Synopsis The present book breaks new grounds in being among the first such juxtaposed studies of two great focal centres of Rock-cut Art--one in the lower Tamil Nadu and the other in the Upper Deccan. The former of the two centres was reared under the early Pandyan dynasty of Madurai, and the latter, under the redoubtable Calukyas of Badami. The efflorescence of this art, in these two centres, for Brahmanical religion, has bequeathed one of the richest legacies of South India in monumental art. The book is designed, along with its illustrations both photographic and line drawings, to be helpful for a close perception of the foundational character of this art, making the nexus of the mainstream culture with the regional spectra. It will be of specific use to scholars and teachers of art history, on the comparatively less known heritage of early Pandyan rock-cut, as much as on the primary contribution of Ellora under the Rastrakutas towards Indian art and cultural renaissance and even to world art.