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Hampi
The northern part of Karnataka has a village called Hampi, which is located within the remains of the previous capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is one of the important spiritual centers which are home to the Virupaksha temple as well as other monuments. These magnificent monuments are recorded in the UNESCO World Heritage Site as the Monuments at Hampi. The city is constructed by the banks of River Tungabhadra. The village is traditionally known as Kishkinda-kshetra or Bhaskara-kshetra, Pampa-kshetra which are obtained from the name Pampa. Pampa is the old name of Tungabhadra River. This place has also been recognized by the names such as Vijayanagar and Virupakshapura, derived from the name Virupaksha, who was a deity of the Vijayanagara rulers. The name “Hampi” is the English form of the Kannada Hampe.
History
There are evidences that make people believe that the region of Hampi was under the Ashokan Kingdom during the period of 3rd century BC. These proofs are the presence of Ashoka’s minor rock edicts in the regions of Nittur and Udegolan, both of which are in the Bellary districy. The evacuation site also helped to discover the Brahmi inscription and a terracotta seal which dates back to the 2nd century AD. The historical settlements that were first established in Hampi were during 1 CE. The region was perhaps in the hands of the Kampili chiefs before Vijayanagar kings came into power. This place of Kampili is a small town located 19 kms eastwards from Hampi. The village of Hampi was one of the important areas of the empire of Vijayanagaran from the period ranging from 1343 to 1565 before it was finally captured by the Deccan Muslim confederacy. The reasons behind choosing Hampi was its calculated location with the furious Tungabhadra River on one side and surrounded by huge hills on the other remaining sides. The site is unarguably historical and architectural. The geography of the region includes large stones which were used to construct the statues of Hindu deities. This area also heads in the list of the Archaeological Survey of India, who carries out periodical researches and excavations for the discovery of new temples and artifacts.
Temples
There is some significant and well known Vedanta mythology inside the temples at Hampi which are active places of worship even today. Some of the most visited temples at Hampi are:
- Malyavanta Raghunathaswamy temple which has an ancient style of architectural excellence and is around three km down the roadside. The inner walls of this temple flaunt an intricate design of fish and marine organisms.
- Virupaksha Temple is also known as the Pampavathi temple is one of the oldest temples located in the heart of the bazaars at Hampi. It marks the beginning of Vijayanagar kingdom. Its entrance tower is about 49 meters high. Besides having the magnificent statues of Shiva, this temple also has temples of the statues of Bhuvaneshwari and Pampa.
- Hazara Rama Temple Complex: This temple, now in ruins, is very famous for the intricate designs from the Hindu religion and a beautiful courtyard which is accompanied by the well maintained gardens. This place is renowned for the intricate carvings and inscriptions written, which deliver a lot about the mighty stories of Ramayana which are more than about 1000 in number.
- Krishna Temple Complex: This place has been recently dug to find out the interesting facts and the restoration work is still under progress.
- Vittala Temple Complex: This is probably the most famous among all the ruins that are present at Hampi. This place has an iconic stone chariot in the neighborhood of the temple that is a mark or symbol of Karnataka Tourism. In order to provide lighting facilities during the dusk, the area has been provided with floodlights recently which add to the beauty of the architectural excellence. This temple also flaunts the musical pillars. The British wanted to check the mystery behind the musical pillars and hence they had cut two pillars to see whether there was anything producing the sound. But they could find nothing other than the hollow empty pillars. Even today, the remains of the cut pillars can be seen. The road that is the pathway to the temple was once upon a time a market place that was used for trading of horses. The remains of the market can be seen on the either side of the roads. The temple has the images of the Persian men who were trading in horses.
How to Reach
By Air
The nearest linking airline facility to Hampi is that of the Belgaum airport which at a distance of approx 270 km.
Air Deccan (now Kingfisher Red) provides flights that connect Bangalore and Mumbai directly. After this, a taxi can be hired to the city of Hampi which has a pocket pinch of around Rs.2500.
The Bangalore airport is at a distance of 350 km from Hampi.
By Train
The nearest railway station that leads to the city of Hampi is at Hospet, which is at a distance of about 13km from the place. There are in totality 10 daily trains along with 5 special trains which are available one or two times per week.
By Road
The village is connected to by the roads to Bangalore. KSRTC buses run regularly from Hampi to Hospet. Auto rickshaws or taxi can be hired for travelling purposes. By car, the route of NH4 to Chitradurga via Tumkur and Hiriyur can be taken. Then changing road to NH13 to Hospet, via Kudligi and Mariyamanahalli, to Hampi can be followed.
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