Monolithic rock carving (detail), Arjuna's Penance, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia. This magnificent relief, carved in the mid-seventh century

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Monolithic rock carving (detail), Arjuna's Penance, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia. This magnificent relief, carved in the mid-seventh century, measures approximately 30m (100ft) long by 15m (45ft) high. Its huge size and scale is difficult to imagine just from photographs; a person standing on the ground in front of it could barely touch the elephants' feet. Arjuna's Penance is a story from the Mahabharata of how Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, performed severe austerities in order to obtain Shiva's weapon. The idea, which pervades Hindu philosophy, is that one could obtain, by self-mortification, enough power even to overcome the gods.

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Size: 3456px × 2304px
Location: Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
Photo credit: © Grazyna Bonati / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 7th, arjuna, arjunas, asia, bas-relief, carving, century, heritage, hindu, hinduism, india, mahabalipuram, mamallapuram, monolithic, mythology, nadu, penance, philosophy, rock, shiva, shivas, site, tamil, unesco, weapon, world