page_title: Sittanavasal
section_title: Ezhadippattam
hierarchical_section_title: Sittanavasal / Architectural monuments / Ezhadippattam
caption_attribution_description: தமிழ்: சித்தன்னவாசலில் இந்திய தொல்லியல் கழக அறிவிப்புUnknown a asi sign board on sittanavasal in english
context_page_description: Sittanavasal is a small hamlet in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for the Sittanavasal Cave, a 2nd-century Jain cave complex. From the 7th to the 9th century A.D., the village flourished as a Jain centre.
context_section_description: Ezhadippattam or Jaina beds is a natural cave, marked by a horizontal floor space which is laid out with well-polished rock beds that were used by Jaina ascetics. There are seventeen beds at the top marked on the floor. These carved beds have headrests cut in them in the form of a raised pillow. The oldest Tamil Brahmi inscriptions seen inscribed on the beds are dated to the 3rd century BC, although recent research by Iravatham Mahadevan dates it to the First Century BC and extending to the 10th Century AD. On one of the oldest and largest beds, the inscription in Tamil is of Tamil Brahmi script of the 1st century BC, considered as the oldest lithic record of South India. Also, names of ascetics who engaged in sallekhana (fasting unto death) are written on their respective beds.
caption: A plaque at the entrance to the monuments in Sittanvasil
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