Krishna's Butterball


Krishna's Butterball is a gigantic granite boulder resting on a short incline in the historical coastal resort town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu state of India.
Since it is part of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built during 7th- and 8th-century CE as Hindu religious monuments by the Pallava dynasty, it is a popular tourist attraction. It is listed as a protected national monument by the Archeological Survey of India.
It is best viewed at sunrise from northwest to southeast or at sundown from northeast to southwest when the panorama is bathed in magical golden hues.

Etymology

The original name, Vaan Irai Kal, according to the Atlas Obscura, translates from Tamil as "Stone of Sky God". According to Hindu mythology, lord Krishna often stole butter from his mother's butter handi; this may have led to the namesake of the boulder. In 1969, a tour-guide is said to credit its present name, Krishna's Butterball, to Indira Gandhi who was on a tour of the city.

History

The Pallava king Narasimhavarman also made a failed attempt to move the boulder. The Indian Tamil king Raja Raja Chola was inspired by the balance of this massive stone boulder and it led to the creation of never falling mud dolls called Tanjavur Bommai, which having a half-spherical base tends to come back to its original position every time one tries to make it fall. In 1908, then-governor of the city Arthur Havelock made an attempt to use seven elephants to move the boulder from its position due to safety concerns, but with no success. On October 12th 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping took a photo in front of Krishna's Butterball holding hands during their second "informal summit".

Details

The boulder is approximately 6 meters high and 5 meters wide and weighs around 250 tons. It seems to float and barely stand on a slope on top of high plinth which is a naturally eroded hill, and is said to have been at the same place for 1200 years. A part of the boulder on top back has eroded away, making it look like a half-spherical rock from the back, while it looks round shaped from other three sides.

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