Facts about Mamallapuram

Hi...everyone welcome to planb4teach blog today let's see some interesting facts about Mamallapuram. 

Narasimhavarman I was the most famous Pallava King who ruled from his capital Kanchi in the 7th century AD. The ancient Pallava Kingdom's port of Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is a famous tourist spot in India even today. It was named after the most famous Pallava King, Mamallan. And Mamallan is none else than Narasimhavarman himself. 

He was called Mamallan or "the Great wrestler" because of the powerful warrior he was. Around 600 AD, the Pallava King Simhavishnu, along with Pandya King Kadungon defeated the Kalabhras, and ended the Dark age of Tamilakam. 

Narasimhavarman came in the line of Simhavishnu. Simhavishnu was his grandfather and Mahendravaraman was his father. Narasimhavarman was a patron of art and architecture. The famous Pancha Rathas of Mahabalipuram, the five monolithic rock-cut temples were built during his time. 

In addition to that, the huge open-air rock relief called "Arjuna's penance" or "The Descent of the Ganges" was also built. His grandfather Simhavishnu was a Vaishnavite. His father Mahendravarman was initially a Jain and then converted to Shaivism. Narasimhavarman was a Shaivite too, though he was tolerant to the other religions in his Kingdom. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang, during his 17-year long journey in India to obtain Buddhist sacred texts, visited the Pallava kingdom during Narasimhavarman's rule. He reported that there were over 100 Buddhist monasteries in Kanchipuram back then. 

The arch-enemies of the Pallavas were the Chalukyas who ruled from Vatapi, which is today's Badami in Karnataka. The Chalukyas and the Pallavas were always in conflict. During Mahendravarman's rule, Pulakeshin II from the Chalukya dynasty defeated the Pallavas. The Pallavas lost all their Northern provinces, though they managed to secure their capital, Kanchi. Since the time Narasimhavarman ascended the throne as a King, he was keen on avenging Pulakeshin. 

He wanted to avenge the humiliation suffered by his father, Mahendravarman, at the hands of Pulakeshin. On a certain day, like provoking a wounded- tiger, Pulakeshin invaded the Pallavas again. This time around, he targeted the core of Pallava Kingdom- the capital, Kanchi. 

Narasimhavarman, filled with vengeance in his heart, fought back valiantly. He defeated the Chalukyas consecutively in three battles, and forced them to retreat to Vatapi. Eventually, not content with driving the Chalukyas back, Narasimhavarman wanted to invade the Chalukya capital, Vatapi. In the battle that ensued, he not only defeated Pulakeshin but also killed him. After this, Narasimhavarman was hailed as "Vatapikondaan". He engraved an inscription on the wall of a temple in Vatapi, recording his crushing victory over his arch-enemy. 

Narasimhavarman's commander-in-chief, Paranjothi was instrumental in capturing Vatapi. After sacking Vatapi, he also brought back an idol of Lord Ganapathy and enshrined it in a temple. This is the Vatapi Ganapathy which is very famous even today. The famous novelist Kalki Krishnamurthy's two best novels: "Sivagamiyin sabadham" and "Parthiban kanavu" are based on Narasimha- varman's heroic life. As long as Mahabalipuram stands, the valiant Narasimhavarman will be remembered for his architectural marvels and his victories in war.

Let's see the mysterious giant rock called Krishna's butter ball. The strength of this stone, is that it remains on a minuscule base, under 2 square feet region on an elusive slope. It is a miracle that it is able to stand like that. 

Just imagine what would happen if you place a ball on a slope.

 

It would roll down right away, but this rock has been in place for atleast 1200 years. 

Many people think of this rock as a natural formation. However, such a natural formation is impossible because There is no way it could have come to this shape by erosion, flowing water or blowing wind. You can see that the rest of the area is a smooth hill, and is devoid of any other large rocks. So if its not a natural formation who could have put this here? Even in modern days, moving a 250 ton rock uphill would be a very difficult task and require complex equipment like cranes. How was it done 1200 years ago? .The foundation of the stone is some way or another solidly "stuck" to the slope underneath. In fact in 1908, Arthur Lawley who was the Governor of Madras, thought that this rock was too dangerous and would slide off the hill anytime. So, he ordered that the rock be pushed down. 

Seven elephants were used in tandem to push the rock down. Yet, the stone didn't move an inch! The Governor at long last abandoned this incomprehensible errand! We know that an elephant can push or pull 6 tons. That is a pushing power of 42 tons for 7 elephants and the "butter ball" perched on 2 square feet base did not move! Is it clamped underneath? Is there something hidden underneath? Now, here is the more interesting question: If it was impossible to push this rock downhill, how was it pushed up the hill? If it is humanly impossible now, we are left to think about if it was done by humans at all. 

Could this technical superiority have come from extraterrestrials? Let us take a look at how the rock stands on the hill. The point of contact is less than 2 square feet. 

Even a layman knows that a wide base is important for a structure to last longer. How does a 250 ton rock stand on less than 2 square feet base? Just imagine if you would be able to contruct a 3 storey building with no foundation, on a slope, and with a base of 2 square feet. 

Even though it is popularly known as "Krishna's Butter Ball" in recent times, this was not the original name of the rock. This new name was invented by a tour guide in 1969 who was appointed to show the sculptures of Mahabalipuram to Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at that time. 

The original name of this rock is "Vaan Irai Kal". In Tamil language, the native language of the land, it means "Stone of The Sky God". Who is this Sky God who put this Giant rock? Notice how there are no carvings whatsoever on this rock. 

In fact, this is the only structure in Mahabalipuram which has no carvings at all. It is said that the Pallava King Narasimhavarman gave specific orders that the "rock of the sky god" should never be touched by sculptors. So, the rock must have been there even before the Pallava regime who ruled in 7th Century A.D. 

It is important to understand about the slippery hill on which the rock stands. This hill looks like it is 30 feet tall. This is not the original height of the hill, because the land level here keeps rising! The sand gets washed in from the nearby sea all the time. 

This is a ramp nearby, which is less than 5 feet now. Just 10 years ago, this ramp was over 15 feet high, and kids used it as a slide. This hill is slowly being buried at the rate of 1 foot every year. Now, imagine how tall this hill would have been 1200 years ago! It would have been a very tall mountain, over 1000 feet high! How was this monstrous rock placed on such a high altitude?

 If you compare this rock with other ancient structures, it is bigger and heavier than the monolithic stones of Ollantaytambo in Peru. 

It is also much bigger than the rocks found in Machu Picchu. Krishna's butter ball is just one of the few reminders of ancient technology in Mahabalipuram. 

This place has a lot of other mysterious structures. No matter who placed Krishna's Butter Ball here, it will be a reminder that our understanding of history is incomplete.