this transcription: Copyright 1998, Jeroen Hellingman You may be use and distributed this text under the following conditions: * you clearly mark any changes you make, and do not pass around changed versions as the original. * you report any errors and omissions you find to me. * you acknowledge my work when you produce a derived work, or include this text into a collection.
This book I bought during my visit to Hampi, and scanned it because I think it is worthwhile, and not easy to obtain outside India. I have not scanned the original black and white images in the book, but instead have provided a new set of pictures I made myself in Hampi in October 1997. Although they do not cover all objects mentioned in this book, they are much clearer and in colour. A reprint of the book is widely available in Hampi for Rs. 50/-- (about USD 1.35)
The text was scanned using OmniPage 7.0 on a Macintosh, then converted to a MS Word document which was spell-checked and corrected. Finally, TEI tags where added and verified with nsgmls. history: 25-DEC-1997 started OCR scanning 04-JAN-1998 completed OCR scanning and spell check 05-JAN-1998 added TEI tags 25-JAN-1998 last edit todo: * add more tags * make encoding of characters with macrons conform tei. Currently macron: =A =a =E =e =I =i =O =o =U =u acute: \'S \'s
Second Edition.
The object of this little book is, not only to give a clear and brief description of the various styles of buildings produced during the Vijayanagar period, but also to consider those influences which have contributed to the formation of each special style. It is a mistake to isolate architecture from its surroundings, because the main points of the physical geography, social progress and historical development of any country require to be understood by those who would study and comprehend its particular style.
The leading influences that may be expected to shape the architecture of any country or people are---(1) Locality with regard to its geographical, geological, and climatic conditions; (2) Religion; (3) Social and Political; (4) Historical. Important as all four of these are, the strongest is undoubtedly the influence of religion. In almost all countries and in India in particular, we find that the chief buildings are the outcome of the nation's religious beliefs. Nothing reveals the character of the nation so clearly as its religion, and nothing has more permeating influence upon its architecture. Therefore, the influence of religion has been dealt with rather more fully than would at first sight perhaps appear necessary in a small work of this kind, but the necessity, however, for a brief knowledge of this important subject will become apparent when the visitor to Hampi finds himself confronted with the profusely sculptured walls and pillars adorning some of the larger temples. To him who knows not the legends of R=ama and Krishna, the different incarnations of Vishnu or the characteristics and attributes of \'Siva, these wonderful 'pictures in stone' will have no meaning.
Time spent in the study of the architecture and religion of the past will never be regretted, for every ruin tells of the history of other days, and enables the character and conditions In The illustrations are from full plate negatives in this office and as per the orders of the Government contained in G. O. No. 1418 Home (Edn.), dated 12th November 1917, bromide prints from any of these are available to the public at a cost of one Rupee each, postage paid, obtainable at the address mentioned below.
Part I deals with the main influences which have helped to form the different styles of architecture produced during the Vijayanagar period, and Part II describes the chief buildings existing at Hampi. Part I has been compiled mainly from the following works, and lays no claim to originality---Mr. Robert Sewell's book "A Forgotten Empire" (a work that every visitor to Hampi should read); "The Bellary District Gazetteer"; "Mysore and Coorg, from the Inscriptions" by Mr. Lewis Rice; "Hinduism" by Dr. L. D. Barnett; and I am greatly indebted to Mr. Krishna Sastri, the Government Epigraphist, for assisting me with regard to the dates of the different rulers of Vijayanagar and much other valuable information.
Part II, long descriptions which are necessarily technical and intolerably dry have been omitted. I have therefore provided the largest possible number of illustrations instead, and have confined the text to brief, but it is hoped vivid notes on the special qualities and characteristics of the buildings referred to.
Part I.
Influences.
Locality---
Hampi
Hospet Town .
K=amal=apur
History of Vijayanagar from the Inscriptions---
The Muhammadan Advance, A.D. 1310
Foundation of Vijayanagar, A.D. 1330
Sangama Dynasty, A.D. 1336--1478
S=aluva Dynasty, A.D. 1478--1490
Narasinga Dynasty, A.D. 1496--1567
Karn=ata Dynasty, A.D. 1567--1644
Muhammadan Influence
Portuguese Influence
Social and Political History as recorded by Foreign Visitors to Vijayanagar---
Foreign Visitors to Vijayanagar
Krishna D=eva R=aya, A.D. 1509--1530
His Personality
His Buildings
His Administrative Improvements
His Patronage of Literature
His Military Expeditions to Mysore and the East Coast
His Capture of Raich=ur and the Do=ab
His Haughty Treatment of the Mussalmans
Achyuta R=aya, A.D. 1530--1542
Bij=apur King visits Vijayanagar
The Three Brothers
Sad=asiva nominally King, A.D. 1542--1507
R=ama R=aja's Dealings with the Mussalmans
Muhammadans combine against Vijayanagar
The Battle of Talikota, A.D. 1565
Religion---
Jainism
Hinduism
Tree and Serpent Worship
The Cult of Vishnu
The Legend of R=ama
The Legends of Krishna
The Cult of \'Siva
Sati or Widow Burning
Tul=apursha-d=ana Ceremony
Part II.
The Buildings Described.
Fortifications and Irrigation Works---
Gateways
Irrigation Works
Hampi is a tiny hamlet which grew up around the great Pamp=apati temple which stands on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra in the Hospet taluk of the Bellary district of the Madras Presidency. It is of no importance in itself, but it has given its name to the ruins which lie scattered about it of Vijayanagar, "the City of Victory," the birth-place of the empire of that name and also of the old capital of its kings.
The remains cover some nine square miles, but the fortifications and outposts of the city included a far larger area [see Fig. l]. The entrance to it from the south-west, for instance, was at one time a fortified gateway on the huge embankment which stands at the foot of the hills two miles the other side of Hospet---nine miles as the crow flies from the centre of the ruins. The town of =Anegundi in the Nizam's Dominions formed the outposts for the city on its northern side, while Kampli served as an outpost on the eastern side.
The site of the old city is a strangely wild place to have been the birth-place and capital of an empire. The whole of it is dotted with little, barren, rocky hills and immediately north of it the wide and rapid Tungabhadra hurries along a boulder-strewn channel down rapids and through narrow gorges. The hills are of granite weathered to every shade of colour from grey to brown and have hardly any vegetation on them. The alternate burning days and chilly nights of the Deccan climate have seamed and split in every direction the huge masses of solid rock of which they originally consisted, and the earthquakes of remote ages and the slower The unlimited supply of splendid building material close at hand, had a considerable influence on the architecture of the city by rendering it possible, to acquire on the spot, huge blocks of stone of vast dimensions which otherwise would not have been so freely used owing to the difficulty of transporting them from a distance.
Up the sides of these hills and along the low ground between them---often in several lines one behind the other---run the fortified enclosing walls of the old city, and in the valleys among them stand its deserted streets and ruined temples and palaces. The lowest ground of all is covered with fields of tall cholam, sugarcane, or of green and golden rice watered by the channel which one of the kings of the days gone by led from the Tungabhadra to supply the people, and irrigate the orchards and rose-gardens, of his capital. To know Vijayanagar at its best, the visitor should climb the slippery steps leading to the little shrine on the top of the hill called Matanga Parvatam and watch the evening light fade across the ruins, and if the fates are kind and grant him the added glory of a Deccan sunset, he will surely return content.
The best base from which to see what remains of the city to day, 360 years since its destruction, is K=amal=apur [see the Map], seven miles from Hospet railway station (Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway), where a deserted temple was converted into a dwelling by Mr. J. H. Master, a former Collector of the district, and is now used as a Travellers' Resthouse
The town of Hospet was built by Krishna D=eva R=aya, the greatest of all the Vijayanagar kings, between 1509 and 1520 in honour of N=agal=a D=evi, a courtesan whom he had known in the days of his youth and whom he married after he became king. He called it, after her, N=agal=apur, and it was his favourite residence. In his time it was the entrance gate, as it were' to the city of Vijayanagar for all travellers coming up from Goa and the west coast. Krishna D=eva also made the enormous embankment south of the town which connects the two ends of the two parallel ranges of hills which further south enclose the valley of Sandur. It was carried out with the aid of a Portuguese Engineer whose services had been lent to the king by the Governor of Goal Along the top of it now runs the main road to the taluks of Hadagalli, Harpanahalli and K=udligi. This great work will be referred to again. under the heading of Irrigation Works.
The modern town of Hospet contains nothing of any antiquarian interest and there is hardly a trace of the old fortified walls that once enclosed the original town of N=agal=apur.
To the south-east of Hospet is the bold peak of Jambun=ath Konda (2,980 feet above the sea) and half way up this, in a picturesque glen, standing on a broad artificial terrace is the temple of Jambun=ath. From Hospet to the foot of the hill is about three miles, and a paved way leads up to the temple. Halfway up the ascent is a mandapa on two of the pillars of which are inscriptions. One of these is dated A.D. 1549, and records gifts to the Hanumanta and Anantasayana shrines on the hill. The temple itself is of no particular interest but contains a mineral spring which is accredited with manifold healing virtues.
Soon after the visitor leaves Hospet on his way to K=amal=apur, he passes through the untidy village of Arnantasayanagudi. On the south side of the village is the large and curiously shaped temple of Anantasayana, described in On the left-hand side of the road, close to the fourth mile-stone as one proceed) to K=amal=apur, is a large stone-built well with a eight of steps leading down to the water. It is called the "Soolai Bhavi" and is said to have been blurt by a dancing-girl for the benefit of travellers passing along this road.
Part II. Ruined shrines and mandapas, now begin to appear alongside of the roadway, marking the old mute between the inner citadel at Hampi and the suburb of N=agal=apur, while conspicuous objects to the north
On nearing K=amal=apur, the road runs along the top of the embankment of the large and beautiful K=amal=apur tank which is full of fish and provides very fair duck and snipe shooting during the cold weather months. The tank is fed by the R=aya channel from the Tungabhadra and irrigates some 450 acres of wet land, cultivated mainly with rice and sugarcane.
With the exception of the large temple of Patt=abhi R=ama which is situated half a mile to the east of the village on the road to Bellary, and a small ruined Poligar fort with a-high round tower in the centre, circular bastions at the four corners, and other bastions in the middle of the walls connecting these, K=amal=apur does not contain any buildings of archæological interest. The more notable of the wine of the fortifications, temples and buildings of Vijayanagar lie along two roads leading out of this village. The first of these runs north-eastwards to Kampli and the other goes north-west to Hampi and then degenerates into a footpath along the bank of the Tungabhadra.
The greater part of the more interesting buildings are situated in the citadel or innermost line of fortifications and also alongside of the road to Hampi. An account of these will be found in Part II.
If legendary history and local tradition be credited, there was a town on this site many centuries before the Vijayanagar kings R=ama, the hero of the poem, accompanied by his brother Lakshmana, is journeying south in search of his lovely wife Sita, who has been carried off by R=avana, the ten-headed demon king of Lanka, or Ceylon, when he is informed that Sugriva can give him news of her. He goes to Rishyam=uka and meets Sugriva and Hanum=an. The former tells him how he saw Sita being carried through the air by R=avana and how she dropped one of her garments and her jewels; and how he had retained these latter in a cave. He brings them and shows them to R=ama in proof of the truth of his story. R=ama in his gratitude for this clue slays V=ali with his arrow, burns his huge body on a funeral pyre and replaces Sugriva on the throne. While R=ama waits on Prasravana, a part of the M=alyavanta hill close by, Hanum=an searches for Sita, finds her in Lanka, brings back tokens from her to reassure R=ama and finally organizes the monkey army which builds the causeway from R=am=esvaram to Ceylon by which R=ama crosses to the island to the rescue of his bride.
Such is the story in the R=am=ayana, and the names of several of the localities round Hampi are identical with those in the poem. But it is time to return to more sober chronicles. About A.D. 1310, a year which is one of the great landmarks in South Indian chronicles, the advance of the Muhammadans from the north began to seriously threaten the very existence of all Hindu dominion in the south. Malik K=afur, the famous general of All=a-ud-d=in of the Khilji dynasty of Delhi, swept into the Deccan with an immense force, captured Orangal (Warangal) in the Nizam's Dominions and took and sacked Dv=arasamudra. Two years later his armies again marched south and D=evagiri fell. Both the Hoysalas and the Y=adavas were practically extinguished.
Anarchy followed, Mussalman governors, representatives of the old royal families and local chiefs struggling for supremacy, until out of the confusion arose the great Hindu empire of Vijayanagar, which from its capital near Hampi for two centuries remained a bulwark against Muhammadan invasion.
Most authorities agree that the Vijayanagar empire was founded about A.D 1336, immediately on the disappearance of the Hoysalas from the stage of history, the founders being two Hindu princes named Hakka and Bukka, sons of Sangama. The former became the first king, taking the name of Harihara, and his brother The first or Sangama dynasty of Vijayanagar, who were Y=adavas, held the throne from 1336 to 1478, and consisted of nine kings. The throne was then usurped by a S=aluva chief, who was succeeded by his son. There were thus only two kings of the S=aluva dynasty, also Y=adavas, and they occupied the throne from 1478 to 1496. Then followed the Narasinga dynasty from Tuluva, which ruled from 1496 to 1567, and had six kings. The fourth and last dynasty was the R=ama-R=aja of Karn=ata. It was in power from 1567 to 1644, and numbered six kings. It was from a member of this line that the English received in A.D. 1639 a grant of the site of Madras.
Of Sangama's five sons, the eldest, called according to tradition Hakka, assumed the name of Harihara, and was the first king of the new empire. Kampa or Kampanna became ruler of a kingdom in the east, in the direction of Nellore, and had S=ayana, the commentator on the V=edas, brother of M=adhava, as his minister. Bukka succeeded Harihara on the throne, and was the most distinguished of the brothers
The Vijayanagar kings had Vir=up=aksha for their family god, and their crest was the Var=aha or Boar [see Fig. 5], which had been that of the Ch=alukyas before them. Their capital was probably at first situated at =Anegundi on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra nearly opposite the present hamlet of Hampi. As the empire grew in size and power, the capital was moved to the southern bank of the river and =Anegundi was retained as a fortified suburb or outpost.
Of Harihara I, not much is known beyond what has been cited above. But Bukka R=aya, whom he appointed as his Yuvar=aja, was famous. With the assistance of Vidy=at=irthamuni he became very great, and " having freed from enemies a hundred royal cities, counting from D=orasamudra, ruled over an empire perfect in its seven parts." Though the establishment of the capital is Harihara II, Bukka R=aya's son by Gaur=ambik=a, succeeded him on the throne. But he also had other sons---Vir=upanna Odeyar, whose succession was apparently desired in the west; Mallin=atha or Mallappa Odeyar, who was ruling in the east of Mysore; and Kampanna Odeyar who was ruling in the south of Mysore. Harihara II is principally praised for making the sixteen great gifts at various sacred places, localities which show that his dominions extended from the Krishna at Kurnool to Kumbhak=onam in the Tanjore district or even farther south. But severe struggles were going on with the Sult=ans of the Bahmani kingdom of Gulbarga, which was founded in 1347, or only eleven years after Vijayanagar. Thus, in 1380, when the Turushkas (Muhammadans) were swarming over the =Adavani (Adoni) hill-fort and kingdom, Mallappa Odeyar's son defeated them, took possession of the fort and kingdom, and handed them to Harihara. In 1384 the Turushkas are said to have come and attacked Kottakonda when the army had gone to the Orangal country. In 1397 we are informed of the exploits of the general Gunda, "into the flames of whose valour the Yavanas, Turushkas, and =Andhras fell like moths." He conquered the K=eralas, Taulavas, =Andhras, and Kutakas, seized their wealth, and gave the spoils to the king. He set up pillars of victory in all the fifty-six countries, and restored the tower at the gateway of the B=elur temple in Mysore, which Ganga S=al=ar, the Turushka from Guilbarga had come and burnt. Harihara was a cultivator of Karn=ataka learning. He died on the 30th of August 1404.
He had a son by Pamp=a D=ev=i, who appears to have reigned next, under the name of Immadi Bukka R=aya or Bukka R=aya II. But the reign was a very short one, of little more than a year. The struggles with the Muhammadans to the north continued unabated, and the pages of Ferishta are filled with details relating to them. According to him, D=eva R=aya, whom he calls Dewul Roy, was forced to give his daughter in marriage to the Bahmani Sult=an Fir=oz Sh=ah. At the end of his reign D=eva R=aya inflicted a severe defeat upon the Sult=an. A great slaughter of the Muhammadans followed, and the Bij=apur country was laid waste with all the treasured resentment of many years. These reverses killed Fir=oz Sh=ah. But his successor, Ahmed Shah, drove back the Hindus, and desolated the possessions of Vijayanagar, massacring women and children without mercy. Whenever the number came to 20,000, he halted for three days and made a feast. The Hindus, in desperation, formed a plot against him, from which he escaped by a hair's breadth. Terms were then agreed to, and he retired to his own country, the capital of which he shortly removed from Gulbarga to B=idar, a hundred miles to the north. Of these affairs there is little indication in the inscriptions, which generally represent the king as ruling a peaceful kingdom.
D=eva R=aya was succeeded by Vijaya R=aya, his son by D=emambik=a, but the history is not very clear at this period, and Vijaya R=aya's reign was a short one. He was followed by his son D=eva R=aya II, also called Praudha D=eva R=aya, who had the special title Gajab=entek=ara or elephant hunter. His mother was N=ar=ayan=ambik=a, and one inscription describes him as having received the throne from his elder sister, which may perhaps refer to the princess married into the Bahmani family. The kings of Anga, Kann=oja, K=amb=oja, Vanga, and N=ep=ala are said to have acted as his servants, carrying his umbrella, his ch=amara, his stick or his goblet. He also had 10,000 Mussalman horsemen in his service. He died on D=eva R=aya's son Mallik=arjuna, also called Immadi D=eva R=aya, next came to the throne, and ho was followed by Vir=up=aksha, the son of D=eva R=aya by Simhal=a D=evi. These were reigns wanting in vigour.
We now come to S=aluva Nrisimha, also called Narasinga R=aya Odeyar, the most powerful noble in Karn=ata and Teling=ana. He was general of the armies of Vijayanagar and successfully defended it against the Muhammadans. But the influence he thus gained enabled trim in 1478 in the reign of Vir=up=aksha, to usurp the throne. When he was thus king, the Bahmani Sult=an again invaded the Vijayanagar territories! and was overrunning the whole country, having advanced so far as to lay siege to the strong fort of M=al=ur (Kolar district). Nrisimha took to flight, but afterwards came to forms with the Sult=an, who nevertheless marched on to K=anchi (Conjeoveram), and plundered the town and temples. Nrisimha was succeeded by his son Immadi Nrisimha or Immadi Narasinga Odeyar, for whom the earliest date seems to be 1493.
This king, however, was murdered in 1496 by the general Narasa or Narasinga. He was of Tuluva descent, and became the founder of the Narasinga dynasty of Vijayanagar.
Narasa is said in several inscriptions to have conquered Ch=era, Ch=ola, and P=andya, as well as the proud lord of Madhura, the fierce Turushka, the Gajapati king and others, from the banks of the Ganges to Lank=a (Ceylon) and from the eastern to the western mountains, he imposed his commands upon all kings. In R=am=esvaram and other sacred places he from time to time bestowed the sixteen great gifts. He died in 1503.
He was succeeded in turn by three sons, born to him by different mothers The first of these, V=ira Narasimha or Nrisimha, also called in a few cases Bhujabala R=aya, drew to himself, it is said, the hearts of all from S=etu to Sum=eru, and from the eastern to the western mountains, and made all manner of gifts in all the sacred places. His half-brother Krishna R=aya next came to the throne, and was the most powerful and distinguished of the Vijayanagar monarchs. About 1520 he inflicted a severe defeat upon the Achyuta R=aya's son, perhaps an infant, was crowned as king, but died in a short time. Sad=asiva R=aya, the son of Ranga, a deceased brother of Achyuta by the same mother, was then raised to the throne by the great minister R=ama R=aja (who was his brother-in-law) and the councillors. He is said to have subdued all his enemies in Suragiri (Penukonda), and brought the whole land into subjection to his commands, while the K=amb=oja, Bh=oja, Kalinga, Karah=ata and other kings acted as servants for his female apartments. But R=ama R=aya himself wielded the chief power in the State, and is called the ruler of the great Karn=ata kingdom Though possessed of commanding abilities, so great was his arrogance that the Mussalman States of Bij=apur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, and B=idar were provoked to combine in an attack on Vijayanagar as their common enemy. In the battle of Talik=ota, near Raichur, on the 23rd of January 1565, R=ama R=aja was slain, on which the Hindu army fled panic-stricken, and the royal family escaped to the fort at Penukonda. The victorious Muhammadans marched on to Vijayanagar, which they utterly sacked and From R=ama R=aja was descended the last Vijayanagar dynasty, styling themselves kings of Karn=ata. Their capital was first at Penukonda, which was attacked in 1577 by the Muhammadans, but successfully defended by Jagad=eva R=aya, whose daughter was married to the king, and who became chief of Channapatna. In 1585 the capital was removed to Chandragiri [see Fig. 6], and later still to Chingleput. These were, however, captured by the forces of Golkonda, and the king fled to the protection of Sivappa N=ayak, the chief of Bedn=ur in the west of Mysore. The line eventually merged into that of the chiefs of =Anegundi, who were subdued by Tip=u Sult=an.
The Muhammadan invasion and especially the employment of Muhammadan troops by the Vijayanagar kings led to Saracenic features being adopted in some of the buildings in their capital, producing an Indian version of that style, known as Indo-Saracenic. Examples of buildings in this style are dealt with in The chronicle of Fernão Nuniz, a Portuguese traveller who visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Krishna D=eva R=aya, records that the king requested the Governor of Goa to depute some Portuguese stone masons to come to Vijayanagar to superintend the building of a large water reservoir that he desired to construct near Hospet, and that the Governor sent him Joao della Ponte "a great worker in stone." Nuniz relates that when this engineer requested the king to have a large quantity of lime prepared for the work, "the king laughed much, for in his country when they build a house they do not understand how to use lime." If this statement of Nuniz is correct, the Hindus of Southern India are indebted to the Portuguese for the introduction of the use of a very valuable building material. It is certainly a fact that very few traces of lime mortar are discernible between the joints of the stonework of the earlier buildings at Vijayanagar, except in those buildings which have been repaired at a later date. But the Hindus certainly understood the use of mortar in the treatment of brickwork long before they came in contact with the Portuguese. However, they do not seem to have made much use of their knowledge of this Mysore I, 277, and the authorities there quoted. Also Dr. Bhandarkar in Bombay Gazetteer. Vol. I, pt. 2, p. 142.matha at \'Sring=eri (in the Kad=ur district of Mysore), founded by the reformer \'Sankar=acharya in the eighth century. The name of this guru was M=adhava and he is known as Vidy=aranya. He became the first minister of the new State.
Part II.
Although it is impossible to underrate the historical value of the old inscriptions relating to the Vijayanagar dynasties. records of this kind do not, as a rule, give one much information concerning the social and political affairs of the country at the different periods to which the inscriptions relate. So if we desire a picture of Vijayanagar in its palmy days we must turn to the old chronicles of the European travellers who visited the city before its destruction by the Muhammadans in A.D. 1565.
During the reign of D=eva R=aya II two foreigners visited his capital. The first of these was Nicolo Conti, an Italian, who came there about 1420, and the second was Abdur Razz=ak, an ambassador from Persia, who followed some twenty years later. Both of them have left glowing accounts of the richness and magnificence of the city and certain extracts from these will be found in the account of the buildings which is given in Part II. Conti states that insolvent debtors became the property of their creditors, mentions the practice of sati or widow burning, and hook-swinging as being in vogue, and says that at the car festivals people used to throw themselves under the wheels of the car, "a mode of death which they say is very acceptable to their god." The feasts of the Canarese New Year's Day, the Dip=avali, Holi and the Dasara festivals were also kept. Abdur Razz=ak gives a very vivid account of the celebration of one of these and also describes the buildings about the king's palace which has proved of great assistance in identifying the various portions of it which are still traceable. He says the kingdom extended from the Kistna (Krishna) river to Cape Comorin.
Krishna D=eva R=aya stands out more conspicuously on the stage of history than any other ruler of Vijayanagar, and under him the empire reached the zenith of its power. The chronicle of Domingos Paes, a Portuguese, who visited Vijayanagar about 1520, which has been made available by Mr. Sewell
He did more than any of his predecessors to beautify his capital, building in it the ranga-mandapa and eastern gateway of the Pamp=apati temple, the Krishna and Haz=ara R=ama temples and the great monolithic statue of Narasimha, and beginning the famous temple to Vitthala. As an inscription near it testifies, he made the anicut on the Tungabhadra at Vallabh=apuram and the Basavanna irrigation channel which takes off from it and perhaps constructed others of the Tungabhadra channels. He erected the huge embankment near Hospet at the north-western end of the two ranges of hills which enclose the State of Sandur and he built the town of Hospet in honour of a courtesan named N=agal=a D=evi as already related above.
He systematized the organization of the empire, which was divided into a number of provinces each under a local governor, who was responsible for its administration, paid from its revenues a certain fixed annual contribution to the royal exchequer, kept up a fixed number of troops ready for immediate service on behalf of the king, and retained for his own use such revenues as remained after satisfying these conditions. He was thus enabled to raise the enormous armies which he led against his enemies and to erect a number of costly buildings in his capital.
He greatly encouraged literature and gathered about his court the best poets of his time. He was himself a poet, composing in Sanskrit and Telugu. None of his Sanskrit works have survived, but a Telugu poem of his called Amuktham=alyada or Vishnu Chiththiyamu is pronounced by competent authority to be an excellent production. Until Krishna D=eva's time, Telugu poetry had been confined to versions in that language of the classical Sanskrit works, such as the R=am=ayana and the Mah=abh=arata, but thenceforth original poems began to be composed. The originator of this advance was Allas=ani Peddana, the chief of the poets at
Krishna D=eva's victories in war were no less renowned than his triumphs in peace. Soon after his accession he reduced to order a refractory vassal in Mysore, capturing the two strong fortresses of Sivasamudram and Seringapatam, both built on islands in the middle of the Cauvery river. In 1513 he marched against the hill fortress of Udayagiri in the Nellore district, then under the king of Orissa, captured it and brought from it the image of Krishna which was set up in the Krishna temple in his capital.
In 1520 he set out against Raich=ur, the fortress in the debatable land which for nearly two centuries had been the subject of dispute between his predecessors and their northern neighbours. It belonged at this time to Ism=ail =Adil Shah, the king of Bij=apur. According to Fernão Nuniz, the second of the two Portuguese chroniclers whose narratives Mr. Sewell has brought to light, the army he took with him numbered as many as 736,000 men with 550 elephants, and advanced in eleven great divisions. He began a regular siege of Raich=ur and Ism=ail marched out with 140,000 horse and foot to relieve the place. A tremendous battle took place between Raich=ur and the Kistna river. Krishna D=eva opened the engagement by a frontal attack in massed formation and drove in the Bij=apur centre, but the enemy directed a devastating fire upon the Hindus from guns which had been held in reserve in the rear and following up their advantage with a cavalry charge routed them and pursued them for a mile and a half. Krishna D=eva, however, in person rallied and led forward his second line and fell upon the Mussalmans with such impetuosity that he drove them right back into the river, where immense slaughter took place. He then crossed the river and attacked the camp of Ism=ail =Adil Shah, who barely escaped with his life. The result of the action was decisive and Ism=ail never again attacked
Krishna D=eva was unduly uplifted by his successes. He despatched and irritating replies to the other Muhammadan kings of the Deccan who sent envoys to him, and to Ism=ail =Adil Shah's ambassador he gave answer that if the king would come and kiss his foot, his lands and fortress would be restored to him. This overbearing behaviour was the first item in the long list of insults and humiliations received at the hands of the rulers of Vijayanagar which eventually induced the Muhammadan kings of the Deccan to forget their own differences in order to unite and crush their common enemy.
Krishna D=eva R=aya died in 1530 and was succeeded by Achyuta his half-brother. Achyuta was a craven and withal a tyrant. He alienated his best friends by his violent despotism and his conduct and mode of government ruined the Hindu cause in Southern India and opened the country to the invader, though he himself did not live to see the end. Ism=ail =Adil Shah of Bij=apur speedily took up his measure and attacked Mudkal and Raich=ur and captured them.
About 1535, however, Ism=ail's successor, Ibrahim =Adil Shah came to Vijayanagar itself and was received in friendly fashion, by Achyuta. How this came about is not clear. Ferishta says that the Vijayanagar nobles were driven by Achyuta's tyrannies into open revolt and that the king actually had to send for his hereditary foe from Bij=apur to protect him, promising in return to declare Vijayanagar tributary to Bij=apur. The nobles, more patriotic than their king, prayed Achyuta to dismiss Ibrahim, promising obedience if only he were removed. Achyuta eventually gave Ibrahim some two millions sterling and he returned to his own country. The whole episode is most extraordinary.
Immediately after Ibrahim had retired the rebellions nobles reasserted their influence and Achyuta was thenceforth king in little but name. The chief of the recalcitrants were three brothers named R=ama R=aya, Tirumala and Venkat=adri. The two first had married daughters of Krishna D=eva. R=ama R=aya was the most prominent of the three and Ferishta indeed speaks of him henceforth as if he were in fact king of Vijayanagar.
Achyuta died in 1542 and was nominally succeeded by Sad=asiva, who was perhaps his nephew. The new ruler was, however, kept under restraint the whole of his life and all real power lay in the hands of the three brothers already mentioned' though they professed allegiance to the nominal king.
R=ama R=aja did much to repair the blunders of Achyuta and rehabilitate the prestige of Vijayanagar. His favourite method seems to have been to play off one of the Muhammadan kings against another so as to keep them from uniting. In 1557, the Bij=apur king went in person to Vijayanagar with the hope of establishing a lasting friendship with R=ama R=aja, but the latter treated him with such scant respect that the effect of the visit was rather to estrange the two than bring them together. In the next year, however, they combined against the king of Ahmadnagar and between them ravaged the whole of his dominions. "The infidels of Vijayanagar," says Ferishta, "left no cruelty unpractised. They insulted the honour of the Mussalman women, destroyed the mosques, and did not even respect the sacred Koran." Their behaviour infuriated their friends no less than their enemies and made one more item in the long account which the Muhammadans already had against them. Shortly afterwards Ahmadnagar and Golkonda combined to attack Bij=apur, whose king again applied to R=ama R=aya for help. A battle ensued but the Glolkonda king deserted Ahmadnagar, who was then driven by the three allies into his capital. The Hindus again committed all manner of excess, "burning and razing buildings," says Ferishta, "putting up their horses in the mosque and performing their idolatrous worship in the holy places." R=ama R=aja's behaviour to the Mussalmans was more insufferable than ever. "Looking on the Isl=am Sult=ans as of little consequence, he refused proper honours to their ambassadors. When he admitted them to his
The Muhammadan kings could at length no longer brook his arrogance and sinking their own animosities they formed "a general league of the faithful against him." On Christmas Day 1564, they began their united advance southward and halted near the town and fortress of Talik=ota, 25 miles north of the Kistna river. R=ama R=aja despatched his brother Tirumala with 20,000 horse, 100,000 foot and 500 elephants to block the passage of the river, then sent off his other brother Venkat=adri with another large force, and finally marched in person to the point of attack with the whole remaining power of the Vijayanagar empire. His total force is said to have numbered 600,000 foot and 100,000 horse. The Hindus had fortified their side of the ford opposite the enemy's camp, but the latter drew them off by pretending to attempt another passage, and then returning suddenly to the original ford crossed it unopposed. They then marched south towards R=ama R=aja's camp.
On the 23rd January 1565 the great battle of Talik=ota (as it was called), one of the most decisive battles in all South Indian history, was fought. All the available forces on either side took part in it. R=ama R=aja, though over ninety years of age, commanded the Vijayanagar centre and his brothers Tirumala and Venkat=adri led, respectively, the left and right divisions. The Muhammadans awaited the attack with their artillery in the centre, opposite R=ama R=aja's division. This consisted of six hundred pieces of ordnance disposed in three lines, the heavy artillery in front, then the smaller pieces, and in the rear light swivel guns. Masking all these were two thousand archers. These latter kept up a heavy fire as the enemy advanced and then falling rapidly back allowed the massed batteries to open fire. Their effect was murderous and decisive, and the Hindus retreated in disorder. On the flanks they had, however, been more successful and had driven back the Mussalmans, and the centre rallied for a charge upon the guns. At first their onslaught seemed to prevail, R=ama R=aja had at first superintended operations from a litter. Later, thinking to encourage his men, he seated himself on a "rich throne set with jewels, under a canopy of crimson velvet embroidered with gold and adorned with fringes of pearls," from whence he distributed money, gold and jewels to those of his followers who acquitted themselves well. Later again, he returned to his litter and it was at this moment that the Mussalmans' cavalry charged up to his position. One of the enemy's elephants stampeded towards him, his bearers dropped him and fled, and before he could mount a horse he was taken prisoner. He was taken before the king of Ahmadnagar, who immediately had his head cut off and raised on a long spear so that the Hindu troops might see it.
This disaster caused an instant panic among the Vijayanagar forces and they broke and fled. "They were pursued," says Ferishta, "by the allies with such successful slaughter that the river which ran near the field was dyed red with their blood. It is computed on the best authorities that above 100,000 infidels were slain in fight and during the pursuit."
Their panic was so great that they made no attempt to rally on a fresh position or even to defend the hills and approaches round about their capital. Venkat=adri had been slain and of the three brothers Tirumala alone remained. He hastily returned to Vijayanagar and fled thence with the puppet king Sad=asiva to the hill fort of Penukonda in the Anantapur district, taking with him a few followers and a convoy of 550 elephants laden with treasure in gold, diamonds and precious stones valued at more than 100 millions sterling and also the state insignia and the celebrated jewelled throne.
Deserted by their king and the commandant of their troops, the people of the capital made no effort to defend themselves and the very next day the city was looted by hordes of wandering gipsies---Lamb=adis and the like. On the third day the victorious Muhammadans arrived and for five months "with fire and sword, Two years later, Caesaro Federici, an Italian traveller, visited the place and wrote of it that " the houses stand still but emetie, and there is dwelling in them nothing, as is reported, but Tygres and other wild beasts." Thus Vijayanagar as a city was blotted out, and has never since been inhabited by any but the few cultivators who still till the fields which wind about among its deserted streets and temples.
On the fall of the capital, anarchy followed throughout the dominions of the empire. Sad=asiva and Tirumala kept up a certain state at Penukonda, but the nobles for the most part threw off their allegiance to them and proclaimed themselves independent.
In 1568 Tirumala murdered Sad=asiva and seized the throne for himself. A few years later he was forced to fly to Chandragiri in the Chittoor district, and it was there that one of his descendants in 1639 granted to Francis Day the land on which Fort Saint George in Madras now stands. The existing representative of the family is the R=aya of =Anegundi, a place in the Nizam's Dominions nearly opposite to Hampi.
Of all the accounts of Vijayanagar in the height of its power, that of Domingos Paes, which Mr. Sewell has given us in his history of this "Forgotten Empire," is the most vivid and picturesque. Space will not admit of the reproduction of his description here and to curtail it is to ruin it. The reader who desires a picture of the Vijayanagar of those days should peruse Paes' story as it stands in Mr. Sewell's work.
From the architectural style of a few of the smaller stone temples situated on H=emakutam, the hill immediately to the Part II.
The oldest and most sacred Hindu temple at Hampi is the Pamp=apati temple already mentioned above. In erecting Hindu temples in early times, it was not an uncommon practice of the Br=ahmans, when possible, to select a site on, or adjacent to, some former sacred spot of the Buddhists or the Jains which had already acquired a considerable reputation for sanctity. It is possible that the Jains had a temple on this site long before the founding of the kingdom of Vijayanagar in 1336, and that they were driven from it by the Hindus which led to the reconciliation of the two sects in 1368, mentioned above.
The Pamp=apati temple, as it stands to-day, is a collection of buildings erected at different periods. The little shrine to Bhuvan=esvari, for instance, is built in the Ch=alukyan style of about the eleventh or twelfth century---that is, it belongs to a period anterior to the founding of Vijayanagar. We know from the inscriptions that although the Vijayanagar kings built innumerable temples in honour of the great Hindu deities \'Siva and Vishnu, they retained Vir=up=aksha (a form of \'Siva) as their family, or tutelary, god, and it seems certain that the first temple which they built, or otherwise acquired \at Hampi in 1336, was dedicated to this particular deity. Even now the Pamp=apati temple is also known by the Whichever version is preferred, the fact remains that the word Pamp=a has given the village and the ruins the name by which they are now known. For Hampe (as it should properly be spelt) is a corruption of Pamp=a, the initial P of the old Canarese changing, as it often does, into H.
A very popular form of religion, and one which prevailed particularly during the Vijayanagar period, was the worship of trees and snakes, and it is possible that Vir=up=aksha was mainly worshipped in this connection. In his original form, Vir=up=aksha was regarded as the Lord of the N=agas (Serpents)> the red king who ruled over the western quarter. In the old Buddhist legends, the N=agas are fabled to reside under the Trikuta rocks supporting Mount Meru, and also in the waters of springs, lakes and rivers, watching over great treasures, causing rain, certain maladies, and having the power of bestowing offspring on women desiring children. It is in this last connection that the worship of the Naga seems to have been most popular in early times and also at the present day.
It is the N=aga or hooded cobra alone that, is sacred, and he is generally worshipped on the N=agula chaviti, or the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Sr=avana (July---August), when women fast and pour milk over the n=agakals (snake-stones) or over ant-hills in which cobras are believed to reside. This day is reserved as a great festival and the usual form of serpent worship at the present day, is the vow taken by childless wives to To what extent, if any, the Vijayanagar kings regarded Vir=up=aksha in his original form as Lord of the N=agas, we do not know but some of the existing monuments at Vijayanagar supply abundant evidence that their womenfolk at least, were mainly N=aga worshippers. These women not only set up n=agakals (snake-stones) in the temples which they attended, but they had a regular type of Naga goddess which they worshipped. In the north-east corner of the so-called Underground temple, the visitor to Hampi will find a great number of n=agakals set up there by women who fulfilled their vows to the N=aga who was supposed to reside in this particular temple [see Fig. 7]. On the verandah of the Travellers' Resthouse at K=amal=apur, may be seen a carved stone image of a female N=aga or N=ag=i [see Fig. 8]. The style of the latter is different to the ordinary n=agakals. The floriated aureole above the figure's head, the two female attendants, and the fact that the N=ag=i is carved on a pitha or pedestal, clearly indicates that it represents an image specially designed as an object of worship and not as a mere n=agakal. This image appears to represent a veritable queen mother of N=agas, and just the type of figure the Hindu sculptor might be expected to create if he were called upon to execute an image representing the consort of Vir=up=aksha in his original form as Lord of the Nagas. Another image of the same kind, only much inferior in workmanship, may be seen set up in the village of K=amal=apur with the fallen walls of the temple that once enshrined it clustering about its base [see Fig. 9]. No doubt, this little shrine was wrecked by the Muhammadans who also appear to have had a hand in mutilating the large N=ag=i now on the verandah of the Travellers' Resthouse. The latter Image was Tree and serpent worship is responsible for many decorative emblems in Indian art, such as five and seven-headed serpents, designs representing interlaced serpents resembling wicker-work, and representations of sacred trees and flowers. Bas-relief sculptures depicting Krishna killing a large serpent by crushing its head with his heel; the same god playing on his flute protected from the sun or rain, by a huge many-headed cobra and several other scenes n=agapratishtai if they are blessed with offspring. The ceremony consists in having the figure of a cobra carved upon a small stone slab) placing it in water for six months, "giving it life" pr=anapratishtai, by reciting mantrams and other ceremonies over it, and then setting it up under a sacred pipal or margosa tree, or for preference, under the shade of a pipal tree that has been "married" to a margosa tree. These two trees are often planted together "married" as the saying goes---on a raised platform and worshipped by Br=ahmans and other high castes.
In early times, as the worship of Vishnu spread and absorbed many minor cults, it developed thence the idea of avatars (avat=ara, 'descent'), The incarnations of Vishnu most popular in modern Hinduism are:---
(1) The Sculptured representations of all of these incarnations may be seen carved upon the gateways and also on the pillars and walls of the temples themselves.
i.e., incarnations of a larger or smaller portion of the Fish, which saved from the deluge Manu, the parent of mankind.
(2) The Tortoise, which stood in the "Ocean of Milk" and supported on its back Mount Mandara, with which the gods and (lemons churned the ocean and thence drew certain mythological treasures.
(3) The Boar, which destroyed a demon and raised the submerged earth from the sea.
(4) The Man-lion, which saved the pious youth Prahl=ada by slaying his cruel father the demon Hiranyakasipu.
(5) The Dwarf, who deposed the demon Bali from the dominions of the three worlds.
(6) Parasu R=ama, the Br=ahman hero, who destroyed the Warrior caste.
(7) R=ama or R=amachandra.
(8) Krishna.
(9) Buddha, in order to lure the impious to destruction by the sophistries of Buddhism.
(10) Kalki, an incarnation yet to come, in which Vishnu will appear on a white horse with a drawn sword, to restore the order of righteousness.
This myth was one of the many absorbed by the conquering Vaishnava church, and was early made the theme of a great epic, the R=am=ayana, ascribed to the poet V=alm=iki. The R=am=ayana is responsible for most of the beautiful bas-relief sculpture adorning the walls and pillars of the big Vaishnava temples at Hampi. In the Haz=ara R=amachandra temple, the visitor to Hampi will find all the leading incidents in this great epic illustrated in stone.
These are no less important in Vaishnava worship than the story of R=ama. The chief literary sources are the Mah=abh=arata with its appendix the Harivamsa, the P=anchar=atra, and the Bh=agavata Pur=ana.
The Mah=abh=arata is a gigantic collection which began about 500 B.C., as an epic poem commemorating the wars of the Bh=aratas (for whom afterwards the P=andavas were substituted) and the Kauravas; but this original form has been recast and expanded by additions of almost every conceivable kind of matter. In the older parts of the poem Krishna figures simply as a demi-god and king; but in the later portions he is represented as the full incarnation of Vishnu, especially in the Bhagavad-g=it=a, the most powerful and popular exposition of this aspect of the cult.
According to the legend, Krishna (so called from his black or blue skin) was born as the son of Vasud=eva, and was saved from the murderous hands of Kamsa, king of Mathur=a, by his father, who gave him into the charge of the herdsman, Nanda. Krishna spent his childhood and youth as a shepherd in Vraja (in Muttra district) about Vrind=avana; and around this period of his life, Like the R=am=ayana, the Mah=abh=arata has greatly influenced the ornamentation of the temples at Hampi. Krishna as a boy playing on his flute; Krishna killing a huge serpent by crushing its head with his heel; the same god stealing the butter; also Krishna stealing the clothes of the Gop=is while they were bathing and a host of other scenes from the legends of this popular deity, will be found in great numbers carved upon the walls and pillars of the larger temples.
While Vishnu is the Preserver, the loving guardian of all his creatures amidst the ceaseless change of cosmic life, \'Siva, the Rudra of the Vedas, represents the earliest and universal impression of Nature upon men---the impression of endless and pitiless change. He is the destroyer and rebuilder of various forms of life; he has charge of the whole circle of animated creation, the incessant round of birth and death in which all Nature eternally revolves. His attributes are indicated by symbols emblematic of death and of men's desire; he presides over the ebb and flow of sentient existence. In \'Siva we have the condensation of the two primordial agencies, the striving to live and the forces that kill. He exhibits by images, emblems, and allegorical carvings the whole course and revolution of Nature, the inexorable law of the alternate triumph of life and death. \'Siva (gracious one) or Mah=adeva (great god) is in essence the same as the Vedic Rudra---the god of the wild mountains. Fierce and terrible, he dwells with his bride P=arvati in the heart of Himalaya, attended by goblin bands, often amidst wild revelry. To symbolize the reproductive changes in Nature, he has for token the linga [see Fig. 10], or male organ of generation; and as lord of the spirits of the dead he haunts graveyards wearing garlands of serpents and a necklace of skulls. In a somewhat milder aspect, he appears as a yogi or ascetic saint buried in millennial reverie, typical of the Hindu ascetics who seek by mortifications and abstraction of thought to attain supernatural powers and final union of the soul with the Absolute Spirit,
But horror and even grotesqueness of representation do not prevent an Indian god from winning intense personal love and devotion from his worshippers. As Vishnu in his hideous form of Narasimha (the Man-lion incarnation), so \'Siva in all his legendary ugliness---naked, blue of throat and red of skin, or livid white three-eyed, besmeared with ashes and cowdung---is often invested by devout and refined imaginations with attributes of supreme sweetness and love.
The group of sati memorials, shown in Fig. 11, are situated on the western side of the main road to Hampi and outside the small temple of Udd=ana V=irabhadra close to Krishnapuram.
The practice of sati, or the burning of a widow with the dead body of her husband, was a recognized institution in India at al] periods, but it seems to have been more actively revived in the fourteenth century under the Vijayanagar kings than at any other period. The memorials of sati which was entered on with perfect readiness, as duty-bound in honour, are found in all parts. They are particularly numerous in Mysore and the Madras Presidency. As a rule, a sculptured representation of the widow or widows who committed sati is carved on the stone memorial to the dead husband in the manner shown here in Fig. 11. This type of memorial is generally known as a v=irakal or hero-stone, and in Southern India, they appear to have been set up chiefly in honour of feudal chiefs and nobles of the Vijayanagar empire who were slain in battle or killed in some hunting expedition. Some of these memorials, however, were set up mainly in honour of those who committed sati, and these are known as m=astikal, that is maha-sati-kal, or great sati-stone, and are generally sculptured with a pointed pillar or post, from which projects a woman's right arm, bent upwards at the elbow. The hand is raised, with fingers erect, and a lime-fruit is usually shown placed between the thumb and forefinger. This is what is alluded to in the old inscriptions, where women are said to "have given arm and hand." Some of these memorials are accompanied with elaborate inscriptions. Unfortunately, the few v=irakals at Hampi are not inscribed but we may feel quite sure that they were erected in honour of persons of rank and distinction. In the lower panels, we have a crude sculptured representation of the departed hero, with hand raised in prayer, accompanied The following interesting account of sati as performed in Vijayanagar in the sixteenth century is taken from the "Chronicle of Fernão Nuniz," published in Mr. Sewell's "Forgotten Empire":---"The women have the custom of burning themselves when their husbands die, and hold it an honour to do so. When, therefore their husbands die they mourn with their relations and those of their husbands, but they hold that the wife who weeps beyond measure has no desire to go in search of her husband; and the mourning finished; their relations speak to them, advising them to burn themselves and not to dishonour their generation. After that, it is said, they place the dead man on a bed with a canopy of branches and covered with flowers and they put the woman on the back of a worthless horse and she goes after them with many jewels on her, and covered with roses; she carries a mirror in her hand and in the other a branch of flowers, and (she goes The spot where these cremations took place was in all probability, at Nimb=apuram close to Talarigattu [see the Map] where there is a large cinder mound covered over with rank vegetation. and trees of considerable age. This mound is composed of alternate layers of slag-like cinders and ashy earth mixed with small fragments of calcined bone and there is no doubt that it represents the remains of those slain in battle, or else the recognized sati ground of the old city. It will be noticed that Nuniz states "at the place where they are always burned," thus indicating a spot specially set aside for this purpose. He also informs us that the widow went to the sati ground on horseback, so we may presume that the sati took place a mile or two outside the city. The local explanation The doctrine of transmigration of souls and the custom of cremating the dead and casting the ashes on the waters of a sacred river or tank did not encourage tomb building. The Muhammadans on the other hand, who made tomb building such a special feature of their religion, have left us a few monuments of this kind outside the city but they are not of much architectural importance. The best examples are at Kadirampuram and are illustrated in Fig. 69.
Situated at a short distance to the south-west of the Vitthala temple [see the Map] is the curious monument illustrated in Fig. 13. It has been named the "King's Balance" for the sake of brevity and convenience, but its correct name is the Tul=apurusha-d=ana Monument, that is, the monument on which the kings on certain special occasions, such as a coronation, the day of a lunar or solar eclipse, a new-moon, or New Year's Day, performed the quaint religious ceremony of having themselves weighed against their own weight in gold or precious stones which were afterwards distributed among the Br=ahmans.
Supported on two lofty granite pillars of elegant appearance, is a massive stone beam or transom designed like the waggon-headed roofs of the temple gateways or In the A few years ago, the late Maharaja of Travancore performed the gopurams. On the underside of the transom are carved three stone rings for the support of the large pair of scales, which were fixed to the beam whenever the ceremony was performed. The monument faces the east and, on this side, the base of one of the stone pillars is ornamented with a crude sculptural representation of a king and his two wives. Early Indian and Sinhalese kings followed this strange custom on their coronation, and the Vijayanagar sovereigns, too, as we learn from some of their inscriptions, made this gift in accordance with the rules laid down in the s=astr=as. One inscription records that, after the capture of the famous Hill Fort at Kondavidu in the Guntur district on the 23rd June 1515 A.D., Krishna R=aya, the greatest of all the Vijayanagar sovereigns, in the same year, accompanied by his two wives, Chinnad=evi-Amma and Tirumalad=evi-Amma Tul=apurusha-d=ana ceremony, he "weighed himself against pearls."
D=anas=agara, an early work of about the eleventh century of the Christian era, it is stated "that the ceremony of Tul=apurusha-d=ana must he performed on auspicious occasions such as the day or equinox, solstices, the end or beginning of a yuga, the day of a lunar or solar eclipse, sankr=anti, or new-moon." The places for the ceremony, according to the same authority," must be sacred places of pilgrimage, a temple, a garden, a cow-pen, a house, a forest, or the neighbourhood of a river's bank. The images of Brahma, \'Siva and Achyuta (Vishnu) must be worshipped. A golden figure representing V=asud=eva must be placed in the centre of the beam. Four Br=ahmans, versed severally in the four Vedas, must be placed in the four different quarters, north, south, east and west, respectively. These will perform homa to propitiate the lords of the eight regions, the Lokap=alas. The donor must put on all his ornaments, hold his sword and wear his armour, and sit in the scale looking peacefully at the image of V=asud=eva. After the weighing is over the gold coins are to be distributed among Br=ahmans." For, as the same authority states, "a wise man must not keep in his house the money thus allotted, for a long time. He who weighs against his own person in gold and distributes it among Br=ahmans will extricate his forefathers from ten generations (past and present) and from all misery."
Tul=apurusha-d=ana ceremony; so this quaint old custom still survives in some parts of India, and no doubt the Br=ahmans would feel sorry to see a custom so advantageous to themselves disappear.
With the exception of their vast extent, their massive construction and the ingenuity with which the natural advantages of the country have been utilized, the fortifications present few points of interest. With the perennial Tungabhadra, unfordable for many miles, on its northern boundary and the almost unclimbable rocky hills, linked together by these long lines of massive walls on its other sides, the city was a place of great strength in the then conditions of warfare.
The gateways in the walls are mostly small openings spanned by stone lintels supported from below by corbels in the usual Hindu style of construction, but one or two of them are more ornamental. The road which leads north-wards to the Vitthala temple passes under one of these latter [see Fig. 15]. The remains of the brick and plaster turret above this gateway is built in the Indo-Saracenic style, while the lower portion is constructed of stone in the usual Hindu manner. In all probability, the gateway was repaired or improved by some of the Muhammadan soldiers serving as mercenaries under the Vijayanagar kings. Another example of a gateway built in this same style is the handsome domed building illustrated in Fig. 16. It is situated at a distance of about half a mile to the north-east of the Patt=abhi R=ama temple surrounded by ruined fortifications. It faces the east and appears to have been one of the main entrances on this side of the city. On the inner side of the gateway is a small guardroom containing a large image of the monkey deity Hanum=an. Between this gateway and the G=anigitti Jaina temple on the Kampli road, situated about four hundred yards to the south-east of the latter, is Bhim=a's gateway, so called because it contains a large well-carved bas-relief image of Bhima. It also contains a large inscribed memorial pillar of some kind, but unfortunately, the inscription is no longer legible. It is a handsome gateway as may Originally, the different lines of fortifications extended as far as Hospet (N=agal=apur). Paes describing the entrance into the city from this end, says it was "a very strong city fortified with walls and towers, and the gates at the entrance very strong, with towers at the gates; these walls are not like those of other cities, but are made of very strong masonry such as would be All traces of these walls at Hospet have disappeared. In the 1866 famine workers on relief were employed in throwing down much of the fort wall into the moat which then surrounded it, this latter having become a receptacle for all kinds of unsavoury rubbish.
All the early travellers, who visited Vijayanagar before its fall, were struck with astonishment at the wonderful irrigation, system that prevailed throughout the city. Thus Nuniz relates:---"This King (Krishna R=aya) also made in his time a lake for water, which lies between two very lofty hills. But since he had no Above this tank is a very large ridge all enclosed, and in the middle some very strong gates with two towers, one on one side and. one on the other; and within are always posted 1,000 men on guard. For through this gate all things must enter that come into the two cities, since in order to enter the city of Bisnaga (Vijayanagar) there is no other road but this, all other roads meeting there." Mr. Sewell commenting on the probable position of this tank states Whether this same tank which furnished the water-supply to N=agal=apur also supplied the city of Vijayanagar, is not clear from the descriptions given by Paes and Nuniz. If such was the case, then the mean water level of the tank in question must have been at a very considerable elevation above the plains in order to The lofty position of the stone aqueduct, shown in Fig. 18, suggests that the water-supply to the buildings in the citadel was derived from some tank situated in the higher hills to the north-east of the city, but no such tank exists on this side, so in all probability, the water was obtained from a well outside the citadel in the usual Indian fashion by means of large leather-buckets worked by bullocks, the water being poured into a main channel connected with branch pipes. The existing remains of the stone channel and earthenware pipes show clearly enough, that the chief object of this particular irrigation scheme was for the supply of water to the few small tanks, baths and stone troughs connected with the buildings in the citadel. No attempt was made to supply the whole city with running water from this side of the site. The northern side of the city was, and still is, provided with a continual flow of water carried by the Turuttu irrigation channel, but at no period could the citadel have obtained its water-supply direct from the river owing to its greater elevation above the latter. The amount of water required to fill the tanks and baths belonging to the State Apartments would no doubt be large, but not sufficiently so, to make the supply by wells and manual labour impossible, especially in a city where the cost of labour would not be considered so far as the King and his household were concerned. Stone aqueducts similar in all respects to the one shown in Fig. 18, connected with wells and used for irrigation purposes, may still be seen in working order in a few places in the Madras Presidency. It is probable that the water-supply to the citadel was obtained by this means and not by water carried in channels or pipes from the tank described by Paes and Nuniz which was situated at a distance of at least ten miles from the citadel. If one follows the stone aqueduct near the Throne Platform in an easterly direction, it will be found to lead straight up to the enclosure walls of the citadel on this side. Here, will be found a double line of enclosure walls, separated by a deep roadway about 10 yards in width. Apparently the aqueduct was No wells could have been sunk on the high ground to the north of the Queen's Bath. as the ground there is nothing hut sheet rock below the surface. It was no doubt the presence of the higher level at this particular spot which necessitated the channel supplying the citadel being led along the lower ground outside the Chandra S=ekara temple so as to avoid this rising ground. Providing the platform on the ramparts and the water-tower were of sufficient elevation, there would have been no difficulty in carrying a supply of water by means of a closed channel into the citadel in the manner suggested above.
This great trough stands in the enclosure in front of the large I ruined basement of the King's Audience Hall which faces the north. This open space appears to have been the courtyard in which those desiring an audience with the King waited for an interview. The stone trough would be necessary for the supply This is a square building in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and is one of the first buildings the visitor meets with on approaching the buildings in the citadel from K=amal=apur. Outside, it is a particularly plain and uninteresting structure surrounded by a narrow moat. In the centre of the building is a small tank, or swimming bath. Around this is an arched corridor with small projecting balconies overlooking the bath in the centre. The walls and arches contain some pretty stucco work here and there, similar in style to that adorning the Lotus Mahal in the Zen=an=a Enclosure, the two buildings being obviously of the same period. There is no direct evidence that this building was used as the Queen's Bath, and it is situated at a distance of half a mile from the Zen=an=a buildings. However, both ornamental baths and gardens belonging to the royal household were often situated at a considerable distance from the palace buildings and were used as pleasure resorts by the King and the ladies of the Zen=an=a.
About a quarter of a mile from the Queen's Bath as one proceeds in a north-westerly direction along the main road to Hampi, may be seen a large eight-sided structure standing by the roadside. Like the Queen's Bath, it is built in the Indo-Saracenic style and evidently belongs to the same period. It has arched openings on all sides and contains a little fountain-basin in the centre and a massive stone trough carved out of a single block of stone, which is said to have been kept full of milk for distribution to the poor during the big festivals. The remains of the old earthenware water-pipes which supplied the little fountain with water may be seen close by. The building is not of much architectural value but it is of interest and a somewhat uncommon structure illustrating how these great Vijayanagar princes thought of their poorer subjects. On the opposite side of the road situated in a field may be seen the remains of another stone water channel with a number of stone slabs on each side of it provided with plate At a short distance to the north of the Chandra S=ekara temple is a well-built eight-sided tank with the remains of a little pavilion in the centre and an open pillared corridor with a flat roof running all round the bath. Like the Queen's Bath, it appears to have been used as a pleasure resort and probably dates from the same period.
There is also a large masonry-lined tank of the usual type of Hindu construction situated on the left-hand side of the road as one enters the citadel from K=amal=apur. This is the largest tank in the citadel and may have been used as a swimming bath and for aquatic sports. It obtained its water-supply from the stone channel mentioned above.
The visitor to Hampi crosses this irrigation channel just before arriving at the Krishna temple on the main road to Hampi from K=amal=apur. The name means "swift" and is certainly deserved. The channel takes off from the Turuttu anicut across the Tungabhadra about a mile west of Hampi and is a most remarkable work, running for miles often through solid rock, along the foot of the hills. It was perhaps made by Bukka II (fourteenth century) and it now waters most of the wet lands which wind in and out about the ruins, its supply being supplemented by the tank at K=amal=apur.
pardaos.
i.e., the first that is seen on passing upwards from the plains, he states that in these hills was the principal entrance from that side. He alludes to the gates and wall, and the city, N=agal=apur, constructed by King Krishna. Then he writes 'the King made a tank there,' i.e., close to Hospet, at the mouth of two hills, and in order to do this, 'broke down a hill.' He saw innumerable people at work on the tank. He confirms the story of Nuniz as to the sixty human beings offered in sacrifice to ensure the security of the dam. Both writers are therefore describing the same tank, and taking the chronicles together, I can have no doubt as to the soundness of my identification."
Just north-east of the Queen's Bath and inside the line of walls around the citadel, are still standing a few yards of one of the stone aqueducts described above and mentioned by Abdur Razz=ak. "One sees," he said, "numerous running streams and canals formed of chiselled stone, polished and smooth." Immediately north of it rime the striking ruins of the Throne Platform, or the "House of Victory," as Paes calls it. The people know it now as the Dasara Dibba or Mah=anavami Dibba, meaning the platform (dibba) used during the nine days' festival called variously There are a considerable number of these stone platforms or basements of buildings among the ruins in the citadel, but none can compare with this one in height or beauty [Fig. 20]. It is a very massive structure, originally faced with carved granite blocks and slabs which have subsequently been partly refaced with dark green chlorite stone on the front or west side of the platform. Half-way up, there is a terraced walk around the structure, and on the upper floor on the east side, there is a small room below the level of the floor, approached by a narrow flight of stone steps on each side of the chamber. The first day they put nine castles in a piece of ground which is in front of the palace, which castles are made by the nine principal captains in the kingdom. They are very lofty and are hung with rich cloths, and in them are many dancing-girls and also many kinds of contrivances. Besides these nine, every captain is obliged to make each one his castle, and they come to show these to the Eing. Each one has his separate device, and they all come like this during the nine days of the feast. The officers of the city are bound to come with their devices each day at night, just as in our festivals, and in these nine days they slaughter animals and make sacrifice. The first day they kill nine male buffaloes and nine sheep and nine goats, and thenceforward they kill each day more, always doubling the number; and when they have finished slaying these beasts, there come nine horses and nine elephants of the King, and these come before the King covered with flowers---roses---and with rich trappings. Before them goes the Chief Master of the Horse with many attendants, and they make salaam to the King. And when these have finished making their salaams there come from within priests, and they bring rice and other cooked edibles and water, and fire, and many kinds of scents, and they offer prayers and throw the water over the horses and elephants, just (as our priests do with) holy water; In this way during these nine days they are compelled to search for all things which will give pleasure to the King.
The King has a thousand wrestlers for these feasts who wrestle before the King, but not in our manner, for they strike and wound each other with two circlets with points which they carry in their hands to strike with, and the one most wounded goes and takes his reward in the shape of a silk cloth, such as the King gives to these wrestlers. They have a captain over them, and they do not perform any other service in the kingdom. And after these nine days are finished the Rao (King) rides out and goes to hold a review of the troops of his captains. Within these nine days the King is paid all the rents that he receives from his kingdom; Many of the scenes described by Nuniz and other early travellers are depicted in the bas-relief sculptures adorning the walls of this platform. Some of the most interesting sculptures will be found on the south side of the platform. Fig. 21 shows some of the details of the bas-reliefs on the cast retaining wall of the Below the elephant procession, we have a flat band or fillet ornamented with sacred geese and conventional crocodiles, a favourite design of the early Jains and Buddhists. Then comes a dado decorated with three rows of dancing-girls and female musicians, "dancing and posturing before the King" as Nuniz has it. Although as a work of art, the sculpture is poor, the figures are not lacking in spirit and action. The plinth is decorated in a similar manner to the fillet above the dado. Perhaps, nowhere is the Jaina influence more marked than in the bas-reliefs shown in Fig. 22; these sculptures are situated to the left-hand side of those just described. In the top panel we have a representation of a parade of the King's horses. Next comes a hunting scene. One man is shown spearing a tiger or plusher, whilst two men one armed with a bow, and the other with a curiously shaped weapon and leading brace of greyhounds, are depicted hunting antelope. In the centre is a tree in which are two armed men being attacked by some wild beast. Below the tree is a boar on one side and a cross on the other, the latter is certainly peculiar, but in this case it is merely a conventional method of representing an ornamental tank. A charming view of the ruins in the citadel may be obtained from the top of this platform, the Zen=an=a Enclosure with its two lofty Watch Towers, the Elephant Stables standing alongside of it, the Haz=ara R=ama temple, and the Danaik's Enclosure may all be clearly seen from here, whilst granite peaks and rocks, tors and logging-stones indent the horizon in picturesque confusion.
Epigraphia Indica, Vol. III, p. 188.
Lying on the ground close under the northern wall of the platform, and formerly hidden from view by debris and bushes, was discovered the huge stone door now set up by the roadside on this side of the Throne Platform. It is a remarkable piece of work, cut (bolt-sockets and all) from a single stone, and panelled to represent a battened wooden door. There is nothing to indicate to which building it originally belonged.
At a short distance to the west of the Throne Platform is another large and ornamental basement of a ruined building. Presumably, it represents the ruins of a palace, possibly, that of the King since it is situated in the royal enclosure close to the Throne Platform and the King's Audience Hall to the north of it. The basements of some of the temples and palaces are often ornamented in the same way, by processions of horses, elephants and dancing-girls, but in the case of the former, the walls of the superstructure are invariably built of stone up to the first cornice, whereas the walls of the palaces were built of brick and plaster with wooden pillars carrying the upper storeys and the roof. When the debris and bushes were removed from this basement at the time when it was excavated, the remains of brick and plaster walls were found standing on the top of the platform together with a quantity of wood ash showing that the superstructure had been burned down and collapsed on to its basement below. This basement is about
This curious little structure is situated close to the last mentioned building. There seems little doubt that, originally, this chamber was an underground shrine or private chapel provided with a procession path around the main shrine. It is square on plan with a doorway facing the east, which opens into a little gloomy passage for circumambulation which was approached from the ground above by a narrow passage and a short flight of steps on its northern side. The stone bases of four pillars show that the roof was originally formed of stone slabs resting on beams. The passage is constructed in the same manner, and the whole of the interior was originally plastered and whitewashed. From the broken slabs, stone beams and mouldings removed from the interior of the building during repairs, it is clear that this little shrine originally had a superstructure built above it, which collapsed and fell into the underground chamber below, breaking the roof over the shrine in the process. In order to prevent accident and to keep out surface water and rubbish from collecting in the interior, a modern dwarf parapet wall has been constructed around the opening.
At a distance of about fifty yards to the. north of the Underground Chamber is the large platform illustrated in Fig. 25. It is the largest basement of a building among the ruins and was undoubtedly a building of considerable importance. The main entrance faced the north, and on this side there was once an open courtyard in front of the building. An examination of the upper surface of the platform shows that originally there were no less than six rows of pillars, each row containing ten pillars, as may be seen from the existing stone bases let into the floor of the platform. When the debris was removed from the top of this platform no remains of the pillars were found, so we may conclude that these were of timber and, in all probability, carved, painted and gilded. The mouldings of the base are plain and simple and not elaborately
On the south-west side of the King's Audience Hall is a large walled enclosure which is generally said to represent the ruins of the Royal Mint. Judging from the complete manner in which the Muhammadans have obliterated all traces of the buildings it once contained, this conjecture is probably correct. On leaving the courtyard in front of the King's Audience Hall, one passes through two gateways on the northern side of the citadel to the wonderful temple of Haz=ara R=ama or R=amachandra.
This temple is generally supposed to have been the private place of worship of the kings. Its particularly ornate character and its close proximity to the royal enclosure seems to favour this supposition. Like the Throne Platform, it was begun (as the inscriptions within testify) by the great Krishna D=eva R=aya in 1513
Although a comparatively small building, it is one of the most perfect specimens of Hindu temple architecture of the Vijayanagar period in existence. The temple, together with its attendant Amman shrine, stands in a walled enclosure measuring 110 feet from north to south and 200 feet from east to west, and faces the east [see Fig. 26]. It was dedicated to R=ama or R=amachandra, one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, and the bas-reliefs adorning The temple is provided with a handsome porch in front which leads into a central hall, the roof of which is mainly supported by four particularly beautiful and highly polished black stone pillars, richly carved and crowned with bracket capitals of Indo-Corinthian appearance. One of these pillars is illustrated in Fig. 27. Although a Vaishnava temple, several \'Saivite figures appear on these and other pillars in this temple, thus showing a great absence of bigotry. The north-east pillar contains a bas-relief of Vishnu riding on a horse which is apparently intended to represent Kalki, the tenth and last incarnation yet to come, in which Vishnu will appear on a white horse with a drawn sword, to restore the order of righteousness. The Buddha incarnation of Vishnu is also shown in two bas-reliefs on the exterior surface of the sanctum walls of this temple.
The north and south sides of the main hall open out into pillared side porches with steps leading out into the courtyard, whilst an entrance on the west side leads into the sanctum or shrine chamber. In here was originally enshrined an image of Vishnu in the form of R=amachandra. The whole of the building, up to the cornice with the massive projecting dripstones, is built of granite, whilst the ' The exterior walls of the shrine chamber and the pillared porticoes are decorated in a similar manner and with the same object in view, but, here, the bas-reliefs are executed in granite. Besides these interesting bas-reliefs, the beautiful little pilasters The Amman shrine stands on the north side of the main temple and faces the east. In Southern India, almost every large and important temple dedicated to a male deity is provided with an Amman shrine, in which is placed an image of the goddess who represents the god's consort. Thus a \'Siva temple would have an attendant shrine containing an image of the goddess P=arvati, the wife of \'Siva; whilst a Vaishnava temple like the one we are now considering, would have an Amman temple enshrining an image of Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. In addition to the Amman shrine, most large temples are also provided with attendant temples enshrining images of the god's sons, or his particular vahan or vehicle, or, perhaps, some weird idol representing one of the god's wonderful incarnations. Besides these minor shrines for lesser deities, every large temple courtyard is provided with one or more pillared halls or mandapas, specially constructed, and often very handsome buildings, in which during the great temple festivals certain ceremonies connected with the idols enshrined in the temples are performed such es ache annual marriage ceremony between the god and his consort. Other mandapas are used as places of religious instruction, and the cloisters or pillared verandahs usually found abutting on to the outer walls of the courtyard, are for the use of the priests, and the pilgrims who visit the temple.
The Amman shrine is always smaller than the main temple, but sometimes, as in this case, the ornamentation on the former is more elaborate than that on the latter. The two temples are shown standing together in Fig. 26, and in the foreground will be seen the remains of the old stone water channel, which used to supply all the chief buildings in the citadel with water.
The main temple was originally crowned with the usual dome-shaped brick and plaster ornament known in Southern India as the 'st=upi' which was originally surmounted by a gilded metal kalasa or finial like those which still adorn the shrines in the courtyard of the great Pamp=apati temple. The Amman shrine is roofed with a heavy waggon-headed brick and plaster ornament resembling the roofs over the temple gateways, or gopurams, as they are usually called, recalling in outline the curious roofs of the Buddhist chaityas or churches. With this exception, the construction and ornamentation of the shrine chambers of both temples is much the In the north-east corner of the enclosure is the Kalyana mandapa, or pillared hall used during the big festivals connected with the temple. It was evidently built after the outer enclosure walls wore carved and finished, with the result that a number of interesting bas-reliefs adorning the outer walls are now hidden from view by the pillars of the mandapa and also by the unsightly but necessary masonry supports erected by the Public Works Department. However, a number of scenes from the R=am=ayana can still be recognized on these walls. R=ama is shown slaying T=atak=i, a demoness who infested the forest through which he was journeying; Jat=ayu, the king of the kites, who tries to hinder R=avana from carrying off Sita and was slain in the attempt, is seen falling to the earth; three men are depicted staggering under the weight of \'Siva's bow, which R=ama had to bend to win Sita as his bride; Hanum=an is there, interviewing R=avana in Lanka and sitting on the tip of his curled-up tail in order to make himself as tall as that ten-headed demon; R=ama is shooting his arrow through seven trees at once, to prove to Sugriva that he is a warrior worthy to be trusted; R=ama, Lakshmana and Sita are being ferried across the Ganges; and R=avana is depicted in his death agony. The whole series is, perhaps, the most noteworthy thing of its kind in the ruins. On the outside of the courtyard, these same walls are decorated with five rows of bas-relief sculpture depicting scenes from the Mah=anavami festival, as may be seen in Fig. 29. The top row of the bas-reliefs contains a few scenes from the legend of Krishna and a host of dancing-girls. The second row represents a procession of dancing-girls and female musicians; the third row, a procession of soldiers; the fourth row, a procession of the King's horses; the fifth row, a procession of the State elephants.
The handsome gateway of the courtyard has been left unfinished, otherwise it would have been adorned by a lofty brick and plaster tower of the usual kind. In the verandah on the south side of the enclosure are a number of broken and mutilated sculptures executed in a similar kind of chlorite stone to that used in refacing the Throne Platform. This kind of stone, which is much softer, takes a high polish and is far easier to work than granite, Lying in the temple courtyard are a few huge blocks of stone decorated with ornamental battlements. Had the enclosure walls been finished, the coping would have been decorated with a line of battlements carved in this peculiar manner.
Part I.
st=upi' or ornamental tower over the sanctum, and the ruined parapet wall above the flat roof over the central hall and side porches, is built of brick and plaster decorated with stucco figures. This brick and plaster work is now in a very decayed condition, but sufficient remains to show how ornamental this portion of the building must have been when complete. Originally. the stucco figures and decorative features of the plaster work were picked out in bright colours partly for the sake of producing a brilliant effect, and partly with a view to representing in an anthropomorphic manner the different incarnations and legends connected with the deity enshrined in the temple.
At a short distance to the north of the Haz=ara R=ama temple is a large high-walled enclosure containing the Zen=an=a buildings. All of these, excepting the small gateways in the enclosure walls, are built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The construction of the enclosure walls is peculiar, the walls diminish in thickness as the height increases until the coping is reached, the latter being built of cement and originally armed with a row of iron spikes all round. Although the masonry is wonderfully well fitted together, the construction is weak, and it is obvious that the wall was erected as a screen to ensure privacy within and not for resistance against attack. Originally, there were only three small entrances into this enclosure. The main entrance faces the west and is illustrated in Fig. 30. It is constructed on the usual lintel and corbel principle, a method which the Hindus preferred to employing the arch, although the latter was known to them long before they came in contact with the Muhammadans as the brick arches in the (eighth century A.D.) temples at Bodh-Gaya and Bh=itargaon near Cawnpore conclusively prove. The two small entrances pierced through the walls on the east and south sides of the enclosure were made merely for the convenience of visitors by the Public Works Department some years ago.
In the centre of the enclosure is the ruined basement of a palace, possibly the Queen's Palace, since it is the largest building in the enclosure. Abdur Razz=ak particularly states that when the King desired to see the queen or any of the ladies of the Zen=an=a "he sent for them," which seems to indicate that they lived in a separate building to that occupied by the King. In some accounts of Hampi Ruins, this enclosure is described as containing the "Diw=an Khana" or public offices of the kingdom. The nature of
On the north side of the enclosure, guarding a small entrance through the walls at its base, is the lofty Watch Tower shown in Fig. 31. On the opposite side, situated in the south-east corner of the enclosure,
The finest building in the Zen=an=a Enclosure is the Lotus Mahal, which is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture at its best. It is a pretty little pavilion with an upper storey and contains some excellent stucco ornament. To judge from the clumsy manner in which the staircase to the upper storey has been built, one would imagine that it had been added as an afterthought. It looks as though the architect forgot the staircase when preparing the design and had to provide one after the building was completed. The ground floor is raised as usual on a high end ornamental stone basement but with doubly recessed angles which makes the plan of the building peculiar, a feature which, perhaps, gave rise to its singular appellation. This pavilion is open on all sides and provided with massive pillars and arches supporting the room above which is reached by the flight of steps on the north side. The upper room is provided with numerous little windows on all sides, each window originally having little wooden shutters, a feature which we do not find in any other building here, and one which tends to strengthen the conjecture that these buildings do really represent those of the Zen=an=a. While the pillars and arches are Muhammadan in character, the base, roof, cornice and stucco ornament are Hindu in design. It is an interesting and not unpleasant blending of these two different styles and a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. In the south-west corner of the enclosure is a tattle pavilion situated in the middle of a small tank or swimming bath. On the east side, close to the main entrance, is a building which in all probability was used as a guard-room, or quarters for the female guards mentioned by the Portuguese travellers. Just outside the enclosure, on the south side, is the small temple of Ranga containing a large stone image of Hanum=an some nine feet high.
These are situated just outside the Zen=an=a Enclosure, on the eastern side of the latter. With the exception of some of the tops of the domes, this building is almost entirely Muhammadan in character and faces due west. It is a long oblong building
Close to the Elephant Stables, facing the south is the Gothic-looking building illustrated in Fig. 35. With the exception of the arched verandah in front of the building, it is similar on plan to the quarters for the female guards inside the Zen=an=a Enclosure. It has sometimes been fancifully called "the Concert Hall," but this is obviously incorrect. Both on plan and in general arrangement the two buildings are identical, the only difference being that the so-called "Concert Hall" is raised higher above the ground, is now roofless over its central portion and is provided in front with a verandah. Both buildings are oblong on plan and have only one entrance, which is in front. Around the walls of the interior is a raised platform extending ail round, leaving a large oblong open space in the centre. The raise platform in both buildings is divided up into a number of equal spaces with pillars in between carrying arches supporting, the vaulted roofs above. It is possible, and extremely probable, that the spaces between these rows of pillars were originally closed with rubble walls so as to form a number of small rooms or cubicles, similar to those which may still be seen in some portions of the ruined Bazaar at Hampi. In fact, in the building in the Zen=an=a Enclosure, traces of the old mud walls still exist. A lot of the walls were removed when the buildings were cleaned out and repaired by the Public Works Department. The general impression that these two buildings give one, is that they are "dharmas=al=as" or rest-houses In other words, quarters for the guards whose duty it was to protect the Zen=an=a Enclosure. If the Elephant Stables were used as such, this Gothic-looking building,
The Danaik was the Commander-in-Chief of the troops, and the enclosure containing the ruins of his palace and other apartments is situated at a short distance to the west of the Haz=ara R=ama temple, the new road from the citadel to Hampi passing the entrance into the enclosure. In the centre of the enclosure is a ruined basement of a building which, we may presume, represents the remains of the Danaik's palace. There are the remains of several other structures in the enclosure, but the only buildings of any interest are a large pillared hall or pavilion which appears to have been converted into a mosque, a lofty tower, similar to but smaller than the one in the south-east corner of the Zen=an=a Enclosure, and a massive stone built Watch Tower in the north-west corner of the enclosure.
We know from Ferishta,
In the north-west corner of the enclosure there is a lofty square stone tower built in the Muhammadan style. It is a particularly massive structure and resembles a bastion more than a watch tower. With the exception of a little chamber in the basement and the narrow stone staircase on the south side, the tower appears to be solid. On top of the tower is a small room divided on the west side into three little chambers on a raised platform. On the north side there appears to have also been a raised platform in front of the large window on this side which corresponds in size to the window on the west side Below these two windows are massive corbels for supporting projecting balconies in front. From the shape of these windows, the raised platforms in front of them and the particularly massive nature of the corbels and the tower itself, there seems little doubt that guns were mounted on these platforms. The two little chambers on each side of the western window were probably for the The rest of the buildings at Hampi constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style are those connected with the wonderful irrigation system, such as the Queen's Bath, the Octagonal Pavilion, and the Octagonal Bath; and a few of the gateways already described. It is unlikely that any of the buildings in this style of architecture are earlier than the fifteenth century, and in all probability most of them are about a century later than that date.
On leaving the Danaik's Enclosure, and following the road in a westerly direction, one comes to the so-called Underground Temple close to the junction of this road with the main road to Hampi. The temple is no longer underground as the accumulated silt and rubbish that once buried it has been removed by the Public Works Department. It is a large \'Siva temple, and it was originally purposely built below the level of the surrounding ground so that the linga might stand surrounded by water. It seems to have been the chief temple connected with N=aga worship, judging from the number of n=agakals (serpent stones) [see Fig. 7] collected in the north-east corner of the temple. The big gateway facing the east has been left unfinished. Had this been completed it would have had a lofty brick and plaster tower of the usual kind above it. Another temple built in the same manner, so far as the linga is concerned, is the small \'Siva temple next to the monolithic statue of Narasimha, in which the base of the large stone linga still stands under water. A number of other cases of half-buried temples could be pointed out among the ruins, but until The road to Hampi now rims over a low rocky saddle, just missing a great chance of a striking effect by passing to one side of, instead of under, the wonderful natural arch made by the two gigantic rocks which lean against one another to the cast of it [see Fig. 3]---and leads through one of the outer lines of walls of the city by a small ruined gateway. About half a mile further on, it turns sharply to the right between two small temples. The eastern of these is the temple of Udd=ana V=orabhadra, in which worship is still performed by the Ling=ayats. Under the outer wall of it, on the edge of the road, stand two little sati stones and an inscription recording that the image inside the temple was set up in 1545. On the opposite side of the road, is the group of sati memorials illustrated in Fig. 11, and already described above.
A few yards further on the road crosses the Turuttu channel already mentioned.
A few yards to the west of the road at this point, standing in a walled enclosure, is a huge monolithic statue of Narasimha, the hideous Man-lion incarnation of Vishnu. An inscription on a stone slab set up in front of the enclosure records that it was hewn out of a single boulder by a Br=ahman in 1528Epigraphia Indica, I, 399.
Alongside of the Narasimha statue ifs the small \'Siva temple containing the enormous stone linga referred to above, the base
On the rising ground immediately to the north of these two monuments is the large temple of Krishna, which is yet another of Krishna D=eva R=aya's additions to the city. An inscription within relates that he built it in 1513 (about the same time, that is, as the Throne Platform and Haz=ara R=ama temple) to enshrine an image of Krishna
Just beyond the Krishna temple and on the western side of the road are the two shrines illustrated in Fig. 40. The small plain stone-built shrine in the foreground contains a rather curious object of worship carved upon the natural sheet rock on which the little temple stands. This represents the footprints of Vishnu encircled by the serpent Sesha. In style, this little shrine resembles some of the small fourteenth century Jaina temples in South Kanara. The projecting ends of the stone beams carrying the roof and the hoard-like eaves indicate an unmistakable wooden origin for this style of building.
This great monolithic image of the popular deity Gan=esa, the belly-god, which is ironically named the S=asivikallu, or "the stone like a mustard seed" stands under the open pillared mandapa on the rocky hillock immediately above the little Vishnu shrine just described. The rat, the vahan or vehicle of Gan=esa, is carved on a separate piece of stone set up in front of the image.
A few yards further up the road one arrives at the top of the hill where the road descends somewhat suddenly to Hampi Bazaar below. On this saddle are situated a few ruined buildings of no particular interest and the handsome Kadalaikallu Gan=esa temple illustrated in Fig. 42. It contains a companion monolith of the same god which in the same spirit has been nicknamed the Kadalaikallu or the "grain-of-gram stone." The lofty pillars of the
Lower down the northern slope of the hill overlooking the courtyard of the Pamp=apati temple is the largest group of Jaina-like temples in the city [see Fig. 44]. Their stepped pyramidal towers, so unlike anything else among the ruins, are very noticeable. On plan, these temples are mostly cruciform and usually contain three shrine cells opening into a central pillared hall with a flight of steps in front which here faces the north. Although this style of architecture is usually referred to as Jaina, we often find Hindu temples built in the same style, but the Jains certainly favoured this style to a greater extent than the Hindus. Unlike the Hindus, the Jains almost invariably selected a picturesque site for the erection of their temples, valuing rightly the effect of environment on their architecture. Besides this group of temples in this style, there is the G=anigitti Jaina temple on the Kampli road which will be referred to later, two dilapidated examples to the east of the Elephant Stables, two more just north of the northern gopuram of the Pamp=apati temple and yet another about a mile north-east of Hampi, standing on the hillside above the path which
On leaving these temples and passing through the ruined gateway on the east, which affords access to them from the path above, the visitor passes down a steep path leading over the rocks into Hampi Bazaar below and arrives outside the main entrance into the enclosure surrounding the temple of Pamp=apati or Vir=up=aksha, the oldest and most sacred Hindu temple in the city. The meaning of the word Pamp=a, and the original characteristics of \'Siva in the form of Vir=up=aksha, have already been explained in Part I. The main shrine contains a stone linga of the usual kind which is worshipped as the symbol of Pamp=a, or Vir=up=aksha. Parts of the temple, as already mentioned, are older than the founding of the kingdom of Vijayanagar itself. Later additions were of course made and Harihara I, the first of the Vijayanagar rulers, is credited with having built a temple here in honour of M=adhava or Vidy=aranya, the Br=ahman sage who had helped him in the founding of the city, and as an inscription within it shows Krishna D=eva R=aya built (in 1509--10) the rangamandapa in front of the god's shrine in honour of his coronation. He is also credited with having constructed the big eastern and northern gateways, but another account states that the latter is called the Kannagiri Gopuram and was built by a chief of the place of that name in the Nizam's Dominions. It was repaired in 1837, when temples were still under the management of Government, by Mr. F. W. Robertson, the then Collector of the district, and is decorated in an unusual style with many clusters of little pilasters and very few of the stucco figures with which these buildings are usually so profusely decorated.
The shrine to Bhuvanesvari contains a beautifully executed Ch=alukyan doorway flanked by the pierced stone windows characteristic Opposite the principal gate stand four columns (stambhas), two gilded and the other two copper, for all are of copper. That which stands nearest the gate of the temple was given by this King Crisnar=ao (Krishna R=aya) who now reigns here, and the others by his predecessors. All the outer side of the gate of the temple (doorway of the main shrine) up to the roof is covered with copper and gilded, and on each side of the roof on the top are certain great animals that look like tigers, all gilt. As soon as you enter this idol shrine, you perceive from pillar to pillar on which it is supported many little holes in which stand oil lamps, which burn, so they tell me, every night, and they will be in number, two thousand five hundred or three thousand lights. As soon as you Between gate and gate are images of little idols. The principal idol is a round stone (linga) without any shape; they have great devotion for it. This building outside is all covered with copper gilt. At the back of the temple outside, close to the verandahs of which I have spoken, there is a small idol of white alabaster with six arms; in one it has a sword, and in the others sacred emblems, and it has below its feet a buffalo, and a large animal which is helping to kill that buffalo. The other temples aforesaid are made in the same manner, but this one is the principal one and the oldest; they all have many buildings and gardens with many trees, in which the Br=ahmans cultivate their vegetables, and other herbs that they eat. Whenever the festival of any of these temples occurs they drag along certain triumphal cars which run on wheels, and with it go dancing-girls and other women with music to the temple (conducting) the idol along the said street with much pomp."
Standing outside the temple are two wooden cars, but neither are very old, in fact one was made only two or three years ago, but it is interesting to think that the car festival referred to by Paes continues at the present day. During the big annual festival in the spring, every house and shelter in this old bazaar is occupied by a crowd of some twenty thousand people who come from all parts of the Madras Presidency and the Nizam's Dominions and collect round about the Pamp=apati temple at this period and remain
At the eastern end of Hampi Bazaar a path leads over the rocks to the Soolai Bazaar and Achyuta R=aya's temple, but a pleasanter and more interesting way of getting there, is to take the stone-paved pathway near this end of the street which leads towards the river and thereafter winds among the huge rocks on its brink to the temple of K=odanda R=ama, which lies just opposite to the gorge which has been referred to above. During the floods the sight the river presents at this spot is most impressive. The whole body of the stream is hurled through a narrow channel, the depth of which must be considerable. The force of the stream is strongly exhibited in the large cavities worn in the rocks which become visible when the river is low. The temple in which regular worship is still performed is regarded as an important place of pilgrimage and faces the most sacred bathing-pool in the river, but is itself of no architectural interest and has been spoilt by modern additions.
Keeping still to the river bank and proceeding in a north-easterly direction, one arrives at the northern end of another
This is another of the larger temples and is situated in a double I walled enclosure of great size with lofty gateways, an Amman shrine, and numerous mandapas and verandahs in various stages of decay. The temple has the usual pillared hall in front, now in ruins, and faces the north. Inscriptions on its gateways show that it was built by King Achyuta R=aya in 1539. It is designed on similar lines to the famous Vitthala temple, but will not hear comparison with that superb building. However, it contains some handsome pillars and carefully finished sculpture. The cloister-like verandah running all round the inner courtyard with its carved pillars and small engaged columns and handsome plinth, decorated with well-carved panels representing an elephant procession, is a handsome piece of work as may be seen in Fig. 50. The carving here is excellent considering it is executed in granite. The best work will be found in the panels between the plinth and cornice mouldings of the basement on the west and north-western sides of the verandah. Here, near the gateway on the west, will be found the curious bas-relief representing a combination of a bull and an elephant shown in Fig. 51. The stone-carving of the ruined gateways, too, deserves notice, particularly that on the northern gateway of the inner courtyard illustrated in Fig. 52. The stone work of this is decorated with the different incarnations and the conch and chakram symbols of Vishnu, In the north-western corner of the outer courtyard, is a large and nicely carved Kalay=ana Mandapa, or hall in which the annual marriage ceremony of the god and goddess took place. During this ceremony the images were placed on the raised platform at the back of the hall.
The visitor who desires to climb to the top of the
As there are no ruins of interest on the southern side of Achyuta R=aya's temple, the visitor should retrace his steps to the footpath that runs along the northern end of the Soolai Bazaar. At this end of the street, on the opposite side of the path, is a ruined temple and a large unfinished gateway leading into the same. Carved on the inner walls of this gateway, may be observed the Var=aha, or boar incarnation of Vishnu, standing before a drawn sword with the sun and moon represented above the figure [see Fig. 5]. This device was used by the rulers of Vijayanagar as their crest and occurs on several monuments set up during that period. The building is known, locally, as the Var=aha Perumal temple. To the west of this standing at the extreme north-western end of the Soolai Bazaar surrounded by jungle growth, is a picturesque little ruin representing another Vaishnava shrine dedicated to Anantasayana or Vishnu reclining on the coils of the serpent S=esha, illustrating the birth of Brahma. A willed stucco representation of the scene is depicted above the cornice of the front of the building.
On the eastern side of the northern end of the Soolai Bazaar, standing on a raised masonry platform immediately above the pathway leading to the Vitthala temple, is another little temple of Vishnu containing a similar representation of Anantasayana carved upon a natural boulder over which the temple has been built. This sculpture is well preserved and nicely carved and is worthy of notice It is situated about 40 yards to the east
After passing the Anantasayana temple to the east of the Soolai Bazaar and the few ruined shrines near it, which are unimportant and call for no remarks, the path leads on to the Jaina-like temple illustrated in Fig. 54. It stands on rising ground above the pathway facing the river and has the usual stepped tower over the shrine which is generally associated with Jaina temples. The shrine itself faces the east and has the usual pillared hall in front and is surrounded by a walled enclosure. It has a two-storeyed mandapa on the south and is provided by a flight of stone steps leading up to the courtyard on its northern side. Outside, is the usual stambha or stone-pillar. The shrine contains no idol, and the bas-relief sculptures are all Vaishnava in character. Thus Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, occupies the place of honour over the doorways into the hall in front of the shrine, and figures of Hanum=an and Garuda respectively are carved on each side of both doorways, while on the bases of the southern entrance are two representations of Vishnu acting as the door-keeper or guardian of the temple. On the side walls of the entrance passage into the sanctum, outside, is the figure of an elephant, similar to the one carved on the sati stone standing in front of the temple near the path referred to above. These Vaishnava sculptures would lead one to suppose that it is not a Jaina temple, in spite of the fact that it is built in the particular style which they usually adopted. However, as in South Kanara, Jaina temples are often covered in Hindu figures, in fact built by Hindu masons. and when asked why they permit their temples to be decorated with representations of the great Hindu deities, the Jain usually replies that these figures merely show that the Hindu gods are subordinate to the Jaina saint or 'tirthankara'
Opposite to this temple, facing the path, is the cave (conspicuously marked with the usual red and white vertical lines) in which Sugriva kept Sita's jewels and the mark on he rock made by her garment as it fell.
Beyond it are the remains of a ruined bridge which crossed the river on monolithic pillars. Judging from the remains, it appears to have been originally constructed on the same lines as those employed in building the car streets and temple verandahs, namely, two rows of monolithic uprights carrying cross beams supporting flat roof slabs. Advantage was taken of the small islands and the shallowness of the river at this point, but even then, it was a rather daring undertaking and it is unlikely that it could have stood for very long if it was ever completed which seems doubtful, as none of the early visitors mention it.
The path now leads past a number of small ruined shrines under a lofty two-storeyed gateway and up to, and under, the curious monument illustrated in Fig. 13. This is the King's Balance, or more correctly the Tul=apurusha-d=ana monument mentioned above. Proceeding forward, the path passes through the remains of a large unfinished gateway up to the enclosure of the famous Vitthala temple. The monolithic pillars forming the jambs of this great gateway are beautifully decorated with figures of Gang a and floriated scroll ornament similar to that which we noticed on the gateways of Achyuta R=aya's temple. To the north of it, is a small but well built little temple of Vishnu, of excellent proportion and designed in good taste and picturesquely situated It contains no idol and the tower over its shrine is in ruins, but it is, nevertheless, an interesting little building worthy of notice. It contains inscriptions which relate that it was built by Sad=asiva R=aya in A.D. 1561--1562.
We now pass on to the Vitthala temple, the most splendid building in the city. It was dedicated to Vishnu in the form of Vitthala or Vith=oba. Vith=oba is a god of the Maratha country and is rarely met with outside it. He is regarded as a form of Krishna. In and about the temple are no less than 23 inscriptions of dates ranging from A.D. 1513 to 1564. Several of these are damaged, but those which are still legible show that Krishna D=eva R=aya, to whom the city owes so much, began the temple in 1513 and endowed it with villages; that his two queens built the gateways and presented golden vessels to the shrine; and that his two successors' Achyuta and Sad=asiva, and many private individuals, made gifts of various kinds to the building. The temple was never finished nor consecrated. In all probability, the work was stopped by the destruction of the city in 1565, but. tradition gives another reason and says that it was built specially for the famous image of Vith=oba at Pandharpur in the Shol=apur district of Bombay, but that the god, having come to look at it, refused to move, The temple stands in a high walled, stone-paved enclosure with three gateways on the north, south and east sides. respectively. All of them are now in ruins and the larger one on the eastern side was found to be in such a dangerous condition that it had to be closed to the public. The temple has the usual Amman shrine, attendant temples and mandapas and cloister-like verandahs running round the courtyard. The flat-roof over the shrine In any other temple, the beauty of the Kaly=ana Mandapa alone would he sufficient to excite wonder and admiration in its beholder. It is a magnificent building and built on similar lines to the mah=amandapa or great hall in front of the main shrine and contains a dais in its centre for the reception of the images of the god and goddess during their annual marriage ceremony. In front of the main temple is the stone car of the god. It is a very The Amman shrine, and the few other attendant buildings in the courtyard, which in any other situation would be considered notable instances of patient, careful workmanship, are entirely dwarfed by the magnificence of the great hall and the Kaly=ana Mandapa just described. In the mandapa on the southern side of the courtyard is a collection of broken sculptures discovered when the enclosure was cleared of rubbish and jungle growth. The sculptures are broken and mutilated but some of them still exhibit signs of excellent workmanship.
Facing the eastern gateway of the temple are the remains of another ruined car street or bazaar and a small Vishnu temple to the north of it. On the south side, there is also another temple and a ruined mandapa of no particular interest. The path follows the ruined bazaar to the east and eventually joins the main road between K=amal=apur and Talarigattu [see the Map].
Returning to K=amala=pur by the Talarig=attu road, one passes a large tank and the M=alyav=anta Raghun=atha temple beyond it which is situated on the commanding hill to the east of the road [see the Map]. The entrance, however, is on the Kampli road. The temple stands in a high-walled enclosure and has the usual gateways and attendant buildings. The main object of worship here, is a figure of R=ama carved upon a huge boulder, and the st=upi of the shrine is perched on the top of this, as may be seen in Fig. 64. The large hall in front of the temple and the Kaly=ana Mandapa contain the best sculpture and workmanship. The quaint fishes, marine monsters and serpents carved on the walls of the courtyard deserve notice. Among these, may be observed two serpents bair=agi from Bihar settled down in it, revived the worship and organized a car festival. The temple is the property of the Government and only leased to the bair=agi on certain conditions. It is not a particularly interesting monument, and unless the visitor has plenty of time to spare it is hardly worth a visit, but it is a place of importance to the pious pilgrim.
Further along the road, about half a mile from the K=amal=apur Resthouse, on the southern side of the road, is the G=anigitti temple. G=anigitti means 'an oil-woman,' and why the temple should be so named is not apparent. It is a Jaina temple, and the tower above its shrine is built in the series of steps which is the most noticeable feature of this style. The handsome monolithic stambha or pillar in front of the entrance bears an important inscription from which we learn that the temple was erected by a Jaina general named
Almost opposite, to this temple, at a short distance from the road, is the \'Siva shrine known as the Chandras=ekara temple. It is situated close to the Queen's Bath and is one of the first monuments the visitor meets with when going in that direction. It is of no particular artistic or historic interest, but is a well built compact little building.
This is the largest temple among the ruins and is situated half a mile to the east of K=amal=apur on the road to Bellary. An inscription within shows that it was built by Achyuta R=aya (A.D. 1530--1542), and is remarkable for little but its size and the lofty proportions of its great hall in front of the shrine which faces the east. It is, however, a fine structure and deserves notice. To appreciate buildings of this class at their true value, one should visit them before seeing such magnificent buildings as the Vitthala and Haz=ara R=ama temples, for the former are entirely dwarfed by the magnificence of the latter and in comparison appear commonplace.
The only other building of importance that has not yet been described, is the great temple of Anantasayana at Anantasainagudi, a village one mile from Hospet on the road to K=amal=apur. A description of this curious temple has been reserved for the last as the visitor will find it convenient to see it on his way back to Hospet. The inner shrine of this great building is oblong on plan and contains a correspondingly lengthy pedestal for the accommodation of the huge image of Anantasayana for which it was originally built. But the most wonderful part of the whole building
At a distance of 4\f12 miles from Hospet there is a branch road leading off the K=amal=apur road to the village of Kadir=ampuram to the north and thence on to Hampi [see the Map]. By the side of this road, at the distance of nearly a mile from its junction with the Hospet road, may be seen the only Muhammadan tombs of any interest in this neighbourhood. These consist of a large walled enclosure containing three small tombs and a small domed And here we may take leave of Hampi ruins. If the traveller visits all the various buildings referred to above, he may safely return to Hospet feeling that he has seen all the remains of this wonderful old city which are deserving of notice. With the exception of the Pamp=apati temple, Hampi Bazaar, and the Kodanda R=ama temple, all the ruins belong to Government, and the visitor may enter any portion of the buildings and go wherever he pleases. Name boards have been provided to all the monuments worthy of notice, and signposts have been set up at the junctions of all roads throughout the ruins. So, with this assistance and the aid of the Map given here, the visitor should have no trouble in finding his way about the ruins without the assistance of a local guide.