As I walked towards Sasivekalu Ganesha temple, it was the continuation of previous day's time machine moment. I have read a lot about Kadlekalu and Sasivekalu Ganesha temple. It took me this many years to visit such a beautiful place. Sasivekalu (mustard seed) Ganesha is the most beautiful statue of Lord Ganesha I have seen. Those who visits Hemakoota hills can be easily attracted towards this sculpture. I did spent little time here previous day but I wanted to spend more time to see this monolithic sculpture. Since it is in open place, it is quite difficult to survive against the natural forces. Still it has not lost its charm and that really tells us about the skill of an architecture. Mesmerized by the beauty of this small open temple, I started looking at the statue in different angle.I looked at the snake tied to the stomach which took me back to stories I used to listen as a kid. Each part of the body has its own significance. I am not going to tell mythological story here but the beauty of this statue which has clearly defined each and every part. Half an hour went like this and then Vineeth reminded me about our next destination.
A 5 min walk from Sasivekalu Ganesha temple will take you to the Kadlekalu Ganesha temple. Having one of the largest Ganesha statue and with the beautiful surrounding, it is the perfect place to start your first writing. I feel Hampi is heaven for the poets and the writers. The strong pillars and the mantapa is of typical Vijaynagara style of architecture. The pillars are decorated with mythological characters.
The belly of the statue is huge and as it resembles the bengal gram, it's been given the name Kadlekalu. The inscriptions located here is of Halegannada the older form of the language we Kannadigas speak. Though the temple has been attacked by the Deccan Sultanate, damage to this temple was minimal.
What I missed to tell about the Hemakuta hills where this temple is situated is , it has 33 structures including the Kadlekalu Ganesha temple, Anjaneya temple. That makes Hemakoota hills a must visit place in Hampi.
The belly of the statue is huge and as it resembles the bengal gram, it's been given the name Kadlekalu. The inscriptions located here is of Halegannada the older form of the language we Kannadigas speak. Though the temple has been attacked by the Deccan Sultanate, damage to this temple was minimal.
What I missed to tell about the Hemakuta hills where this temple is situated is , it has 33 structures including the Kadlekalu Ganesha temple, Anjaneya temple. That makes Hemakoota hills a must visit place in Hampi.
Then we moved to Krishna Bazar, where people used to sold gold and pearls in huge amount. On the other side you can find the temple which has lost its soul after the attack by Deccan Sultanate. There are people who are involved in war but most cruel people are those who involve in rape and destroying the sculptures and monuments. That is the reason I don't like these coward rulers of Deccan. They were as cruel as Khilzis and Aurangzeb. As I read more about Vijayanagara empire downfall or any empire's downfall , I understood it was only because the kingdom was not united.
Coming back to the Krishna Bazar which is the symbol of rich Vijayanagara empire, it can take you back to those glorious days. The Pushkarani was empty and I thought a lot about improving the facility here. The better idea is to fill the Pushkarani with water and have some water show to attract tourist during night. People visit these place or ignore this place but thing is sure that they don't know the history of Vijayanagara empire. The story itself has a lot of lessons. The story tells more about the glorious days of the Kannada literature. The story tells more about the administrative skills and the reason for their downfall. This is where the term nepotism is used. They failed because of keeping the family and friends in the administration instead of deserved scholars.
There are many books written on downfall of Vijayanagara empire and I can not write those in few lines. Please read when you have time. Even I thought it is better to have a some art show to explain about Vijayanagara empire. Krishna Bazar is the right place to keep such activities. Even we can have an arrangement like Akshardam to tell the stories. Just because Hampi is destroyed long back, there is no such hard rule that plants can not be planted near monuments. I want to see more plants near the Krishna Bazar.
Imagine if you have gone back in time machine and you are able to stop the destruction of Krishna temple of Hampi. Then today it would have been one of the most beautiful temple comparable to Belur and other Chalukya and Hoysala temples. Ignore the destroyed upper portion of the temple, it is still a master class. The upper portion of the temple was made in bricks and it was easily destroyed. But we can smell the beauty of the art carved on those bricks.The paintings on roof has almost vanished. The pillars are still strong and have been reason for being alive.
When we visited, it was still under repair. What these guys were doing for more than 60 years. They can't even protect the monuments which are source of knowledge and an institution itself. The mining has its adverse effect on the monuments and its surrounding.
The big doors were decorated and are surrounded by artistic carvings. As we stepped out , butter milk was ready for us to keep us calm. Then we had lunch in one of the famous restaurant in Hampi, Mango tree. We had Falafal Humus an Israeli cuisine. The best place to sit and enjoy the food. Most of the time it will be crowded. So better be ready for waiting.
After having food at Mango tree, we moved towards Matanga Hill entrance, but took a left towards Kodanda Rama temple. This peaceful walk might make you understand that Vijayanagara empire has given lot of importance to architecture and sculpture. There are more than 20 temples in this route.
This was the best walk I ever had, even better than Ajanta and Ellora. Tugabadra river added more colour to the journey we had. We covered Kodanda Rama temple, Anjaneya temple, Varaha and Narasimha temple, Vishnu temple and not to miss Purandara mantapa.
The view from the temples which are little away from the river is awesome. Purandara mantapa might be the enlightenment place. I tried to pen few words about my experience in that beautiful place.
I wrote
" This is our 2nd day of our visit to Hampi. We were little bit slow while exploring the beauty of Hampi. Quite slowly we have covered Virupaksha temple, Hemakoota temples, Sasive kalu Ganesha, Kadle kalu Ganesha, Hampi Bazaar, Krishna temple with Pushkarani and Bazaar, Varaha temple, Kodanda Rama temple, Purandaradasa mantapa. We even saw the ancient bridge and the force of Tungabadra river. Tasted food in the temple and also the famous Mango tree restaurant. But still lot of questions in my mind. You can imagine about the might of Vijayanagara empire once you start exploring. Probably you start falling in love with Hampi once you start exploring each and every temples and monuments of Hampi. But you will still end up asking too many questions to yourself, looking at the state of these monuments. Hampi is the most under rated tourist place in India. Thanks to mining mafia, lack of political will and lack of awareness, it is in bad shape. I have seen in Ajanta and Ellora how beautifully they have saved the monuments from going extinct. But I don't see such honesty and clarity of thoughts by Govt or whoever is managing it (Read Archealogical Survey). Manmatha tank beside the famous Veerupaksha temple is filled with bottles. Even there is no rules imposed on the tourists. It is only on board. Locals have no clue about the might of Vijayanagara empire. Hampi's history is as big as the mighty tungabadra river. It used to be as rich as the swiss bank. For me Hampi is as complex as Upendra's movie. You need to comeback and visit 4-5 times to understand Hampi. 2 more days left. We still have lot of places to cover. Love for Hampi is eternal. It has lot to do with people of Hampi also.#Hampi #UnescoHeritageCenter #nomads#exploration "
Whatever I have wrote still applies. This write up always motivates me to plan Hampi one more time. I might write more about Hampi during my next visit. The rain and Hampi is the treat to watch. That is the reason we spent more time in Purandara mantapa. When we reached the ticket counter of Vittala temple, we had only 15 min for the visit. So we thought of coming next day to visit this temple. In total 2nd day in Hampi was much more beautiful than the first day in terms of learning and experience. But 3rd day in Hampi was the highlight of our trip. I will be writing our experience of Sanapur lake and Anjanadri in coming post.
Hampi is an institute of learning. Do not miss to read it when you travel this beautiful place.
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1 comments:
Write commentsHampi offers different legacy destinations spread over colossal zone. It resembles Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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