The Lost City Hampi A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE (Part 1)

Can you smell the royal fragrance in the air?

Can you hear the foot movements of Elephants and Horses?

Can you hear the beats of drums?

Entered into the Royal enclosure our own King – His Highness “Sri Krishnadevaraya”

The king waved at the crowd and then he also waved his hands at me

We started smiling as we saw - Sri Krishnadevaraya bow to almost everyone….

Imagine.... ….Hampi to its glory.

Isn’t it a visual treat?

Yes we can only visualise His Highness "Sri Krishnadevaraya "who was the emperor of Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529 AD

Hampi Today,

That was Sri Krishnadevaraya’s room

The ruins of the mighty empire Vijayanagara

Today I want to share with you all the glorious tale of the mighty empire "Vijayanagara "

Let’s head back to 13th century.

Vijayanagara means the “City of Victory “ founded By Harihara and Bukka Raya popularly known as Hakka and Bukka (also known as Sangama brothers)

Although the founders were Hakka and Bukka , Shri Vidyaranya the religious teacher of Sangama Dynasty took an active part in establishing Vijayanagara Empire, which is why Vijayanagara was infact earlier known as Vidyanagara named after Shri Vidyaranya

The first ruler of Vijayanagara was Harihara better known as Hakka who ruled from 1336 to 1356 AD

Sri Krishnadevaraya ruled Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529 AD.

Vijayanagara empire today ….the silent remains

Temples

Beauty of ruins.

Standing tall from centuries

Yes my second post on Hampi which is coming soon ,will be about Virupaksha Temple.
The Dravidian style architectural piece sits on the banks of Tungabadra river

A bird’s eye view of understanding about the Vijayanagara Empire ..

Lets start with Queen's bath

Queens Bath was constructed for the royal women of Vijayanagara empire,

An Indo-Islamic style Architectural excellence challenging today's youth

Queen's bath was destroyed when Sultans attacked Hampi

Octagonal bath for the Royal kings and Queens of Vijayanagara

There are many gopurams / Pavilions and temples inside Hampi which are totally empty without any worshiping Idol

During the reign of Sri Krishnadevaraya, Gold and Diamonds were sold on the streets .The Sultans of Bijapur looted all the wealth and destroyed the Hindu Temples

The Temples of Hampi today

So Where are the Idols gone ?

Hampi was the capital of the powerful Vijayanagara Empire from AD 1343 to 1565 AD

The city flourished between 14 and 16 century until 1565 AD

In the battle of Talikota (Hindu Vijayanagara and Islamic Deccan Sultanates) Vijayanagara was captured and destroyed by the Muslims - Deccan Sultanates

The battle ended with the defeat of Vijayanagara , and extended Muslim rule , where the Muslims destroyed almost all the Hindu Idols , Some of them were Looted

The silent remains and complete darkness inside most of the small temples in Hampi

Royal Enclosure where Dasara procession took place during the reign of Sri Krishnadevaraya.

Glimpse of the Royal Enclosure , today .

One can only imagine how Dasara procession took place here.

The stone gate of the Royal Enclosure .

Stage for Drama and Dance inside the Royal Enclosure

Sri Krishnadevaraya was supposed to take seat on the Mahanavami Dibba along with his royal family to witness the Dasara procession and celebrations which took place at the Royal Enclosure

Pyramid shaped Dibba / Stone Platform is rised to a height of 8 mts

Me sitting on Sri Krishnadevaraya's seat .

Feel like a Queen

Yes it feels so great to be a part of this wonderful state .

A state which was established by Shri Vidyaranya and ruled by Sri Krishnadevaraya..

My mom..

I can remember this song ..ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ

Amidst the ruins there were magic musical stone pillars

"The Magic of stone pillars " the finest sculpture you will ever find anywhere in the world

Singing the architectural glory of Vijayanagara kingdom , the 50+ Musical Stone pillars of Hampi

Yes , true when you tap the pillar they produce music .There are 7 types of Musical pillars producing 7 different types of notes “Sa ,Ri , Ga , Ma , Pa , Da , Ni “

ನೀನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬಂಧಿಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿತವಾಗಿ ಹಾಡು Translates to "pls come here and sing once"

Listening