We have all studied during our school days of the great Vijayanagara empire and its sweep of power over a vast area of India. A dynasty in 13th century established by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I both brothers whose rule was known as Sangama dynasty. The golden period of Sangama Dynasty was said to be under the king Krishna Deva Raya who ruled during the 16th century. This kingdom ruled the deccan plateau and covered the entire south India. A visit to the ruins was in my mind right from my initial appointment. But it took quite a long time to make a trip to this architectural wonder. Again my posting to Mysore proved a blessing to plan my trip. A weekend had a monday clubbed in as holiday and I planned my trip in such a way so that I can spend two full days at Hampi to visit the ruins as it is lying in a huge area and many spots are kilometres apart. I booked my train ticket by Hampi Express which starts from Mysore and runs upto Hubli (hubballi). I booked my ticket to Hospet Junction and also return on the same train. I started my journey on friday and the train departure time was 7.00 p.m. The train goes via Bangalore KSR and it stops there for around 15 mintues. So for those planning their trip from Bangalore, this train is convenient as its departure time from Bangalore is around 10.30 p.m. I had already arranged my stay at Hospet as it was found to be an ideal place to stay to make our visit to Hampi and its surroundings. I booked my stay at Hotel Naivedhya which is hardly 200 metres from the station and on the same road going towards the railway entrance. We reached Hospet station a around 7.30 a.m. as the train was late about 1 hour and 30 minutes from its scheduled time of 6.00 a.m. I got out of the station and engaged an autorickshaw to the hotel. The auto driver wanted to know whether his services is needed for visiting tourist spots. That clicked an idea of engaging him and I asked him about the rates and informed him about my purpose of my visit and places of interest. He quoted the rate for two full days for an amount of Rs.1,500/-. He shall wait at each tourist spot and we could spend as much time as we needed. As he was a local man, he told me that our first place of visit shall be to the centre piece of Hampi ruins. We started our journey at around 10 a.m. He came and picked us at the hotel and it took us around 25 minutes to reach the tourist entrance complex which is 12 kms from Hospet. Here there was quite a number of tourists standing in queue to take tickets to go up the hill as private vehicles are not allowed up to the ruins. The service to ruins is by electric cabs so as not to contaminate the structures by dust and soot. We got into a cab which looked like a golf cab often found in golf courses with 4 rows of seats and we reached the top within 15 minutes. The entrance is in ruins which has presently only side walls due to the ravages of time and destruction done by invading rulers who defeated the king of Vijayanagara in the 16th century. As a visitor one has to tune ones mind that your are going to visit a site containing ruins of various structures which once was there in place.
Entrance to the Vijayanagara ruins
Overall view of the temple complex
The wheels of the chariot can be turned like any wheel which rotates on its axle. The entire structure is sculpted out of a single piece of granite rock and the master craftsmen has carved the wheel out of that single piece and made free from the axle which can be rotated by the visitor during the early times. The ASI (archaeological survey of Inida) under whose supervision the entire structures are being maintained has fixed these wheels with cement to its axle in order to preserve the entire structure. The viewers tend to rotate the wheels and might overdo it and can damage this marvel creation. But it is a known fact that the wheels are free of its axle and even today one can examine the same.
Mantapa at the side (Hall structure)
Way to Navarathri Mantapa (ruins)
Atop Navarathna mantapa foundation
This is a construction of a stage like structure which was used for functions during the reign of Vijayanagara rule. These are the remains presently found in the site and the Archaeological Survey of India has chipped in to recreate the original platform available from the ancient records. One can get a bird's eyeview from the top.
Water body structure at Hampi
This is a water tank like structure which was a part of the Vijayanagara empire and this was excavated and repairs was conducted to maintain its original construction as per records.
Stepped square water tank
This is yet another marvel of Vijayanagara empire which has survived the ages and stands as a testimony to the architectural prowess of those times and is found still intact. Such remains of ruins make ones trip worthwhile which can be showcased to the world.
Ruins of the mantapa (Hall like structure)
The following pics of the carvings in and around the hall and the structures behind will leave one astounded at the acumen of the sculptors during that time whose expertise created these wonders in stone. The stone used is granite which is hard and one can imagine the pains taken by these artisans which stands even today in its original splendor.
These pillars depicts the expertise of the craftsmen who worked on these granite pillars which is a single piece of stone and the exquisite carvings and the flat surfaces smoothened to achieve a black lustre makes these structures unique to the world.
Intricate carvings on the walls of the temple
Lotus Mahal
This construction has an imposing and beautiful architectural structure and stands out. It is located at the Zenana area and was meant for women for their social functions. It is also known as Chitrangani Mahal and Kamal Mahal. It speaks of the workmanship of artisans of Vijayanagara empire during that era.
Kings elephants stables
The rows of stables speak of the splendor of the Vijayanagara empire which was used for housing the elephants of the kingdom. It is a beautiful structure and is symmetrical and precise in its construction.
Remains of Queens Palace (basement only)
The invasion has caused major damage to the structures and it is said to be razed to the ground. The wooden structures were burnt down by the invaders Alauddin Khilji and Muhammed Bin Tughalak. The architectural structures were lost to the world due to this and the remaining ruins stands testimony to the enormity of destruction made. The Archaeological Survey of India has taken great pains to restore the remaining structures and landscaped the entire area which requires special mention as it makes it easy for the tourists to scan the entire area.
Soldiers barracks
Right beside the elephant stables is this imposing building which once housed the solders of the empire. It has an elevated structure and has a corridor around it and an open space inside. Presently it is used as a museum to depict the excavation exhibits. The structure still stand in good condition and reminds us the architectural prowess of that period.
Way to temple (underground)
This is the way to underground Shiva temple which is situated in an underground chamber. It is also known as Prasanna Virupaksha Temple and lay buried for 400 years and was excavated by Archaeological Survey of India which unearthed another marvel of the construction and workmanship of that era. The roof of the temple is in level to the ground and inside the deity is surrounded by water which is found round the year. The history says that the water is coming via an inlet from River Thungabhadra and leaves by an outlet provided. During the monsoon season , the entire temple gets submerged in water and makes it inaccessible and stands testimony to the engineering skill of that era. As it is totally dark inside and temple presmises are not allowed to be photographed, it is not available.
Coffers of the Vittala temple
This solid granite structure was found on the way of to Vittala temple and temple of Lord Ganesha on top of a rocky mountain. This was said to be a coffer of the Lord Vishnu, a hindu god which is known by emblems etched on the granite (Sudharshana Chakra or the wheel like structure and conch which is held in the hands of the lord). These two denotes the coffer as belonging to Lord Vishnu temple. It is cut out of solid granite stone which is hollow inside and the top is kept closed with two thick slabs of granite. This was meant for deposit of offerings by the pilgrims and devotees to the temple. On the top there is a round hole (size of 6" inch dia) through which one can deposit their offerings during the rule of King Krishnadevaraya. The offerings during those days consisted of gold jewellery and ornaments, silver, copper and bronze vessels used for worship and precious stones to be adorned on the deity. The coins and currencies was not that popular and was limited for trading purposes and not meant for coffers during that time. This hole is cut in such a way that one cannot retrieve the deposits through that hole as its passage is bent .
Old marketplace now in ruins
This marketplace is right behind this granite coffer which is on the roadside. This area is at a lower level and the excavations revealed a huge marketplace with structures on either sides which might have housed the shops of traders in a row and the ground in between these structures for buyers to assemble there for making their purchases. These ruins still stand as an acumen of the ruling empire and their foresightedness in shaping a society and its needs.
Way to Vittala temple and other ruins
This is an distant view of the structures on the rocks which still stands in good condition after all these ravages of war and nature. The department of archaeology has undertaken a gargantuan task of restoring these old structures and one can witness the works going on which is quite painstaking and requires patience and accuracy.
Sasivekalu Ganesha temple
This grand idol of Lord Ganesha, a hindu god with the head of an elephant is an imposing structure on top of a granite rock. The idol is carved out of a single granite stone which speaks of the workmanship of the sculptors during that period. It still stands intact and one can experience on their own the marvels of Hampi and its ruins which still stands as a wonder of Indian craftsmanship.
Close up view of idol of Lord Ganesha
Virupaksha temple (Lord Shiva)
This temple also comes under UNESCO world heritage site and this is a distant view of the temple.
Virupaksha temple entrance tower (Gopura)
This is the majestic entrance tower which is a ten storeyed structure and staircase is provided and one can climb to the top to get a bird's eyeview of the surrounding area. The inside of the temple out of bounds for camera and hence pics cannot be taken.
Statue of Ugra Narasimha murthy
This idol belongs to Lord Vishnu in one of his incarnations to triumph over the evil. This statue was also vandalised by the conquerors and has the hand severed where Goddess Lakshmi was sculpted as sitting on the lap. The idol is a 7.2 metre structure and except for these slight abrasions the statue is still intact and another testimony of the craftsmanship of the sculptors.
Idol of Lord Shiva (Shivalinga)
This is another structure of Lord Shiva, a hindu god carved out of single piece of granite and has stood ravages of the time. This idol is erected in a pool of water and the water gets pumped from the River Thungabhadra through underground pipes which has inlets and outlets and stays surrounded by water round the year.
I still feel that I have not been able to cover the entire ruins as my trip for two days was not enough. Hence a keen traveller interested in history and who has read archaeology will need at least 6 days to cover the ruins by going to each site which is widely spread and the hot sun will also take its toll. So I shall give below tips and difficulties I faced in order to ge prepared for anyone who wishes to venture to Hampi site. Again I shall reiterate that the pains and difficulties is worth it as it offers such a host of sculptures, structures standing to this day and planned layout of a city which speaks itself of the civilisation and a standard of living.
Plan meticulously about the period of visit. The hotels may be booked prior to travel and train tickets also to be booked well before hand both ways.
The hotel I stayed at is Naivedhyam, a pure vegetarian restaurant and lodgings available in the same premises. There are also other hotels in and around railway station which one may search out in google. The retiring rooms of the railway station is not well maintained and do not have the basic amenities which is in disuse due to neglect and poor maintenance. I felt really bad seeing the rooms of retiring rooms available at the railway station at such a place of international tourist footprint.
The food at my hotel of stay was quite good and hence I shall recommend that hotel to anyone who wishes to make a visit to the site.
There are ruins on either side of the River Thungabhadra and one has to take one day to visit the other side. There is also a Hanuman temple (dedicated to monkey god in hindu scriptures) which lies at the top of a steep hill. There are around 1000 steps which is very steep and is not easy to climb but still worth it as it gives a bird's eyeview from the top.
The weather and climate best suited must be seen first as summer season is out of bounds as the heat will be quite unbearable.
The River Thungabhadra dam was built to regulate supply water to the farmers which is nearby and a visit may be planned alongwith the Hampi tour.
I strongly recommend all to visit the Hampi ruins as it speaks of our past culture and civilisation that existed during the ancient period. Let us showcase to the world of our glorious past and its exemplary sculptures which still stands as testimony over the years.
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