Within a few years after the arrival of Alla Udin-Khilji in the kingdom of Yadavagiri in the year 1296, entire Southern India was ravaged by the invaders. Indian culture and religion were endangered by this foreign invasion. At this juncture people united to protect themselves, their religion and culture. It…
It is situated on the southern bank of the river Tungabhadra and is surrounded by rocky mountains. Earlier, Anegundi, the nearby ancient city, was the Capital. Later the capital was shifted to Hampi from Anegundi. According to mythology this area was Pampa Sarovar and the capital of vali mentioned in…
HARi HARA 1 ; He ruled from 1336 to 1356. During his reign his brothers, who were loyal to him, looked after various regions. Kempanna governed Andhra, Bukka governed the central region, Marappa took care of western region, and Muddappa managed the coastal area. Harihara’s regime was a model one.
NARASIMHARAYA : By 1447 the kingdom had grown weak owing to the inefficiency of king Virupaxa as well as the invasions of the Bahmani rulers. Saluwa Narasimharaya was a general known for his valour. He had become popular in the kingdom. By 1447 he had become the ruler of the…
VIRANARASIMHARAYA : He was the first king of Tulu Dynasty. His father was a famous chieftain of saluwas. He had to contend with many rebellions. In 1509 he died accidentally. There was nothing noteworthy in his short rule of four years.
He ascended the throne on 8th August 1509, on the eve of Krishnashtami. At the time of coronation he was just twentyfive. Though there were marks of small pox on his face he was handsome. He was hospitable to foreigners. He was an embodiment of politeness. He was a just…
After Krishnadevaraya his step-brother Achyutaraya came to the throne. He wore the crown first at tirupati and then at Kalahasti in 1534. After the death of Ismail the dispute that had started between Mallu and Ibrahim helped Achyutaraya to comquer Raichur. During his rule the chieftains of Madurai, Tanjore and…
After the death of Achyutaraya, his son Sadasivaraya succeeded him to the throne. Since he was a boy his uncle Sakalarasa imprisoned him. Ramaraya came to Sadasiva’s rescue and waged war against Sakalarasa who died after four battles. Sadasivaraya ruled from 1543 to 1571. He was only a nominal king….
Hampi belongs to Hospet taluk of Bellary District. Tourists must come to Hospet and then go to Hampi. There are buses to Hospet from all comers of Karnataka. Some trains connect Hospet to Hubli, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Timpati and Miraj. There are good lodges in Hospet and Hampi. Hampi is about…
Buses from Hospet terminate near this temple. The magnificent tower is visible from a distance. The tower is 165 ft high, the breadth is 150 ft and the length 120 ft. It has eleven storeys. It is called “Bistappaya Tower”. It is not known who built it or when it…
There are steps to the western side of this hill. At the top of the hill there is the temple of Veerabhuvaneswara. From the top of the hill one can see the west the tower of Pampapathi,the chariot road, and Hemakoota; to the north of the river; to the east…
If we climb a down and take the Chariot road a turn to the right leads to the river. We reach the temple of Kodandarama. It is about 60 feet above the level of the river. I front of the temple the river flows between two rocky hills and forms…
This’ temple is behind Kodanda Rama Temple at a slightly higher elevation. The idol of Maruti in this temple was installed by Sri Vyasaraya during the regime of krishnadevaraya. Nearly there are temples of k a n ga n at ha and Ananthashay ana. I f we go ahead we…
Adjacent to the entrance there is a Kalyana Mantap. On crossing the second gate we can see Achyuta Temple. Achyutaraya, the younger brother of Krishnadevaraya, built this temple between 1513 and 1538. It is only an educated guess based on its similarity to Vittala Temple built by Krishnadevaraya. Here too…
Shri Purandra Dasa was in Vijayanagara by 1540. He propagated the path of devation through his evotional songs, in Kannada. I hereby he worked for the development of Kannada Literature too. The Purandara Mantapa named after him is on the bank of the I ungabhadra. There is a statue of…
Coming up from Purandara Mantapa if one goes east, one can see a huge stone frame which looks like a big gate. A stone beam is placed on two vertical and parallel pillars of stone. This is called King’s Balance. It is said that kings weighed themselves with Gems and…
This is one of the best Sculptures of Hampi. The front portion of this temple, Phalapuja Mantap and the Kalyanmantap were built by Krishnadevaraya in 1513 after his expedition. this temple is constructed on a polyhedron foundation. the monolithic pillars have been subtly sculpted. there are figures of angels. swans….
In front of this temple is the world famous Stone Chariat. The sun temple of Konark could have inspired this creation, it is made of rough quartz. Generally, an idol of Garuda is found in front of the vishnu temple but here the stone chariot has been erected. In this…
If we go back to Virupaxa temple and walk to the south we reach Hemakunta. There are many temples here. On the eastern side of hemakuta there is Ratnagiri which also has many temples. If we proceed to the east and turn south we reach “Kadalekalu Ganapathi”.
It is a monolithic sculpture. It is 18ft tall and has a big inner sanctum. In the front there is a rangamantapa. On the right side we find Sasivekalu Ganapati. It has been installed in an open mantapa without an inner sanctum. This 12ft high statue is monolithic.
This temple is on the road to Kamalapur. It is 320 ft. long and 200 ft. broad. It is a formidable temple protected by a fort. It was built by Krishnadevraya in 1523 in memory of his Triumph in the war against Gajapatiraya. This idol of Balakrishna was brought from…
Moving towards kamalapur from krishna Temple, we see this Linga. This the biggest of all Lingas in Hampi . This gorgeous linga is made of biack stone . it is nearly 12Ft. in height . its inner sanctum has no ceiling . It is aiways in water since a canal…
It is very close to Bdavi linga . it is the biggest idol in Hampi . its height is 22Ft. This was carved by a brahmin during krishnadevaraya’s regime. Invaders broke this idol. Behind the head there is a serpent with its hood open. Though the statue has no temple…
This temple was built during the regin of Ramaraya of Araveedu Dynasty. Formerly it v as called “Mudda Veeranna”. it got distroyed in the spoken language and came to be called “Uddana Veerabhadra”. It is 12 Ft. in height. There are weapons in its hands. By its side there is…
Since it is below the ground level it is known as Pataleshwara Temple (Patala means bottom). Its ceiling is at the ground level.There are steps at the eastern door to godown to the temple. On the basis of the architectural style it is judged to have been built during the…
Near Pataleshwara temple two huge boulders lean on to each other. This awe-inspiring sight is a natural.creation. They are said to have been of two sisters who turned into stones on making a derogatory remark about Hampi.
This temple is adjacent to the palace. The reason for this name is not clear, it could be that it is located so close to the palace and the royal family offered worship here. Krishnadevaraya built it in 1513 in memory of his expedition. It is replete with engravings of…
11 is a platform 80 square feet in area and })\ i in height. It was built by Krishnadevaraya in memory of his conquest of Orissa. The carvings on this platform are just like those in the Hajara Kama Temple. They are also similarly tiered. I hose pictures are all embodiments….
To the north of Mahanavami Dibba a fort with Ink’ll wall is seen. The Lotus Mahala is situated line It is also called Chitrangini Mahala. This building is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim in architecture . It is a two storeyed building build of Mortal, it would be very cool…
It was meant for the royal elephants. There are eleven stables here. All these are neatly interconnected with small doors. This building with arches is built of stone and mortar. The ceiling is dome-shaped. The near by building is said to be quarters for guards. If we go out to…
It is a beautiful building built of mortar. I lie architectural style is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim style, there is a pond in the middle for swimming. It is 8 Ft. deep. There is a canal for water to flow in from outside. There are four outlets at…
It is situated on the road to Kampli from Kamalapur. It was built by Iraguppa the son of the commander-in-chief Baichappa. Bheema’s pictures have been carved here. Further ahead there is a fortgate, some dilapidated temples, and Muslim graves. It was set aside for Muslims during the period of Ramaraya….
MALYAVANTHA RAGHUNATHA If we go further on the road to Kampli, the hill that appears on the left is Malyavantha hill. The temple at the top of the hill is Raghunatha temple. This temple has two doors; one to the East and the other to the South. The main gate…
We have to cross the Tungabhadra River at Talari Katti near Ganagitti Mahal to reach Anegundi, a small village now. (There is a road from Hospet too).
Once Jambukeshwara of Anegundi fought Mohammad Bin Tughlak, the emperor of Delhi. This became the foundation of Vijayanagar. At a distance of one mile from Anegundi there are Ranganatha Temple, Anjaneya Hill, Pampa Sarovara and Herritage of Shabari. This village has a fort with a trench.
It is in Kamalapur. The statues, ancient coins, swords and other artifacts are worth seeing. A miniature replica of the entire area has been created in the middle of the building.
It is on the road to Hospet from Kamalapur. It is a small vilage with temple of Mallikarjuna built during the period of Sangama Dynasty.
It is near Hospet. The village, has the same name as the temple. It was built by Krishnadevaraya in 1518. The inner sanctum doesnot have the idol.
It is 3 miles away . from Hospet. This was built across the river 1$ Tungabhadra. It is about 2 miles long and 160 ft. || high. The two hillrocks flanking the Dam are called Kailasa and Vaikunta. Vaikunta it is 200 Ft. high. There is Anjaneya Temple just below…
