Hampi Site

In News

• Recently, the Vice-president of India visited monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka.

Key Points

• About:
  • It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also called the “World’s Largest Open-air Museum”.
  • It served as the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire.
  • It is also known as Pampa Kshetra, Kishkindha kshetra and even Bhaskara kshetra.
  • These names were derived from the famous River Pampa, the erstwhile name of Tungabhadra River.
  • One of the unique features of temples at Hampi is the wide chariot streets flanked by the row of pillared mandapas.
  • By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.
• Famous places: 

• Krishna temple complex, Narasimha, Ganesa, Hemakuta group of temples, Achyutaraya temple complex, Vitthala temple complex, Pattabhirama temple complex, Lotus Mahal complex, etc.

About Vijayanagar Empire

• Vijayanagara or “city of victory” is the name of both a city and an empire.
  • Historians use the term Vijayanagara Empire, contemporaries described it as Karnataka Samrajyamu.
  • Important Contemporaries: On their northern frontier, the contemporary rulers were Sultans of the Deccan and the Gajapati rulers of Orissa.
• It was founded by two brothers Harihar and Bukka in 1336 CE in the wake of the rebellions against Tughluq rule in the region between the river Krishna and Tungabhadra.

• Capital City: Hampi.
  • The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie.
  • Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• It was ruled by four dynasties
  • Sangama (1336 to 1485 CE): Founded by Harihara I.
  • Saluva (1485 to 1503 CE): Founded by Saluva Narasimha.
  • Tuluva (1491 to 1570 CE): Founded by Tuluva Narasa Nayaka and the most famous king was Krishnadeva Raya.
  • Aravidu (1542 to 1646 CE): Founded by Tirumala.
• Important Features
  • The most striking feature about the location of Vijayanagara is the natural basin formed by the river Tungabhadra which flows in a north-easterly direction.
  • Special attention was given to agriculture and land revenue was the main source of income.
  • As this is one of the aridest zones of the peninsula, elaborate arrangements were made to store rainwater and conduct it to the city.
    • The most important such tank was built in the early years of the fifteenth century and is now called the Kamalapuram tank.
    • Water from this tank irrigated fields nearby and was also conducted through a channel to the “royal centre”.
    • The Hiriya canal is also one of the most prominent waterworks which drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigated the cultivated valley that separated the “sacred centre” from the “urban core”. It was apparently built by kings of the Sangama dynasty.
  • Temple architecture flourished during the Vijayanagar empire and combined the architectural features of Cholas, Hoysalas, Pandyas and Chalukyas and the Indo-Islamic style of Bijapur.
    • A mythical creature of Yali (Horse) is engraved in temple pillars.
    • A central mandap called Kalyan Mandap was incorporated for marriage ceremonies.
    • The monolithic carvings of Nandi and the rock-cut idol of Narasimha on Shesh (snake) are masterpieces of their architecture.
  • The rulers had a well organised administrative system with the King having all the powers.
• Decline
  • It began with the death of Krishnadeva Raya in 1529.
  • The kingdom came to an end in 1565, when Ramrai was defeated at Talikota by the joint efforts of Adil Shahi, Nizam Shahi, Qutub Shahi and Barid Shahi.
• Recent Developments: In February 2021, the Karnataka government issued a notification creating its 31^st district named Vijayanagara.
  • It was carved out from Ballari under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.

• Chronology of Discovery and Conservation
  • 1800: Colin Mackenzie visits Vijayanagara.
  • 1856: Alexander Greenlaw takes the first detailed photographs of archaeological remains at Hampi.
  • 1876: J F Fleet begins documenting the inscriptions on the temple walls at the site.
  • 1902: Conservation begins under John Marshall.
  • 1986: Hampi was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Source: PIB