Tirtha Atlas

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

2271 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Early medieval · Hindu · India

Varaha Cave Temple

Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu · 12.6175°, 80.1989°

Vishnu as Varaha, lifting Bhudevi from the oceanPallavaPallava rock-cut (monolithic mandapa)
Sacred since
650 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
late 7th c. (Pallava)
Pallava

History & significance

A rock-cut Pallava mandapa at Mahabalipuram, carved in the later 7th century and celebrated for its panel of Varaha raising the earth goddess; it forms part of the UNESCO-listed Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram.

Sthala katha — the legend

The central panel recalls how Vishnu took the form of a boar to defeat the demon Hiranyaksha and lift the earth back from the bottom of the cosmic ocean.

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Sources

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