HAMPI HINDU MONUMENTS

 HINDU MONUMENTS:

                                             

Virupaksha temple and market complex:

                                                                    The Virupaksha temple is the oldest shrine, the principal destination for pilgrims and tourists, and remains an active Hindu worship site.Parts of the Shiva, Pampa and Durga temples existed in the 11th-century; it was extended during the Vijayanagara era. The temple is a collection of smaller temples, a regularly repainted, 50-metre (160 ft) high gopuram, a Hindu monastery dedicated to Vidyaranya of Advaita Vedanta tradition, a water tank (Manmatha), a community kitchen, other monuments and a 750 metres (2,460 ft)-long ruined stone market with a monolithic Nandi shrine on the east end.

The temple faces eastwards, aligning the sanctums of the Shiva and Pampa Devi temples to the sunrise; a large gopuram marks its entrance. The superstructure is a pyramidal tower with pilastered storeys on each of which is artwork including erotic sculptures.The gopuram leads into a rectangular court that ends in another, smaller gopuram dated to 1510 CE. To its south side is a 100-column hall with Hindu-related reliefs on all four sides of each pillar.Connected to this public hall is a community kitchen, a feature found in other major Hampi temples. A channel is cut into the rock to deliver water to the kitchen and the feeding hall. The courtyard after the small gopuram has dipa-stambha (lamp pillar) and Nandi.

                                                       The courtyard after the small gopuram leads to the main mandapa of the Shiva temple, which consists of the original square mandapa and a rectangular extension composed of two fused squares and sixteen piers built by Krishnadevaraya. The ceiling of the open hall above the mandapa is painted, showing the Shaivism legend relating to Shiva-Parvati marriage; another section shows the legend of Rama-Sita of the Vaishnavism tradition.A third section depicts the legend of the love god Kama shooting an arrow at Shiva to get him interested in Parvati, and the fourth section shows the Advaita Hindu scholar Vidyaranya being carried in a procession. According to George Michell and other scholars, the details and colour hues suggest all the ceiling paintings are from a 19th-century renovation, and the themes of the original paintings are unknown. The mandapa pillars have outsized yalis, mythical animal melding the features of a horse, lion and other animals with an armed warrior riding it—a characteristic Vijayanagara feature.

The sanctum of the temple has a mukha-linga; a Shiva linga with a face embossed with brass.The Virupaksha temple also has smaller shrines for two aspects of Parvati-Pampa and Bhuvaneshwari to the north of the main sanctum.Bhuvaneshwari shrine is of Chalukyan architecture and it uses granite instead of pot stone. The compound has a northern gopura, smaller than the eastern gopura, that opens to the Manmatha tank and a pathway to the river with stone reliefs related to the Ramayana.To the west of this tank are shrines of Shaktism and Vaishnavism traditions, such as those for Durga and Vishnu respectively.Some of the shrines on this pilgrim's path were whitewashed in the 19th century under orders of the British India officer F.W. Robinson, who sought to restore the Virupaksha temple complex; whitewashing of this cluster of historic monuments has continued as a tradition.

                                                              According to local tradition, the Virupaksha is the only temple that continued to be a gathering place of Hindus and frequented by pilgrims after the destruction of Hampi in 1565. The temple attracts large crowds; an annual fête with a chariot procession to mark the marriage of Virupaksha and Pampa is held in spring, as is the solemn festival of Maha Shivaratri. The temple has attracted criticism from tourists for its treatment of resident elephant, Lakshmi, who lives at the back of the temple in a narrow alleyway.

Krishna temple, market, Narasimha and linga:

                                                                The Krishna temple, also called Balakrishna temple, on the other side of Hemakuta hill, is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) south of Virupaksha temple. It is dated to 1515 CE; this part of the Hampi complex is called Krishnapura in inscriptions.In front of the ruined temple is a long market street, also referred to locally as the bazaar. Between the colonnaded stone shop ruins is a broad road that allowed chariots to transport goods to and from the market, and hosted ceremonial functions and festive celebrations. To the north of this road and middle of the market is a large Pushkarani—a public utility-stepped water tank with an artistic pavilion in its centre. Next to the tank is a public hall (mandapa) for people to sit.

                                                                          

                                                           The temple opens to the east; it has a gateway with reliefs of all ten avatars of Vishnu starting with Matsya at the bottom. Inside is the ruined temple for Krishna and small, ruined shrines for goddesses.The temple compound is layered into mandapas, including an outer and an inner enclosure. The compound has two gopuram entrances. Inside, a 25 (5x5)-bay open mandapa leads to a 9 (3x3)-bay enclosed mandapa.The original image of Balakrishna (baby Krishna) in its sanctum is now in a Chennai museum. A modern road passes in front of the eastern gopura, linking Kamalapuram to Hampi. The western gopuram has friezes of battle formation and soldiers.

                                                                    South of the Krishna temple's exterior are two adjacent shrines, one containing the largest monolithic Shiva Linga and the other with the largest monolithic Yoga-Narasimha avatar of Vishnu in Hampi. The 3 metres (9.8 ft) Shiva Linga stands in water in a cubical chamber and has three eyes sketched on its top. South of this is the shrine for a 6.7 metres (22 ft)-high Narasimha—the man-lion avatar of Vishnu—seated in a yoga position. The Narasimha monolith originally had goddess Lakshmi with him, but it shows signs of extensive damage and a carbon-stained floor—evidence of attempts to burn the shrine down. The statue has been cleaned and parts of the shrine have been restored.

Achyutaraya temple and market complex:

                                                                    The Achyutaraya temple, also called the Tiruvengalanatha temple, is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of Virupaksha temple and a part of its sacred centre is close to the Tungabhadra River. It is referred to be in Achyutapura in inscriptions and is dated to 1534 CE. It is one of the four largest complexes in Hampi. The temple is unusual because it faced north. It is dedicated to Vishnu.In Vijayanagara times, the temple was traditionally approached from the river, first past a ceremonial tank then along the market street with a broad road. The temple had an outer gopuram leading into a courtyard with a 100-column hall and an inner gopuram leading to the Vishnu temple. On each side of each pillar in the 100-column hall are reliefs of avatars of Vishnu; other deities such as Shiva, Surya, Durga; scenes of daily life—rishi, amorous couples, jokers; people in yoga asanas; people in namaste poses; and Vijayanagara emblems.

                                                

The temple gateway shows the Vijayanagara dynastic emblems; a boar from Varaha, a sword, the sun and the moon. The temple and the market street are ruined but their layout suggests it was a major market with streets provided for chariot traffic.