The Varaha Cave Temple is a small rock-cut mandapa in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. It dates from the late seventh century, and it is attributed to about 650 under the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, also called Mamalla. It is the earliest known monument in Mahabalipuram and sits about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) north of the main sites.
The mandapa is carved into pink granite, with fluted columns on seated lions. Four large panels fill its interior. The northern panel is very large and shows Varaha, the boar form of Vishnu, lifting the earth goddess Bhudevi. Other panels show Vishnu as Trivikrama, Gajalakshmi, Durga slaying Mahishasura, and a three-headed Brahma. Guardian figures stand on either side of a central shrine on the rear wall.
The temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1984.
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