Krishna's Butterball
(Vaan Irai Kal), Mamallapuram
Krishna's Butterball is a large rock balanced on the hillside on
the other side of the Mahabalipuram beach. It is a huge boulder located on a
hill slope near the Ganesh Ratha. The rock is around 5 m in diameter and is
resting on 45 degree angle and is famous spot among tourists.
It is said that the Pallava rulers tried to move the boulder with
elephants but failed to do it. Krishna's butter ball stands alone on this hill,
boasting of its majestic stature and is a testimony to the limits of our modern
"technical superiority". With ancient technology from Egypt, India, Peru and Mexico, we can only wonder at these marvelous structures which defy all
logical explanations. No matter who placed Krishna's Butter Ball here, it will
be reminder that our understanding of history is incomplete.
This is one of those unexplained mysteries in science. At
Mahabalipuram the 20 feet high and 5 meter wide rock estimated to weigh over
250 tons seems to pull off a balancing act like no other. Known locally as
Krishna’s Butter Ball is not a rock that stands on an extremely small and
slippery area of a hill. It’s hard not to wonder how such a big structure is
stationary at a place where it’s impossible to be so. And it’s been there for
over 1200 years defying the laws of physics.
Its original Tamil name is "Vaanirai Kal" which
literally translates to "Stone of The Sky God"
Legend
The giant boulder appears to be frozen in its roll down the hill
it sits on, and no one is quite sure why. The boulder is likely a glacial
erratic that got stranded in a serendipitous position on the hill, but local
legend has another version of the story. According to Hindu mythology, when the
great god Krishna was just a baby, he was fond of stealing butter. Following
this tradition, the big orange stone has been likened to a giant dollop of
purloined butter that the god dropped.
The actual name of the stone is Vaan Irai Kal, which translates to
Sky God's Stone, and according to one source, the more playful name was given
to the rock by a local tour guide. However it got its sort of silly name, it
stuck.
Reinforcing the stone's strangely balanced position, the slippery
stone slope is used by local children as a slide. Today Krishna's Butter Ball
is a popular tourist attraction. Visitors to the site love to get behind the
stone and try to push it down the hill. So far no human power has been able to
budge the buttery boulder. Best of all, sometimes the local goats climb on top
of it. It's adorable.
Possible Theories
The rock is believed to be naturally formed but theorists believe
a natural formation such as this is highly improbable, as natural corrosion
could not have brought upon such a shape.
Fact: This rock is bigger and heavier than the monolithic stones of
Ollantaytambo, Peru or Machu Picchu.
The science
The rock is balanced upon a 4 feet area of the hill. It’s simple
physics that a structure needs a 250 ton rock has a far-fetched chance of resting
on a 4 feet area for such a long period. To site imagery, imagine a ball on a
slope, unless it has a heavy footing it rolls down pretty fast.
The push attempt
According to an ancient myth, the Pallava King Narasimhavarman who
ruled South India from 630-668 C.E. tried to remove the rock.
He gave specific order that the rock which was considered to be
from the heavens must never be touched. However, a frustrated Narasimhavarman
was forced to watch that his orders could not be carried out. Despite all efforts,
the rock simply did not move.
In 1908 the then Governor of Madras Arthur Lawley decided the
boulder to be too dangerous to nearby homes and wanted it removed. Seven
elephants were employed to push the rock. But to everyone’s surprise the rock
couldn’t be moved and the task was abandoned.
Other interesting facts
Ø This rock was the inspiration to create the famous mud dolls
called Thanjavur Bommai. The great King Raja Raja Chola (1015 C.E) was
impressed by the rock, and wondered how it did not fall down. Thus came a
tradition of making dolls that never fall down! They are made with half
spherical bottoms, so that they will come back to their erect positions even
after tilting in any direction.
Ø This rock is bigger and heavier than the monolithic stones
of Ollantaytambo, Peru. It is also much bigger than the rocks found in the mysterious Machu Picchu.