One day visit to golden temple

Ops.. we had planned to go for outing after a long time..after a year. Anyways it was decided to go to Rangasthala and ghati subramanya but last minute plan got changed and all decided to go Vellore golden temple. Even I heard about it and seen some mails about the place,so interested me to visit once. So we left B'lore at 7:30am on Saturday. This time we went by car. Its 250km away from B'lore.Road was good but have to pay for toll in 3 places.

About Vellore:
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Golden Temple - when uttered this word, immediately people thinks of Amritsar and the Highest Body of the Sikh's pride Golden Temple. But now it has got a good competition! Yes, an estimated over 600 Crores of Indian Rupees spent, to construct a true Golden Temple for Goddess Mahalakshmi, the presiding deity, (installed and maintained by Sri Narayani Peedam) in this Temple at Sripuram, which is situated 6 km away from the District Headquarters - Vellore, North Arcot District in Tamilnadu. Now, the temple is complete, open to the general public; this town Sripuram has all the facilities one can visit to enjoy his/her spiritual experience.

A Mahalakshmi temple called 'Sripuram' and made of more than a ton of pure gold will glitter and gleam under the sun on August 24 when it is unveiled for consecration by the Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls himself Narayani Amma. Devotees hail the temple as 'one of the wonders of the world' and say that it is the only temple covered fully with gold.

More than 400 gold and coppersmiths from the Tirupathi Thirumala Devasthanam are said to have worked for six years to craft the Rs. 600-crore golden temple located on 55,000 sq ft of land on a 100-acre salubrious stretch in Malaikodi, about 6 km from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent manner "

First the coppersmiths set to work creating a copper base on the temple structure with engravings and etchings before the gold, beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The sanctum sanctorum will hold the deity of Mahalakshmi made of stone granite, but covered with gold protection layers. (Kavacham - adornments).

While coming back we visited Vellore fort. It was huge fort.

Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in Vellore city near Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was built by the Nayakar governors of the Vijayanagara Empire and was constructed with large granite blocks. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

The Fort's ownership passed from the Nayaks, to the Bijapur Sultans, to Marathas, to the Carnatic Nawabs and finally to the British, who held the fort until India gained independence. During British rule, the Tippu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha were held in as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a Christian church, a Muslim mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter of which is famous for its magnificent carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it is also a witness to the tragic massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya.

While on the way back we visited Yalagiri hills.

How to reach:

Bangalore - Vellore (via Hosur) - 220 kms (On national highway routes - NH7 > via - Hosur Road - Electronic City - Attibele(NH7) - Hosur - Kamandoddi - Shoolagiri- Melumalai - Kurubarapalli - Krishnagiri > NH46> - Bargur - Vaniyambadi - Ambur - Pallikondaj - Vellore. - around 4 hours drive)

One day picnic to Mekedatu and Chunchi falls

We have planned to visit Mekedatu and Chunchi falls on this weekend. So planned to start early morning at 5:00am,but unfortunately it started drizzling at 4:30. So had to wait for 30mins more to rain to stop. So we all gathered at METRO, kanakapura road. We 7 on four bikes headed towards Kanakapura...We decided to go to Chunchi falls first.The falls is settled 90 km away from Bangalore city. It is 16 km before the Sangama and is located in the Kanakapura taluk. The waterfall is about 6km away from the deviation. The waterfall is nestled among the amazing ranges of rocks on the banks of the River Arkavati. It is located on the way to Yelehalli from Sangam. One can reach to Chunchi falls from Kanakapura. The waterfall is in the backdrop of scenic settings and it offers eye catching panoramic views of the surroundings. It is surrounded by dense and green forests. The falls is a popular picnic spots. Even though it is a small waterfall, the beauty of its rushing cascades of water in a green setting enchants tourists.

Mekedatu
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Mekedatu means Goat's Leap in Kannada. ‘Mekedatu’ is the place where the Kaveri (Cauvery) River flows through a narrow ravine. Legend has it that the channel was so narrow that sheep would jump across, and hence the name Mekedatu (Meke = sheep/goat, datu = cross in Kannada) Here the Cauvery river jumps in to deep narrow gorge over which even a goat can leap. One can drive only up to Cauvery Akravati Sangama. After this you can cross the river in coracle ( circular boats ) or by walking if the water level is low. From here Mekedatu is 4km downstream. There is two buses available at the other end which can take you till Mekedatu, but the buses are in horrible condition. We had to pay 40Rs each for round trip. The journey was jumpy ;) The rocks at Mekedatu get slippery during monsoon. Once we back from Mekedatu we decided to go to Shivanasamudra and Talakadu but we couldn't make it Shivanasamudra. When we reached Talakadu it was almost 6:00pm so few of our mates took bath in river and we had chicken and fish and started back to B'lore.

Mekedatu is about 93Kms from Bangalore. The first 89Kms till Sangam can be undertaken in a vehicle, but for the last 4Kms we need to cross a river and either take a different transport bus or
go walking.








How to reach
B'lore-->Kanakapura-->Sangama

Distance
90kms to Chunchi falls

Family picnic to Belur and Halebidu

Few words about Belur

Belur is a small town in the Hasan district of Karnataka. Here, kings of the Hoysala dynasty constructed the 'Chennakeshava' (handsome Vishnu) temple. It is about one hundred feet high and has a magnificent gateway tower (gopuram), built in Dravidian style. The main temple, surrounded by a group of subsidiary shrines, stands in the center of a rectangular, paved courtyard along the perimeter of which are ranges of cells fronted by a pillared veranda. The temple has lost its super structure but looks very imposing. It has a pillared hypostyle hall (navaranga), a square vestibule (antale ), and a solid, stellate vimana. Three entrances lead into the hall, each being flanked by a shrine. The doorways are guarded on either side by the gorgeously decorated doorkeepers called Jaya and Vijaya. The extensive hall is supported by forty-six pillars, each of a different design. There is one monolithic pillar can be seen near to navaranga.None of the pillars or carvings are similar thou it looks so, when we observed closely there will be slight changes in each design.The symbol of Hoysalas is a man killing a tiger.

Symbol of Hoysala dynasty

The temple was built using the soft soapstone with very intricate carvings.The temple looks like a casket and its 178 feet long(east-west wise)and 156 feet broad(north west wise)
The unique pillars were manufactured by rough-finishing a monolithic block of stone and then mounting it in upright position on a wheel. This was rotated against a chisel, set as a turning tool. Each pillar has a bell-shaped member towards the lower half of the shaft. A sloping bracket has been fixed to the capital by means of sockets. The brackets were carved from single slabs into images, enshrined with leafy aureoles of beautiful maidens known as 'shilabalakis'. The seductive, voluptuary emphasis is remarkable. The subjects are all secular and mostly represented are voluptuous maidens. All are graceful, charming and fascinatingly chiseled out. Each damsel is celestial, with exuberant serene beauty, exhibiting the virtuosity of the sculptors. They all are in conformity with the art of dance and sculpture ( 'Natya' and 'Shilpa' shastras). Hence, their breasts remind of the moon, the waist resembles that of a swan, and their hips remind those of an elephant.

Bittiga, the fourth and mightiest monarch of the Hoysala dynasty, was converted from the Jain faith to the Vaishnava faith by the sage Ramanuja. The king changed his name to Vishnuvardhana and built temples with great vigor and dedication. In order to commemorate his victory over the Cholas in the battle of Talkad, he built Belur Temple in 1117 A.D. and it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task.The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas).The inside is even more richly carved on its panels and pillers. There is not a portion of the structure that has been left uncarved.The architecture is extremly complex, yet regard for proportion is well maintained. If you insert a thread into the pupil of an eye on one of the sculptures, it would emerge through the nose. suspend a taut string from the forehead of a dancer and it will fall straight to an uplifted toe. The queen Shantala, though a Jain by faith, was noted for catholicity of her religious outlooks. She was a well-known dancer and on one of the temple's brackets her dancing pose has been sculptured in the most ornate and in exuberant style.

The single pillar which stood outside the temple is a monolithic stone and surprising thing is only its three edges are touching the ground and we can pass the paper or kerchief under the pillar. It stood in gravitational force. Hats off to the technological idea which they had so long back.Such technology we can see in Hampi temple as well.

In the rich marble screens of the navaranga there are twenty-eight grill windows. Some are pierced with the conventional patterns. They are generally star-shaped, with bands of foliage, and with figures and mythological subjects. On one of the screens king Vishnuvardhana is shown beside his queen Shantala. A metallic icon of the period depicts the king in a standing posture which gives the exact idea about his stature, personality, dress and different ornaments he wore.

Historians find a tradition that the ancient and medieval Indian artists rarely sign their work of art. However, the Hoysala sculptors have broken this custom and signed their sculptures. They engraved their names, titles and even the place of their origin at the foot of their art work. The stone inscriptions and copper plates of the period give some more details about these artisans. Mallitamma was the most prolific of all known Hoysala artists and more than forty well-executed sculptures stand in his name. Dasoja and his son chavana(though legends assign it to one Jakanachari) were migrants of a nearby town called Ballegavi. Javana is credited for the sculptures of five madanakai damsels and his father is credited for another four. Malliyanna and Nagoja have included birds and animals in their sculptures. The sculptures located in the navaranga were carved out by Chikkahampa and Malloja. It is a great pity that no biographical details about these artisans are available. What these sculptures brought them in return to their hard and extremely pain-taking work must have been a pittance! However, even after a lapse of eight centuries, the art lovers of the whole world can adore them.

The temple occupied nearly 4 acres of land and there are other temples like Kappechennigaraya,Vijayanarayana,Saumyanayaki,Andal etc.

Halebidu

One of the rich carvings in Halebidu
Halebidu (which was previously called Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra) was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is home to one of the best examples of Hoysala architecture in the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareshwara temples.
The Hoysaleswara temple was built during this time by Ketamala(Kethumalla) and attributed to Vishnuvardhana,Kethumalla was king's chief minister.He showed his loyalty to his king by builting the temple and worshiped as God.Then it was sacked by the armies of Malik Kafur in the early 14th century, after which it fell into a state of disrepair and neglect.Even while british govt. was in rule in India took all the shilabalika's whichever was in good condition(un destroyed by muslims). One can see the places in each nook blank.
The temple complex comprises two Hindu temples, the Hoysaleshawara and Kedareshwara temples and two Jain basadi. In front of these temples there is a big lake. The town gets its name the from the lake, Dhwara samudhra which means entrance from ocean. The two nandi bull statues which are on the side of the Hoysaleshwara temple are monolithic. soap stone or Chloritic Schist was used for the construction of these temples. However a number of sculptures in the temple are destructed by invaders. So the temple is incomplete. Halebid means ruined city. There is an archeological museum in the temple complex.

The Hoysaleswara temple, dating back to the 1121 C.E., is astounding for its wealth of sculptural details. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and Shilabalikas or dancing figures. Yet no two sculptures of the temple are the same. This magnificent temple guarded by a Nandi Bull was never completed, despite 86 years of labour. The Jain basadi nearby are equally rich in sculptural detail.

Its worth to hire guide and get to know the description about the carvings. Each carving tells different stories and to be frank to get to know each temple it will take not less than 2-3 days.Belur is famous for inner beauty where as Halibidu outer beauty.

Though this was my fourth trip to Belur and Halibidu I never say no to visit these places whenever I get chance to go.

How to reach
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From Udupi-->Karkal-->Ujire-->Moodigere-->Kottigehara-->Belur-->Halebidu

Distance
Nearly 250kms

One day picnic to Antharagange

We received a call from our friends on Friday night at 10:00pm saying we have to go to antharagange tomorrow. We had no proper plan to go out for that weekend hence last weekend we had been to Hampi. So this was the new place we heard about and we decided to go. So morning around 6:00am we left B'lore and headed towards Kolar. It was so chilling ride I swear we were literally shivering. We came to normal condition once we had morning breakfast at hoskote.

Antharagange hill, considered to be the hidden treasure of natural resources, is situated near Kolar, the land of gold. The hill is just a stone’s throw away from Kolar and any season is just fine to visit the place. It is a hill range with huge volcanic rocks and boulders scattered all over. Thorny shrubs cover the hill, while there is dense plantation forest at the base.
Antharagange, enriched with Shola forests, has been attracting tourists from various parts of the country, throughout the year. The region, covered by seven to eight huge hills, is also known for its rich wildlife and biodiversity.


Antharagange water source,temple
Reaching this place is in fact a real good physical exercise as one has to climb thousands of steps. The Kashi Vishweshwara temple, situated on top of the hill, attracts a good number of devotees. Water flowing out of the mouth of a small basava (bull) statue installed beside the temple is considered as the 'prasadam' of Lord Shiva. This water flows into a pond beside the temple.

Flight of steps, halfway the hill leads to an ancient temple. The spring at this temple is claimed to wash off your sins. The forty-five minutes hill climbing will keep you panting for breath and opens up for an extensive and beautiful green plateau on the top. Anthargange is an ideal location for light trek, rock climbing and camping. Big and small boulders have helped to form cave like formations offering exhilarating network of cave exploration activity.
Later we finished Antharagange trip and had lunch and headed towards to nearest place called Kotilingeshwara temple.

Kotilingeshwara temple
Kotilingeshwara is the presiding deity of the temple of the same name in the village of Kammasandra in India. Kammasandra is a small village situated in Kolar district of Karnataka state. It is about five kilometers from Kolar Gold Fields and about 6 Kilometers from Aalamaram. This place has the distinction of having the biggest Shivalinga in the world. The main attraction of this peaceful retreat, which is surrounded by plush greenery, is a huge Shivalinga. Measuring 108 ft (33 m), this shivalinga is tallest of its kind in the world and accompanying it is a 35 ft (11 m) tall Basava, surrounded by lakhs of small shivalingas spread over an area of 15 acres. So far, around 86 lakh shivalingas have been installed. The entire project involves the installation of one crore shivalingas of various sizes, hence the name ‘Kotilingeshwara’

How to reach
B'lore-->KR Puram-->Hoskote-->Kolar-->Antharagange
To Kotilingeshwara
Kolar-->railway crossing-->Bangarpet

Distance
70kms to antharagange 22kms to Kotilingeshwara

Exploring Hampi

Hampi was our long awaited destination and this time we made it without proper plan. We initially thought of going somewhere and end up with visiting Hampi,but I swear the trip was worth. I never seen such an huge heritage empire. The place contains huge rocks everywhere. We spent two days in Hampi and within two days its difficult to cover whole Hampi but somehow we managed.

Origin of Hampi:
The name Hampi is evolved from Pampa, the ancient name of the river Tungabhadra. Also Pampa is the daughter of Bhramha, the Creator God. She was a devoted worshiper of Shiva, the God of Destruction. Impressed by her dedication Shiva offered her a boon and she opted to marry him! The place thus came to be known as Pampakshetra (land of Pampa) and Shiva as Pampapathi (consort of Pampa).
The Hemakuta Hill in Hampi is the place, according to the myth, Shiva did his penance before marrying Pampa. Kama , the God of Love, felt sympathy for Pampa for her love towards Shiva. He disturbed Shiva from his deep meditation. That attracted Shiva’s wrath. Known for his anger, Shiva burned Kama with his third (fiery) eye. Rathi, Goddess of Passion and also Kama’s consort pleaded for mercy with Shiva. Shiva grants Kama’s life back, but only as a character and not as a physical being.
On Shiva’s marriage with Pampa Gods from the heaven showered gold on the place. This hill in Hampi is called Heamakuta, literally means heap of gold.
The places mentioned here has a continuous religious history ever since known timeframe. It just happened that the Vijayanagara Empire came in-between and gone as an episode in Hampi’s long history. Even today the annual ceremonial marriage festival & the betrothal are important festivals in Hampi. With time, Shiva became more popular here as Virupaksha. Virupaksha, an incarnation of Shiva, literally means the one with oblique eye. This refers to the fact that Shiva has three eyes. The third fire eye on his forehead opens when he do the destruction.

Virupaksha temple

Mythology link:

Kishkinda:

Another set of folklores associate the landscape in Hampi with the Hindu epic Ramayana. The monkey kingdom, Kishkinda, is portrayed as the region around Hampi. Anjayaneya Hill, located across the river Tungabhadra, is believed to be the birth place of Hanuman.
Rama and Lakshmana , reaches Hampi in search of his lost wife Sita. On hearing their story Hanuman brings them to Sugreeva. He eventually takes them to a cave and shown them a set of jewels. Rama recognizes them as that of his wife Sita. Sugreeva explains them that Sita dropped them at this site when the demon king Ravana (of Lanka) abducted her on his flying chariot.
Later Rama kills Vali, the rebellious brother of Sugreeva, and installs Sugreeva as the undisputed king of the monkey kingdom. Hanuman offers for help to fly to Lanka. He returns with the news that Sita was indeed in the custody of Ravana. Hanuman offers Rama the help of his monkey army to make a bridge across and attack Lanka. Rain plays the spoil spot and the plan gets postponed till the rains are over. Rama and Lakshmana takes refuge during the rainy season at a nearby hill called Malyavanta. The epic goes on till saving Sita from Lanka and further. What signify are the locations narrated in the epic. The place is treated sacred since it born the footprint of Rama, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Hanuman , who is a loyal follower of Rama is iconic of devotion and valor. Probably Hampi has much more icons of Hanuman than any other gods. Rishimukha Hills where Hanuman met Rama & Lakshmana is a hermitage. The cave where Sugreeva supposedly hide the fallen jewels is on the way to Vittala temple via the riverside ruins. Matunga Hill , name after the sage Matunga ( who cursed Vali with death on stepping to this spot) is the highest spot in Hampi. The hilltop temple dedicated to Rama on the Malyavanta hill is an important pilgrimage and tourist location. A heap of ash hill at a village near the Vittala temple is believed to be that of pyre of Vali.

Stone chariot

History:

The typical version Hampi’s history starts with a popular folklore. Two local chieftains, Hakka & Bukka , reports to their guru an unusual sight they saw during a hunting expedition. A hare chased by their hound suddenly turns courageous and start chasing back the hound.
Vidyaranya, the guru, tells them that the place is so special and asks them to establish theirs local capital at this place. The seed of an empire was sown.
Over the next 200 plus years (1336 AD – 1565 AD) four dynasties ruled Vijayanagar.
History of Vijayanagar’s had been a saga of resistance against the northern Sultanates as well as building of its spectacular capital in Hampi.
The capital was one major trading center. Anything from horses to gems was traded in Hampi. Art and architecture found its special place in Hampi. The rulers were great patrons of art and religion. Most of the kings associated names of their favorite gods with their names.
Some of the kings were renowned for their ambitious projects.
King Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529 AD) of the Tuluva Dynasty stands tall among the rest. During his regime the empire saw its peak.
By this time Vijayanagara Empire covered the whole of south India and beyond.
The Krishna Temple that you can visit in Hampi was commissioned by him to commemorate the victory over the Gajapathi kings of Utkala (in present day Orissa state)
.The warring Deccan Sultanates could finally join together to defeat the Vijayanagara army at Talarikota, a place north of Hampi.
Vijayanagar army suffered heavy losses. The capital city was plundered, its population massacred. Treasure hunters ransacked its palaces and temples for months. Kings lost, capital fallen, population fled, Hampi turned into a ghost city. For centuries Hampi remained as a neglected place. This erstwhile metropolitan with more than half a million population slowly turned into a jungle where wild animals roamed freely.
The area came under many kings from time to time with the flow of history. But it was no more considered strategic and hence neglected.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Site was conferred to Hampi in 1986.

Pond

Lotus Mahal,Elephant stable

Vijayanagara Empire

Sangama Dynasty
Harihara Raya I 1336-1356
Bukka Raya I 1356-1377
Harihara Raya II 1377-1404
Virupaksha Raya 1404-1405
Bukka Raya II 1405-1406
Deva Raya I 1406-1422
Ramachandra Raya 1422
Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya 1422-1424
Deva Raya II 1424-1446
Mallikarjuna Raya 1446-1465
Virupaksha Raya II 1465-1485
Praudha Raya 1485

Saluva Dynasty
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya 1485-1491
Thimma Bhupala 1491
Narasimha Raya II 1491-1505

Tuluva Dynasty
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka 1491-1503
Viranarasimha Raya 1503-1509
Krishna Deva Raya 1509-1529
Achyuta Deva Raya 1529-1542
Sadashiva Raya 1542-1570

Aravidu Dynasty
Aliya Rama Raya 1542-1565
Tirumala Deva Raya 1565-1572
Sriranga I 1572-1586
Venkata II 1586-1614
Sriranga II 1614-1614
Ramadeva 1617-1632
Venkata III 1632-1642
Sriranga III 1642-1646

Vijayanagara Architecture:
Nature is at its bizarre best in Hampi. The manmade things not far behind either. Somehow lunatic landscape of Hampi offered a brilliant background for the Hampi’s architects.
Over the years Vijayanagara (what is now popularly called as Hampi) developed a unique style of architecture, later came to be known aas Vijayanagara Architecture. It borrowed boldly from various schools of architecture prevailed at the time and blended them superbly to make its own style of architecture. For example the ornate temples look more of the Tamil country style. Making their palaces in using the Islamic style architecture was no taboo to the otherwise Hindu kingdom. Some of the beautiful monuments in Hampi are made out of a brilliant mix of the Hindu and Islamic style of architecture, popularly called as the Indo- Sarasanic architecture.
Hampi had one this in abundance, rock. Millions upon millions of boulders shaped the geography of Hampi. And even its history.
By and large Hampi’s architecture falls in three categories: Civil, Military and Religious.
Each of them applied different codes. But there is a common factor among the whole of Hampi’s architecture that projects out as the Vijayanagara School of architecture. While the earlier Vijayanagara style was bold, coarse and plane the later ones were ornate, sophisticated and ambitious in scale.

Architecture of Aquatic Structures :
Known for its peculiarities, Vijayanagara architecture stands out even in its aquatic/irrigation structures. The remains of a giant aqueduct (Bukka’s aqueduct) located in Anegondi (Virupapur Gadde area) can offer you the scale and ambition of such projects.
You can reach here by taking a coracle ferry from near Virupaksha Temple followed by a short trek. Also the main road that goes towards Koppal from Anegondi (via the popular hill top Hanuman temple) passes adjacent to this.
In any case this less frequented by visitors stands in contrast among a cluster of tiny hamlets as a giant monument. Many meters above the ground level, it's not known how water was fed to the top of this aqueduct. Probably water from the river below was manually fed to it during its operational days.
Many pillars support the top portion that carried the water duct. Thanks to its style of construction, from a distance the aqueduct would look like a ruined bridge. Huge blocks of dressed rectangular granite was used the make the pillars and the top structure. Larger blocks were used at the lower levels and the block size gradually reduces as it goes up, a typical of Vijayanagara style architecture. This was advantages both for structural stability & constructional efficiency.
It's possible that the top duct (now missing) portion was made of brick and plastered with lime mortar, or installed with rows of ducts chiseled out of long granite boulders.
The next place to see a plethora of waterworks is the Royal Center Area. The Octagonal Water Pavilion, protruding to the main road, probably contained some sort of a water fountain. One of the best-preserved aqueducts can be seen inside the Royal Enclosure. Chiseled out of long slender boulders and supported by granite pillars, they were used to feed the many tanks in side the enclosure.
The chain of aqueducts was used to bring water from the Kamalapura Tank and feed the tanks and wells in the enclosure.One of the main branches of this aqueduct supplied water to the geometrically thrilling Stepped Tank within this area. In fact the very discovery of the Stepped Tank was due to this branch of aqueduct leading to particularly nowhere. The archeologists dug the ground at its end point and the tank emerged.
Radically different from the rest of tank constructions in Hampi, the Stepped Tank is made of made of finely finished black schist stone blocks. It seems the tank was made elsewhere and later brought and assembled at its current location. Practically every stone is earmarked for this purpose and some bears even 'sketches' by its architects. The purpose of this tank is not very sure, mostly it was used during the religious ceremonies by the royals.
Two bathing pavilions of the Royal Center - the Queen's Bath & the Octagonal Bath - are popular for its architectural merits.
The Queens bath is a plain looking building from outside. But the interior is elaborate with a giant tank at the center and overlooking balconies projecting to the tank. The corridor around with its arches, domes and the protruding balconies makes it look more like to a palatial structure than a bath. A water channel encircling the building acts as the means to feed water as well as a barrier from intrusion.The Octagonal Bath is located near a cluster of palace bases. A large open verandah made of cubical pillars supporting the beams runs around this octagonal tank. A giant octagonal platform with fluted decorations on its vertical faces it is located at the middle.
Another interesting structure is the Stepped Tank (also known as the Courtesan's Well or Soolai Well) of Malapannanagudi, a village on the way to Hampi. The well is constructed with series of steps and arches in the typical Islamic style architecture.
Tanks are an integral part of temple architecture. They served both ceremonial and functional purposes. Most of the temple of Hampi has tanks constructed in its near vicinity. The Manmatha Tank near Virupaksha temple is by and large still functional. Temple tanks of the Krishna Temple and the Vittala Temple have elaborate pavilions attached to it. The central podiums of these tanks were used to place the images of the God & Goddess during the boat festival part of the annual temple celebration.
The temple tank part of the Achyutraya’s temple is a place to observe the tank architecture in its close proximity. The tank is empty and also in a much ruined stage. Nevertheless the Archeological Survey of India is repositioning the scrambled pavilion structures around the tank. On the steps around the tank one can see the chains of carvings, especially that of elephants one following the other. The entrance to the tank is decorated with the typical Vijayanagara style pillars. Friezes of rampant mythical beats and other mythological themes decorate the pillars. This tank also known as Lokapavani tank is located at the end of the Courtesan’s Street, close to the Varaha Temple.

Temple Architecture:
A typical Hindu temple has a cluster of structures with sanctorum as its nucleus. A smaller temple could be a single chambered shrine with the image of the God or Goddess is installed in its sanctum. A large temple can be an elaborate campus with many auxiliary structures within it.
Large Vijayanagara temples are typically enclosed within giant compound walls. Tall pyramidal towers make the gateways to the temple campus. The principle shrine at the center of the campus and the main towered gateway are in the sale axis. Usually this axis is along the East-West direction with the temple facing the east. Immediately around the principle shrines are the auxiliary shrines of the Goddess (typically the consort of the God) and gods of the Hindu pantheon.
For example a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu would have an image of Vishnu in its main sanctum. Somewhere nearby would be a shrine dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. It is not unusual to find the shrines of a number of other gods associated with Vishnu.
A very typical example of Vijayanagara (Vijayanagar) style temple architecture is the Virupaksha Temple at the Hampi village. The temple is dedicated to Lord Siva, the god of destruction. Next to the main shrine are the two shrines of Goddesses Pampa and Bhuvaneswari. For majority of their grand temples, Vijayanagara borrowed the Tamil country’s architecture (The Chola’s Architecture) for making its towers. The lower portion is usually made of giant granite blocks with a huge wooden door installed at the centre of it. Either side of the doors is carvings of the doorkeeper deities wielding clubs or other similar weapons. Either sides of the passageway are carved with life-sized nymph figures or images of gods.
The top portion of the pyramidal tower is made of brick & mortar. The exteriors of which is packed with terracotta images of gods, demigods, people, animals and host of other mythological themes. The pinnacle is usually an inverted barrel shaped with two hones projecting on either side. The hones resemble that of cows, a sacred animal in Hinduism, and the tower is thus called Gopuram (the home of cow).
Usually a large elevated hall with porches stands in between the entrance tower mentioned above and the main shrine. These open halls are one of the architectural pieces that best demonstrate the Vijayanagara architectural skills.The hall structure stands on a platform with porches. The platform is typically a few feet tall with fluted sides. Chains of intricate carvings go around the platform. The porches, typically located on all sides, give access to the top of the platform. Granite pillars support the usually flat roof structure. These pillars are carved with rampant Yalis (giant mythical creatures). Generally the Yali pillars seems facing the porch or the central hall portions. The other pillars are carved with images of gods and other mythical themes. Vijayanagara architects succeeded in using these monolithic giant pillars as an integral artistic feature of the architecture than merely as a structural inevitability. Though many large temples in Hampi have them in plenty, the halls of Vittala Temple are the best place to see them in close proximity.
A semi closed small hall called Antarala connects the hall to the sanctum.
Usually large temples would have a large standalone hall, typically like the hall above explained, used for the annual ceremonial wedding of the god and goddess.The long pillared cloisters along the inner side of the compound wall are another typical feature of the Vijayanagara architecture. This was used us a community dining hall and for prayer.
Apart from the above one can find many structures and artifacts like the lamppost, the flag post etc that are of ceremonial and functional significance.
The wide street leading to the temple was used as the chariot street for the annual chariot festival.

TB dam

Places to visit:

Virupaksha Temple
Hampi Bazaar
Matanga Tank & Shrines
Monolithic Bull
Achyuta Raya’s Temple
Courtesan’s Street
Varaha Temple
Chakratirtha
Yantrodhara Anjaneya Temple
Sugreeva’s Cave
Saraswathi Temple 1
Chandikesvara Temple
Uddana Veerabhadra Temple
Krishna Temple
Badavilinga Temple
Lakshmi Narasimha
Hemakuta Temples
Sasivekalu Ganesha
Kadalekalu Ganesha
Vishnupada Shrine
Veerabhadra Temple
Hemakuta Hill
Matunga Hill
Akka Tangi Gundu
Archeological Museum
Band Tower
Basement of Palaces
Bhima’s Gate
Domed Gateway
Elephant Stables
Fortified Walls
Ganagitti Temple
Granaries
Guards' Quarters
Hazara Rama Temple
Horse Stable
Jaina Temple
King's Audience Hall
Large Stone Trough
Lotus Mahal
Mahanavami Dibba
Malayavanta Raghunatha Temple
Malyavanta Hill
Mohammadan Watch Tower
Mosque
Noblemen's Quarters
Octagonal Bath
Octagonal Water Pavilion
Palace of Krishna Devaraya
Palace of Vira Harihara
Pan Supari Bazaar
Parshwanatha Temple
Pattabhi Rama Temple
Pattanada Yellamma Temple
Public Bath
Queen's Bath
Ranga Temple
Royal Enclosure
Srinagarada Hebbagilu
Stepped Tank
Stone Door
Tenali Rama Pavilion
Treasury Building
Underground Chamber
Underground Siva Temple
Watch Towers
Water Pavilion
Water Tank

How to reach:
By bus/train/vehicle via Tumkur-->Chitrdurga-->Hospet
Distance
350kms from B'lore