Virupaksha Temple
ವಿರೂಪಾಕ್ಷ ದೇವಾಲಯ
(first word = virupaksha, second word = devalaya, translates as "Temple". "Deva" typically means god - as in "devadasi" (woman who serves god). One of the many definitions of "laya" is a home or a place of repose. )
The Virupaksha Temple is one of the most popular tourist highlights in Hampi. It's got a wonderful history, that actually predates the Vijayanagara Empire. The biggest blessing is also the biggest problem - this is an active temple. There is a huge difference in India between a temple with a seated god in it, and a decommissioned temple. They have different names, and they are treated very differently. Once the god is no longer in residence in the temple, the temple is not consecrated ground. So it is not maintained, and not necessarily respected unless explicitly protected. Temples that house the gods are actively maintained, and not allowed to fall into disrepair. This is both a blessing and a curse. When temples are in service, they can be added onto, so the art in an active temple may or may not be from any given era. If the artists doing repairs are talented, it can be very hard to tell what's new and what's old, and it's very easy for modern images to sneak in.
About the Tower
The Virupaksha Temple is incredibly impressive. The first thing you see upon nearing it is the amazing tower. Like most Hindu temple towers, it unquestionably informs humanity of its insignificance in the greater scheme of things. It features tier upon tier of beautiful figures in various ornate jewelry and beautiful poses. I was particularly taken with the lower level pictures of people and the view of a horse being led by a harness. Unfortunately, there is no way to know the historical accuracy of any of the images due to the ongoing maintenance of the temple and my incomplete notes on the state of the tower.
Amazing Ceiling
The part that touched me most deeply was the amazing ceiling in the center of the temple. This ceiling has been published in a number of prominent books about Indian art. What isn't so obvious from the art books, however, is the fact that this ceiling, sadly, is 19th century. The best evidence of this (besides the high quality of the painting) is the guns held by some of the men in the pictures... they are not appropriate to the 16th century or earlier. More about ceiling
Sculpted Columns
Most temples have a fairly similar architecture. The most enormous tower is always over the main entrance. The most important god is in a sanctum in the center of the temples, and the lesser gods surround him in either separate shrine or in cells lining the back and side walls of the temple. There is always space to walk all the way around the main god, as this is a form of prayer. As you tour around the god of almost any temple, you'll notice the surrounding area is covered with beautiful art. In this temple the art is amazing sculpture. I particularly focused on the columns because there were many great images of dancers, musicians and tribal people.
Tungabhadra River
Outside the back of the temple is a gorgeous view of the Tungabhadra River. This river threads its way through a great deal of the city and rivers in general are a pretty significant part of some temple cultures. They are always beautiful and it's easy to see why god would live here.
There were a number of things to see beyond the fabulous architecture. There was a temple elephant, which would take food from you hand and eat it, but if you gave him money, he'd give it to his escort, and then bless you by whacking you on the head with his trunk. The picture above is me waiting to get a blessing. I know that elephants are a prominent part of Vijayanagara culture, but I'm not sure if this sort of blessing is historic. In any case, it was timelessly amusing to both myself and the school kids.
We also had a fun little climb underground to see a Lingum...
We descended a short flight of stairs, to a locked mesh door. Although it was too dark to see, we used the flash of my camera to reveal a lingum seated upon a yoni pedestal. This makes a lot of sense - Shiva is represented as a lingam, and he's frequently worshipped in caves, so it makes sense that his area would be more cavelike. Virpaksha comes comes from the Vishnaivite tradition, so Shiva things take a back seat. This shrine was in a not at all obvious area off to one side in the one of the halls. We only found it because Amma remembered it was there from one of her previous visits.
