Penance of Arjuna

Penance of Arjuna Review

A monumental bas-relief—29 meters (96 feet) long and 13 meters (43 feet) high—the Penance of Arjuna, also called the Descent of the Ganges, is carved on two adjacent boulders. Created by the Pallava dynasty, the work dates from the 7th century. Among the many figures depicted, both mythical and real, is a figure of Shiva with an ascetic Arjuna to his left, standing on one leg. The rendering illustrates a scene from the Bhagavad Gita, in which Arjuna asks Shiva for help defeating his enemies. An extensive but unfinished Pallava water canal system included a pool above the bas-relief; the idea was that water would cascade down a natural cleft in the rock from this pool, simulating the descent of the Ganges from the Himalayas. The entire, enormous project is a fascinating and vital combination of the mundane and the mythical (look for the starving cat at the bottom, who has renounced his mousing). More than a dozen cave temples are cut into the rock hill behind the Penance of Arjuna. Some are unfinished and some have been damaged, but nearly all are remarkable. Most are atop the granite hill, so you have to take a short hike to reach them.