Dispatches

Hampi

Hampi: A cosmopolitan legacy

Text & photographs by Shashank Shekhar Sinha

 

The Stone Chariot temple, dedicated to Garuda, within the Vitthala temple. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
A bird’s-eye view of the Virupaksha temple and the monuments at Hemakuta Hill. Photo: By Special Arrangement
The Queen’s Bath. It is a pavilion with balconies overlooking a square central pool. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The stepwell at the Royal Enclosure along with an aqueduct. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The double-storeyed gateway and King’s Balance near the Vitthala temple. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
Incarnations of Vishnu and the characteristic horse rider sculptures on piers in the kalyana mandapa within the Vitthala temple complex. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The interior of the Hazara Rama, or Ramachandra, temple, built by Devarya I, with its polished black stone pillars carrying images of Vishnu and scenes from the Ramayana Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
Scenes from the Ramayana on the outer wall of the mandapa of the principal shrine at the Hazara Rama temple. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The Underground Siva temple, which is mostly flooded, lies west of the Hazara Rama temple. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
Two-storeyed Talarigatta Gate, which was built into the fortification wall that enclosed the capital city. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The Lotus Mahal and a watchtower (on the right) in what is popularly, though erroneously, called the Zenana Enclosure. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The Elephant Stables, one of the most impressive courtly structures at Hampi. Photo: Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed
The inner and outer entrance gateways of the Virupaksha temple as seen from the inner courtyard. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The monolithic Lakshmi-Narasimha statue, which Krishnadevaraya commissioned in 1528. It is 6.7 metres high and depicts the man-lion god sitting in a yogic posture on the coils of the cosmic serpent, Sesha Naga. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
The Monolithic Kadalekalu (Bengal gram) Ganesha, so named because the belly looks like unsplit Bengal gram. Photo: Shashank Shekhar Sinha
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