Hampi, the seat of the great Pampapati or Virupaksha temple of Lord Siva, the patron-deity and family God of the Kings of Vijayanagar, stands on the southern bank of river Tungabhadra in the Bellary district and is about nine miles from the town of Hospet in Karnataka. It was the oldest and the most sacred temple of Vijayanagar. It has miraculously escaped destruction, which was the fate of Vijayanagar after the battle of Talikota in 1565 A.D.

            This great and ancient temple of Hampi originally had a small village around it. Long before the grand Vijayanagar Empire, it was a spot where there was nothing but nature in one of her wildest moods. On one side there were huge boulders and lofty hills scattered and on the other there were green trees and grass. River Tungabhadra flowed nearby.The majesty of huge tumbled boulders, the river, isolation, solitude and wild nature attracted a number of sages and ascetics to this spot.  Sage Vidyaranya used the place for his meditation. Pampa is another name for the river Tungabhadra. Pampadevi is considered the daughter of Brahma and she performed penance on the Humakuta Hill. Visvesvara appeared before her and made her his consort. Deriving inspiration from the celebrated sage and philosopher, Madhava, Harihara and Bukka, two of the five sons of Sangama, laid  the foundation of the city in 1336 A.D. and the kingdom of Vijayanagar was named after their Guru Vidyaranya. They made Pampapati or Virupaksha their patron deity and family god. On the northern bank of the river was the fort of Anegundi and Vijayanagar was on the southern bank. For about three hundred years Vijayanagar empire remained as a bulwark against the onrush of alien culture and ideas, and stood up in support of the traditional religion and culture of the country. Vijayanagar became the Dakshina Kasi and Virupaksha was famous as one of the 108 Divya Kshetras of Bharat. The first dynasty of Vijayanagar is named after Sangama, who was the father of Harihara I and Bukka 1.Bukka I was succeeded by Harihara II who assumed imperial titles. He is eulogized for making sixteen great gifts to various temples situated in places ranging from Kurnool to Kumbakonam. He extended his sway over the whole of South India. He was a devout worshipper of Lord Siva, Virupaksha, though tolerant of other faiths. There were constant fights between the Vijayanagar Empire and the Badami Kingdom. There were nine kings in his first Sangama dynasty which had come to power after the decline of Hoysalas and Yadavas and it remained in power from 1336 to 1486 A.D.The last Saluva ruler was deposed by Vira Narasimha, Narsa Naik’s son of the Taluva dynasty who was succeeded by his younger half-brother, Krishna Deva Raya, the greatest among Vijayanagar rulers and one of the most distinguished kings of India. In his reign, Vijayanagar Empire was at its zenith of glory and prosperity. He was a great patron of Sanskrit and Telugu literature and he himself wrote his great work Amuktamalyada in Telugu in which he refers to his other five works in Sanskirt. In his court there were eight famous poets called the Ashtagiggajas and the Poet Laureate was Peddana. Dhurjati was another famous poet. It is said that Krishna Deva Raya desired to know from other poets as to how it was that Dhurjati could bring extraordinary sweetness to his poetic compositions. One of the court poets, Tenali Ramakrishna, a humorous writer and the author of “Panduranga Mahatyam” investigated the “secret” an reported in the open court that the sweetness was traceable to the constant contact of Poet Dhurjati with the sweet lips of his mistress! On Krishna Deva Raya’s death, his half-brother Achyuta Raya ascended the throne. After Achyuta Raya came Venkata Raya I and then Sadasiva Raya, but the power was wih Rama Raya, the Minister. Rama Raya was the virtual ruler and he possessed great abilities. He became over-confident and haughty and by his changing alliances, he alienated the sympathies of the people of his neighbouring states. The Muslim States of Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmednagar and Bidar formed a coalition; the long-standing hostility ended in a combined attack on Vijayanagar and on the 23^rd January, 1665 A.D., the battle of Talikotta was fought near the villages of Raksas and Tagdi. It resulted in the defeat of the Vijayanagar armies. Hussain Nizam Shah killed Rama Raya and the invading army enriched itself fabulously by plunder. The highly developed and magnificent city of Vijayanagar was systematically destroyed by the invading army. From the third day after the battle up to the next five months the destruction was carried out relentlessly and completely. “Never perhaps in the history of the world had such havoc been wrought and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plentitude of  prosperity one day, and on the next day seized, pillaged and reduced to ruins”. The UNESCO reports – nestle within them almost every highlight of classical Indian architecture. Palaces, temples, marketplaces, watch towers, stables, baths and monoliths lie scattered amidst enormous boulders, which complement the rugged look and historic feel of the place. To complete the picture is the Tungabhadra river, its flow providing a much-needed sense of movement in the ambience that has remained frozen in time for long. Built as the capital of the Vijaynagar empire, Hampi has all the elements that would make any royal proud of his abode. Horses, elephants and dancing girls carved in stone, musical pillars, cusped arches, a lotus-shaped fountain, a stepped water tank, an underground chamber, a massive chariot. The ruins that lay in about 25 sq km area elicit exclamations after every short distance. The Virupaksha Temple has a nine-tiered 50-metre gopuram. The Vithala temple has 56 stone pillars that produce musical notes when tapped. Then there is the 6.7 meter Narasimha monolith. The jewels may have been plundered, the city abandoned a couple of hundred years after it was founded, but the grandeur of the last Vijayanagar capital has to be seen to be believed even today.

*Freelance Writer

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and not necessarily reflect the views of PIB.