The royals and subjects of Vijayanagara and
the vaanarsena (of Lord Hanuman) are
not there to receive you. But some of their symbols and motifs do stand even
today inviting travelers to come, explore and be amazed; the rocks and breeze
gesticulate that a lot more fascinating facts may be buried beneath the ground.
Hampi, the capital city of the fourteenth
century Vijayanagara empire in Southern India and its vedic connection with Kishkindha,
the monkey kingdom in Ramayana, is charismatic even in its ruined state today.
The city of victory, a city in ruins, India’s architectural legacy spread over
25 square kilometers is a world heritage site that every year attracts
thousands of visitors from throughout the country and abroad. You need to stay
there for a few days to appreciate its majestic glory.
Many of the noted foreign travelers and
Indian scholars, for seasons together, have been exploring the form and purpose
of the remains of the standing buildings, stone edifices and original
appearance of the recently excavated structures for which only the basement
blocks survive. One can only speculate for that part of Hampi’s vast invisible
archaeological heritage still buried beneath the ground which can keep the
researchers and scholars occupied for years and perhaps decades to come.
We were greeted by joyous feelings on the
warm welcome received by the fresh air, clear sky and friendly ground staff when
our fully packed 78-seater aircraft, Bombardier-Q400, touched down at the small
airport at Belagavi (Belgaum) at 4.30 on a Thursday evening in the month of
August. Hospet-based industrialist and our extremely warmhearted host Shri
Narendrakumarji Baldota had sent chauffeur-driven car for our 270-km onward
journey by road to Hospet, buzzing and humming, the gateway town 12 km ahead of
Hampi. Hospet is home to many steel and engineering industries. Baldotaji’s
business spans mining, gases, shipping and wind energy and he is also a noted
philanthropist in town having many charitable projects to his credit.
Luckily, skies were clear the next day as
well with pleasant temperature and we started early morning for exploring the vast
stretches of boulder-strewn hills that make the backdrop of Hampi unique. “Dotted
around the hills and valleys are 500 plus monuments,” our guide Mr Basavraj told
us. It’s like an open air museum in natural setting. At every turn there is a
surprising stone structure. Every monument appeared hiding many stories that
people might be eager to hear. Among them are beautiful temples, ruins of
royal palaces, remains of aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal
pavilions, fortifying rock walls... the list is practically endless. The entire
town has a sort of mythical aura surrounding its environment. You would notice
something spooky the moment you set foot on Hampi that used to be an important
part of Vijayanagara city (1343 – 1565), which was later ruined but this
beautiful place commonly referred as the temple town still exists.
We started our exploration from the epicenter
of Hampi, the Vittala Temple, the most extravagant architectural showpiece of
Hampi. One needs to be there, see, feel and contemplate on the spectacle as
written and spoken words are bound by limitations of narrator. The temple named
after one of Lord Vishnu’s name, is built in the form of a sprawling campus
with compound wall and gateway towers. There are many halls, pavilions and
temples located inside this campus. “The temple was originally built in the
15th century AD. Many successive kings have enhanced the temple campus during
their regimes,” Mr Basavraj informed. You can even see the remains of a
township called Vittalapura that existed around this temple complex. The
highlight of Vittala temple is its impressive pillared halls and the stone
chariot.
On the east of the temple entrance stands a
chariot-like stone structure with pairs of wheels on the sides and a small
Garuda shrine with exquisite cut-out colonnades above. Two free-standing mandapas are seen near the Garuda
shrine. The mandapa was used to
display the processional image of the god carried in a chariot that was pulled
up and down the street.
This campus houses a hall perhaps dedicated
to music performance in the ancient times. Some of the pillars produce musical
instrumental notes when tapped with fingers. Our guide tapped his fingers on
one pillar and we could hear “tabla”
sound from another pillar. One needs to physically go there and experience this
marvel.
Our guide informed that Hampi’s architecture
is as stunning as the ambient in which it was built. Richly sculptured hard granite
structures that dominate the ruins present a fusion of various types of
architectures. For example, the civilian structures made in the Indo-Saranac
are pleasant blend of Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture. The large Hindu
temples were made in the typical Vijayanagara style with giant carved
monolithic pillars.
Hanuman temple atop Anjaneya Hill is located about 4km away from the heritage
site and is considered to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
Our guide told us that this Empire had own sophisticated
coinage. It is believed that one of the mints of the empire was in Hampi, the capital
city. Typically, one side of the coins spot images of gods, birds, animals and
inscriptions of who ordered to mint those coins on the reverse side.
The Lotus Mahal which dominates the zenana enclosure is one of the
best-preserved structures in the royal centre. In spite of its fanciful name,
this building probably served as a council chamber. Watchtowers, built in a
similar manner, are seen in the southeast corner of the zenana enclosure and in
the middle of the north wall. These also employ temple-like eaves and towers in
combination with sultanate-style pointed arches and interior domes. A third
tower at the northeast is now partly ruined. Other features within the
enclosure include a deep tank for water storage, the remains of a rectangular
granary.
A modest opening in the east wall of the
zenana enclosure leads to a spacious plaza, probably used as a parade ground
for troops. This is overlooked from the east by the elephant stables, a long
line of eleven chambers each of which could accommodate two elephants.
After the Queens’ bath, the main road passes
through a crudely reconstructed gateway that reaches on the outskirts of
Kamalapura, mainly of interest for the Archaeological Museum. The Pattabhirama
temple, besides the road, is about 600 metres from the museum. A 100-columned
hall, now damaged, is built up to the south wall of the spacious enclosure.
Along the road to Talarighat, the monument of
interest to be noticed is the Ganagitti Jain temple, one of the largest early
edifices at the site. An inscription of 1385 on the lofty dipa-stambha in front records that the temple was built by
Irugappa, a general of Harihara II.
The riverside gorge just north of the Kodanda
Rama Temple is remarkable for various clusters of ruins.The sought after ones
are the array of Shiva Lingas carved on the flat rock surface and the carved
Anandashayana Vishnu on the rock cleft.A little exploration of this area, close
to the edge of the river, can lead you to a couple of Shiva Lingas arrays
carved on the surface of a flat rock. One is an array of 108 Lingas, the other
a more fabulous 1008 lingas in a square area.
According to internet statistics,Hampi is the
most searched historical place in Karnataka. The historical town of Hampi is a
great place for visitors to have a glimpse of the long lost Vijayanagara
Empire. Welcome to Hampi !
