(Photos) Plate 12. Sculpture of Varaha avatar (the boar incarnation of Visnu) near temple of Nilkanth

Plate 12. Sculpture of Varaha avatar (the boar incarnation of Visnu) near temple of Nilkanth

Pencil drawing by Frederick Charles Maisey of the sculpture of Varaha, the boar incarnation of Visnu, near the temple of Nilkanth at Kalinjar, dated 1847-1854.Situated atop an almost impregnable 1000-foot-high hill, with cliffs on all sides, Khalinjar was an ancient Chandella stronghold from the 9th to the 15th centuries; it was later conquered by Akbar in 1569 and fell to Colonel Martindell in 1812. Within the fort there are numerous archaeological remains. From a gateway in the preserved inner curtain wall two flights of steps lead down to Kalinjar's holiest shrine, the Nilakanth Temple. There are numerous inscriptions and rock carvings on the way down to the shrine and masterpieces of Chandella sculpture.

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Courtesy: Europeana.eu