I have always longed to visit Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagar Dynasty (1336 - 1646 AD). During my last visit to India in the December of 2022, after a long six years, there was an internal urge to visit this boulder-strewn landscape by the banks of the Tungabhadra river. What I witnessed was like a dream, and there's no doubt that the relics of this great kingdom will continue to invite the masses of India and abroad for years to come!
It was a 5-hour road trip by car from Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. I started at 6 in the morning to beat the traffic in the city and reached Hampi at 11:00 am, covering a distance of about 340 km.
The area surrounding this temple complex is Vittalapura which was an urban district within Vijayanagar. Vittalapura was the center of Alvar Acharya worship - a Hindu devotional movement associated with the Vaishnava (Lord Vishnu) bhakti movement. The Alvars were saints who lived in Tamil country and their temples are around the main Vittala temple complex.
From the parking lot, one has to walk about one kilometer (or use paid electric carts) to reach the eastern gopura of the vast temple complex. This colonnaded street functioned both as a bazaar street and a procession route. The whole area is magnificent even in the present dilapidated state, imagine the beauty and glory when it was intact!
I decided to walk to experience the ruins all along the way and it was indeed the right decision in hindsight! Within minutes from the parking lot, there is an open Mandapa (pavilion) on the right side. The raised platform at the center housed the processional deity for worship during festivities. This ornate, open, and pillared mandapa rests on a high adhishtana (foundation). Lotus petals, swans, and kirtimukhas embellish the topmost rows. The twelve pillars that support the roof carry chamfered brackets and are decorated with carvings of Purnakumbha (full-pot), miniature shrine motifs, and other Vaishnava gods and goddesses.
Around halfway to the temple, Kuduregombe mandapa is located on the left side and the large 16th-century tank (Pushkarani) on the right side.
The center pillars of the porch bare sculptures of horse-riders and have lent this shrine the name Kudure Gombe mandapa; horse-figure pavilion. The side pillars depict Yali - a mythical creature portrayed with the face of a lion, ears of deer, teeth of crocodile, trunk of an elephant, the body of a horse, and the tail of a snake. Yali is the symbol of protection, much like the dragon in oriental cultures. Various carvings and reliefs depict Vaishnava sculptures and emblems.
The pushkarani was used during Teppotsava (float festival) festivities associated with the Vittala temple. A processional deity pavilion with a raised platform is at its western end. At the center of the tank is a four-pillared pavilion which was used for display and worship of the deity during certain festivities.
The Vittala temple represents the highest watermark of the Vijayanagar style of art and architecture. It is one of the largest temples of that period, built under the patronage of Devaraya II (1442-46 AD). Substantial portions of the present structure were added during Krishnadevaraya's (1509-1529) reign. The hundred-pillared mandapa (pavilion) to the southwest of the main temple and the eastern and northern gateways carved with depictions of Vishnu and his other forms, are attributed to Krishnadevaraya.
The temple is built on an ornately sculptured plinth. The pillars of the sabha mandapa (congregation hall) are massive, hewn out of single granite blocks. Clusters of slender pillars form the main pillars. Some of these, when tapped gently, even produce musical notes! The ornate kalyana mandapa (marriage hall), utsava mandapa (festival hall), and devi shrines complete the ensemble of the temple complex.
The stone chariot at the entrance, a reproduction of a processional wooden chariot, is perhaps the most stunning achievement. It houses an image of Garuda, the vehicle of lord Vishnu. I cannot count how many pictures I took of this gem of a sculpture!
The Vittalapura is a very special place - no matter how much you know about Hampi, no matter how much you have read about it, no matter how many photographs you have referred to, you need to physically be there to absorb the grandiosity of this temple!
Thank you Bindu chechi ..
Awesome photographs !!!