History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, Architecture, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Vittala Temple, Hampi, Karnataka, India
The Vithala temple or Vittala temple of Hampi is ancient masterpiece of craftsmanship of Vijaynagar Empire and located in north eastern part of Hampi, near the bank of the River Tungabhadra. The temple is known to be one of the most famous and the largest structure carved pieces of Hampi, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vittala temple is one of the must visit place of ruined of Hampi for tourist and one must not miss to observe the magnificent stone chariot and musical pillar here in campus. The Vittala temple campus has extensive area surrounded by high walls and three towering gateways. Vittala temple has several halls, shrines and buildings built in stone very beautifully.
The Vittala temple is also known as Vijay Vitthala temple which is dedicated to Lord Vithala, the incarnation of Supreme Lord Vishnu. Idol of Lord Vittala had been placed in temple but it is said that when Lord found out that the temple is too grand and thus decided to live in his humble home.
The Hampi is believed to have been constructed and developed between the 14th and 16th Centuries AD as capital Vijaynagar Empire. At the center, stands the Vithala temple complex, a masterpiece of Indian architecture and the most revered temple in the city. Vittala temple was constructed by King Devaraya II (1422 – 1446 A.D.) of Vijaynagar Empire and expanded by the King Krishnadevaraya (1509 – 1529 A.D.) who was most popular ruler of the Vijayanagara dynasty. The Vithala temple was built with the intention of creating a celestial palace here on the earth. With that in mind the king assembled the great engineers and then the great craftsmen to create the wonderful building that can also have a wonderful sound that will please god. Attached with the temple there is Ranga Mantapa or the Stage Pavilion. There are many pillars, some of which reach to the height of 12 feet. There are a series of compound pillars where the central pillar is surrounded on all sides with smaller colonnades. These colonnades are famous because when they are struck they emit beautiful and haunting sounds. There are 56 pillars which are individually tuned to one of the seven notes of the SA RE GA MA, an ancient Sanskrit musical scale dating back thousands of years that is still predominant in Hindi music today. Certain groups of pillars have been crafted to represent the tonal vibrations of the scale for different instruments. Some also being crafted to represent Woodwinds, some being crafted to represent percussion instruments.
When the Britishers were ruling in India, they were also mystified with this great piece of work and to see that they actually cut one of the pillars to see how it was done, but what they noticed was that all the pillars were made up of granite and they saw that It was the great skill of the craft men. Still its mystery that how to emit musical note from stone cab be achieved 600 years ago.
The shrine of the Goddess is also beautifully carved. The center of the temple Maha Mantapa has the beautiful carvings of the warriors, swans, elephants, horses and other ornamental designs. The stone chariot is one of the beautiful carved pieces which caught the attention of the visitors. The chariot is dedicated to Garuda, the carrier of the Lord Vishnu. Kalyan Mantapa, the marriage hall, may be used for royal ceremonies.
Another key attraction of the Vittala Temple Complex and also of entire Hampi is classically carved Stone Chariot is believed to be most stunning architecture of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Stone Chariot stands in the courtyard of temple campus and consider as one of the three famous stone chariots in India along with Sun temple Konark and Mahabalipuram. Basically this stone chariot is the temple dedicated to Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu, but it is designed and ornamented in shape of Chariot. You can see two elephants In front of the chariot in positioned as they are pulling the chariot. But it is said that these elephants were placed here at a later stage. Originally two horses were carved in the pulling position and you can see the tails and the rear legs of the horses just behind these elephant sculptures.
Another key attraction of Vittala temple is temple tank or Pushlarni near temple premise which was used for sacred bath and cleansing the idol during special occasion. Then several building in line probably that was used as market near temple.
The temple celebrated an annual function called Purandaradasa festival. The temple is flooded with lights and Diya’s and decorated with the flowers.
Entry fee: Rs. 10 for Indians, $ 5 for Foreigners, and Rs. 25 for Video cam.
How to Reach Vittala Temple, Hampi, The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Karnataka, India
Vittala Temple is in center of Hampi and one of the key attraction of Hampi, thus easily reached by private or public vehicle. As Hampi is major tourist destination of Karnataka and UNESCO world heritage site, it is easily reachable via road, rail and air network. Nearest railway station from Hampi is at 13 km in Hospet from where you can get train to all major station of India. From Hospet, you can get private vehicle to reach Hampi. You can get government and private vehicle from nearby cities to reach here by road. You can reach here via air connectivity easily as there are couple airport near Hampi. Vidyanagar at 30 Km, Bellary airport at 60, Hubli at 143 km.
