Arjuna's Penance

Our last main area to explore was Arjuna’s Penance, also known as the Descent of the Ganges. Here, a sculpted frieze 27 meters (88 ft) long and 9 meters (30 feet) high dominates an immense rock with a natural vertical cleft. It is perhaps the world’s largest outdoor rock sculpture. The carvings of animals, hunters, saints, gods, demi-gods, and attendants adorn the space, with two enormous elephants dominating the smaller figures. Near an uncompleted section I spotted some figures, whose heads have since been decapitated. Near the smooth tusks of the one elephant is a cat mimicking the penance pose of an archer. Rats freely play around the cat, seemingly oblivious to the dangers of the cunning feline.

You can see more photos of Arjuna's Penance on my Flickr site.

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