Stone Statue Of The Elephant In Karnataka Lifted Up And Had Been Installed It Straight

In Benninamane village, Belur taluk, Hassan district, a 10-foot tall stone elephant that had been 'leaning left' for years is now standing straight. For as long as anyone in the hamlet can remember, the stone statue, which is supposed to date from the Hoysala period, has been orphaned. The statue was leaning to the left and its feet were buried in the ground. Until a few years ago, no one gave a damn about it. The property on which the stone elephant was erected belonged to Ningegowda. No one wanted to acquire this plot at first since it had an elephant statue leaning leftwards, almost as if it was sleeping.

It was regarded as a negative omen by many. Regardless, Annegowda purchased the farm, which is now managed by his sons. The children of Annegowda decided to plant coffee on the plot and got to work. However, whatever bad things happened in the community, everyone blamed it on the elephant monument.

Tired of it all, Dinesh, the plot's current owner, hired two cranes and a JCB to lift the elephant and place it straight in its original location. Dinesh explained that because the elephant was sleeping leftwards, the people blamed it for everything that went wrong. That was also the time when no one else was willing to buy this plot, therefore his father Annegowda did. The elephant was reported to the Dharmasthala team. They assumed they would accept it because they have a historical museum. The team from Dharmasthala arrived, but due to the lack of a suitable way to transport this massive stone statue, they abandoned the plan and fled. They were leveling the land in preparation for a coffee crop. They re-established the elephant up straight because the cranes and JCB were already engaged.

Kumar HC, the curator at the Department of Archaeology, stated that the elephant stands ten feet tall, ten feet wide, and easily weighs 35 to 40 tonnes. This is a work in progress. The stone appears to be the same as that utilized in various Hoysala temple sculptures in Belur. We don't know why this statue was left here, who would have sculpted it, or what happened to it. Details may emerge as a result of further inquiry. They are also looking for any stone inscriptions in the vicinity. Meanwhile, the massive elephant has become a tourist attraction, with villagers rushing to see it and taking selfies with it.