In Madhya Pradesh, holy ‘stone balls’ worshipped by villagers turn out to be dinosaur eggs

Fossilized dinosaur eggs were found being worshipped in MP (Representational image via Madhya Pradesh Tourism/Facebook)

In a Madhya Pradesh village, ‘stone balls’ being worshipped by locals for ages have turned out to be fossilized dinosaur eggs. A Times of India report details how the remarkable discovery was made by experts of Lucknow's Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences.

According to the report, Vesta Mandaloi, 40, is a resident of Padlya village of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh whose family has been worshipping these palm-sized balls for years as “Kakar Bhairav” or lord of the land. Mandaloi continued the tradition, following his forefathers’ belief that the “kuldevta” (clan deity) would protect his farmland and cattle from harm.

In fact, Mandaloi’s family is not the only one in the village to worship these stone balls. Many others also worshipped the ‘balls’ that were found while digging in Dhar and nearby areas.

It was only recently, when experts of Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences visited the area, that the true nature of these holy totems was revealed. Experts visited the area and realised the balls were actually fossilized eggs of dinosaurs – the Titanosaurus species, to be precise.

Scientists think the Narmada Valley of Madhya Pradesh served as a dinosaur hatchery zone millions of years ago. In early 2023 also, 256 fossilizes Titanosaurus eggs were discovered in Dhar.