Proposed alterations to Yanaimalai irk activists

“History is a living whole. If one organ be removed, it is nothing but a lifeless mass,” said Frederic Harison, a British historian. His thought would apply even to historical monuments and more aptly to Yanaimalai, a striking hillock in the shape of an elephant in a sitting posture, near here.

Activists interested in preserving the historical remains of this region in their pristine form and people residing near Yanamalai are in a state of shock with the State Government recently constituting a committee to look into the feasibility of cracking the hillock for creating a sculpture park intended at promoting tourism.

T. Lajapathi Roy, a lawyer and author of ‘Madurai Mathirai,’ feels the “hidden object behind the proposal to crack the hillock is to help the mining lobby.” After plundering the granite wealth from various places in the district, the miners had been eyeing Yanamalai for long and this announcement has come as a windfall to them. Madurai abounds in isolated hills. Of all, Yanaimalai boasts of a unique history. Though considered to be in existence since time immemorial, Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dating back to first century A.D. are sufficient proof of its antiquity. It has the distinction of retaining its name without any change for over 2000 years.

In her book, ‘Madurai Through the Ages,’ based on a doctoral thesis submitted in 1957, D. Devakunjari, former Special Officer in the Archaeological Survey of India, states that prehistoric men as well as ascetics appear to have made use of the natural caverns in the hills around Madurai for habitation and religious purposes.

Natural cavern

Yanamalai has one such natural cavern measuring 22 feet long and 28 feet broad. Many stone beds are also cut out of the rocks with pillow lofts. Tamil Brahmi inscriptions found in the cavern match with that of Pali inscriptions in Brahmi script spotted at similar caves in Sri Lanka, the author says, quoting the Epigraphia Zeylanica (Vol. I).

According to the Madurai District Archaeological Guide published by the Department of Archaeology, two cave temples carved out of the Yanamalai hillock, one for Narasinga Perumal and another for Lord Murugan, boast of a special place among the cave temples constructed by the Pandyas, the ancient rulers of this region.

Jainism existed side by side with Hinduism in ancient Madurai. The sculptures of Mahaveer, Parsavanathar, Iyakki and six others on the western side of the two cave temples on Yanamalai stand testimony to the growth of the sect which witnessed a downfall here in seventh century A.D. and revived later.

V. Vedachalam, in his book ‘Enperunkunram,’ states that a Jain statue chiselled out of the rock in Yanamalai is being worshipped by the locals as Muniyandi. This was in addition to the belief of many others who consider the entire hillock to be a divine creation and associate it with many legends.

A. Mahaboob Batcha of SOCO Trust, a voluntary organisation here, feels the present move to crack the hill is nothing but a cultural onslaught. He had earlier filed a public interest litigation petition against rampant mining activities near the ancient Jain abodes at Keelavazhavu near here. He now plans to file a case to save Yanamalai too.