The Varaha Cave Temple

Visiting the Mahabalipuram group of monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was on my bucket list and I finally got to put a check against it. The group of monuments have served as backdrop for classical dance videos, inspired some great photography and is a treat for archaeology enthusiasts. The monuments which were given the World Heritage Status as long back as 1984, are credited to the genius of the Pallava kings and continue to draw admirers from across the world.

Situated right behind the famous relief, Arjuna’s Penance, is the Varaha Cave Temple (no 2 on the map). Carved out of a huge piece of granite sometime in the 7th century, the cave-temple took several decades to complete. This is one of the highlights of a Mahabalipuram Heritage Tour and is not to be confused with the Adivaraha Cave Temple (no. 12 on the map). A lot of websites mention that these are the same, but the Adivaraha is situated closeby, is still worshipped as a temple, and photography is prohibited there.

Read more at here.