Samanar Malai

The Samanar Hills or Samanar Malai located 15 kilometers from the city of Madurai is an exquisite location for history enthusiasts and archeologists. Situated near one of a prominent ancient cities which is more than 2,500 years old and is known to retain numerous monuments belonging to its historical past, the Samanar Hills is an important historic monument that speaks of the early civilization in Madurai.

Specialty

Tucked away in secret in the quaint village of Keelakuyilkudi, the Samanar Hills has laid in wait silently all these years to be discovered. This monument is a living example that Jainism thrived in southern India. This place was once inhabited by Jain monks over 2000 years ago.

The carvings and sculptures in the walls testify that. There are many rocks and stone made structures which were used by the Jain monks. This monument is also known as Thiruvuruvagam owing to the many sculptures of Jain Tirthankaras.

Jain monks believed that during breathing they kill even the tiniest organism present in the air. So at one point of their life they undergo rigorous fasting where they do not eat anything or breathe and in the process end their life. The Samanar Hills is the perfect destination to explore to understand the life and lifestyle of the ancient Jain monks in south India.

How To Reach :

By Air - The Madurai international airport is at a distance of 23 kilometers from the monument.

By Rail - The Madurail railway station is the closest one to the monument at a distance of 9 kilometers from the Samanar Hills.

By road - The city of Madurai is well connected by road and the state government has provided many public transports to reach the city from anywhere in the country.