Hampi – Traveling back in time

Bangalore – Hospet : 350 Km

Hospet – Hampi : 13 Km

District : Bellary

 

The saying goes thus - " If dreams were ever made of stone, it would be hampi." The erstwhile capital of one of the greatest Hindu empire's in southern India , the mighty Vijayanagara empire, transports you to a different time. Equally fascinating is the story of a place that has transformed from a cradle of a flourishing civilization to one of the most wonderful ruins of modern times. It was 1565, in the battle of TALIKOTA, that began the end of the Vijayanagara empire. It resulted in the rout of Vijayanagara at the hands of Deccan sultanates. Two Muslim divisions of the mighty Vijayanagara army turned against their king, Ramaraya, which resulted in his defeat and the capital Vijayanagara was reduced to ruins.

Amidst the ruins of Vijayanagara, is the town of Hampi – a UNESCO world heritage site. Surrounded by the TungaBhadra river on one side and rocky mountains on the rest, Hampi forms a unique landscape. Some of the rocks are so precarious and neatly arranged (one upon another) that you would be forgiven to think that someone neatly placed them there.

Famous temples here include the Virupaksha temple and the Vittala temple. One can find a mix of traditional Vijayanagar style architecture as well as Indo Islamic style architecture. The Virupaksha temple architecture resembles the temples in Tamil Nadu whereas the lotus mahal is a mix of Indo – Islamic architecture. The temples have a main sanctum having the statue of the main god and surrounding it would be smaller structures having statues of other gods associated with the main god. The lower part of the temples are made of granite and the upper part(Gopura) is made of bricks. Most of the carvings on the bricks have been destroyed.The carvings in each of the temples show the creativity and hardwork of the artisan's. Each and every pillar in each of the temples had carvings telling a story. I just couldnt help but wonder the amount of work that must have been put in to build these magnificent structures.

What to see?

There are a lot of places of interest here. Its a 25 Km circle and one can chose to cover the important places by renting a bicycle, bike or by auto. The heat is unbearable and that is one factor to watch out for before renting a bicycle or a bike.

Hampi Map

1. Sasivekalu Ganesha : A monolithic statue of Ganesha built by a sasivekalu (mustard) trader .
   
   

   

   Sasivekalu Ganesha

   Kadalekalu Ganesha : Called so because the belly of the Ganesha resembles a bengal gram (Kadalekalu).
   
   
   Krishna Temple : The temple was built to celebrate the conquest of udayagiri (Orissa) by Krishnadevaraya. The Idol of krishna was brought from udayagiri but now is displayed in a museum in Chennai.
   
   
   Badavi Lingam : A monolithic Shiv Linga believed to have been built by a poor Woman.
   
   
   Lakshmi Narasimha Statue : The large monolithic statue of Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Vishnu, with large bulging eyes and seated on adishesha (sacred snake) is just majestic.
   
   

   

   Lakshmi Narasimha

   Underground temple : Also called prasanna virupaksha temple, it is dedicated to Shiva.
     
   Zenana Enclosure - Lotus Mahal : 2 storeyed structure built in Indo Islamic style meant to serve as the palace of the queen. The top view of this structure resembles a lotus and hence the name. Elephants stable : A very strong structure consisting of 11 Dome shaped chambers to house the royal elephants. There is also a concealed staircase providing access to the roof in the central chamber.
   
   

   

   Lotus Mahal

   
   

   
   

   
   

   

   Elephant Stables

   Queen's bath : Admire the designs on the ceiling as each one is different from the other.
   
   
   Hazara Rama temple : Dedicated to vishnu in his avatar as lord Rama. This temple has carvings depicting the entire story of Ramayana!!!
   
   Mahanavami Dibba : One of the ceremonial structures used by the royal family. It is a 3 tiered stone platform and each tier has sculptures carved on them. The cold breeze and the quiet atmosphere was very relaxing. A little further is a Pushkarini. There is a very long stone structure to carry water into the pushkarini.
   
   

   

   Mahanavami Dibba

   Virupaksha Temple : On one end of the bazaar street stands a tall and majestic gopura. This is the virupaksha temple dedicated to the main god virupaksha (shiva). This is one of the oldest temple believed to have been constructed in 7th century. If you go in the morning you get to meet the temple elephant – Lakshmi. Not to miss is the pin hole camera at the rear of the temple. There is a small slit in the wall of a dark room. One can see the tall gopura of the front end through the slit and when the light comes in through the slit an inverted shadow of the gopuram is formed on the wall opposite.
   
   
   Vittala temple : One of the highlights of the Vittala temple and of Hampi is the stone chariot within the temple premises. This temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Also of interest is the musical pillar. Each pillar represents one musical instrument. Unfortunately it was closed for visitors during our visit.
   

   
   

   

   Stone Chariot

   Also of interest is the cave, believed to be the home of sugriva.
   
   

   

   Sugriva Cave

   King's Balance is also located near the Vittala temple. It was at this place that the king was weighed and the equivalent amount of gold or grain was distributed among the people.
   
   
   

   

   Kings Balance