A photo depicting a Hindu structure is being shared on social media, claiming that it is a 5,000-year-old rock formation from Rajasthan, India, purportedly carved from a single rock.
The Facebook post reads: “Found in India, 5,000 years old, made from a single rock.
In the remote countryside of Rajasthan, India, a discovery of monumental significance was made that would forever change our understanding of ancient civilisation. This land, known for its vast deserts and rich history, harboured a secret deep beneath its arid surface — a secret waiting to be unearthed by an unlikely explorer. Dr. Arjun Mehra, a renowned archaeologist with a passion for uncovering the mysteries of ancient India, had spent decades travelling through the subcontinent. His latest expedition took him to the Thar desert, where local legends spoke of a great relic buried somewhere in the shifting sands. Driven by these tales and a tattered map he had acquired from an elderly villager, Dr. Mehra and his team began their excavation.”
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be Misleading.
Performing a Google Reverse Image Search, the NM team traced multiple reports featuring similar rock carvings from different angles. According to these reports, the viral photo depicts the Vettuvan Koil, a rock-cut temple, located in Kalugumalai, Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.
According to an article in Heritage Daily, the Vettuvan Koil temple was constructed in the 8th century AD, under the rule of the Pandya dynasty (Pandyas of Madurai), and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, one of Hinduism’s main deities. The temple, carved from a single granite rock, features an upper section adorned with carvings of ‘Parsavadevatas’ (attendant deities of Shiva) such as Uma (goddess of fertility, love, beauty, marriage, and children), Nandi (the gate-guardian deity of Kailasa, Shiva’s abode), along with depictions of various animals like monkeys and lions.
R.H. Kulkarni, professor, Department of Art History at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, provides detailed information about this temple in an article for The New Indian Express. According to the article, Vettuvan Koil was built around 760-800 AD. Among South Indian architectural wonders, Vettuvan Koil, a monolithic temple in Kalugumalai, Tamil Nadu, stands out. This sculptor’s haven, similar to the Pancha Rathas in Mamallapuram and the Kailasanatha temple in Ellora, is a monolithic structure built around 800 CE. Vettuvan Koil features a Dravidian vimana emerging from a rectangular rock.
Additionally, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department’s website showcases several images of Vettuvan Koil and notes that the monument was built during the 8th century AD by the Pandya king Maranchadayan. It also mentions that the monument is often referred to as the ‘Ellora of the South’. Vettuvan Koil is a monolithic structure, carved from a single rock.
Based on this information, it is clear that the viral photo depicts the 8th-century Vettuvan Koil temple in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, not a 5,000-year-old structure from Rajasthan, as claimed in the viral post.
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