Tirtha Atlas

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

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Varahaperumal Temple, Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu · 10.9619°, 79.3703°

Vishnu as Varaha, with BhoomideviUndetermined
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
dating unrecorded
Undetermined

History & significance

A Vishnu temple in Kumbakonam where the god is worshipped in his boar incarnation alongside Bhoomidevi; it is one of the five Vishnu temples tied to the Mahamaham festival held there once every twelve years.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The temple recalls how a demon carried the earth down into the netherworld, and Vishnu took the form of a boar, fought him and raised the earth back up at the gods' plea.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Undetermined