Oooh !!! Hampi

[smoothwanderer]

yes we did go to that restaurant at Hampi.

 

[smoothwanderer]

mo

re snaps from the Hemakuta hill.......

 

[smoothwanderer]

next we went on to see the Virupaksha temple.two things that we saw while going down to the Virupasha temple is woth mentioning 1) Jain temple like buildings which were really Shiva temples 2) a man selling a root named Ram root said to have medicinal propeties The main temple was built by one Lakkan Dandesha a chieftain of Krishnadevaraya II.Later on there were more additions to the mainbuilding. for more about the temple here is a link
Virupaksha Temple, Hampi - Wikipedia
Ram Kand Moool link for more on Sri Ram root

 

[Gaurav Chopra]

Beautiful t-log @smoothwanderer .

 

[smoothwanderer]

we then went into the virupaksha temple.Believed to be functioning uninterruptedly ever since its inception in the 7th century AD, Virupaksha temple is the oldest and the principal temple in Hampi.The original worship place was only a few separate humble shrines (believed to be as old as 7th century) housing the image of the god and the goddesses. Over the centuries the temple gradually expanded into a sprawling complex with many sub shrines, pillared halls, flag posts, lamp posts, towered gateways and even a large temple kitchen. we entered through the eastern gopura. Its nine tiered & 50 metres high. it has a stone base and brick super structure. the stone base is strengthened by steel bars by the british as it had sustained damages. this leads to the courtyard.This courtyard mainly houses a pillared hall called 100-column hall at the far left corner, Kalyanamantapa at the far right corner, administrative offices &the ticket counter.A narrow passage on the wall of the 100 pillared hall gives access to the kitchen. A water channel system connected to the river is built into the floor of the kitchen complex.
Just next to your left immediately after you have entered, you can see the unusual triple headed Nandi (bull statue). towards the east is the other gopura built by krishnadevaraya. The tower gives access to the inner court. which houses the temple elephant.

 

[smoothwanderer]

more snaps from the virupak

sha temple

 

[Hulbatte]

Nice pics and information.
You did not see the inverted image of gopuram at Hampi?
If I remember well, our guide had taken us there early morning to see the inverted image. will check if I have a photograph of it to share on this tread.

 

[smoothwanderer]

sure we saw it. more of those coming.......

 

[smoothwanderer]

one of the fascinating mysteries of the Virupaksha temple is the inverted golden image of the Raja gopuram seen on the wall of a dark chamber in the temple. light enters through a small hole in the wall of the temple which shows as its golden image on the wall not a shadow. ( same as the pinhole effect in modern cameras) then we went out throght the smaller gopuram passing by the temple pond to the river side.we spent about 5minutes by the river side nad then decided to have lunch.we asked our guide to take us to a god non veg hotel. our car was parked far away near the krishna temple. i went with our guide and sanju got the car near to the temple. we also visited the kadalekalu Ganesha temple nearby. the tummy of the lord is said to resemble an unsplit bengalgram. its a monolithic statue.

 

[adsatinder]

Great Captures !
Great Stone Work !
Great Architectures !