Hampi Day 4 - The beautiful Vittala temple and Mahanavami Dibba

I have mentioned in my previous post, Hampi has a wide range of varieties. First day it was about introduction. Second day we got to know the glory of Vijayanangara empire. Third day is all about the beautiful side of Hampi on the other side of river. Still we had many places to visit.  Again we hired a scooter and planned for Badava linga temple to Vittala temple route. For an explorers like us it would require 2 days to finish this way. But we decided to cover most of the places.

Our first visit was to Ugra Narasimha and Badavalinga temple. The biggest statue in Hampi, Ugra Narasimha is one of the beautiful creation. It depicts both anger and love. The face has anger in it but the laxmi statue on the lap which is missing tells about love. You heard it right. This monolithic sculpture had laxmi on Ugra Narasimha's lap which is cut by the so called Deccan Sultanate. This statue is visible from the Hemakoota hills. 

 Beside Ugra Narasimha temple, there is Badavalinga temple. This is also a monolithic structure carved out in one stone which always stays in bed of water. Since it was commissioned by a poor woman, it has the name Badvalinga. It is just 200 mts away from Krishna temple.

 Then we went to Uddhana Veerabhadra temple and Chandikeshwara temple which is not of much importance when comes to architecture. Next important destination is Underground Shiva temple, quite different from other temples. Though people don't worship here, but it could have been maintained properly. This underground temple is quite dark but still the way it is designed is little different.

If maintained properly it is one of the highlight of Hampi. There is lot of damage done to the sculptures but still a worth visit.

Our next destination was Vittala temple. We skipped many places just to see the most beautiful creation of Vijanagara empire. This temple is much better than Virupaksha temple. I would rate this temple after Sanapur lake.

This time we have taken the other route (not the river side). We need to walk a bit crossing Gejjala temple and Pushkarani. You might find many students visiting this place for a study tour or picnic. Even you might find love birds and those who have come with their big family. Such is the craze of this temple , you might find this temple with lot of visitors.

 We took 30 Rs ticket and entered the temple. I must say this temple comes in top 3 beautiful architectures in Karnataka. Infact I will add this to a Belur kind of temple. Ajanta, Ellora are top class place. Badami, Aihole and Pattadkal are different category. Madhurai and Rameshwaram are a different class. Mahabalipuram is another place to visit for explorers. But this temple is quite different. The musical pillars , chariot and the halls with strong pillars and the carving of Vijayanagara emblem, it will take you to an imaginary world. The paintings on the Chariot is an indication that how much they have given importance to paintings in their art.

For 10 min we slept in the mantapa. It took us to different world. I have already explained about Vijayangara emblem in my first post.  The mantapa will start with two elephants on either side and then emblem attached to pillar on either side. That is the highlight of this architecture.

 I don't know why some temples don't give this type of calmness and soothing touch. May be because the priests and temple managements are busy collecting moneys. In Spite of  prayers held in those temples, the money minded attitude doesn't give us the spiritual feeling. The place which makes you to analyse yourself is the real temple. The place which doesn't spread the message of love can not be called as temple. People from different parts of world join here. There is no board like other religion people are not allowed. Every one comes here and returns with lot of learning and message. Hampi is a must visit place for one more reason. Whoever comes here have no caste and religion. They all belong to one community Humanity. They spread smile (like I said some of the visitors give you smile) and share their experiences. That is the reason I love Hampi.

After coming out of temple, we took a walk towards Hampi Bazaar. It also took us to some small
temples. Then we visited the pushkarani, the biggest you can find in Hampi. We were little tired on 4th day and it was clearly visible. May be it was due to hot sunny day. We took some time off in Kudregombe mantapa and Gejjala mantapa. Near the entrance you can get wide variety of foods. We had bajji, tasty rice bath and sugar can juice.

Our next destination was Ganigatti Jain temple and Bhhemana Mahadwara. On the way we stopped near Talarighatta ghate. Then we went to Chandrashekara temple, Saraswti temple and octogonal bath. 

Sarawati temple

Queen's bath is one of the must visit place. It is just like a picnic's spot to many. The royal place is near to this place. The small place outside the enclosure is maintained with grass where people sit and relax. 

Then we went to most beautiful royal enclosure and Mahanavami dibba. Covering 59000 sq m, the enclosure had 43 buildings. There are 3 entrance to this enclosure. Mahanavami dibba attracts more people than the surrounding. Hampi is the first place to host grand Dasara festival. Later Mysore kings who were subordinates to Vijayanagara empire started the Dasara celebrations in Mysore. That tells importance of Mahanavami dibba. 

The beautiful pushkarani and the park adds to the beauty. The garden with lots of flowers also makes you to stay here for longer duration. 

For nearly 2 hours we were wandering here and there exploring the beauty of this enclosure. It was getting late and then we rushed to the Lotus mahal, the royal palace.

We didn't get much time to explore the royal mahal fully but we spent some time in Elephant's stable. The domed and rectangular structure is built in Indo - Islamic style of  architecture. I liked the grassy foreground to the beautiful architecture. We did went to Ranga temple and Parshwanath temple. By the time we returned gate was closed . It was dark and we did some circus to come to the main road. 

By the time we returned to Virupaksha temple, there was a festival like environment. The temple entrance was decorated with mud lamps. The temple decorated with lightings was a treat to watch. Then came the pallakki with the lord Virupaksha in it. Somehow we got to know it was last day of Dasara celebration. We forgot that we had come on Dasara vacation. As I said Vijayanagara empire is the first one to celebrate Dasara celebration with royal importance. Dasara which is symbol of  victory of Good over evil, is considered the most important festival by kings. Though now it is not celebrated as big as Mysore Dasara, there will be small celebration by the villagers.
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This was the perfect end to our Hampi trip. The end with positive vibration. We returned back to Hospet to catch our bus to Bangalore. We stayed in Hospet because of the low cost accommodation. Try jawar roti meals in Hampi and also idli in Shiridi sai tiffin, Hospet. try exploring different kinds of food whenever you are here.

Hampi has been the most beautiful experience in my travel life with respect to learning. This experience  is quite different from the Himalayas, the deserts, the western ghats , the coastal beaches. I recommend Hampi for all those people who love travelling. It is a dream for most of the travellers to visit and experience that time machine moment. Hampi will definitely take you to many imaginations. After coming back from Hampi, I realised there was little change. As I started reading more about Vijayanagara empire, I could relate many things to our current situation. Currently with the limited knowledge I could write only this much. But I will try to explore more and provide you more details.

For all the travellers there, plan for Hampi soon. Don't regret later for missing Hampi in your prime time.

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