Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Modern · Hindu · Nepal

Baraha Chhetra

Sunsari, Koshi · 26.8300°, 87.1800°

Vishnu as VarahaRana
Sacred since
500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
rebuilt 1934 (Juddha Shamsher) after the 1934 earthquake
Rana

History & significance

One of Nepal's oldest shrines, named in the Puranas and the Mahabharata, standing at the Koshi confluence and dedicated to Vishnu in his boar incarnation. Statues found here are over 1,500 years old; the domed temple standing today was rebuilt by Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana after the 1934 earthquake, within a complex of nine temples including shrines to Lakshmi, Panchayan, Guruvarah, Suryavarah, Kokawarah and Nageshwar.

Sthala katha — the legend

The Varaha story tells that Vishnu, taking the form of a boar, lifted the earth out of the netherworld on his tusk and afterwards rested with Lakshmi at this Himalayan river confluence.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Rana