<p>The Pallava royal acropolis of Māmallapuram, located on the edge of the Bay of Bengal is famous for its profusion of rock cut sculpture and architecture. It has been the subject of extensive documentation and art-historical research for well over one-and-a-half centuries. Despite this, many questions about this site remain unanswered, and many facets remain underexplored. Among these is the massive bas-relief panel depicting the story of Kṛṣna raising the Govardhana Mountain, which is yet to receive sustained scholarly attention, having previously received only passing mention in academic work, and being studied only in association with other sculptures at the site. A systematic and detailed examination of this sculpture has thus for long been a desideratum, which is what this essay is intended to remedy with a detailed examination of the composition, the iconography, and the possible political symbolism of this sculpture. Aside from this, we will also consider at length questions hitherto unconsidered by previous scholarship, such as particularly the choice of its theme, its physical location, and how it was intended to be viewed by the contemporary audiences. I argue that these questions can be answered keeping in mind the significance of water symbolism in the art of Māmallapuram, as well as by drawing associations with the story of the drowning of Pukār as contained in the Tamil Buddhist epic <i>Maṇimēkalai</i>.</p>