Hampi 2023

Hampi, which is approximately 5-6 hours drive from Bangalore, India used to be part of the prosperous Vijayanagara Kingdom during the 14th century which was invaded by the Deccan Sultanates. Archaeologists started to explore the ruins from mid 80s and the work is still going on. This blog focuses on 3 sites in Hampi - the Virupaksha Temple (which is an active Shiva Temple), the Vittala Krishna Temple (which is not active) and the monolithic Ganesha and Narasimha Statues. The famous Tungabhadra river flows along the Virupaksha Temple and is the lifeline of Hampi. Very close to Hampi is the town of Kishkindha where Lord Hanuman was born. Plenty of mentions about this place in the Ramayana story. There is a Hanuman temple on top of a hill where devotees can climb approx. 570 steps to reach the place. I visited this temple during my trip, unfortunately I did not carry my camera. I stayed in the Hyatt Place which is approx. 1.5 hours from the Hampi village in the Bellari District. The hotel is located in the Jindal Industrial estate which is the center for iron ore mining.

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Rama Temple in the Jindal Industrial Complex - Hyatt Place Hotel

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Ganesha Statue - Monolithic Ganesh Statue where he is sitting on his mother's lap - Goddess Parvati. The last picture clearly depicts the artistry behind this great piece of sculpture. Just amazing.

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Narasimha Statue - also called Ugra Narasimha is the largest statue in Hampi. Ugra meaning very angry form with his eyes bulging. Here, Narasimha is sitting on the coil of Sesha - 7 headed snake. This statue was extensively damaged during the Sultanates invasion. The original statue included Goddess Lakshmi sitting on his lap. Hood of Sesha is visible at the top.

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Virupaksha Temple - Dravidian architecture, this is one of the most famous Shiva temples in India. Lord Shiva was in the form of Virupaksha, so the temple bears this name. Outside the temple, there are some great locations with nice views. Lots of monkeys wander around in the open space. They really do not bother anyone. There is an interesting chamber inside the temple with a small opening from where light is reflected of the gopuram outside and the image inverted like a pin hole camera. The photograph is shown below.

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Vittala Temple This temple is not active now and it was ruined during the invasion - the entry gopuram in the first picture is in ruined state. The famous Stone Chariot which is photographed several times with its large wheels has the shrine of Garuda (Lord Vishnu's vahana). In the old days, people used to rotate the wheels of the chariot as a prayer for their welfare. There is a dance mandapa across the stone chariot and the pillars produce musical notes when tapped. The great poet Purandaradasa composed 4,75,000 kirthanas from this temple. Some of the other significant sculptures include Hanuman, Rama, Dasavathara, Narasimha, Shiva / Parvati / Karthikeya etc. Among the many unique features is the bangle design carved on the stone ledge. The first photograph shows the partial gopuram of the Vittala temple which was damaged by the invaders.

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Lotus Mahal - Also called Kamal Mahal, due to its shape resembling lotus flower. This is probably the only structure that was not destroyed during the invasion. The structure is a blend of Islamic and Hindu architecture. The curves resemble Islamic design while the roof resembles Indo style structure. There is significant artwork arounds the walls and

pillars (some of them shown in the photographs). This is one of the most photographed buildings in Hampi.

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Bhojana Sala - Dining Hall. Here the food plates are carved on rock slabs in two rows. The channel separate the two rows. Perhaps used for serving food.