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Early medieval · Hindu · India
Olakkannesvara Temple
Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu · 12.6167°, 80.1917°
ShivaPallavaDravidian
Sacred since
700 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
early 8th c. (Pallava)
Pallava
History & significance
A stone temple to Shiva perched on the rock above the Mahishasuramardini cave at Mahabalipuram, raised under the Pallava king Rajasimha in the early 8th century. Its walls carry panels of Shiva as Kalantaka, Dakshinamurti, Nataraja and in the Ravananugraha episode.