Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

The Krishna’s Butterball

Reviewed by:
ffImage
hightlight icon
highlight icon
highlight icon
share icon
copy icon
SearchIcon

Do you know the mystery behind Krishna’s Butterball

A 250-ton granite boulder known as The Krishna Butterball rests on a steep slope of a hill at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, with a 20-foot height and 5-meter broad base. It's a mystery how this Butterball is achievable since


We all know that whatever we hurl into the air or place on a slick slope will inevitably fall. It could be due to gravitational attraction, which pulls all mass things together. Every object in the universe is believed to be pulling on every other object in the universe. Let us look at the details for the question “Do you know the mystery behind Krishna’s Butterball.”

The Krishna’s Butterball:

  • A 250-ton rock boulder known as the Krishna's Butterball in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, is unusual or mysterious. It's a giant 20-foot-high, 5-meter-wide boulder that rests on a slippery slope with a 4-foot foundation. The Krishna butterball is named for his favourite meal, butter, and there is a legend that it falls from the sky. In Tamil, it is known as ‘Vaanirai Kal,' which translates to ‘Stone of the Sky God.' The rock's posture is so unusual that it appears to be rolling down the slope. However, it remains strong and tourists can even take shelter behind it. Tsunamis, earthquakes, and cyclones haven't moved it in over 1200 years.


(Image will be uploaded soon)

  • Because a portion of the rock has been sheared off for unknown reasons, it resembles a half circle. This Krishna's butterball poses the question, "How is this possible?" to our current technology. How can a rock weighing 250 tonnes stand on a footprint of less than 4 square feet?


(Image will be uploaded soon)


  • Scientists have theorised that the rock is merely a natural development, although geologists say that natural corrosion is unlikely to have produced such an odd shape.

  • Some claim it's because of friction and the centre of gravity. We can stand on sloping terrain because friction prevents the rock or ball from rolling down, and the centre of gravity allows it to balance on a small contact area. Many people think it was erected in its current location by Gods thousands of years ago to show their power.

  • Isn't it strange that this butter ball failed our science experiment for whatever reason? There's also a short history to it. The Governor of Madras, Arthur Lawley, chose to transfer the ball from its previous spot in 1908. He was concerned for the town's safety at the bottom of the slope. He dispatched seven elephants to attempt to move the rock, but it remained immovable. It doesn't matter if it's science or supernatural powers. This butterball is placing gravity to the competition.


(Image will be uploaded soon)


According to mythology, Pallava King Narasimhavarman (who ruled South India from 630 to 668 A.D.) was the first to try to remove the rock because sculptors were forbidden from touching the "heavenly rock." It did not move from its original position. In fact, the rock is heavier than the monolithic stones of Ollantaytambo or Machu Picchu.


Further, the famous mud dolls known as Tanjavur Bommai are inspired by Butterball or rock. The way granite stands on such a little base and does not tumble down a slope surprised King Raja Raja Chola (1000 C.E.). As a result, a tradition of making mud dolls that never fall down arose. This was built on a half-spherical base that allows for tilting but never falls.


(Image will be uploaded soon)


The Krishna's Butter Ball, or abnormal rock as it is now known, is a popular tourist destination where visitors come to observe this naturally beautiful scene, amuse themselves, and snap photographs. It is a picnic site for locals as well. Some people attempted, but failed, to push or move the rock down the hill. They use it as a sun shield after that.

Attempts (Failed) to Move the Rock:

  1. In 7th Century AD by King Narasimhavarman


(Image will be uploaded soon)


The Pallava dynasty's most famous king, King Narasimhavarman (who governed South India from 630 to 668 AD), believed the rock descended from heaven and prohibited sculptors from touching it. He told his workers to take it out of the way. He tried everything he could think of, but it was all for waste.

  1. 1908 – It was impossible for seven huge elephants to move it


(Image will be uploaded soon)


The rock appears to roll over when an ant walks over it, but it's so solidly planted that even seven elephants couldn't move it an inch!


During British administration in India, the governor of Madras, Sir Arthur Lawley, decided to remove the rock from its original location for the safety of the crowded town beneath it in 1908. He ordered seven elephants for the job. Despite the efforts of the large creatures and his men, the rock remained still.


Lawley was not a failure. At the very least, he ensured that the rock would not be easily moved by natural forces and that the people and houses would not be threatened.


This raised the question of whether the rock is balanced or is tightly clamped to the surface.

  1. The Rock Soon Became a Popular Tourist Attraction

The rock is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is part of the Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments. The ASI has it categorised as a protected national monument (Archaeological Survey of India).


Tourists posing for photos with their hands under the stone, as if they are holding it, is a typical photography technique.


(Image will be uploaded soon)

A Toy Inspired By the Rock’s Shape

Raja Raja Chola (who ruled South India and the Indian Ocean from 985 to 1014 AD) was greatly influenced by the big stone's equilibrium.


He was vital in the creation of the Thanjavur Bommai (or Roly-poly toy), a doll with a semi-spherical base that, when pushed down, returns to its original position.


(Image will be uploaded soon)


The pointer symbol on it shows the doll's centre of mass (COM). When you push it aside, the COM moves ahead or behind the doll's base point, creating a torque that pulls it in the other way, straightening it out.

Actual Name of the Krishna’s Butter Ball:

The stone's official name is "Vaan Irai Kal," which translates to "Sky God's Stone," but a local tour guide, according to one source, gave it the more amusing name. Regardless matter how it gained its funny name, it stuck.


The slippery stone slope is utilised as a slide by local youngsters, reinforcing the stone's curiously balanced stance. The Krishna's Butter Ball is now a well-known tourist attraction. Visitors to the spot enjoy attempting to push the stone down the hill from behind. No amount of human strength has been able to move the buttery boulder thus far.


(Image will be uploaded soon)

FAQs on The Krishna’s Butterball

1. Give the Science secret behind the Krishna’s Butter Ball?

  • One is mythological, while the other is scientific in nature.

  • According to legend, Lord Krishna had a neighbour who was an adolescent lad with various fetishes that his companions were well aware of. He used to beg Brihadura to apply butter, coconut water, honey, and other edibles to his private parts and then have Brihadura suck them off his balls, especially his anal opening.

  • Krishna unintentionally and unfortunately walked in on them while delivering a letter to Brihadura's parents during one of these butter licking sessions. Brihadura's jaw was clasped in shock, and he accidentally bit off a testicle. Despite the fact that he instantly spat it out, it was this solitary testicle that swelled, hardened, and solidified the gonads to the famed rock that we see today in Mahabalipuram, due to agents of gradation and the elements of nature.It went on to become known as the historical butter ball rock.

2. How does the rock is balanced?

The rock is perilously balanced on a four-foot section of the hill, at a 45-degree angle. The rock's foundation is securely linked to the hill below. This boulder is far larger and heavier than the Peru monolithic stones of 011antaytambo. It is also considerably larger than the mysterious Machu Picchu rocks.

3. Explain the inspirational details of Krishna’s Butter Ball?

This rock is also the basis for the famous Tanjavur Bommai mud figures. The boulder impressed King Raja Raja Chola (1000 C.E.) and he marvelled how it didn't roll down the slope. As a result, crafting dolls that never fall down became a tradition! They have a half-spherical bottom that allows them to tilt yet never fall over.

4. Give the details of Krishna’s Butter Ball?

The boulder is around 6 metres tall and 5 metres wide, with a weight of 250 tonnes. It appears to float and barely stands on a slope on top of a 1.2-meter (4-foot) high pedestal that is a naturally eroded hill, where it has stood for 1200 years.  A section of the boulder on the top back has eroded away, giving it the appearance of a half-spherical rock from the rear, but round from the other three sides.