The site of Kalugumalai is located in the Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Apart from two later rock-cut temples dedicated to Murugan and Shiva, Kalugumalai is well known for its bas reliefs (Kalugumalai Jain beds) on rock facades dedicated to Jain religious figures carved in the 9th-10th centuries and accompanied by inscriptions detailing patronage patterns. Here one notes the absence of interior spaces accompanying the reliefs, a feature found primarily in Tamil Nadu. The relief carvings are on a rocky outcrop roughly 600 feet above the town and serve as a landmark. There are roughly 150 relief carvings of Jinas, yakshas, yakshis, celestials, musicians and attendants. Lisa N.Owen in her recent study terms these as ‘boulder sites’ and highlights how these function as a sacred space even though one cannot experience the devotional aspect of entering a sanctum.