Sittanavasal is Pudukkottai's most remarkable sight — a series of rock-cut Jain caves in a granite outcrop about 18 km northeast of town, reached by a short climb up the rock face. The main cave, the Ezhadipattam, dates from the 7th century and contains wall and ceiling paintings that rank among the oldest surviving frescoes in southern India.
The most celebrated image is the lotus pond scene painted across the ceiling of the front hall: a stylised pond filled with fish, geese, water buffaloes, elephants, and humans all swimming or gathering in the water. The figures are drawn with confident brushwork in faded earth colours — terracotta, yellow, and black — that have persisted remarkably well on the damp rock surface. A smaller shrine nearby holds a badly weathered Mahavira (the 24th Jain tirthankara) carved directly into the rock.
The site sees few visitors outside weekends, making it possible to study the paintings without crowds. Bring a torch: the cave light is dim and the paintings reward close inspection. Hire a guide in Pudukkottai or at the site if available — the iconographic programme is complex and the guide can point out details easily missed.