This article chronicles my travels from Pune, a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, to Pattadakal and Hampi, which were the heart of the Chalukyan Dynasty that ruled the Deccan between the 4th and 8th centuries AD and the seat of the powerful Vijayanagara Empire from the mid-fourteenth century to 1565 respectively. Two other architectural marvels, Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur and Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur, were also part of my itinerary.

    Each site is introduced first with brief notes on its past and the present. More emphasis is then placed on the description of the architectural features and on how to explore the site. All the cities and sites mentioned find their place in Wikipedia. Treatises have also been written on these sites, which the readers are recommended to study for more insight. This article should be considered as also a Baedeker. Most of the descriptive material on the architecture in this article, especially the terminology on temple architecture, is used from books by researchers and archaeologists, travel and tourist guides supported by the Department of Tourism of India and Wikipedia.

Shri Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur

    I chose a Monday at the end of February to commence my travels, which incidentally turned out to be a nice sunny day. The first two and the last two months of the year are favorable times to travel to these sites, December and January being the best months. I started early at 7 AM to avoid peak-hour traffic in the city of Pune. My means of transport is my old Premier 118 NE, named after its 1180cc Nissan engine and transmission and manufactured in 1997. It offered luxury and space provided by Italian cars coupled with fuel economy of Japanese cars, had already traveled more than 300000 kms, broke down only once, and whose immortality, I could only be foolish to question. I call it adoringly my 'Chitti Chitti Bang Bang' after the famous eponymous children's novel by Ian Fleming. The best means of transport for an itinerary like this should provide maximum flexibility and convenience. A car nicely satisfies these criteria.

    The Shri Mahalakshmi temple of Kolhapur is my first destination. Kolhapur is located 240 kms from Pune on the banks of river Panchganga and can be reached using the four-lane road, which forms part of the Pune-Bangalore national highway (NH4). It has one of the highest per-capita income for a city in India with trade mainly dependant on sugarcane farming and commercial industries from Textiles to Mining. Sugarcane crops dot the landscape as one approaches Kolhapur. There are sugarcane juice vendors all along the route providing much needed energy supplements on warm days.

    The temple is one of the Shakti Peethas listed in the various puranas of Hinduism. The Shakti Peethas (places of strength) are places of worship consecrated to the goddess ‘Shakti’. The Kolhapur peetha is of special religious significance, being one of the six places where it is believed one can either obtain salvation from desires or have them fulfilled. The temple takes its name from Mahalakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. The temple may have been built around 700 AD by the Chalukyas and illustrates Deccan style of architecture.

    Five worship services are offered every day with the first one commencing at 5 AM. I arrived for my darshan around noon. Fortunately there were no long serpentine queues, which is a common feature in religious places of worship in India. I exited the temple at 1 AM, bought a pair of famous Kolhapuri Chappal, primarily made of leather, in a chappal shop in the vicinity of the temple and proceeded to have my lunch at Opal, a restaurant well known for its non-vegetarian meals. I cannot provide accurate directions to both the temple and the restaurant here, for the roads to these places are tortuous and have intricate details, which are too many to store in my brain with a modest capacity. I recommend asking the people on the road preferably every km.

    Post-lunch, I resumed my journey on the Pune-Bangalore highway to Hubli-Dharwad, a twin-city in the state of Karnataka in India, situated some 200 kms from Kolhapur. My main purpose was to repose here for the night, for I always thought driving in the night a perilous exercise. Hubli is an important city for the Indian Railways, being the zonal headquarters of South Western Railway, and Dharwad is the cultural capital of Northern Karnataka, home of great maestros of Hindustani classical music such as Kumar Ghandharva, Bhimsen Joshi and Basavaraj Rajguru. The climate of the city was very pleasant, the city clean and not very crowded.

Pattadakal

    Early Tuesday morning I took the relatively narrow concrete road, which passes through the countryside, to my first UNESCO world heritage site, Badami, known for its ancient cave temples carved out of the soft Deccan sandstone on a hill cliff. The countryside was replete with sunflower and cotton fields. The distance covered from Hubli was 90 kms.

    Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, was the regal capital of the Chalukyan kingdom that ruled the Deccan between the 4th and the 8th centuries AD. Badami, along with the other Chalukyan settlements of Aihole and Pattadakal, form a triangular circuit and compose the group of monuments of Pattadakal, which was recognized by UNESCO. They are in a decent state of preservation. Each of these places has a ticket counter at the entrance gate followed by an information board containing some highlights of the history of the place. There are well-defined pathways for visitors.

    The Chalukyas emerged as a major power after shaking off the yoke of their overlords, the Kadambas, in the 6th century. Under great kings like Kirtivarman and Pulakeshin II, the Chalukyan kingdom was considerably enlarged leading to the high point, which was undoubtedly the reign of Vikramaditya II (AD 733-746), whose territorial conquests were matched by his brilliant architectural creations.

    Badami was founded in 540 AD by Pulakeshin I (AD 535-566). His sons, Kirthivarman (AD 567-598) and his brother Mangalesha (AD 598-610), constructed the cave temples, which are prime examples of Indian rock-cut architecture. They face the north and are numbered 1-4 from west to east. Their architecture is a blend of North Indian Nagara Style and South Indian Dravida style. The entrance to each cave is a simple verandah with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum) cut deep into the cave.

    Cave 1 is dedicated to Shiva. Its facade displays a long frieze of dancing ganas, the host of spooks, hobgoblins and spirits who accompany Shiva. Other features include an exquisite Shiva panel on the right wall of the facade, a Shaiva guardian wielding Shiva's trident, a rounded column with a pincushion capital, a ceiling bracket displaying a fantastic animal issuing from the mouth of the Makara, a sea-monster with a crocodile-like snout. Cave 2 is dedicated to Vishnu. Its features include the guardian flanked by a female consort, a Vishnu Trivikrama which is a panel consisting of several episodes of Vishnu saving the world from Bali, Varaha with the episode of Vishnu's boar incarnation rescuing the earth goddess BhuDevi and below it is the usual frieze of dancing dwarves and a fish rondelle which is a complete rendition of the fish-and-lotus motif.

    Cave 3 is the largest and the most elaborate at Badami. The facade of the cave is divided by six square columns, beneath each of which is a frieze of dwarves. Its notable features include the eight-armed deity of Vishnu, Varaha, Vishnu seated on the cosmic snake, Shesha, with attendant figures including Garuda, Vishnu's lion incarnation of Narasimha, the features of Trivikrama similar to the structure in Cave 2, a finely decorated bracket of a Yaksha couple, a game board with the game being identified as a variant of Mancala. Cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras.

    Aihole was next in the triangular circuit. It is situated 17 kms from Pattadakal and 46 kms from Badami. It is advisable to have meals at Badami although it is very common to find coconut and sugarcane juice vendors on the way.

    Aihole was the first capital of the early Chalukyas and has around 125 temples in various styles divided by historians into 22 groups. It is from these temples that the Chalukyas gained their experience and went on to build the great temples at Pattadakal. The two prominent temple groups are the Kontigudi group and the Galganatha group. The Kontigudi group comprises of three temples:

·         Ladkhan temple is the earliest and consists of a shrine with two mandapams in front of it. The shrine bears a Shiva lingam.

·         Huchappayyagudi temple has a curvilinear tower (shikhara) over the sanctum (unlike the Ladkhan temple).

·         Huchimalligudi temple, the most advanced in terms of layout, consists of an ardhamandapam or an ante-chamber annexed to the main shrine as well as a porch.

The Galaganatha group comprises of nearly thirty temples on the bank of the river Malaprabha. The most notable are:

·         Durga temple or fortress temple is the best known of the Aihole temples and has a round apsidal sanctum, along the lines of a Buddhist chaitya, a high moulded adisthana and a tower - curvilinear shikhara.

·         Meguti Jain temple stands on a hillock. It is the only dated monument built in 634. The dated inscription found on the outer wall of the temple records the construction of the temple by Ravikeerthi, a scholar in the court of emperor Pulakeshi II.

·         Ravanaphadi temple is a rock cut temple, with a rectangular shrine, with two mandapams in front of it and a rock cut Shivalingam. This is a Shaivite cave temple with a sanctum larger than that of the Badami Cave Temples. The sanctum has a vestibule with a triple entrance and has carved pillars.

    Pattadakal was my final destination in the Chalukyan triad of settlements. It is situated 22 kms from Badami and 17 kms from Aihole. Pattadakal, short for Pattada-Kisuvolal meaning Stone of Coronation, was the temple town on the banks of Malaprabha river where the Chalukyan kings came to be crowned. The ten main temples here are a blend of the northern Indian Nagara and the southern Indian Dravida styles of architecture. In here, which formed the last phase of Chalukyan temple-building, one can see the shift in style form the Nagara to the Dravida form of temple building. The earlier temples like Papanatha, Jambulingesvara, Kadasiddeswara and Kasinatha represent the Nagara style, whose most prominent marker is its tapering shikhara or spire. The three great Shaivaite temples of Sangamesvara, Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna, which collectively represent the apogee of Chalukyan architecture, are in the Dravida style, as are the Galaganatha, Sunmesvara and the Jain temple outside the complex.

    The walls of Virupaksha (AD 745) and Mallikarjuna (AD 755) temples abut each other and are a showcase in stone of Shaivaite imagery. Virupaksha is the biggest temple at Pattadakal and the only one with a pratoli or ornamental gateway. It is also the one with the greatest influence of the southern style of temple building. Behind the high walls of both Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna temples lies a spacious prakara or courtyard and the parivaralaya or the tutelary shrines. Both temples are chaturstala or four-storeyed and are sandhara shrines, that is, they have an ambulatory around the garbhagriha or the sanctum.

    Just inside the main gateway is a raised, pillared pavilion housing a 3-meter long, black statue of Nandi, the bull vehicle of Lord Shiva. The pillars of this Nandi bear beautifully carved couples, women with parasols, ganas and elephants.

    The ceiling panel of the eastern porch of Virupaksha is a striking composition depicting Surya, the Sun god, standing on a chariot yoked to seven horses and flanked by images of Usha and Pratyusha. The exterior walls of the temple carry 35 niches, filled solely with images of Shiva. The most eye-catching among them are the Natesa and the Uma Maheshwari. What is striking about these niches are the toranas or ceremonial door hangings that project outwards, enhancing the effect of the image.

    The interior hall is broken into aisles by four rows of pillars with exquisite sculptural representations of scenes from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Panchatantra.

    Virupaksha also has subsidiary shrines to Ganesha and Mahishasuramardini. Towering over the garbhagriha in both Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna temples is the vimana whose clearly defined pyramidal form reveals a pleasing symmetry. Both are heavily ornamented with miniature temples and hamsamalas or swan-linked garlands. Another attractive feature common to both temples is the torana or the entrance to the garbhagriha and the statues of mithuna or loving couples that adorn it.

    The Chalukyan temples at Pattadakal, particularly Virupaksha, embody a great phase of architecture and were a defining influence on later temples, especially the colossal Kailasa temple at Ellora.

Hampi

     I rested for the night at Badami and early next morning drove around 200 kms to Hospet, a dusty city in Bellary district in northern Karnataka and which is located 12 kms from Hampi, the second and the final UNESCO world heritage site in my itinerary.

    Hampi, the erstwhile imperial city of Vijayanagara or ‘City of Victory’, is situated on the southern bank of river Tungabhadra. It was the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire in the mid-14th century.

    The first thing to be noticed is the remarkable scenery. Granite boulders of varying tones of grey, ochre and pink dominate the landscape, distributed either as hills and long ridges or as piles of rock, which has weathered, over a vast time-span, into spherical shapes, creating rounded and detached boulders, some of which are precariously perched. The Tungabhadra traverses this granite landscape in a northeasterly direction and by the time it reaches Hampi, it is forced into a narrow gorge hemmed in by granite peaks, the highest of which are Matanga hill on the south bank and Anjenadri hill a short distance from the north bank.

    The Tungabhadra and its surrounding pools and hills are linked with ancient legends described in the sthalapurana, a compendium of local myths associated with the Virupaksha temple at Hampi. This site is also closely associated with the Ramayana, for this is believed to be 'Kishkandha', the mythical kingdom of the monkey kings, Vali and Sugriva. Many of the events in Kishkindhakanda of the Ramayana are identified with specific locations in the scenery around Hampi.

     The foundation of Vijayanagara was a consequence of the invasion of southern India by the armies of the Delhi sultans at the beginning of the 14th century. Having vanquished the existing Hindu kingdoms of the region, the Delhi forces found themselves unable to hold on to their newly won lands. This created a power vacuum that offered opportunities for local chiefs to assert their autonomy, such as Sangama and his sons. Three dynasties ruled over a vast empire from Vijayanagara city: Sangama (1336-1485), Saluva (1485-1505) and Tuluva (1505-65). Hukka, the first king, known as Harihara I, was succeeded by his brother Bukka I, followed by Bhuka's son, Harihara II. The greatest of the Sangama monarchs were Deva Raya I and Deva Raya II, during whose reigns, the Vijayanagara kingdom grew in size until it assumed the dimensions of an empire. Thereafter the kingdom declined under successive weak rulers until a provincial governor, Narasimha Saluva, usurped the throne in 1485.

    After his death, Vira Narasimha seized the throne in 1505 and founded the third dynasty of the Tuluvas. He was succeeded by his half-brother Krishnadeva Raya (1509-29), the most illustrious of the Vijayanagara sovereigns. He was one of the greatest kings in India's history - excelling in warfare as well as patronage of religion, art and culture. Krishnadeva Raya was succeeded by his half-brother Achyuta Raya (1529-42).

    After Achyuta Raya's death in 1542, the kingdom was plunged into a succession struggle. Rama Raya, the son-in-law of krishnadeva Raya emerged as the most powerful force and proclaimed himself regent to Sadasiva, nephew of Achyuta Raya. As de facto ruler, Ramaraya effectively commanded the forces of the empire, but he antagonized the Deccan sultanates, Bijapur and Golconda which has emerged as independent kingdoms after the disintegration of the Bahmani kingdom, to such an extent that they formed a unique alliance against Vijaynagara. This led to the catastrophic battle of January 1565, fought at a site near the village of Talikota. The Vijayanagara army was vanquished and after Ramaraya lost his life in combat, the city was abandoned to enemy forces. Judging from the destruction of most of the important buildings in the city, the conquering troops must have spent months pillaging, looting and burning. So thorough was the devastation that it was not possible for the later Vijayanagara rulers to re-establish their headquarters there, despite several attempts.

    Reduced to ruins and exposed to plunder, Vijayanagara was never able to recover its importance as a royal, military, cultural and trading center. Worship in the Virupaksha temple at Hampi continued somehow during the 17th and 18th centuries. With the last Anglo-Mysore war of 1799, the region passed into the hands of the British East India Company and some measure of stability was restored. Less is known about the fate of the site and its structures during this period. Despite these vicissitudes, the former glory of Vijayanagara seems never to have been forgotten entirely. Indeed, it was one of the first historical sites in South India to attract the attention of the British amateur antiquarian Captain Colin Mackenzie, who visited Hampi in December 1799. Apart from these occasional visits by amateurs, it took another 50 years before work at Vijayanagara was taken up in any systematic manner. It was almost 30 years before Hampi benefited from scholarly attention until the turn of the 20th century when Robert Sewell brought out his seminal work A Forgotten Empire.

    After such promising beginnings, archaeological work at Hampi once again lapsed, with only the barest maintenance work being undertaken. This situation changed little once the Tungabhadra dam was completed in the early 1950s. However helpful to the farmers, the newly-established irrigation system caused considerable damage to the archaeological heritage. Interest in Vijayanagara seems to have gathered momentum during the 1970s, inspired partly by the excellent guidebook on Hampi by D Devakunjari brought out by the Archaeological Survey of India. A significant advance as far as archaeological exploration is concerned was the decision taken in 1975 by the Indian government to initiate a national project at three medieval sites, including Hampi. An international team of archaeologists and architects have been working at the site since 1981.

    In 1986, the Hampi group of monuments was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. Increased prosperity and transport mean that Hampi is now swamped each year with growing number of tourists and pilgrims and yet the most basic facilities are still unavailable. Similarly the escalating tourist numbers, including foreigners, resulted in Hampi's village environment transformed by multi-storeyed concrete guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and shops that threaten its architectural integrity. Unfortunately, the site as a whole is also at risk since no overall authority exists with sufficient powers to protect the natural and archaeological heritage. Neither the Archaeological Survey nor the Karnataka government is equipped to patrol the central 25 square kms of the site. Hampi, in fact, demands to be considered in its entirety as an archaeological park, not merely as an assemblage of isolated monuments of historic significance, as is the case today.

    A few notes on the Vijaynagara architecture merit attention before my travels to the buildings at Hampi.

    Two distinct strains are to be seen in the Vijayanagara style of temple art and architecture: the local Deccan tradition and the Dravida style. Though the 14th century temples are all in the Deccan tradition, gradually in the 15th century the Dravida style began gaining popularity for it satisfied the increasingly elaborate ritualistic needs. Thus, in the developed style of Vijayanagara architecture, the general plan and various auxiliary structures, including the gopuram, are mainly in the southern Dravida style.

    There are around 350 shrines and temples in the core area of this great city. Small shrines form the majority, and there are some medium-sized temples, and a few large temple complexes.

1. The small shrines comprise only a sanctuary and a porch;

2. A medium-sized temple has a garbhagriha (sanctuary), a shukanasi (antechamber), an antarala (passage between shrine and outer mandapa) and a rangamandapa (enclosed pillared hall, usually with four doorways), all arranged axially;

3. The larger temples have in addition, a closed circumambulatory passage around the sanctuary and an open mahamandapa in front. Such temples stand within one or more prakaras or courtyards;

4. The auxiliary structures within the courtyard of large temple complexes include the kalyanamandapa, with its raised platform in the centre for the reception of the deity and his consort at the annual celebration of their marriage, the colonnades that line the enclosure walls, the kitchen and the storerooms, the hundred-pillar hall, the towering gopurams and, outside the temple enclosure, the temple tank and the chariot street.

    Besides the numerous Hindu temples and shrines, at the site, there are at least six Jain temples, fairly small in size and illustrating the Deccan style of architecture. There are also remains of a number of Muslim tombs, gravestones and at least two mosques.

    For the convenience of the visitors to this vast site, the entire area has been divided into four functional zones:

·         Sacred Centre

·         Intermediate Irrigated Valley

·         Urban Core, including the Royal Enclosure

·         Suburban centres

    I spent three days touring these functional zones, a day for the Suburban centres, a day for the Sacred Centre and a day for the Urban Core or Royal Centre. You can say that Hospet was my base camp from which I traveled to these zones.

    Suburban centres formed my itinerary on Wednesday. My itinerary started early morning with the visit to Anantasayanagudi which is a Vishnu temple situated in a small village, 1.5 kms out of Hospet on the way to Hampi. It was built by Krishnadeva Raya in 1524. The sanctum of the temple, with a tower over 24 metres high, is unique in having a large rectangular sanctuary entered through triple doorways. This was intended to accommodate an image of Vishnu reclining on the cosmic serpent Ananta, of which nothing can be seen now other than its long granite pedestal. In fact, one common feature to be noticed in the temples and shrines with no active worship is the unpleasant stench hinting their usage as resting places by the animals.

    About 6.5 kms down the road linking Hospet to Kamalapuram lies Malpannagudi, at either end of which are pavilion-like gateways marking the ancient road. The Mallikarjuna temple here is still under worship.

    The large tank to the right of the road as one enters Kamalapuram from Hospet is the biggest water body in Hampi. Kamalaparam is home to the Archaeological Museum of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). I recommend the tourists to visit this museum to get an idea of the layout of the four functional zones of the Vijayanagara city. This museum has a range of sculptures and an open court with an instructive large-scale model of Vijayanagara. The museum is closed on Fridays.

    The Pattabhirama temple, beside the road leading east from Kamalapuram, is about 600 meters from the museum. This temple is dedicated to Rama and has the standard sequence of open mandapa, enclosed mandapa with side porches, and sanctuary surrounded by a passageway. It has a 100-columned hall, now damaged. Lacking fine sculptural detail, the temple is nevertheless impressive for its scale, elegant proportions and long elevation.

    Kadirampuram, consisting of the ruins of several tombs suggesting the inhabitation of Muslims during the days of the Vijayanagara kingdom, and Anegondi, reached by coracles and consisting of a few religious structures, are also part of the Suburban functional zone.

    Thursday was occupied touring the buildings in the Sacred Centre. My itinerary resumed early morning at the Virupaksha complex at Hampi, the only major temple at the site still in active worship. One can drive to the temple complex and park their vehicles in a vast rectangular space outside the complex allocated for that purpose with tea and snack shops fronting this space. I recommend leaving one's vehicle here and touring the Sacred Centre by foot if the weather is pleasant.

    Virupaksha temple is the religious heart of Vijayanagara dedicated to Virupaksha or Pampavati. It is the principal destination for most visitors to Hampi, especially pilgrims coming from all over southern India and even parts of north India. The main religious festivals at Hampi are celebrated at this temple. These include the rathayatra or Car Festival, where the temple chariot is paraded along the Hampi street or bazaar, and which takes place around March-April. The annual Kalyanotsava or wedding ceremony of Virupaksha and Pampa, the presiding deities, is held two days after the Car Festival. The village dwellings of Hampi cluster around a broad street that functions today much as it did in the past, as a crowded bazaar. While the bank and most of the shops, hotels and lodges are little more than 20 years old, they occupy and often conceal lines of granite colonnades and shrines that date back to Vijayanagara times. Hampi's bazaar is dominated at its western end by the imposing tower of the entrance gopuram to the temple, which rises an imposingly 50 metres above the street and has a characteristic pyramidal tower divided into diminishing pilastered storeys and topped by a barrel-vaulted shala roof with gilded kalasha pinnacles, a scheme typical of Dravida style. An authentic Vijayanagara period structure is the mandapam built by Krishnadeva Raya on the occasion of his coronation in 1510. Here, for the first time, can be found such characteristic Vijayanagara features as piers with cut-out colonettes and outsized rearing yalis. These fantastic animals are vigorously posed, with their front paws held up, and their fierce leonine heads have protruding eyes and fangs. Makaras (aquatic beasts) with crocodile-like snouts are seen beneath.

    The tour of Scared Centre continues by exiting the Virupaksha temple complex through the main entrance gopuram and turning immediately right (south), following a stepped path that ascends Hemakuta hill. This gives access to a group of small shrines, which are disposed dramatically on a sloping shelf of granite that rises steeply from the temple complex. These shrines display the typical Deccan architecture of the 13th and 14th centuries, with one or more shrines opening off a small square mandapam, entered through an open porch provided with angled seating slabs.

    By steadily following the path up Hemakuta hill, one will eventually exit the fortified complex through a gateway. Beneath the gateway, near the junction of the roads running from Hampi to Hospet and Kamalapuram, is a monolithic sculpture of a seated Ganesha. This 2.4 metre high image is known locally as Sasivekalu (mustard-seed) Ganesha. A short distance away, at the top of the ridge overlooking Hampi, is a massive pavilion-like gateway with four passageways that controlled access to the original paved ramp leading down to Hampi. A few meters to the north stands an austere but elegant temple, whose sanctuary accommodates a natural boulder sculpted with a huge, 4.5 meter high of a seated Ganesha. This monolith is called Kadalekalu (gram) Ganesha.

    The tour continues southward along the road leading to Kamalapuram. About 500 meters south of Hampi stands the Krishna temple complex, the nucleus of Krishnapuram, another quarter of the Sacred centre. It too is provided with a broad bazaar street extending to the east, but this is set at a lower level than the temple, where fields of sugarcane and banana engulf the colonnades. The grand scale of the entrance gopuram proclaims the royal nature of the temple, which was erected in 1515 by Krishnadeva Raya to commemorate his victory over the Gajapati rulers of Orissa and to accommodate a granite icon of infant Krishna.

    The main road continues by winding through the outer enclosure of the Krishna complex and another early pavilion-like gateway with three passageways. Soon the road passes by a footpath leading to the monolithic Narasimha. This status, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, is perhaps the most imposing monument at Hampi. This colossal statue, some 6.7 meters high, is seated in a yogic pose beneath a multi-headed naga topped by a monster mask. The god has a horrific face, with protruding eyes and fangs, but is portrayed in an impassive mood with his consort, Lakshmi. Next to the Narasimha, is a monolithic lingam, about 3 meters tall, standing on a circular pedestal.

    From here, I returned to resume my tour at the Hampi bazaar, through which the chariot is ceremonially paraded during the annual chariot festival. At the eastern end of this thoroughfare is a two-storeyed pavilion with 12 pillars of black polished stone. Behind this is a huge monolithic statue of Nandi. A stepped path from here leads across the upland to the Achyuta Raya temple.

    Achyuta Raya temple complex is one of the largest of Vijayanagara built by the brother-in-law of Achyuta Raya, Hiriya Tirumala, and dedicted to Vishnu as Tiruvengalanatha in 1534. This complex stands at the end of a bazaar street, which runs north towards the river, between Gandhamadana hill to the east and Matanga hill on the west. The street is now much dilapidated. Straight down the bazaar from Achyuta Raya temple is a small early Vijayanagara period temple, which was once dedicated to Siva, but known locally as Varaha temple on account of the image of Vishnu in his incarnation as Varaha or boar. To the left of this temple is the Kodandarama temple, which is remarkable for large standing figures of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. It is believed that at this spot, Rama crowned Sugriva the king of Kishkandha.

    On the path to Vitthala temple, to the east, lies a small Narasimha temple with a stepped pyramidal roof. Across the path is a clutch of boulders; one of the clefts here is known as the hiding place where Sugriva kept Sita's jewels in safety. The path leads to a huge stone structure, comprising two columns and a lintel, with a loop in the centre of a crossbar. Legend has it that massive scales were hung on this frame on which the king was weighed against coins and previous gems on auspicious occasions. The king's weight in wealth was then distributed among the needy.

    The King's balance leads to the Vitthala temple complex, which is considered a masterpiece of temple architecture at Vijayanagara. The Vitthala is a historical enigma since nothing is known about the circumstances under which it was originally built. The temple stands in a vast rectangular courtyard with gopurams on three sides. Two queens of Krishnadeva Raya, Chinna Devi and Tirumala Devi, added gopurams to the east and the north; Krishnadeva Raya added the hundred pillar hall in 1516; Achyuta Raya added the southern gopuram; while the open mahamandapa was added in 1554 by a kinsman of Rama Raya.

    The architectural high point of the temple complex is the mahamandapa adorned by 56 magnificient pillars. It stands on an ornately carved plinth of some 1.5 meters height. Immediately in front (east) of the temple stands a chariot-like structure with pairs of wheels on the sides and a small Garuda shrine with exquisite cut-out colonnades above. There are striding elephants beneath the doorway. The 'musical pillars' that supposedly ring musical notes are situated in the mahamandapa of Vitthala temple. The pillars are cordoned off denying access due to the irreparable damage caused the obliging demonstrative actions of the local guides. There is a great paved and colonnaded street that runs for a km eastward from this temple complex.

    This concluded my tour of the sacred centre.

    The travels to functional zone including the Royal Enclosure or Royal Centre composed my itinerary on the Friday. These were the buildings - palaces and pavilions; terraced platforms and temples; baths and even stables - that the lavish Vijayanagara court used. Few of these structures survive. One can drive to all the buildings in this zone.

    My tour begins with the ‘underground’ temple, so called because it was partly buried, but now fully exposed by excavation. It presents something of an architectural labyrinth since it comprises a number of additions to a core sanctuary with a pyramidal stone tower that resembles the 14-th century shrines on Hemakuta hill. A short distance away, on the other side of the road, can be seen an excavated palace structure laid out in a sequence of rising levels, the intermediate levels being arranged in a characteristic U-shape formation. Exactly this scheme is found repeated in the group of palaces excavated to the north. Though labeled 'noblemen's quarter' by the archaeologists, no historical information has been found to identify those who lived here.

    Returning to the road, one will see to its south a domed pavilion elevated on a corner of one of the walled compounds. The road soon comes to a T-junction. Taking the left-hand (northern) fork, one comes to a booth selling tickets to the zenana enclosure, a high-walled compound with a misleading label that suggests that here lived the women of the Vijayanagara court. Given that the elephant stables and the parade ground are nearby, it was likely used by the Vijayanagara king or his commanders.

    The Lotus Mahal, which dominates the enclosure, is one of the best-preserved structures in the royal centre. In spite of its fanciful name, this building probably served as a council chamber. The two-storeyed, open pavilion is square on plan but has recessed sides. The ground floor has an ornate plinth and 24 square pillars forming elaborately cusped arches. The upper storey has several balconies, again with cusped arches, while the superstructure is composed of nine pyramidal sikharas.

    Watchtowers are seen in the southeast corner of the zenana enclosure and in the middle of the north wall. A modest opening in the east wall of the enclosure leads to a spacious plaza, probably used as a parade ground for troops and animals. This is overlooked from the east by the elephant stables, the most imposing courtly structure of the royal centre. The stables comprise a long line of eleven chambers, each of which could accommodate two elephants. The structure overlooking the parade ground from the north is almost as impressive as the stables. It has an elevated gallery with eleven pointed arched with lobed profiles that could be served as a grandstand from which to enjoy the activities of the parade ground below.

    By returning to the unpaved road and continuing a few metres south from the zenana enclosure, one arrives at the Hazara Rama, or ‘thousand Ramas’, temple at the core of the royal centre. Originally consecrated to Rama under the name Ramachandra, it served as a royal chapel for the Vijayanagars kings. That Rama is the principal deity of the temple is obvious from the triple tiers of carvings on the mandapam walls, illustrating 108 scenes from the Ramayana. They proceed in a clockwise direction around the walls of the square mandapam. They begin with Valmiki telling the story to a seated king, and the fire sacrifice of Dasharatha (father of Rama), both at the northwest corner of the mandapam, and end with the triumphal coronation of Rama at Ayodhya, at the southwest corner.

    Passing through the two gateway structures south of the Hazara Rama temple, a walled enclosure is reached that measures roughly 300 by 250 metres. This quadrangular enclosure is by far the largest in the royal centre and the only one to contain identifiable ceremonial structures. First to be seen is the audience hall with 100 stone footing blocks. To the south of the hall is a cluster of smaller and lower square and rectangular platforms. To the southeast is an underground chamber lined with chlorite schist columns. Dominating the entire enclosure is a square, multi-stage platform that occupies the northeast corner called the 'Mahanavami Dibba', one of the highest points in this zone, and from which there is a fine panoramic view of the royal centre. The two lower granite stages of the platform are covered with shallow reliefs illustrating a full range of royal activities; here kings are depicted giving audience, watching wrestling matches, hunting deer and stabbing leopards. Foreigners with pointed hats, most likely Central Asian Turks, lead horses, hold clubs and play tambourines. None of the topics illustrated on the monument are specifically linked with the Mahanavami, but the platform is popularly believed to have been the place where the king made sacrifices to a divinity in the course of this festival.

    This tour of the royal centre concludes with a description of the queens’ bath outside the walled enclosures in the extreme southeast corner of this zone, next to the main road leading from Hampi to Kamalapuram. Though known as the queens’ bath, this water pavilion was probably intended for male courtiers and their female companions. This structure presents a severely plain interior in marked contrast with the interior where there is a delightful arcaded corridor roofed with ornate vaults of different designs running around a square pool, now without water. A water channel surrounds the structure, and some distance away are the remains of a collapsed aqueduct that formed part of the extensive water supply system of the royal centre.

    This concludes the end of my stay and travels in Hampi, a beautiful historical site with its magnificent ruins, remarkable landscape and religious associations. One can notice ongoing fieldwork at many locations in this region, involving tedious and meticulous efforts of local excavation workers, who tell supernatural stories of rains of precious gems and who unfortunately claim the unearthed treasures as god-sent gifts for their painstaking efforts. One can also notice that there is sufficient work to occupy scholars for many years to come.

Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur

    Early Saturday morning I drove to Bijapur, a small squatty city 200 kms from Hospet, well known for the great Islamic architectures of historical importance built during the Adil Shahi dynasty (AD 1490-1686).

    Gol Gumbaz, literally meaning the round dome, is the most famous and the most-visited monument in Bijapur. It is the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah II (1627-57) of the Adil Shahi dynasty built in 1659 by the famous architect, Yaqut of Dabul.

    It is an imposing stately monument clearly dominating the landscape and can be accessed using a tortuous network of narrow roads that carry the vehicle traffic in Bijapur. The monument is surrounded by a nice garden typically seen at the Islamic monuments in India such as Qutub Minar and the Persian-style charbagh at Taj Mahal though not architecturally similar in layout. This garden replaced the human settlements, which snuggled as close as to obscure the monument, during the restoration work by the Archaeological Survey of India and is not a relic from the times during which the monument is built.

    The garden is abutted by a high wall on its south side, which has an entrance gate providing access to the tourists. Tickets can be bought at a counter to the right of the entrance gate. The visitors then pass through a small gate into a spacious pathway which bisects the garden. The pathway forks into sub-pathways enclosing the Naqqar Khana (the hall of the trumpeters) and now used as a museum. The sub-pathways lead to the flight of steps to the main entrance to Gol Gumbaz, which is the south door. On the western side of the Gumbaz is a mosque. Each exterior face of it displays three lofty arches shaped like pointed horseshoes, displaying the classic Islamic style, with the central arch being wider than others.

    The monument consists of a massive square chamber with a concrete floor occupying an area of around 1700 square meters measuring nearly 50 m on each side and topped by a huge dome 37.9 m in diameter making it one of the largest domes in the world. The dome is what is called a full dome, a complete semi-circle. The dome is supported on giant squinches, which are arches that are set diagonally across the interior angle between two walls of a square chamber to provide transition to a polygonal or more nearly circular base on which to construct the dome, supported by groined pendentives, while outside, the building is supported by domed octagonal corner towers. The Dome is the second largest one in the world, next in size to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which is not supported by any pillars.

    In the center of the chamber is a square raised podium made of dark gray basalt and decorated plasterwork. The cenotaphs of Mohammed Adil, his two wives, his mistress, his daughter and his grandson are in the center of the podium. The primary cenotaph has a wooden canopy. The real graves are in the basement, which can be accessed by a staircase below the entrance on the west. Traditionally the body is placed with the head to the north, the face turned sideways towards Mecca.

    The towers at the corners are divided into seven floors with a projecting cornice. The floors are accessed using the winding staircases in the four towers and provide panoramic views of the city. Each tower is crowned by a hemispherical dome with a ring of carved leaves around its base. The top floor of each tower leads to a circular balcony at the periphery of the dome.

    The acoustics of the enclosed place around the base of the dome make it a whispering gallery where even the smallest sound is heard across the other side of the Gumbaz. Visitors go through the winding staircase in the four towers to the top and then use the flight of steps on each of the quarters of the circular balcony into the whispering gallery.

    The walls of the whispering gallery are disfigured with meaningless graffiti. The acoustics are abused by idiotic tourists who perpetrate their acts with impunity. The whole place seems like a bedlam most of the times.

    Other historical attractions in Bijapur include Ibrahim Rauza, the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (AD 1580-1627), Malik-e-Maiden or Monarch of the plains consisting of the largest medieval cannon in the world, Asar Mahal, which used to serve as the hall of justice and Gagan Mahal or Sky Palace.

    I rested for the night at Bijapur and early Sunday morning, took the NH13 to drive to Solapur, which is 100 kms from Bijapur, and from Solapur to Pune (NH9), which is around 240 kms. There is not much to describe the landscape except that it is flat and arid.

    This concludes the chronicles of my travels. It was an amazing journey to some of the most beautiful historical sites in India. The memories are still fresh and the yalis still come in my dreams.