'Ringing Rock' Near Banapur Bhagabati Temple Sparks Curiosity

Khurda: A mysterious ringing stone at Ghantasila hill near Bhagabati temple has now become the talk of the town in Banapur area of Khurda district.

Some local youths of a nearby village had gone to Ghantasila hill for shooting TikTok video on January 1 when they witnessed sounds of ringing bell emanating from a large rock when one of them struck a stone while writing names on it.

Amused over the sound from the stone, the youths captured the moments in their phones and circulated it on different social media platforms. The news of the incident has now spread like a wildfire causing people from the region and adjoining areas to visit the place and witness the stone.

“We had never noticed such a stone earlier. I had come here along with some of my friends on the New Year day to make TikTok videos. Some of my friends heard a bell-like sound when they wrote their names on the rock. Later, we informed about it to others,” said Praveen Kumar Sahoo, a local youth.

Locals say that there is a legend behind the hill due to which it has been named as Ghantasila hill. However, experts claim that saints of Buddhism and Jainism used to live on the top of the hill and they might have used such rocks as bells during their prayers and religious ceremonies.

“Several stones resonate like a bell when struck. Therefore, we assume that sonorous rocks atop the hill may be having some unique metallic proportions which give them the ability to ring. Besides, the Buddhists had a place of worship on the hill and they might have used it as bells,” Satya Sarangi, a geology expert said.