Mystery of the World's Largest Monolithic Statue - Shravanabelagola

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Hey guys, today we are gonna explore the mystery of the largest monolithic statue in the world. This ancient structure, called Gommateshwara was built more than a thousand years ago and is made of one solid rock. Watch the video below or read on.

 How was it created at a time when historians claim there was no advanced technology? Is it possible to move such a huge structure to the top of a hill, with just primitive tools and techniques? This statue stands about 57 feet tall, nearly 40 feet wide at the base and weighs more than one thousand tons. This is a whopping 2 million pounds of solid rock. So, the question is: How was it transported to the top of this hill which is more than 400 feet from the ground? Experts are not able to answer this question, but some have speculated that the stone was available on the hill itself. Even better, if this rock was already in place, then sculptors would have to simply carve the statue, since there is no transportation involved.

 Is it possible that this rock was naturally in place, before this statue was carved? No, experts confirm that this statue is made of white granite, a material that is completely different from the rest of the rocks on the hill. In fact, there is no white granite anywhere on the hill or even in the surrounding area. 

 You can see the sharp contrast in color between the statue and the rest of the rocks which make up the temple.  So, the only possibility is that this statue or an entire slab was transported from ground level to the top of the hill. Let us assume that they moved the statue, and not an unfinished slab, because the unfinished rock would weigh nearly twice as much as the carved statue.  

Some historians have argued that elephants were used to move this statue to the top. Now, an elephant can lift a maximum weight of 660 pounds. This would require a total of 3000 elephants to move the statue, but how do you even put 3000 elephants in a row, and tether them to a 57 feet long object?  Since this is not possible, how else was the statue moved to the top? Perhaps we can find some clue by examining the statue closer. The statue is famous for something very interesting, it has no human errors at all. If you draw a line in the middle, it is perfectly symmetric, throughout the entire height of 57 feet. Is such a symmetry possible without the help of machines?   Granted, India is the land of sculptures, and we can find millions of amazing carvings, more than any other country in the world. But this statue is quite different. Because of its enormous size, it has to show even the minute details.

For example, you can see this groove between his nose and lips. All human beings have this groove, however most sculptures do not show this feature.  Even the statue of liberty does not have this feature. 

But it is carved on this 1000 year old statue. These features are not visible to the naked eye, they are only visible if you zoom in with your camera.  And it shows something truly extraordinary - several, intentional cuts and scratches carved on his face. This is not a result of corrosion, I will show you corrosion in a minute.  Why were these scratches made? Because this statue represents Bahubali, a prince who fought his own brother.  Ancient texts mention that both brothers were badly bruised in a fight, just before Bahubali started his meditation in this standing posture. Why did ancient builders create even the smallest details, even though historians claim ancient people could not see these bruises with their naked eyes?

 Look at the little patches of flesh on the corners of the eyes, you will never see these anywhere, these are extremely minute details which have been carved to perfection.  & If you visit this site, zoom in on these leaves, the veins on these leaves are unbelievable, just like real leaves.  Can details like these be carved in perfect symmetry with human hands, or were ancient builders using machines for carving, just like modern human beings?

 But the most interesting clue is not on this huge statue, but is found on 2 small statues placed near his feet.  Both these statues hold something very strange in their hands. They look like modern day drilling and polishing tools. Remember, we have seen  these same tools at Hoysaleswara temple, which shows solid evidence of machining technology. 

 Why do we always find these carvings next to mysterious structures which cannot be explained by archeologists? Were these clues left by ancient builders, for us to understand the truth?

 Here is yet another carving seated directly opposite to the big statue.  We see him holding not one tool, but two. The device on his right hand, not only shows the tool's head, but even shows the long base, just like modern day machines. Look at today's stone carving tools, all modern sculptors use an elongated handle with a tool bit at the top.  This is identical to what we see in this thousand year old carving. Is this a coincidence, or were ancient builders also using machines for carving this humongous statue ? Is this why it is perfectly symmetric with uncanny details? 

But there is something much more mysterious about this statue. Any rock must undergo corrosion, this cannot be avoided, but you can see that there is no trace of corrosion on this statue. It looks like it was built yesterday. This is really confusing because the face of this statue is completely open to the wind that has blowing for the last 1000 years. You can see his face from many miles away, which sticks out beyond the height of the temple. But the statue has remained remarkably fresh, and you can see the rest of the temple has corroded. How is this possible? Indians are very superstitious people and once in 12 years they gather and pour  a variety of items including sugarcane juice, saffron paste,  milk, sandalwood powder and other strange items. 

A few years ago, scientists tested this concoction and realized that this actually strengthens the rock, and prevents it from corrosion.  Now, the question is, how did people come up with this anti-corrosive technique, a thousand years ago? How did this advanced knowledge of stone treatment become a mere religious ritual today?  What's really fascinating is that the devotees usually pour all the quote on quote offerings on top of this statue's head. This is why the top of the statue shows no corrosion,  but the bottom of the statue, shows traces of corrosion, because the anti-corrosive compound does not fully touch his feet.  If the archeology department recreates the compound made by superstitious devotees, and applies it on ancient temples, they can preserve all these corroding structures.

Now, let's go back to the mystery of moving this one thousand ton statue to the top of the hill. There are no ramps on the hill and these stone steps is the only way to climb. The hill is very steep, some people even faint, while climbing these steps. Today, there are services to carry people, because it is too difficult for them to walk up and down.  If it is too difficult to pull yourself up, how do you pull a one thousand ton rock to the top of the hill, more than 400 feet above the ground? The only way to move such a big statue is through advanced technology.

 Perhaps the secret of this technology lies in studying this mysterious carving, found in the same temple. This figure is shown  holding a ball like device, which has a band in the center. But if you look closely,  the ball is not touching the upper hand or the lower hand but is floating in mid-air. Today,  we have just begun to understand the technology of magnetic levitation, but how was such a carving made, a thousand years ago? More importantly,  was some advanced technology like magnetic levitation used to lift this statue to the top of the hill?

So, what do you think? Were machines used for carving this statue? How else was it carved to perfection?  Was some kind of advanced technology like magnetic levitation involved in moving it? How else could such a statue be lifted to the top of the hill?  Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

- Praveen Mohan

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