it confirm that around it were walls and mandapa that formed a complete temple. Scholars debate what the shape of the temple would have been. Cunningham, the first archaeologist to write a systematic report, suggested a rectangular shrine. Later scholars such as Catherine Becker suggests that it was likely larger, more along the lines of one found in Khajuraho shrine for Varaha. Colossal Varaha The Colossal Varaha at Eran is the earliest known completely theriomorphic iconography for the Varaha avatar of Vishnu. The scene shown is the return of Varaha after he had successfully killed the oppressive demon Hiranyaksha, found and rescued goddess earth (Prithivi, Bhudevi), and the goddess is back safely. The Eran Varaha statue is significant for several reasons: it shows the importance and popularity of Vaishnavism and its legend of Vishnu avatars the statue includes goddess earth hanging by the boar's right tusk; she has a tidy hairdo bun, has a turban that is bejeweled, her face calm the floor is carved to depict the ocean (samudra) with serpents and sealife, a reminder of the oppressive demon who attacks dharma legend on the body of the Varaha are carved sages and saints of Hinduism identified by their simple robes, pointy beards and hair knotted up like sadhus, by they holding kamandalu water pot in one hand and with a yoga mudra in the other, symbolizing knowledge needing protection and god's benevolence when attacked by the oppressive demon Hiranyaksha the Varaha's tongue is sticking out slightly, on it is standing a small goddess who has been interpreted as Saraswati (or Vedic goddess Vac) in his ears are shown celestial musicians he wears a roundels garland on his shoulders and neck, these add up to 28 matching the 5th-century astronomy that used 28 major stars to divide the night skies into constellations; each of the roundels has miniature carvings with male and female figures the artists made the teeth of the boar humanlike, his eyes too are made to depict compassion on its front chest is the Toramana inscription which confirms that the Hunas has invaded the northwest, displaced Gupta Empire authority, and their brief rule over the northwest and central India had begun in early 6th-century below the inscription are more Hindu sages, further below is ruined fragment that probably was an anthropomorphic carving of Vishnu to explicitly link the Varaha's underlying identity, states Becker. The temple was