The rock sculpture of Arjuna's Penance, Mahabalipuram, John Gantz, 31 December 1825

From the source, watercolour of the rock sculpture of arjuna's penance, by john gantz, c. 1825. Inscribed: 'a view of the sculptures representing the tapass or intense penance of arjoona mahabalipoorum from a sketch by mr j. Braddock. J. Gantz'. John gantz and his son justinian ran a lithographic press, but are remembered best for their watercolours of flat-top houses and public buildings in and around chennai (madras), dating to the first half of the 19th century. Though not british-born, they both lived and died in india, in the service of the east india company. Mamallapuram, a tiny village south of madras, was a flourishing port of the pallava dynasty from the 5th - 8th centuries. The site is famous for a group of temples, a series of rock-cut caves and some monolithic sculptures created in the 7th century reign of narasimhavarman mahamalla. Covering two huge boulders, 27 m long and 9 m high, is the remarkable carving in low relief seen in this drawing. The scene has been interpreted as the story of arjuna's penance from the great hindu epic, the mahabharata. Object Type: painting. Date: 31 December 1825. Dimensions: height: 33.7 cm (13.2 in); width: 44.2 cm (17.4 in). Medium: watercolor. Collection: British Library. 1825 painting of the rock sculpture of Arjuna's Penance and Panchpandava mandapam, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu