Thiruparuthikundram also called Jaina Kanchi is a well known shrine for Jains.
Trilokyanatha Temple, also called Thirupparuthikundram Jain temple or Jeenaswamy Trilokyanathar temple, is an 8th or 9th century Digambara Jain temple in Thiruparthikundram.
There are two temples in the campus, Pushpadantha & Vardhamana Mahavir and Padmaprabha and Vasupujya. There are seperate sanctum sanctorums for each deity and Ardha Mantapa and Mukha Matapa are seen in both the temples. There are seperate veedhis or sannidhis for Tirthankar Parshwanath and Dharmadevi or Kushmandini.
Constructed in Dravidian architecture, the temple was built during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty. The temple was expanded by the Jain community with financial support of Medieval Cholas, later Pallavas and Vijayanagar kings.
History – Pallavas who ruled the region were followers of Jainism during their early years. Localites believe that the temple was constructed by the Pallava disciple of the sages Vamana and Mallisena. There are many other stories related to the construction of the temple by Simhavishnu, the first Pallava king during the last decade of 6th century. The temple is believed to have been built during 8th century around 800 AD during the reign of Pallava kings.
Jain Paintings – Various Jain paintings related to the lives of Jain Tirthankaras, Samavasarana and other stories are painted on the walls of the temple. These paintings are said to be belonging to the 13th century A.D.
Inscriptions – It has inscriptions from Pallava king, Narasimhavarman II (700-728 CE) and the following Medieval Chola kings Rajendra Chola I (1054-63 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE) and Vikrama Chola (1118-35 CE), and the Kanarese inscriptions of Krishnadevaraya (1509-29 CE). The Chola and Vijayanagar inscriptions indicate large endowments to the temple. Krishnadevaraya helped repaint the 13th century paintings during the 15th-16th centuries.
Temple’s Tower – The temple’s tower is believed to have been constructed by Sage Pushpasena Vamanarya during 1199. The walls of the temple are believed to have been constructed by Azhagiya Pallavan during the 13th century.
Sangeetha Mandapa – In front of the two porches, 60 feet wide common pavilion called as Sangeetha Mandapam (pavilion for concerts) was built in the year 1387 to 1388 AD by Shri Irugappa, the minister of Vijayanagara king. It has 24 tall pillars with different designs like square, hexagon, octagon type has carvings at the base and art paintings on the roof slab. It exhibits the life events of Shri Rishabha, Shri Neminath, Shri Mahaveer and Shri Dharmadevi.
Location – Thiruparuthikundram is located at a distance of 10 Kms from Kanchipuram.