Virupaksha Temple:
Vidyaranya was at the shrine of the Goddess Bhuvaneshvari Devi at the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi. The Goddess would not accede to his request and bless him with abundance of wealth. "No! It is not possible in this life for you!" she said. Immediately, Vidyaranya decided to renounce the world and took sanyaasa. Sanyaasa is like a second-birth for an individual. Devi was forced to yield. Abundant wealth was soon his, but as a sanyaasi, Vidyaranya had no personal interest in it. He served as the inspiration for Hukka (Harihara Raya) and Bukka Raya who together founded the Vijayanagar empire, which became one of the wealthiest empires of its time.
We are at the same Virupaksha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shiva is "Virupaksha", the one with an odd number of eyes- i.e. three eyes. Beside the shrine for Bhuvaneshvari Devi is Pampa Devi's sannidhi. At the back of the temple is a shrine for Vidyaranya in recognition of his immense contribution as a saint and in shaping the formation of the empire. Vidyaranya is also seen in one of the paintings on the ceiling of the "Ranga mandapa" within the temple precincts- It shows Hukka and Bukka welcoming the saint who is seated in a palanquin.
The Ranga mandapa is filled with other paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Lord Rama breaking the bow to win Sita, Arjuna striking the fish with his arrow in Draupadi's swayamvara, the avataras of Vishnu, Kama targeting Shiva with his arrow of flowers and Shiva as Tripurantaka are some of the prominent ones.
An interesting feature in this temple is an example of the "pin-hole camera" concept. A room in the temple's interior lets in a pencil of light through an aperture facing the gopuram. On the opposite wall, the gopuram's inverted image is formed, making it a fascinating case study in Optics.
This temple predates the Vijayanagar period. However, the gopuram was added during the empire's time. Unlike the granite stones used to build the remainder of the temple, the gopuram was built using "Roman bricks". It paved the way for gopuram construction in South India as we know it today- undoubtedly, a product of the Vijayanagar mind.
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| Virupaksha Temple Gopuram |
Hemakuta parvata:
The Virupaksha temple can be reached by crossing over the Hemakuta parvata (hill). Hemakuta parvata is a massive, granite monolith. At the base of the hill is a huge Ganesha in "ardha padmasana"posture, interestingly called the "mustard Ganesha". This name is used to differentiate it from an even bigger "groundnut Ganesha" on the other side of the hill. The "Mustard Ganesha" has the figure of a lady when seen from the back. Apparently, Parvati is holding the over-sized Ganesha on her lap! The idol is mutilated- possibly when Vijayangar fell a prey to the marauding armies of the Bahmani kings. Since the idols are defaced, none of these are functional temples. In fact, apart from the Virupaksha Temple, there are no functional temples at all.
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| Mustard Ganapati- If this is a mustard in Hampi, then.... |
Hemakuta parvata is apparently the hillock where Shiva's penance was broken by Kama. The rest of the story is of course well known- Shiva's blazing third eye reduces Kama to ashes. Interestingly, the granite stones in Hampi are all igneous rocks- rocks formed when the lava cooled down after a volcanic eruption. The rocks have a reddish-brown hue- iron in the granite gets oxidised and leaves behind this colour. One wonders whether the story of "Kama dahana" actually points to these geological upheavals.
At the top of the Hemakuta parvata are a group of "joint temples"- i.e. temples with multiple sanctums. Today, "joint temples" have been corrupted in local parlance to "jain temples" giving these structures a totally different meaning (as per our guide)! The slopes of the Hemakuta parvata show a variety of experiments in granite temple construction. We notice a graded progression in complexity. Watchtowers dot the hill at various points.
How were these granites cut so precisely? We're told that the technique involved making incisions in the rock, inserting wooden pegs in them and filling them up with water. The water caused the wood to expand and the rock was sliced open.
The panoramic views from Hemakuta parvata are breathtaking- Numerous hills and hillocks- all rock and stone, punctuated with clumps of rich foliage. The spire of the Virupaksha temple pierces the sky and holds our attention for a while, before we drift off and let our imagination loose...and spot a dragon here or an elephant there...amongst the boulders!
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| Virupaksha Temple seen from Hemakuta, to the left- the "joint temples" |
Vijayanagar City:
The number seven is significant to Vijayanagar, as per our guide. There were 7 fortresses guarding the city, 7 bazaars (selling horses, gems, supari! etc) and there are 7 hills, the prominent ones being Gandhamana, Hemakuta, Maalyavanta, Rishyamuka, Matanga and Anjanaadri.
At its high-point, Vijayanagar was 60 sq miles and housed half a million people.
We have written accounts of Vijayanagar from travellers who visited the city- Domingo Paes and Nuniz were Portuguese travellers, Conti was an Italian and Abdur Razzak was a Persian. Jawaharlal Nehru quotes in the "Glimpses of World History" that the kingdom was so affluent that the roads were lined with silk and gold for a distance of six miles!
Yoga Narasimha:
One of the most visible faces of Hampi is the Yoga Narasimha idol. Presently, Lakshmi is missing, while the rest of the idol is fairly intact and impressive.
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| Yoga Narasimha |
Vittala Temple:
By far, the most photographed monument at Hampi- the stone chariot and the musical pillars are not be missed. There are some interesting sculptures around the prakara- a single sculpture shows multiple animals as you cover different sections. Also seen is the "composite bull-elephant" sculpture- the idiom borrowed from the Badami cave temples.
The detailing to ensure that water drains off the sides of the chariot in a controlled trickle, is impressive. Vijayanagar had ties with distant lands like China and Rome. The Vittala Temple has pagoda-like arches and Chinese dragons, all carved in granite.
Granite does not lend itself to detailing. Badami sculptures are in sandstone, but the material is not durable. Hoysala sculptures are detailed, but carved out of softstone. The beauty of the Vittala Temple is that it is entirely crafted in granite, but still sculpted in a very delicate way.
It is about a kilometre's walk to the temple. Pillars stand as reminders of the bazaar which once populated this broad avenue. On the way, you can take a break and soothe your spirits by resting on the steps of the temple tank. The hills on either side of the avenue make this walk a very pleasant experience.
Hazara Ram temple:
Curiously named "Hazara Ram", this is a Rama temple inside the King's Palace. The name comes from the myriad images of Lord Rama carved on the temple's facade. The Ramayana is sculpted in panels in three levels- if you go around the temple thrice, in effect, you would have seen vignettes of the entire story! Each panel is engaging and can keep you riveted for hours.
The Queen's Palace, Bath and the King's Palace:
Except for the granite bases, nothing remains today. The palaces were made of wood and didn't survive the pillage of Vijayanagar. The king's palace is a sprawling complex with Roman style aqueducts, feeding into several tanks. Our imagination has to fill in for what is missing. A flight of rock-cut stairs takes us to a huge raised platform used by the king to survey the Dasara procession. The Mysore kingdom was an off-shoot of the Vijayanagar empire and inherited the tradition of the Dasara procession.
Next to the Queen's Palace is the Lotus Mahal- a multi-storeyed complex, with terracotta pipes carrying water, which served as an air-conditioner!
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| Lotus Mahal: fitted with "air conditioners" |
Further, we have the elephant's stables- eleven of them, all built in Indo-Islamic style, with prominent domes and arches.
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| Elephant Stables in Indo-Islamic style |
It is the end of the day. The sun dips, so does our energy level. The remaining sites can wait- there's Mourya Maney or "Morey Maney" as our guide pronounces which houses some neolithic-age cave paintings on the other side of the Tungabhadra. We can barely hear the guide. Fatigue takes over. We need some tea, a hot cup of tea!
Sipping the cup of tea in the comfort of the hotel room, we purse our lips... and linger once more on Hampi...and its delightful, over the top creations!
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