Living the past glory!

After celebrating five vibrant days of Ganesh Chaturthi with family and relatives in Goa, my wife and I felt the urge to discover a place which was never on top of the exploration list. Three names floated on the platter – Gokarna, Coorg and Hampi.

Since my whole family wanted to see Gokarna together, we skipped it this time for a family trip later. So, Gokarna was out, and Coorg stepped up, until my niece’s friend suggested October is the best time to visit Coorg, as September might bring in heavy rains. That left us with Hampi, and the last option suddenly became the first.

Boarding a bus from Mapusa and after almost 12 hours of bumpy ride (especially between Ankola and Hubli), we reached Hospete at 6:45 am, which is the nearest junction town, about 12-13 kms before Hampi. A day before my journey, I informed the Hotel’s manager that I’ll check in early and since it was a weekday, she quickly agreed.

The Rocking City. Literally.

Once freshening up, we hopped onto a local rickshaw to explore the city. The open ambience of the three-wheeler allowed us to soak in an otherworldly landscape, looking at it we were outrightly overwhelmed. Small, medium, large, extra-large, even extra-extra-large size rocks filled our eyes. All born from the same source - granite. Some boulders carry the weight of stones nearly fifty times larger than themselves, yet they stand firm against the test of time. At one point, we were tempted to count them, but each time our eyes shifted, their number multiplied. These weren’t just rocks but surreal boulders that enhance and define the entire Hampi landscape.

 

The Photo-Scenic City

Beyond the rocky terrain, Hampi mesmerizes visitors with its lush surrounds. While the northern Hampi drapes itself in emerald paddy fields, its southern side envelops itself with banana groves and sugarcane plantation, offering photogenic vistas that shift with light, from dawn till dusk.

The hinterlands invite you to experience its serenity laced with spirituality. It seems the scenario is almost frozen in time because farming that thrived in the 16^th century continues to persist in the 21^st as well.

  

The City of Stories

But Hampi is more than rocks and fields. It’s a living museum of triumph and tragedy. A city that is seemingly lost in time yet lifting its head up to whisper the story of popularity and pain. It is not just a mere city, but a history engraved into granite boulders.

  

Bond with Ramayana

Long before the region earned its current name, it was already an integral part of India’s epic composition – Ramayana. Legend says that Lord Rama’s supreme devotee – Hanuman was born here at Anjanadri Betta, which was part of the Kishkinda Kshetra. 

Chanting Jai Shree Ram, we climbed 575 steps, barefoot, to seek blessings of the divine devotee. The route, carved through boulders, took us to a summit where the Vanarsena were everywhere – swinging from trees, perched on cliffs, waiting near the prasadam kshetra, as if protecting the sacred land. From here, the betta offered panoramic view of the flourishing village below, a sight as divine as the place itself.

  

  

Not far from here lies the famous Shabari Caves. Located near Pampa Sarovar, it is believed that Lord Ram and Lakshman sat here and ate berries, picked and tasted by their ardent elderly devotee Shabari. Beside the cave is a temple of Devi Vijayalaxmi, a quiet and pleasant place of worship that enjoys the view of a pond along with the caves, which dwells crocodiles inside its womb. 

 
A few kilometers away is the Valikote Cave, hidden within Vali’s bastion. It was 4:30 pm when we reached the site. The place was haunted by silence. At first, we hesitated to go further. As throughout the journey, we had chatted about Hampi's dear residents - Leopards and Sloth Bears with our rickshaw driver. When we asked if we might spot any of these here, he casually replied, “yes”.

The steep, slippery slope route led us to a staircase laden with wild vegetation, a scene that invited thoughts filled with leopards and bears. Every step of ours carried the weight of fear until we reached the entrance where we saw some footwears. We saw Durga temple, where two priests were sitting on its staircase. Nearby, was a Banyan tree filled with coconuts wrapped in either red or green colour cloth.

  

Vali’s Cave was said to be another 250 meters away from the temple, but the route ahead carried the same eerie aura. Without any second thoughts, we skipped our plan and decided to walk back towards the parking lot. It was fair decision as the place had parked a priceless view – vast paddy fields guarded by granite boulders.

  

Next in line was Shri Raghunatha Temple, located atop Malyavanta Hill, built by King Krishnadevaraya. The temple, dedicated to Lord Ram, is adorned with carvings depicting the immortal artistry of a bygone era.  It is believed that Ram & Lakshman had come here in search of Sita Maa after she was abducted by Ravana. Both stayed here till the monsoon season and later marched ahead to Lanka with Hanuman’s vanarsena.

The priest inside told us the idols of Ram & Lakshman are depicted without their weapon while Sita ji is standing next to them. Hanumanji’s hands, often seen in Anjali Mudra position, are open, as if awaiting his Lord’s command. Outside the main sanctum, there were two more priests reciting Ramcharitmanas. When one takes a break, the other one continues – a ritual that goes 365 days a year; filling the place with divine rhythm.

  

  

Behind the temple, we came across a Mahadev temple carved out of a big boulder, a wonderful piece of art depicting high-level of intelligence that was gone into its making. When Lord Ram arrived at this temple, Lakshman used his divine power to remove water from a nearby rock by striking an arrow. There’s a cleft on a boulder nearby which talks about this legend.

   

Sipping this fascinating legend, we walked further to experience a view that only this divine land can offer. Everywhere you look, you find traces of Ramayana - from Anjanedri Betta to the Shabari and
Vali Caves. The Malyavanta hill overlooks them all, quietly presenting pieces of history beneath a golden sunset.

From a small shrine to a majestic temple

In the city of temples – Hampi, there are very few unruined shrines where daily Puja is still performed and devotees gather to offer their prayers. One of those is the Virupaksha Temple. Historians believe the temple existed long before the Vijayanagara Empire was founded. What began as modest place of worship dedicated to Lord Shiva later flourished as one of the grandest temples during the empire’s golden age. 

  

By sheer coincidence we met Virupaksha, our guide, who introduced us to the magnificent Virupaksha temple complex. Right from Trimukh Nandi at the entrance, representing Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh, to a protruding small stone that devotees touch their fingers for blessings; from the temple’s gentle giant elephant – Laxmi, to a hidden cave where inverted shadow of the temple appears. Every corner had a story to tell. Even the ceiling of sanctum sanctorum bore carvings depicting different forms of Lord Vishnu.

  

Bigger is better

Overlooking the temple stands the massive finely executed couchant Eduru Basavanna or the Monolithic Nandi, which is just 700m away from the temple. According to Archaeologist - Dr. C. S. Vasudevan, it measures approximately 750 metres long and 35 metres wide. Carved out of a single boulder, the sculptors seemed to have put life into their stone with their magical hands, which even after centuries make its presence both awe-inspiring and real. 

Inspired by this great structure were two more monolithic wonders - Kadale Kalu (Gram Seed) Ganesha and Sasive Kalu (Mustard Seed) Ganesha. Located not far from the Virupaksha temple, these idols stand at 4.5 metres and 2.4 metres tall respectively.

    

Similar grand structures can be found near Mahanavami dibba, a prominent place once hosted Dussehra celebrations. Among them are Laxmi Narasimha and Badavi Linga. While the Laxmi Narasimha statue was partially destroyed during the Bahamani Sultanate’s invasion, the Badavi Linga survived the strike

 

Looking at these magnificent creations, it is evident that there was a trend of crafting larger-than-life structures in Hampi, reflecting the extraordinary artistry of the ruling kingdom.

The Missing Deity

“Dev devharyat nahi, dev nahi devharyat”, (means God doesn’t reside in the shrine) this line from the 1970 Marathi classic Zala Mahar Pandharinath, I started to sing when we visited the incredible Vittala Temple. 

To reach there, we took a ten-seater electric rickshaw driven by local women and operated under the supervision of the Archaeological department. The route she took was once a bustling bazaar, where traders from across the world came to buy and sell local produce, spices, silver, and gold. Today, the bazaar’s route erupts in silence to tell its invasion story only if you pause to listen. 

As the rickshaw moved further, the temple’s gopura appeared, beckoning us to experience the grandeur
that time could not erase. Built by Devraya II and later added value by Krishnadevaraya in the 15^th Centurty, the Vittala Temple complex sits near the banks of the Tungabhadra River. Within its sprawling campus you’ll find gateway towers, halls and shrines.

 

  

One of the most remarkable features is The Stone Chariot, right opposite the temple, a shrine carved to resemble a temple-chariot mounted on wheels, which became one of the visual icons of Hampi and India’s fifty-rupee note after demonetization.

The other extraordinary aspect of this temple is the musical pillars in the Ranga Mandapa. There are sixty-odd granite pillars which, when gently tapped, resonate with notes of different percussion instrument.

  

The hardest part is the sanctum no longer holds the original idol. You can sense the void in that darkest zone, the silence of the missing deity. When news of the Bahamani invasion spread, the temple caretakers quietly relocated the idol to an unknown place. Our guide told us, it’s now 328 kms away, standing silently at its new home – Padharpur, Maharashtra. How true the legend is, one can only wonder.

 

The temple may now be partially ruined but it still holds its history tightly within its wall. Every evening, the sunlight falls upon its surfaces, soothing its invisible wounds.

Today, the shrines, idols, edifices, structures, mandapas, paintings, carvings, pillars, and craftmanship at Hampi – together exclaim its richness through relics that refuse to fade. What was once a thriving city of majestic temples and bustling bazaar has become a city of hauntingly beautiful ruins. Allowing visitors to imagine and relive the past glory.