Location: Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu
Carved In: Mid-7th century
Significance: One of the largest bas-reliefs in the world
Best Time to Visit: Throughout the year
Arjuna's Penance is a massive open-air bas-relief monolith, which dates
back to the 7th century. It is situated in the town of Mahabalipuram, at
a distance of 58 km from Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
Standing tall at a height of 43 feet, the Mamallapuram monolith was
carved on the face of two huge adjoining boulders, somewhere around the
mid-7th century. The length of Arjuna's Penance is around 96 feet and
the monolith is also known by the name of 'The Descent of Ganga'.
Arjuna's Penance is known by two names, as experts disagree on the
stories depicted by it. As per one view, the massive rock sculpture has
been named after one of the heroes of the great Indian Epic,
Mahabharata. It is believed to illustrate an instance from Mahabharata
when Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, performed rigorous austerities to get
Shiva's weapon and destroy his enemies. The second view is that Arjuna's
Penance is a depiction of the incident when King Bhagiratha of India did
penance to bring the River Ganges down, from heaven to earth, so as to
purify the souls of his ancestors.
Lord Shiva answered his prayers and sent the Ganges down to earth.
However, the lord decided to break her fall to earth, by allowing the
water to trickle through His hair, to lessen the impact of her fall. It
is said that the animals of the whole world became curious of the
incident and gathered around the soaking God to witness it. The carvings
done on the massive monolith support both the stories. Apart from these
incidents, the carvings also depict popular fables from the Hindu
Panchatantra books.
The liveliness and naturalism of the sculpted figures stand as proofs
of the outstanding skill of their sculptors. Arjunas Penance showcases
more than 100 figures of gods and flying celestial creatures, birds and
animals, including giant elephants, along with human beings and saints.
A natural cleft between the two rocks separates the monolith into two
separate halves. It is this cleft that is believed to represent the
descent of the Ganges to earth.
The figures of animals and celestial beings carved on Arjuna Penance
are shown either facing this cleft or approaching it and generally have
their hands folded in adoration. Filling the cleft is a slab, which has
been sculpted with male and female nagas (snakes). The hands of the
nagas are held together in adoration and an artificial waterfall, fed
from a collecting chamber sited above, is located just over it. There is
a four-armed deity, probably Lord Shiva, to the left side of the cleft.
The deity is shown holding a weapon in His right hand and His left hand
is in the gesture of granting a blessing. Dwarf ganas (guards and
followers of Lord Shiva) have also been shown along with the deity. To
the right of the deity and a little below, one can see Arjuna, or
Bhagiratha, standing on one leg, in a yoga posture with arms upraised,
seeking the blessing of the lord. Underneath this figure, one can see a
carved shrine of Lord Vishnu, which has sages, a buck and his doe and a
lion seated in the front, along with a few disciples engaged in
austerities.
To the left of the shrine are some caves, in which a few animals are
shown resting. Apart from these carvings, the lower left portion of the
boulder is left largely uncarved. The Upper left portion of the boulder
has carvings that depict a mountain, probably Lord Shiva's abode in the
Himalayas, where the figures of gods and animals have been blended
together. On the right-hand side of the cleft i.e., on the other
boulder, numerous celestial beings and animals have been carved.
Of these carvings, the most impressive ones are those that show
life-sized elephants protecting their young ones. Just below the
elephants are illustrated scenes from the Panchatantra fables, like the
story of the cat trying to trick the rats by enacting the posture of
penance. Just to the right of these carvings, one can see a low
platform, where a group of monkeys have been carved and are seen
preening one another and at the same time, playing with and nursing a
baby.
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