Hampi Diaries – A Guided Tour of the Sacred Center

by Puru

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Jan 5, 2013

Hampi_Diaries_Hemakuta-Virupaksha_Temple

Our appointment was at 9:30 AM with our tour guide Krishna, who we had met the evening before. So at 9:30 AM sharp, we reached Virupaksha Temple where we were supposed to meet him. We were a total of six, us, a Swedish couple and two guys from Hyderabad. One of the Hyderabadis turned out to be a friend who I used to know during my engineering days in Chennai; it’s a small world indeed.

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Virupaksha Temple

Virupaksha Temple, from where the Guided tours usually start

Our tour started with the Royal Ganesha, a seven meter high giant idol of Lord Ganesha carved out of a single rock. The temple was built around the idol. However, it was not a temple anymore, as the guide explained, Hindus do not worship broken idols.

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Royal Ganesha

Temple of the Royal Ganesha

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Royal Ganesha idol

The Royal Ganesha

After the Royal Ganesha, we went to see what is interestingly called the Mustard Ganesha. Since the Royal Ganesha was reserved only for the royalty, a mustard merchant got this Ganesha made so that common people could visit it and have darshan. This Ganesha was unique in a way, if you behind the idol, you can see the figure of a woman at the back. The son Ganehsa actually sits on the lap of his mother Parvati in this depiction.

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A view of the Spice Market from the Balakrishna Temple

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Balakrishna Temple

The Inner sanctum of the Balakrishna Temple

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Carvings_Balakrishna-Temple

Beautiful Carvings inside the Balakrishna Temple

From the Mustard Ganesha, we went to the Balakrishna Temple, an exquisitely carved temple which dedicated to Baby Krishna which was constructed to commemorate Krishnadevaraya’s victory over Odissa in 1513 AD. The temple had beautiful mandapas supported on intricately carved pillars depicting flowers, mythical animals and scenes from Krishna’s life. The gopura had reliefs of Vijayanagara armies chasing the vanquished enemy.

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Lakshmi Narasimha

Lakshmi Narasimha

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Vadala-Shiva

Badavalinga

The Lakshmi Narasimha and Badavalinga Shiva were the next two stops we took before starting off to the Royal enclosure. Narasimha was another giant and impressive idol of Vishnu in his Narasimha avatar. Sheltered under the giant Sheshanag, Narasimha looked very fierce. It is said that a figure of Lakshmi was originally sitting on the lap of Narasimha, but now it was almost completely gone with just a beautifully sculptured hand around Narasimha’s waist left intact. The Siva was a huge lingam said to be commissioned by a poor old woman with her life’s savings. The lingam was intact with its base permanently under water.

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Musical-Pillars

Our guide giving a demonstration of the Musical pillars

From here we started towards the Royal Enclosure which lies around 3-4 km away. But in the way, there was another thing to be seen – Musical pillar. We passed by many ruined temples and buildings in various states of disrepair and stopped at a roadside temple. The sanctum was locked up and was almost tumbling down and only the front porch was open for visitors. Here the guide showed us stone columns which gave musical sounds of tabla and ghatakam when tapped. It indeed worked and we were left amazed at this little piece of master-craftsmanship from ancient India!

Hampi_Diaries_Guided_Tour-Underground Temple

Underground Shiva Temple

The last stop before we entered the Royal Enclosure was the Underground Temple. Well, it is not an Underground Temple as per se. Just that, the surrounding ground level has risen, sinking the temple below and hence the name. The temple was good in the middle of a lush green lawn. But a bigger part of it was under not so clean water so we did not venture much inside. There is another temple in the vicinity called the Hazaar Rama Temple but for some strange reasons, the guide decided to give it a miss.

Next in our Hampi Diaries – The Royal Enclosure …

You can find the map of the sacred center here.

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For more and better resolution photographs, please go to Hampi Diaries – A Guided Tour of the Sacred Area, a set on Flickr.

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About the Author

Puru

Puru is an IT Project Manager from Pune, India and an avid blogger. He is passionate about travel, photography, cinema and books. He blogs on Shadows Galore, Art House Cinema, The Mutinous Indian and Antarnaad.

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14 Comments

  1. Joe Zach

    I am always i awe of the fine work that they could do on these rocks so many years ago.

    Reply
    • Puru

      True. Given the fact that they only have the very basic tools to achieve this feat.

      Reply
  2. C. Suresh

    Great pics and post Puru! You should not hv missed the Hazari Rama temple, however! The carvings on the outside of the walls of the temple (of the Ramayan, I think!) are simply outstanding!

    Reply
    • Puru

      Thanks Suresh. How could I miss that. The next day we went again. Coming up soon 🙂

      Reply
  3. Arnab Maity

    I am eagerly awaiting the next one now! Loving your Hampi diaries..

    Reply
    • Puru

      Thanks Arnab. It means a lot 🙂

      Reply
  4. Shovon Chowdhury

    I’m not feeling very pro-religion right now, but your pictures are lovely.

    Reply
    • Puru

      Thanks Shovon. Look at them as a work of art, nothing else. Even I am not very religious, but ruins are my weakness 😉

      Reply
  5. dNambiar

    This is a place I really, really want to see. I’ve been wanting to go see those musical pillars and hear the sounds for myself. Thank you Puru for the sneak peek. 🙂
    Happy 2013 to you.

    Reply
    • Puru

      I am sure you will like it. Hampi is a wonderful place. And yes, Happy New Year to you too 🙂

      Reply
  6. bhavana

    It is becoming more and more magical, Puru. Now I want to know history and significance of Hampi. I wonder if there is a post on it in your site. Off to search.

    Reply
    • Puru

      I hope you liked what you found. I like everything about Hampi, except the battle of Talikota.

      Reply
  7. tyanajones

    Nice pictures and of course great post too..i have never been there but this post prompt me to visit Hampi once in a lifetime.

    Reply
    • Puru

      Thank you 🙂 The ruins of Hampi are a glimpse into a magnificent civilization .. You will love this place. Try to go there in winters though as its a little hot out there.

      Reply

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