Hampi

• 25 Aug 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Vice-president of India visited monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The site of Hampi comprises mainly the remnants of the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire (14^th-16^th century CE), the last great Hindu Kingdom.
  • It encompasses an area of 4187, 24 hectares, located in the Tungabhadra basin in Bellary District, Central Karnataka.
  • Hampi’s spectacular setting is dominated by river Tungabhadra, craggy hill ranges and open plains with widespread physical remains.
  • One of the unique features of temples at Hampi is the wide chariot streets flanked by the row of pillared mandapas.
  • Its Famous places include Krishna temple complex, Narasimha, Ganesa, Hemakuta group of temples, Achyutaraya temple complex, Vitthala temple complex, Pattabhirama temple complex, Lotus Mahal complex, etc.
• Background:
  
  • Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14^th century. The old city of 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 medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.
  • The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565 (Battle of Talikota), after which Hampi remained in ruins.

Vijaynagar Empire

• Vijayanagara or “city of victory” was the name of both a city and an empire.
• The empire was founded in the fourteenth century (1336 AD) by Harihara and Bukka of Sangama dynasty.
  
  • They made Hampi as the capital city.
• It stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula.
• Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by four important dynasties and they are:
  
  • Sangama
  • Saluva
  • Tuluva
  • Aravidu
• Krishnadevaraya (ruled 1509-29) of the Tuluva dynasty was the most famous ruler of Vijayanagar.
• He is credited with building some fine temples and adding impressive gopurams to many important south Indian temples.
• He composed a work on statecraft in Telugu known as the Amuktamalyada.

Source: TH