Narthamalai

The compact 8-10th century Pandya-Chola temple complex at Narthamalai in Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu — a single rocky hill combining rock-cut and structural temple architecture that documents the transition in southern Indian architecture. The complex preserves the 8-century Pandya-period Vijayalaya Cholishvaram rock-cut cave shrine (the earliest surviving structural Chola temple in Tamil Nadu, built c.868 by Chola king Vijayalaya), the 9-century Jain cave temple (one of only two major Jain cave temples in Tamil Nadu), and the 10-century Kadumbar Malai Shiva temple at the hill's summit. The transition between the Pallava-period rock-cut tradition and the Chola structural experiments is documented in a single site. ASI protection since 1917.