Vijaya Vittala temple :
Location : Hampi , Karnataka , India
Coordinates : 15° 20′ 4″ N, 76° 27′ 44″ E
The vijaya Vittala Temple or Vitthala Temple in Hampi is an ancient monument that is well-known for its beautiful architecture. Among the structures in hampi , it is considered to be one of the largest and the most famous structure in Hampi , which is located near the banks of river tungabadhra in the north eastern part of hampi . The vijaya vittala temple was built during the time of King Devaraya II of Vijayanagara Empire in 15th century .Later several parts of temple were expanded by Sri Krishna devaraya of Vijayanagara empire . The vitthala temple is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
History and Construction :
The Vitthala temple or the Vijaya Vitthala temple is one of the most beautiful and the most brilliant temple built during the Vijayanagara era. It is unclear as to which king actually built the complex but most scholars and historians have analysed it and remarked that it was built mostly during 15th and 16th century. Krishnadevaraya who ruled the vijayangara empire from 1509 to 1529 and it is very much possible that he contributed largely in the construction of the temple.It is also believed that the King Devaraya II(1425 A.D.,1446 A.D.) , The greatest of the Sangama dynasty is the one who started the construction of vijaya vittala temple.
Lord Vittala :
According to the legend, there was once a devoted son called Pundalik. He looked after the needs of his parents. But after getting married He started ill treating his parents. Tired of his tyranny, his parents decided to head for Kashi ,It is said that those who die in Kashi attain salvation and liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Hearing his parents plans, Pundalik and his wife decided to join them. His treachery continued so much that he made his old parents walk throughout the journey while he and his young wife rode on a horse. On the way, they came across the hermitage of the venerable sage, Kukkutswami. Tired of the long journey, the group decided to spend some days there. That night, Pundalik lay awake and witnessed something remarkable. Just before dawn, he saw a group of beautiful, young women dressed in dirty clothes, enter the Sage's hermitage and they went to the prayer room. When they came out, their clothes were spotlessly clean and they disappeared. Pundalik wasn't alarmed seeing this but rather he felt at peace. He kept thinking about the incident the following day. He wanted to be sure that he was not dreaming but had truly witnessed such a glorious incident. So he remained awake again. But this time, he got closer and decided to speak to the women.
"Who are you all?"
"We are Ganga, Yamuna and all the holy rivers of India. People take a dip and bathe in us to wipe away their sins. The impurity of their mind, body and souls make us dirty. That's why you see our clothes in such filthy condition." Pundalik was amazed with their answer.
"But you are the biggest sinner of all because of the way you treat your parents."
This was a rude awakening for Pundalik. He realized his mistake and changed his ways. He served his parents well and looked after all their needs and comforts. It is said that devotion in any form reaches God. Seeing Pundalik's sincere devotion towards his parents, Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased. He left his abode - Vaikauntha Lok to bless Pundalik.
Lord Vishnu reached Pundalik's house and knocked on his door but he was serving food to his parents. Pundalik saw the Lord at his door but his devotion to his parents was so intense that he wanted to finish his duties first and then attend to his guest. He gave the Lord a brick to stand on and asked Him to wait until his duty was completed. The Lord was so pleased with his devotee that He waited for him. When Pundalik came out, he asked God's forgiveness for neglecting Him, but the Lord instead asked him to ask a wish and it would be fulfilled. Pundalik asked that He should remain on earth and bless all His devotees. His wish was granted and the Lord remained behind and is known as Vithoba or the Lord who stands on a brick .
Vittala market :
Before you enter the temple, you can see some ruins . These ruins were once the prosperous markets of Hampi.
The Vijaya Vittala temple market place stretches for as far as you can see, this was the centre where trade flourished. Hampi was probably the richest city of its times. A Telugu description of the richness of Hampi says precious gems were sold on the streets of hampi .
Architecture :
The Vittala Temple is presumed to be the grandest of all temples and monuments in Hampi. The temple is built in Dravidian style . The entire complex houses several temples, enclosures, pavilions and halls.
In front of the temple is the world famous stone chariot or ratha. This is one of the three famous stone chariots in India, the other two being in Konark and Mahabalipuram. It originally enshrined Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. It is built out of giant granite blocks. The base of chariot is carved with mythical battle scenes. A series of concentric floral motifs adorn the wheels of the chariot. The wheels of the chariot can be rotated but the ASI cemented them to avoid the damage caused by the visitors. Two elephants are positioned in front of the chariot which were the replacement of horses .
The complex contains four large mandapas. The south, north and the east ones are still intact.The Ranga Mantapa is one of the main attractions of the Vittala Temple. The large mantapa is renowned for its 56 musical pillars. These musical pillars are also known as SAREGAMA pillars, indicating the musical notes emitted by them. The musical notes and emanated when the pillars are tapped gently.There are a set of main pillars and several sets of minor pillars inside the Mantapa. Each main pillar provides support to the ceiling of the Ranga Mantapa. The main pillars are designed as musical instruments.Every main pillar is surrounded by 7 minor pillars. These 7 pillars emit 7 different musical notes from the representative musical instruments. The notes emanating from these pillars vary in sound quality depending on whether the instrument is a percussion, string or wind instrument.Notable among these structures are the shrine of the Goddess (also known as Devi shrine), Maha Mantapa or main hall (also known as Sabha Mantapa or congregation hall), Ranga Mantapa, Kalyana Mantapa (marriage hall), Utsava Mantapa (festival hall), and the famous Stone chariot .
Damage and Restoration :
Hampi , the capital of vijayanagar kingdom was the last major hindu kingdom . for over 200 years the sulthans have been trying to invade the place but had failed everytime. During the last battle at talikota many sultanates came together against vijayanagara empire. The empires army was too strong for the united alliance of sultanates.Unfortunately a huge mosel division of the vijayanagara empire turned sides and helped sultanates capture the 70 year olf king, whose head was chopped off in the battle field,which lead to chaos and the army accepted defeat. When the news of the defeat reached tiny maharastrian kings and few thiefs arrived at the empire capital hampi to loot . The process took around monhs , eventually the Sultanates came and destroyed the idols and burnt down the entire city.The Vittala Temple is in a partially ruined. The wheels of the chariot were once functional and could be rotated by the people. But some years ago the government cemented the wheels in order to avoid causing damage to them any further. Even tapping the musical pillars to emit musical notes is prohibited, as tapping over the years have caused some damage to the musical pillars of the Ranga Mantapa.Even the road leading to the temple is in a completely ruined state. The road was once the location of a thriving market place. The market was known as the Vittala Bazaar and was famous for horse trading.
Tourism :
With its beautiful architecture , vittala temple which was the famous monument in hampi attracts many tourists all around the world. The Vittala temple in hampi is situated at the end of the ruined vittala bazaar . The place can be easily reached by vehicle from all parts of hampi.The monument opens from 8:30 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening . Try to visit early in the morning , so that you can have a quiet great look on it . If you were the one who likes the historic places and ancient architectures , hampi is the one of the best places to visit. Hampi has been declared as the world heritage site by United Nations Education,Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Location :
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