Krishna's Butter Ball, Mahabalipuram
About Krishna's Butter Ball
It is locally known as Vaan Irai Kal which roughly translates to 'the stone of sky god' in Tamil. Standing at a height of 6 meters is a popular tourist attraction and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Currently resembling a half-spherical shape, the then governor of Mahabalipuram, Arthur Havelock tried to move the rock in 1908. He uses about seven elephants to move the boulder but to no avail. Thus, Krishna's Butterball became an iconic landmark of the place, where visitors even sit back and relax in its shade.
Defying gravity from all the sides, the Krishna's Butterball stands valiantly upon a slope in Mahabalipuram. Weighing more than 200 tons, this gigantic boulder is believed to be over 1200 years old. A tourist guide during the visit of Indira Gandhi passingly called it Krishna's Butterball which stuck permanently.