Gravity makes objects fall and roll down a slope, specifically when rocks and debris rest on a slanted surface.But one magical rock known as Lord Krishna’s butterball defies gravity and has remained stuck on a sloping hill for over 1200 years, even after repeated attempts were made to shake it.This boulder, nearly as tall as a house, as heavy as over a hundred cars, calmly sits on a slope that looks slippery enough to make anyone nervous, but surprisingly, children climb around it, tourists pose in front of it, and some people even sit in its shade. It has stood there through countless monsoons and summers, and it still has not moved.Let us take a closer look at it, and at what history, legend, and geology say about why it has stayed where it is for so long.
Krishna’s Butterball : The giant rock that refuses to roll
Krishna’s Butterball is a huge granite boulder in Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), Tamil Nadu. According to Incredible India, the government tourism site, it is about 20 feet (6 metres) tall and 16 feet (5 metres) wide, weighing roughly 250 tons. It rests on a small incline with very little contact with the ground, balanced on a short slope. It is also known as Vaan Irai Kal, meaning the “Stone of Sky God.”
Why is it called a butterball?
The name comes from Hindu belief. Lord Krishna was famously fond of stealing butter as a child, and the round rock looks like a giant lump of it. According to the local legend, it is believed that the boulder is a ball of butter dropped from the heavens by the mischievous young god and links back to those stories of Krishna raiding his mother’s butter pot.
Why has the rock stayed still even after being on an inclined plane for years?
While there is no mystery in the rock’s material several historic stories and legends surround it.An old story says the Pallava kings once tried to move this boulder, bringing their armies and strong elephants along. Nothing worked, and the rock stayed exactly where it was. It is almost as wide as it is tall, and although it looks round from some angles, it is not a perfect ball. Its strange balance on the slope seems to go against common sense, which is a big part of why people find it so amazing.Another story explains that Arthur Lawley, then Governor of Madras, feared for the town below and used seven elephants to try to shift it. The boulder was “unmoved by the combined might of the elephants.”Outlook Traveller reports that its position comes from its shape, the slope of the hill, and the friction between rock and ground. According to Incredible India, the possible reason could be that its width almost equals its height, and that it is “far from a perfect sphere.” A rock with a broad, uneven base is much harder to tip than a real ball.
The rock is a UNESCO World Heritage Site today
The boulder is part of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a protected monument of the Archaeological Survey of India. It even had a diplomatic moment in October 2019, when Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping, President of China, were photographed in front of it during their informal summit. Outlook Traveller adds that there is no separate entry fee to see
