
![]()
Arjuna's
Penance, perhaps the world's largest bas-relief, is the universe itself in
stone, throbbing with a vastness of conception. Legend has it that King
Bhagiratha had to bring down to earth the celestial Ganga to sanctify and
redeem the cursed souls of his ancestors. But the river in its torrential
spree would deluge the earth, and so he had to undergo a penance to
propitiate Shiva who finally received the flood in his matted locks and let
it flow down. This was a sight for the world's creatures to see and they
gathered round. The cleft in the rock depicts the descent of Ganga, a theory
supported by the ruins of a stone water tank on the hill. There is a forest
with tribal people and all forms of fauna, just as they would appear in
their habitat. Women clothed in an aura of amazing grace, a rich inner
beauty transfiguring the plainest of them. The whole scene has a dimension
of humor too! Juxtapositioned against the ascetic is a cat doing rigorous
penance too, eyes firmly shut, even to the delectable mice scampering around
within easy reach.
Arjuna,
one of the Pandava brothers and a consummate archer, is shown standing on
one leg, doing penance to obtain a boon from Lord Shiva. There is a forest
with tribal people and all forms of animal life, just as they would appear
in their habitat. Women are clothed in an aura of indescribable grace, a
rich inner beauty transfiguring the plainest of them. The comic scene in the
relief will amuse visitors where a cat is standing doing penance, while big
and small rats are freely playing around the feline 'Tapaswi'.
![]() ![]() |
Tamil
Nadu with North India Tour (TT-10)
Duration : 15 Nights / 16 Days
Cities : Chennai- Mahabalipuram - Kanchipuram - Mahabalipuram - Tanjore - Trichy - Madurai.... |
|
Tamilnadu
With Kerala Holidays (TT-07)
Duration : 13 Nights / 14 Days
Cities : Chennai - Kanchipuram - Mahabalipuram - Chidambaram... |
|
|
Tamil
Nadu Holidays (TT-11)
Duration : 23 Nights / 24 Days
Cities : Chennai - Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry - Thanjavur - Trichy..... |