Krishna Temple, Hampi

This article is about the Krishna Temple in Hampi, who built it, why it was built, what is special about its gopurams, temple-complex and also the granary inside it.

The Monuments as they appear from Zenana Quarters to the Virupaksha Temple

From the Zenana Quarters as one move towards the Virupaksha temple, he sees Underground Shiva Temple, Ahmad Khan’s mosque and tomb, Noblemen’s quarters, Uddana Veerabhadra temple, Chandikesvara temple and the Krishna temple (in this order). Somewhere between, there is Sisters rock too. However, I would be taking you to the same itinerary in the reverse order. As actually this is the order we visited the place.

Some more lesser known Monuments in Hampi

Back to the Hampi …
It is our last day. We still have half a day at our disposal. I am content with the number of monuments we have already visited at this leisure pace. Still, there is a desire to have a look at the remaining ones too; whatever we could manage to see in the remaining four hours. We are descending from the Hemakuta Hills in the opposite direction of the Virupaksha temple. I ask for directions of the Krishna temple and we walk towards it.

Who Built Krishna Temple and why?

As I have written earlier, Krishnapura was one of the puras in which the sacred centre of the Hampi can be further sub-divided. The core of the Krishnapura was the Krishna temple complex, built by Krishnadevaraya in 1513.

Enmity between the Vijayanagara Rayas and the Gajapati rulers of Odisha

When Krishnadevaraya was crowned in 1510, the major threats for him were the Muslim rulers towards the Northern part, and the Gajapati rulers of Odisha towards the eastern boundaries of the empire.

Victory of Gajapatis over Saluva Narasimha

Gajapati rulers were emboldened by their earlier victories against the Vijayanagar empire. In 1491, Saluva Narasimha, the raya of the Saluva Dynasty, was not only defeated but was also captured by the Gajapatis. He was released only when it was agreed by the empire to part away with its strategic fortress of Udayagiri.

An even contest between Gajapatis and Narasa Nayaka, father of KrishnaDevaraya

Later on, Narasa Nayaka, father of Krishnadevaraya, who was the general of Saluva Narasimha and after his death, worked almost as the virtual ruler of the empire, again came into conflict with the Gajapati king.

In this battle Narasa Nayaka was able to match Gajapati’s strength and was able to hold him allowing no further territorial gains; but it was an equal battle with none of the two sides really winning the battle.

Victory of KrishnaDevaraya over Gajapatis

When Krishnadevaraya was coronated, Prataparudra was the Gajapati ruler. Like his predecessors, he was also hostile to the Vijayanagar empire.

Krishnadevaraya decided to face him upfront. He sent an army to take over the fortress of Udayagiri and soon he himself joined the campaign. He won over the fort after a siege that lasted for more than a year and half.

During this long period of siege, Krishnadevaraya had many new paths cut into the rocky hill to enable his troop to capture the inaccessible citadel of Udayagiri. This victory over Gajapati rulers is considered as the most brilliant episodes in the history of the sixteenth century India and so probably also had a special place in the heart of Krishnadevaraya as well.

From where the idol of lord Krishna for the Krishna Temple in Hampi was brought

At the fortress of Udayagiri , Krishnadevaraya found a beautiful granite idol of Lord Krishna. Krishnadevaraya considered Lord Krishna as his isht. In-fact, in 1510, he delayed his coronation by fifteen days to coincide it with Janamashtmi. It is possible that he attributed this victory to the blessings of his ishtdev.

He constructed the Krishna temple in Hampi to commemorate this victory over the Gajapati rulers and consecrated it with this beautiful granite idol of Bal-Krishna. This was not only an idol of his personal deity, but was also a war trophy that reminded him of his brilliant military campaign against the Gajapatis. His decision to construct this temple and to consecrate it with this idol was widely appreciated and sage Vyasraya composed songs to celebrate the occasion.

Marriage Alliance between the Gajapatis and the Rayas

This victory was followed by Rudrapratapa losing all his territories in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Gajapati ruler retreated but was followed by the Vijayanagar army till his capital Cuttack.

Rudrapratapa realized that he has a powerful adversary and raised flag of peace and friendship. He offered the hand of his daughter to Krishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya readily accepted the offer and returned all territories he won towards north of the river Krishna.

Inscription in Virupaksha Temple about Krishnadevaraya

There is an inscription engraved in the Virupaksha Temple of Hampi that records following about Krishnadevaraya,

filling the whole world with the camphor of his glory and the fame acquired by his generosity, fame and prowess. He is terrible on battle-field and is praised by all for his virtues.

Krishnadevaraya is the protector of Brahmins, vanquisher of the Sultans, fever to the elephants of the Gajapatis; he is well versed in art and science. He has a face that overshadows the lotus. He is the second Raja Bhoja with deep insights into poetry, drama and rhetoric and the true knowledge of righteous acts

The Gopurams of Krishna Temple, Hampi

Back to the temple complex …
This large and ornate, east-facing temple has two grand entrance towers. One towards the east and the other towards the west. The east gopura of the temple is covered with bamboos today, as the repair and maintenance work is going-on.

The western gopura has stucco figures of warriors with shields, horses and elephants, depicting a military campaign; possibly the campaign of Krishnadevaraya against the Gajapati rulers only.

The Bazaar street in front of the Krishna Temple, Hampi

From its east entrance, the ruins of a bazaar street at a lower level than the temple is visible. The bazaar street is surrounded by agriculture fields. It is easy to visualize how busy and prosperous once this market might have been.

The ruins of the bazaar visible now, were probably the permanent shops and the ample space between them was filled with the temporary shops; the royals too crossed these streets on their chariots. This was the spice market of the kingdom.

The carvings at the entrance gate of Krishna Temple, Hampi

As we enter in from the eastern gopura, our immediate attention is drawn towards a strip carrying the intricate carvings of the ten incarnation of the Lord Vishnu. The other side of the wall has circular medallion depicting the fascinating episodes from the life of Krishna as a child.

On the top of this entrance, there is a unique representation of a rabbit in the moon and two snakes are carved moving towards it. It represents solar-eclipse, with Rahu-Ketu chasing towards the moon to swallow it. Devi Ganga is carved as a beautiful maiden purifying the devotees with her holy waters. She is shown holding nicely carved creepers that are shown growing and flourishing all over.

Inside the complex there is a half-buried inscribed slab that describes in detail the victories of Krishnadevaraya and his donations.

External structures at Krishna Temple, Hampi

This temple has two enclosure. A large open parikrama with high walls contain the towered main sanctuary. There are minor shrines towards the outer corner and a double sanctuary Amman shrine towards the North. The main temple has pillared pavilion.

The pillars are carved on Yalis and the entrances to the temple hall are flanged with impressive carvings of elephant and mythical lion balustrades. The central shrine is empty as the idol of Balkrishna had been moved to the Chennai Museum.

The Granary, Krishna Temple, Hampi

There is a kitchen towards the South-west side of the main shrine. The perimeter wall of the temple complex here is interrupted leading to a gateway that possibly existed even before the temple was constructed and was later made part of the temple complex.

As we walk further we come across a six-dome structure. It is dark inside with a hole in the centre of each dome from where the sun-light is peeping in. There is a side stair to go up the roof. This structure made in Islamic architectural style was the granary of the temple complex.

With this we end our trip of the Krishna temple and take an auto towards our hotel in Kamalapuram. The understanding is that the auto-wallah will show us the monuments on the way. Just a couple of minutes later we take a sharp turn and we reach at a point where the Veerabhadraswamy temple and the Chandikesvara temples are facing each other. Let us visit the twin temple in the next article.

Please click here to read about the Hazara Rama Temple, Hampi

Please click here to read about the Chennakesava Temple of Belur

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