Krishna's Butterball (also known as Vaan Irai Kal and Krishna's Gigantic Butterball) is a gigantic balancing rock,

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

resting on a short incline in the historical coastal resort town of

Mamallapuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

state of India. Being part of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

built during the seventh- and eighth-century CE as Hindu religious monuments by the

Pallava dynasty The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

, it is a popular tourist attraction locally. It is listed as a protected national monument by the

Archeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

Etymology

The original name, ''Vaan Irai Kal'', according to the

Atlas Obscura ''Atlas Obscura'' is an American-based online magazine and travel company. It was founded in 2009 by author Joshua Foer and documentary filmmaker/author Dylan Thuras. It catalogs unusual and obscure travel destinations via user-generated conten ...

, translates from Tamil as "Stone of Sky God". According to

Hindu scriptures Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

, lord

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

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 The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

king Narasimhavarman (630–668 CE) also made a failed attempt to move the boulder. The Indian Tamil king

Raja Raja Chola Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

(985 and 1014 CE) 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 Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, (7 May 1844 – 25 June 1908) was a career British colonial governor, serving as Governor of Sierra Leone from 1880, of KwaZulu-Natal Province, Natal, of Madras, of Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, and of Tasmania from 19 ...

made an attempt to use seven elephants to move the boulder from its position due to safety concerns but with no success. On 12 October 2019, Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...

and Chinese President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

took a photo in front of Krishna's Butterball holding hands during their second "informal summit".

Details

Krishna's Butterball is located in the tourist town

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is ...

Chengalpattu district Chengalpattu District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, in India. The district headquarters is located at Chengalpattu. Chengalpattu district came into existence on 29 November 2019 when it was carved out of Kanchipuram district af ...

in the state of

in south

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It is easily accessible via the

East Coast Road East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built ...

(ECR) at a distance of from

Chennai Central railway station Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railwa ...

and from

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest airp ...

. To the south,

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

is distant. The boulder is approximately high and wide and weighs around . It seems to float and barely stand on a slope on top of high plinth which is a naturally eroded hill. It is said to have been at the same place for 1,200 years. A part of the boulder on top back has broken away, making it look like a half-spherical rock from the back, while it appears round shaped from the other three sides.

Gallery

File:India - Temples & Towers - 018 - Mamallapuram - Krishna's Butterball.jpg, viewed from south File:India - Temples & Towers - 019 - Mamallapuram - Krishna's Butterball.jpg, viewed from southwest File:Krishna Butter Ball in Mahabalipuram.jpg, viewed from west File:Krishna Butter ball.JPG, viewed from north File:Krishna Butterballl.jpg, viewed from northeast File:Krishna's Butter Ball, Mahabalipuram.JPG, viewed from east File:Krishna's Butter Ball, Mamallapuram.JPG, viewed from southeast Butter_well_at_Mahabalipuram

In media

* Krishna's butter ball was shown in an episode of History TV18's television infotainment show,

OMG! Yeh Mera India OMG may refer to: * Oh my God (sometimes also Oh my Goodness or Oh my Gosh), a common abbreviation, often used in SMS messages and Internet communication Acronyms * OMG is the IATA code for Omega Airport, Omega, Namibia * Operational manoeuvre ...

, hosted by Krushna Abhishek.https://www.historyindia.com/

References