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Late medieval · Jain · India
Jina Kanchi Jain Math, Melsithamur
Melsithamur, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu · 12.2697°, 79.5142°
Parshvanatha (second shrine: Mallinatha)Nayak of Gingee—
Sacred since
800 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
built under Venkatappa Nayak (1570–1600); altered 1860
Nayak of Gingee
History & significance
The seat of the Digambara Jain pontiff of the Tamil country, about 10 km east of Gingee, with two temples — one of Parshvanatha and one of Mallinatha, the latter holding rock-cut images carved in the ninth century. The math was built with the permission of Venkatappa Nayak of Gingee and modified in 1860 by the Jain official Sri Baliah.