra care in dressing and the bunch of flowers may
lead all to believe that this was the venue of the reception. Apart from these
structures, the presence of peacock and cock doubly ascertain that the
sculpture is that of Lord Muruga. The pillars and walls of the cave temple are
decorated with fully blossomed lotus flower either in square or
octagonal-shaped designs besides the wavy corbels (tharangapodigai) on the
pillars.
On the eastern wall there is a ‘Vatteluthu’ inscription
that bears a sentence indicating the renovation work that was taken up in the
ninth century A.D. The sentence is “pullari vattakuruchi Nambiran patta
somayaji parivirajakar pudukku.” ‘Pullari vattakuruchi’ would probably refer to
the place while ‘somayaji’ refers to a Brahmin and ‘parivirajakar’ the name of
the person and the word ‘pudukku’ refers to renovation work.
Connectivity
Ladan
Cave Temple is situated to the south of the Narasinga Perumal temple. The
Temple is located at about 2 Kms from Othakadai Bus Stop, 6 Kms from Thirumohur,
6 Kms from Thirumohoor Kala Megha Perumal Temple, 10 Kms from Madurai, 12 Kms
from Madurai Periyar Bus Stand, 5 Kms from Mattuthavani Integrated Bus
Terminus, 12 Kms from Madurai Railway Junction, 11 Kms from Madurai Meenakshi
Amman Temple and 22 Kms from Madurai International Airport. The Temple is
situated on Madurai to Melur Road. At the Othakadai Junction take a left and
reach the temple. The Hill is visible from all around. Take a mini bus from
Mattuthavani (Madurai Central Bus Stand) bus terminus to Othakadai. Take an
auto-rickshaw from Mattuthavani Bus terminus or Madurai Central Railway Station
to Othakadai. Mini buses are available for every 10 minutes from Othakadai.
