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Early medieval · Hindu · India
Ganesha Ratha
Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu · 12.6184°, 80.1925°
Ganesha (originally a Shiva linga)PallavaMonolithic rock-cut
Sacred since
630 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 650 (Pallava)
Pallava
History & significance
A monolithic rock-cut shrine at Mahabalipuram carved around 650 CE in the reign of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I. It originally held a Shiva linga; in the 1880s villagers replaced it with an image of Ganesha with the District Collector's permission, and the old linga now stands under a nearby tree.