Please enter the one time password
to verify your account
A code has been sent to
Hameed ,
This article is about a world heritage site. For the city, see Hampi (town).
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Hampi (town), Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, India[1] |
| Includes | Virupaksha Temple |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, iii, iv |
| Reference | 241 |
| Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
| Endangered | 1999–2006 |
| Area | 4,187.24 ha |
| Buffer zone | 19,453.62 ha |
| Website | Archaeological Survey of India – Hampi |
| Coordinates |  15°20′04″N 76°27′44″E |
Location of Hampi Show map of KarnatakaShow map of IndiaShow all |
|
Hampi or Hampe (Kannada: [hɐmpe]), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (City), Ballari district now Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India.[2] Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampa Devi Tirtha Kshetra.[3][4] Hampi continues as a religious centre, with the Virupaksha Temple, an active Ādi Shankarāchārya-linked monastery and various monuments belonging to the old city.[5][6]
Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565 (as Vijayanagara), when it was abandoned.[3] It was a fortified city. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the Portuguese, say that Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets. By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world's second-largest city, after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.[7][8] The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by Sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins.[3][5][9]
Located in Karnataka near the small modern town of Hampi with the city of Hosapete 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) away, Hampi's ruins are spread over 4,100 hectares (16 sq mi) and it has been described by UNESCO as an "austere, grandiose site" of more than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India that includes "forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures, water structures and others".[10]
[edit]
The name was derived from the old name of the Tungabhadra River which was Pampa, so the name Hampi is the English version of the Kannada name Hampe.[10]
[edit]
Hampi Vijayanagara in early 16th century. The sacred centre featured major Hindu temples and attached markets; the urban core included the royal centre; suburban satellites were spread from what is now Gangawati to Hosapete.[11][12]
Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the eastern part of central Karnataka near the state border with Andhra Pradesh. It is 140 kilometres (87 mi) southeast of the Badami and Aihole archaeological sites.[13][14]
The synonym Hampi—traditionally known as Pampa-kshetra, Kishkindha-kshetra or Bhaskara-kshetra—is derived from Pampa, another name of the goddess Parvati in Hindu theology. According to mythology, the maiden Parvati (who is a reincarnation of Shiva's previous wife, Sati) resolves to marry the loner ascetic Shiva.[15][16] Her parents learn of her desire and discourage her, but she pursues her desire. Shiva is lost in yogic meditation, oblivious to the world; Parvati appeals to the gods for help to awaken him and gain his attention. Indra sends Kamadeva — the Hindu god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection—to awake Shiva from meditation. Kama reaches Shiva and shoots an arrow of desire.[15][16] Shiva opens his third eye in his forehead and burns Kama to ashes.
Parvati does not lose her hope or her resolve to win over Shiva; she begins to live like him and engage in the same activities—asceticism, yogin and tapasya—awakening him and attracting his interest. Shiva meets Parvati in disguised form and tries to discourage her, telling her Shiva's weaknesses and personality problems.[15][16] Parvati refuses to listen and insists in her resolve. Shiva finally accepts her and they get married.[15][16] Kama was later brought back to life after the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. According to Sthala Purana, Parvati (Pampa) pursued her ascetic, yogini lifestyle on Hemakuta Hill, now a part of Hampi, to win and bring ascetic Shiva back into householder life.[17] Shiva is also called Pampapati (meaning "husband of Pampa").[17] The river near the Hemakuta Hill came to be known as Pampa river.[18] The Sanskrit word Pampa morphed into the Kannada word Hampa and the place Parvati pursued Shiva came to be known as Hampe or Hampi.[17][18][19]
The site was an early medieval era pilgrimage place known as Pampakshetra. Its fame came from the Kishkindha chapters of the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman, Sugriva and the monkey army in their search for kidnapped Sita. The Hampi area has many close resemblances to the place described in the epic. The regional tradition believes that it is that place mentioned in the Ramayana, attracting pilgrims.[20] It was brought to light by an engineer named colonel Colin Mackenzie during the 1800s.
[edit]
Emperor Ashoka's Rock Edicts in Nittur and Udegolan—both in Bellary district 269-232 BCE—suggest this region was part of the Maurya Empire during the 3rd century BCE. A Brahmi inscription and a terracotta seal dating to about the 2nd century CE have been found during site excavations.[21][22] The town is mentioned in Badami Chalukya's inscriptions as Pampapura, dating from between the 6th and 8th centuries.[20]
By the 10th century, it had become a centre of religious and educational activities during the rule of the Hindu kings Kalyana Chalukyas, whose inscriptions state that the kings made land grants to the Virupaksha temple.[20][23] Several inscriptions from the 11th to 13th centuries are about the Hampi site, with a mention of gifts to goddess Hampa-devi.[21] Between the 12th and 14th centuries, Hindu kings of the Hoysala Empire of South India built temples to Durga, Hampadevi and Shiva, according to an inscription dated about 1,199 CE. Hampi became the second royal residence; one of the Hoysala kings was known as Hampeya-Odeya or "lord of Hampi".[20][23] According to Burton Stein, the Hoysala-period inscriptions call Hampi by alternate names such as Virupakshapattana, Vijaya Virupakshapura in honour of the old Virupaksha (Shiva) temple there.
