Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

This article is about the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, when it was built, the history of Virupaksha cult, architecture, unique things to see and its Kalyani.

When was Virupaksha Temple built?

Virupaksha Temple is an ancient and the most sacred place of worship in Hampi . It is difficult to estimate the correct age of the temple as it has undergone multiple stages of construction and renovation.

Some believe that this temple was constructed by the early Vijayanagar kings in the honor of the celebrated sage Vidyaranya and the patron deity of the empire – Devi Pampa and the Lord Virupaksha.

This temple was considered so sacred that on the foundation day of the Vijayanagar empire, the Vijayanagar Rayas followed strict rituals to seek blessings of the deity.

However, from the inscription records of the twelfth century that mentions the Virupaksha temple here, it is concluded that this place might be a place of worship even before the times of sage Vidyaranya.

History of the Lord Virupaksha Cult

Evidences of Virupaksha cult in Northern Karnataka dates back to twelfth century when this part of Karnataka came under the influence of Veershaiva movement associated with the revered saint and social reformer – Basava.

It is though likely that revered saint Vidyaranya’s devotion to the deity and the temple made it even more popular.

Lord Virupaksha was the family God of Vijayanagar’s Sangma dynasty. Harihara-II proudly claimed himself to be the royal bee at the lotus feet of Lord Virupaksha. Following up of the Virupaksha cult by the Vijayanagar raya gave the cult an imperial dimension.

Even when Hampi was completely destroyed and abandoned, the temple remained an active place of worship and the prayers in the temple continued uninterrupted.

In 1799, the British antiquarian Captain Colin Mackenzie,( who later on became the surveyor General of India), visited Hampi and noted that Hampi was in ruins and the wild beasts inhabited the area.

At that time, the only place where he could take refuge was the Virupaksha temple, as it was an active place of worship and it was possible to lock it from inside.

Even today many pilgrims visit Hampi only to pay a visit to the temple. The marriage ceremony of Lord Virupaksha and Devi Pampa is an elaborate annual affair.

Visiting the Virupaksha Temple

We visit the temple from the Hampi village side. An imposing gopura stands at the end of the street from where we are walking now. This street is flanked on both sides by the remains of double storied colonnaded structures of the ancient Virupaksha Bazaar.

Gopura or the entrance door of Virupaksha Temple

This fifty-two meter high gopura is awe inspiring. It has two-tiered stone basement over which lies the nine-storied pyramidal tower divided in diminishing towers. A barrel vaulted shala roof crowns its top with gilded Kalasha Pinnacles.

From the evidences we learn that the first gopura here was constructed by Proluganti Tippa, a commander in the services of Devaraya-II (1422-46). There are references that Krishnadevaraya got it repaired in 1510.

The current structure though is not that old. It is believed to be constructed in the beginning of the nineteenth century when this temple and several other monuments of Hampi have undergone extensive remodeling and renovation.

There is no information about who undertook this initiative of renovation. I find it surprising that we are aware of the ancient patrons of the temple, but not aware about the recent patron!

Outer Courtyard, Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

After crossing the doorway under the gopura we find ourselves in a 78m X 51m courtyard enclosed by high walls. This temple is divided in two courts and at present we are in outer courtyard.

There are two mandaps in this temple, one towards the South-west direction and the other towards the North-west direction.

The South-West direction Mandap is supported on hundred pillars. These pillars have cut-out collonettes, typical of Vijayanagar architecture. This hall is known as Pahalapiya Mandap.

A rear door from here leads to the kitchen of the temple.  This hall is newer as compared to the hall in the North-West direction; it is evident from the older-style pillars of the other hall.

Here in this corridor we meet Lakshmi, an elephant who is blessing the devotees.

Inner Courtyard

Second Gopura– From this courtyard we enter inside the inner courtyard through a three-tier gopura. This gopura is constructed by Krishnadevaraya in 1510 to commemorate his coronation.

In the inner courtyard is a small Nandi pavilion. The dwaja stambh is intricately carved with floral design.

This courtyard has the sanctum and several subsidiary shrines. The shrine towards the west is of sage Vidyaranya and is believed to be constructed by Harihara-II.

Plan of Virupaksha Temple

We enter inside the temple from the south porch. This structure has rangamandap or mahamandap, ardhmandap, antaralaya and garbhgrih. The hundred columned Rangamandap is believed to be constructed by Krishnadevaraya.

Rangmandap in Virupaksha Temple

This highly ornate Rangamandap is the most interesting part of the temple for a tourist. This hall is divided in five-aisled chamber by composite pillars that carry the ceiling over their T-shaped beam.

There are sixteen composite pillars in the hall having riders vigorously posed over fierce Yalis. These Yalis have protruding eyes, raised legs, chains hanging from their mouth and Makars below their feet.

The pillars inside the hall create a distance of 8m between them on the ceiling.  This square space on the ceiling is painted in vibrant deep shades of red, black and light blue.

The original frescoes on its ceiling were of Vijayanagar period, but there are clear evidences that some of these were renovated and thus modified in the nineteenth century, raising a question mark as how much of original work remained.

There are two well-known temples of the Vijayanagar period that carry beautiful-painted frescoes – the Virupaksha Temple of Hampi and the frescoes in the temple of Lepakshi. Out of these two, the frescoes of Lepakshi temple are considered to be more authentic piece of Vijayanagar period murals

Paintings in Rangmandap of Virupaksha Temple

In picture above, the topmost panel is of Kamdeva (Rati behind him) aiming the love-arrow at lord Shiva in Tapasaya; Below this is Rati on horse; This is followed by images of Dasavtara as we move towards right; The panel in the lowest square is of Sita-Swyamvar with Ram breaking the Bow; and as we move towards right is the marriage of Devi Sita with Lord Rama.

In one of the paintings a sage is shown in a procession sitting in his palanquin, followed by his students and soldiers (he must be the sage Vidyaranya).  Apart from this there are paintings of Shiva as Tripurantaka; Shiva-Parvati Kalyanam and of Arjuna winning Draupadi.

Ardhmandap Hall and Grabh Grih

The ardhmandapa entrance is towards the west side and is guarded by life-size statues of four-armed dwarpals, intricately carved out of a granite stone. 

From Ardhamandap we enter inside the sanctum from the south porch. The sanctum enshrines Lord Virupaksha as a Mukha-linga with a brass face mask. This Linga is believed to be one of the sixty-eight Swyambhu Lingas.

There is no light inside except the light of the lamps and the mukha-linga is glowing in its light. After Darshan we do the pradakshina around the sanctum. It’s a narrow covered path with neatly dressed stone-slabs; there are no windows for sunlight to enter.

The garbhgrih was once illuminated with around 2500 to 3000 oil lamps. The complete darkness around with only the Mukha-linga glowing helped devotees to focus at their Isht and enjoy the spiritual aura. The Vimana over the sanctum is tri-tala with square domical shikhra.

We come out of the temple from the North-porch; from here we visit the twin shrines of Devi Pampa and Devi Bhuvaneshwari. These shrines were constructed during Chalukyan period in 12^th century. There are minor shrines of Mahishasur Mardini and Adishesha too.

We move out of the temple complex through Kanakgiri gate and move towards the huge Manmatha Tank, this way further leads to the river Tungabhadra.

The Kanakgiri gate tower was renovated by the district collector of Bellari, Mr F.W Robinson in 1830. However the lower granite portion of this gate is the original twelfth century construction.

The Manmatha Gandam or the kalyani of the Virupaksha temple has a cluster of minor shrines constructed all along its bank on the path leading to the river.

Most of these shrines have an antaralaya and a pillared porch. One of these shrines has an eight-armed idol of Devi Durga; this shrine is still an active worship centre.

The architecture style carries Rashtrakutan style of construction, who ruled over this part of Karnataka in ninth century. There is another statue of a warrior fighting with a lion. This idol belongs to the Hoyasala period of thirteenth century.

We sat down here for some time. I imagine the time when the devotees used to take bath in the Manmatha tank, and after purifying themselves they visit and do the darshan in these small shrines, before visiting the main temple that even today reverberates with the faith of many and where the worship of the Lord Virupaksha and Devi Pampa is going uninterrupted for so many centuries.

Dynasties dawned and then dusted, but God stayed- in devotees’ heart!

Click here to read about Lord Virupaksha and His marriage with Devi Pampa

Click here to read about the Vijayanagara Temple Architecture

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