Hampi: Ruins & the Beauty

Past fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription decays from the tablet; the statue falls from the pedestal. Eventually, the ruins remain and recite the glorious fables of history.

 

COVID-19 crisis severely impacted the travel industry. Nonetheless, the fondness for heritage sites and the desire to visit them remained as strong as ever. Fortunately, I got the opportunity to travel and capture some beautiful memories from the "City of Ruins", Hampi.

Hampi

Now, let’s develop a brief understanding before beginning our tour...

Hampi, also called Pampa-kshetra, acquired its name from Pampa- the original name of river Tungabhadra and also the name of Parvati or Brahma's daughter who worshipped and married Shiva (Virupaksha).  It is believed that gods showered gold over their wedding place, naming the hills- Hemakuta (literally meaning 'Heap of Gold') hills.

It was hitherto also considered as Kishkinda, birth place of Lord Hanuman which was a monkey kingdom ruled by king Sugriva as per Hindu epic Ramayana.

It is popularly recognized as capital of Vijayanagar, one of the largest Hindu Kingdoms of India in 14^th century. It was ruled by four following dynasties and was believed to flourish the most under Shri Krishna Deva Raya of Tuluva, the third dynasty.

Emperors of Vijayanagara belonging to 4 dynasties: Sanagama, Saluva, Tuuva and Araveedu
(Image from Virupaksha temple, Hampi) 

Later, it was reduced to ruins after the victory of Deccan Sultanates in the battle of Talikota fought in 1565. Colonel McKenzie, an antiquarian of the British Empire, is known to be the first person to survey the ruins of Hampi and create a map in 1799.

Today, Hampi has earned the status of UNESCO World heritage site because of its spectacular architecture which is a beautiful medley of Hindu art and heritage in an unmatched scale. 

Now, let’s start exploring the city of mystery and wonder: Hampi...

Day 1

Way to Hospet, Karnataka

On 29^th December 2020, we started our journey at 4:30 am. It took us approximately 7- 8 hours to cover 350 km from Bangalore to Hospet by road. Then, we checked in our hotel, “The Royal Orchids”, Hospet and left for sightseeing in Hampi.

The Royal Orchids Hotel

We reached Hampi in about half an hour and started our sojourn from the Virupaksha temple.

Virupaksha Temple

It is an ancient temple of Hoysala period, paved with stone and dedicated to Lord Shiva, also known as Virupaksha or Pampapathi. The foundation of the temple was laid by Harihara and Bukka, and the elaborate construction was undertaken by Krishnadeva Raya, the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Architectural characteristics:

-We entered the temple gateway after passing through 50 metres high outer tower or gopuram that has 11- storeys and is known as ‘Bistappya Tower’.

-The state of bull in front of the temple is called “Eduru Basava” in Kannada.

-Then, there is a coronation hall or mandapa which had finely carved pillars and paintings depicting scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata on the roofs.

-The temple has Kalyana mandapa which is considered as the wedding hall for Shiva and Parvati, navranga (Middle hall), shunakshi, garba griha (sanctum sanctorum: the place where the deity is located).

- It also houses a canal, well and customary temple tank.

-There are smaller shrines dedicated to the Goddessess Pampadevi and Bhuvaneshvari along with customary temple tank.

- Further, up the steps after passing through dark chamber is a temple of Vidyaranya and the door to the south led to a pond called “Loka Pawana Teertha”.

-The road in front of the temples flanked by hotels and shops and up ahead is the Matunga hills with pandala carved out in chalukya style.

Interesting fact:

Dark chamber with Pinhole camera effect

There's a place in the Virupaksha temple where we see the gopuram of the Virupaksha temple inverted as light passes through a small hole made through the wall.

Inverted image of Gopuram
through a hole in Dark Chamber

It follows the simple principle of a pinhole camera.

Pinhole effect

 It manages to intrigue the tourists as it reflects that people during that period exactly knew the size of the hole and the distance at which the gopuram was constructed from the main temple. They were also able to determine the mechanism through which it would capture only the inverted image of gopuram on the wall inside.

Hampi Bazaar

Hampi Bazaar

Hampi Bazaar (market) is located to the west of the temple. It is a 100 metres long and 35 metres wide market which at one time sold diamonds, pearls, emeralds and rubies besides fruits, vegetables, meat, cloth and other items of daily necessity. It was flanked on both sides with beautiful houses and used to be crowded in the times of glory.

Coracle ride

Coracle Jetty

Then, we got to experience a fun ride in the traditional coracle (indigenous circular boat made up of bamboo) at a near by ghat.

We visited a local temple in the vicinity and soon, went for lunch at an exotic restaurant, “The Mango Tree” with traditional seating and authentic food. 

Mango Tree Restaurant

Further, we hired a local auto for rest of the city tour to observe and seek knowledge of the past. 

Auto tour

Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple

We started with Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple which derived its name due to its resemblance from the mustard seed, which is referred to as Sasivekalu in the local dialect.

Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple

View from the temple

The Ganesha statue is over 8 feet tall and was created in the memory of a Vijayanagara King - King Narasimha II. A snake can be clearly seen around Lord Ganesha's belly which is often associated with the legend of Ganesha- when he had consumed a lot of food and tied a snake around the belly to prevent his stomach from bursting.

Kadalekalu Ganesha temple

Kadalekalu Ganesha temple

The slopes of well-known Hemakuta Hill also nestles one of the largest statues of Hindu deity Ganesha, a towering monolithic statue which is about 4.6 meters high. The hall of the temple homes carved granite pillars which reflect the Vijayanagara architectural style of art.

Krishna Temple

Krishna Temple

Krishan temple is one of the places which is globally known for its exquisite carvings and stands as the sign of Orissa campaign’s success under Krishnadeva Raya. It was built in memory of his triumph in the a war against Gajapatiraya. The idol of balkrishna was brought from Udaygiri which is now kept museum of Madras.The temple campus is encircled all over by massive pillars and small shrines and is accompanied by a hall in the eastern side.

Lakshmi Narsimha Temple

Lakshmi Narsimha Temple

It is the biggest idol in Hampi with its height as 22 feet. The monolith depicting the man- lion form of Vishnu is seated on a seven headed serpent in a yogic position and carved by a Brahmin during Krishnadevraya’s raya. Though the statue has no temple now, it is assumed that there must have been a temple in the past.

Badvalinga

Badvalinga

Badavilinga lies close to the Lakshmi Narasimha temple and homes a 3- meter high Linga carved out of a black stone. The inner sanctum has no ceiling and it stands permanently in water that flows through an ancient channel.

Queen’s Bath

Queen's Bath

It depicts Indo- Islamic architectural style comprising of an 8 feet deep pond for swimming and an ornate interior with arched corridors, projecting balconies, and lotus- shaped fountains that used perfumed water fort the women of the court. It has a well- made drainage system with a canal system for inlet and four outlets at the bottom for the used water to flow out.

Royal Enclosure

Royal enclosure

Ø  The Mahanavami Dibba is one of the most significant structures found among the ruins in Hampi. The Mahanavmi Dibba, massive platform 80 sq. feet in area and 22 feet in height, was built on the occasion of Krishnadevaraya's victory against the Orissa Gajapathis. He used it to watch processions, make offerings to the almighty and host programs, which is also evident by its decorative carvings of horses, soldiers and stately processions. There were multiple layers of the platform; in the first line, there is a procession of elephants and another line has Holi scenes and a person recognized as foreigner bowing to the king on throne.

Mahanavmi Dibba

Interesting fact:

Advanced Rock cutting techniques

Rock cutting

The rocks on the entrance were found with a series of square holes on them. So, it is assumed that the people of the Vijaynagara Empire used fine rock cutting techniques in which they made square holes on the rocks in a line, then, used to hammer a wooden wedge into the holes, poured hot water over it, after which the wood expanded and the stone was cut by itself. This might not be adequate to shove a series of these blocks over and over again. However, these rock cutting techniques were advancd and based on scientific principles which were first found to begin with the Pallavas of South India.

Ø  The Audience Hall is a huge structure that was used for hearings by the King. The hall comprises the remnants of 100 pillar-sockets and therefore, is also known as the 100 Pillared Hall.

Audience hall

Ø  The Underground Secret Chamber is one of the most interesting structures which is believed to be a secret chamber where the king held important meetings and discussions with his trusted aides.

Secret Chamber

Ø  Hazara Rama Temple is a royal temple built by Krishnadeva Raya in 1513 in memory of his expedition and reserved for the ceremonial use. The entire temple has bas- relics depicting scenes from Ramayana including engravings of yoga postures, gods, goddesses and Dashavtara. It portrays Dusshera celebrations and processions of horses, elephants, dancing girls and soldiers attired in splendid weaponry. The 48 layers of engravings are dominated by Vaisnavite culture.

Hazara Rama Temple

Underground Temple-Prasanna Virupaksha Temple

Underground Temple

The underground Shiva Temple reflects a perfect blend of mythology and history.
The central portion of the shrine lies immersed in water perhaps, from the Tungabhadra River, which flows through the interior of this temple through canals. There is the main hall, a courtyard, a small hall that leads to the innermost sanctum surrounded by a lush green lawn where we can relax and assimilate all the beauty.

Finally, after seeking a lot of historical knowledge and absorbing invaluable mythological insights from these places, we got back to our bus. Last but not the least, Hampi unveiled a perfect surprise which concluded the beautiful day.

We headed towards Matanga Hill which offered us a challenging trek with an absolutely adventurous path for a bird’s eye view of the historic town.

Matanga Hill

Sunset view

It led to the highest spot with a breath taking view of the entire city covering the architectural stone ruins, sparkling water of the Tungabhadra River and the lush green paddy fields.

Day 2

The first spot of the day was Anjanadri hill.

Way to Anjanadri Hill

They are considered to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman. We crossed around 575 steps to reach the top of the hills which had an austere temple and a mesmerising view. A 10 to 15 minute- meditation and joy of meeting several new people amidst the rocks and boulders made our experience even more memorable on the eve of New Year.

Fun fact:

 Hampi is also called the ‘Boulder city’ because it has many stones and mountains which have cracked and split as boulders (large circular rocks) as a result of constant weathering and erosion.

The Boulder City

Vijaya Vitthala temple

The Vitthala temple is known to be Hampi’s crowning glory which is dedicated to lord Vishnu and his wife, Goddess Rukmini. The monument is seen as one of the largest and famed structures in the group of monuments in Hampi.

Unique features:

-The Vishnu temple has been laid on polyhedron foundation and the monolithic pillars have been subtly scrupled with engravings of angles, lotus, swans, yoga postures and horse.

Ranga Mantapa

- The Phalapurja Mantap and the Kalyan Mantap (wedding hall) are known to be built by Krishnadevaraya after his successful expedition.

- Have you ever observed the current 50 rupee note carefully? It has an image of a stone chariot located in Vitthala temple, Hampi. It is a shrine designed in the shape of a chariot which is dedicated to Garuda - the carrier of Lord Vishnu with actually revolving stone wheels and image of Garuda housed in its sanctum. It is located in front of Vishnu temple and has elephants placed in front of the chariot while horses are known to be lost. The pictures of soldiers, hunters, Portugeese, the Arabs and the Persians have been depicted.

Stone chariot

-It has Paakshala (kitchen) located on a corner and an impressive large Ranga Mantapa with 56 musical pillars, also known as SaReGaMa pillars, that resound musical notes when struck, due to the architectural intricacies like height, weight, distance and cutting of the pillars. However, the area is restricted for tourists due to certain kind of mishandling and damage caused in past.

Rangamanatapa

- The temple dedicated to Goddess Rukmini Devi was found within the open space. We also got to see ruins, boulders and a 150- year old tree which was getting ready for blossoming.  

150- Year Old Champak Tree

-There are tows of stone pandals on either side of the complex which was considered as the market of pearls and gems, called as ‘sule bazaar’.

Interesting facts:

- The walls, ceilings and pillars have deep and meaningful carvings with multiple meanings and interpretations.

The above symbolic example has the following varied interpretations which depicts great architectural significance and vision of that period.

Mother monkey and her child

Nagalingam

   

Flying Hanuman
with a mountain

Hopping frog

   

Elder monkey trying to pull
the baby monkey from the tree

- The lower platform of the mantapas was sequentially built first and features the blueprint of the entire mantapa built upon it. Hence, it reflects the vision of the architect as well as the ruler and throws light upon the techniques and procedure followed by the labor.

- The temple is devoid of idols as it is known to be destroyed by the invaders. Nonetheless, certain conjectures believe to have certain idol ruins preserved in the museum in Madras.

The tour of this magnificent complex marked the culmination of this trip. 

All in all, it was an amazing experience perfectly amalgamated with historical knowledge, adventure and mythological insights. Finally, we returned home rejuvenated on the eve of new year, leaving a part of our hearts to that beautiful place.