_________________________________________________________________________________
HAMPI - INDEX
Chapter 6: The Royal Centre
_________________________________________________________________________________
<< Back to Virupakshta Temple
>> Next - The Sacred Center
Hemakunta hill:
Adjacent to Virupaksha temple, is a short climb to scattered ruins of Hemakunta hills. A small path leads to the summit and the view is rewarding. There are "Mandapa's", scattered markets, empty two-tiered bungalow and unique type of temples that resembles more like "Jain temples".
Hemakunta hill offers a spectacular sunset point. But i was there early morning. It was only me and the ruins and no one else around. I had ample time to go around without any restriction.
Hemakunta offers a panoramic view of hills which are littered with giant boulders. The focus of the scene is the soaring high Virupaksha gopuram entrance. It makes a superb Panorama.
There are these makeshift resting points.. You sit under it, and go in those glorious times.
Some sort of Mandap's
The 13 storyed tower, the only thing that stands tall in arena.
Viewpoint from Hemakunta hill. Wonderful time to spend evenings.
The so called Jain Temples..
The haunted bungalow from a distance.
The Jain temples..
Empty ruins of market..
The haunted bungalow from other side..
Then i switched over to some early morning macro shots..
There was no one around, i was scared.. Then i remembered something from Man vs Wild.. when bear grylls traverses through bear territory, he screams and makes noise to let them know that i am around..
Bears generally attack when they are caught by surprise. So the trick is to make noise and hope that he gets away from your path. They always avoid confrontation.
However, this bear was far away. So not much to worry!
We had hired a Rickshaw. He was our driver cum guide. He had an overview of history and culture of Hampi but not much in-depth. Since we'd done an extensive research on Hampi's history and mythology, we probably knew more than he did.
But his rick was attractive!
Our next stop was Kadelakau Ganesha: This is a monolithic structure which is carved out of a single granite boulder and it is 4.5 meters in height and the belly of Ganesha resembles like a Bengal gram seed and hence the name.
The temple can rival roman structures and its pillar art is fantastic. Each pillar has a distinct carving and rise pto 40 metres in height and ganesha idol is looks very beautiful in its original colour.
Just as you enter the temple where is the inscription on right side which mentions the date and architect of this marvelous structure.
The temple is no more in use because the belly of lord Ganesha has been destroyed by those morons who destroyed Vijayanagar in 1565 AD. Hinduism doesn't approve worshipping of damaged idols hence this temple is abandoned.
During its hay days people use the first visit Ganesha temple and only then visit lord Shiva's Virupaksha temple because Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and all paths lead to Lord Shiva find its transit through Lord Ganesha.
During its hay days people use the first visit Ganesha temple and only then visit lord Shiva's Virupaksha temple because Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and all paths lead to Lord Shiva find its transit through Lord Ganesha.
Adjoining is the sivakalesu Ganesha. This is a unique Ganesha idol in which has a serpent viz Cobra tied on his belly. Thanks to the resemblance the giant monolithic Ganesha statue is locally called Sasivekalu(mustard seed)Ganesha. This is located on the southern foothill of the Hemakuta Hill.
In Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is notorious for his food habit. One day he ate so much of food that his tummy almost bursted. He just caught a snake and tied it around his tummy as a belt to save his tummy from bursting.
This monolithic statue carved out of a huge boulder measures about 2.4 meters (8 feet). An open pavilion is build around the statue. According to inscriptions found nearby this pavilion was built by a trader from Chandragiri (in present day Andhra Pradesh) in 1506 AD, in memory of one of the Vijayanagara king – Narasimha II (1491-1505 AD)
This temple was also destroyed morons and you can see the newly installed pillars over here.
No comments:
Post a Comment