Do You Want To Know The Unexplained Mystery Of Lord Krishna’s Butter Ball?
Some things are unexplained but they have to be believed as they are a miracle
What is Lord Krishna’s Butter Ball?
How did we go there?
We had no plans because we were going from New Delhi to Pondicherry.
How we planned to go to Mahabalipuram?
In Chennai, my friend Kusam and I arrived at the airport. We saw beautiful carvings in wood. We were admiring it. One of the airport staff recommended that if we are interested in ancient historical art we should go to a place called Mahabalipuram.
We did not know what it was that would attract us there. Anyhow, the cab driver who was driving us to Pondicherry was narrating some stories on the way and I happened to ask him about Mahabalipuram. He said there is a slight detour and it was quite late. If we go to Mahabalipuram it will be quite late and he had the next pick-up booked at 5 PM.
He told us that on our return journey from Pondicherry to Chennai it would be easy to fit the program if we started fairly early.
When we got down at Pondicherry, we fixed our return journey from Pondicherry to start early morning so we could visit Mahabalipuram on our way back at an extra charge.
At Mahabalipuram to see Lord Krishna’s Butter Ball
On our return, it took us two and a half hours to reach Mahabalipuram.
Do you see a big boulder standing in the middle of the hilltop? It is more oval than round. What is it? It looks almost like the shape of an egg. This is in Mahabalipuram 100 Kms from Chennai in south India. The ball stands on an incline. Let me tell you the story with it.
The guide told us that this boulder was a massive 20-foot high and 5-meter wide rock. It is made of granite and it was named Krishna’s Butterball in Mahabalipuram. It stands on a slippery slope of a hill on less than 4-feet base. This Butterball is a mystery.
There is a history behind the Butter Ball. We became very curious and started asking questions. Our guide was very informative. Although it was written over there on an engravement, we kept asking him and he was ready with his stories in a very characteristic style with half English, some Tamil, and a little bit of Hindi.
He told us that this ball was a danger to the lives of the citizens but it is a big mystery that no one can move it. It is lying in a precarious position and if it rolls down people can die. The government has tried to move it but it does not budge.
Then we learned a bit of history that this stone is standing in this position since the Pallava king Narasimhavarman (630–668 CE) regime.
The king had tried to remove the boulder by getting many people to move it with ropes but it would not budge. Then he got elephants to move it but it was another failed attempt to move the boulder.
The Tamil king Raja Raja Chola (985 and 1014 CE) got mud dolls called Tanjavur Bommai, made that were inspired by this boulder which had a half-spherical base that returns to its original position every time someone or the other tries to make it fall.
On 12 October 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Mahabalipuram and took a photo in front of Krishna’s Butterball holding hands during their second “informal summit.”
The takeaways
- Some things have no answer. They remain mysterious and must be believed.
- There is some power from above in the universe that does not let the Butter Ball fall even though it is on a sharp incline with a very small base.
- Why it came to be known as Krishna’s butterball no one knows except the fact that he loved butter. It is widely rumored that Krishna did not travel to Mahabalipuram.
- Such natural wonders bring hope and healing to people that there is some power that exists with no one can fight.
Conclusion
The Krishna’s Butter Ball is a miracle of nature.
In 1962 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Mahabalipuram and she asked the name of the boulder.
The guide told her that the name of this granite boulder was Krishna’s Butter Ball which dedicatedly balances itself on a slope of a hillock. Since then everyone calls it by the name.
If you get a chance do go to Chennai in South India, do remenmber to visit this historic place. We were utterly satisfied to see this wonder of nature.
There is so much to learn and see while traveling. A great experience by itself.
Before I end, I would like to give a shout-out to Eko BP. Do read her article on wisdom. In her words “Don’t go to the zoo looking for lions. There are lions right here, in your head! Tame them, and your health will be better!”
Wisdom Could Show Up In Every Corner…Or Is In Every Corner…
©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2022.
