MILE #1 EXCAVATING THE ANCIENT CITY OF HAMPI

- by Bisni Lidiya N. A.

Garuda Stone chariot at vijaya vittala temple
 Credits: Bisni Lidiya N. A.

          There are times.... well, there are times when historians wish upon all that is pure and holy in this world to be able to take a trip back in time, and one can assure you; the ancient city of Hampi is worth visiting the moment the time machine has proven itself functional. situated in the east central of the Karnataka state on the coasts of Tungabhadra river, Hampi is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in India. Almost seven centuries ago, Hampi could have been considered to be one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Tales of it reaching and attracting merchants from Persia, Portuguese, and other Europian countries. Spread over nearly 4100 hectares Hampi is today the remains of the last Hindu kingdom in South India. temples, forts, royal and sacred complexes, mandapas, shrines, pillared halls, memorial and water structures... even to this day humpi has never given up a shred of its royal aura. Close your eyes for a moment and run your fingers over the finest craftsmanship over the countless stone structures........ the atmosphere still gives off the air of the proud city that once sold off gold, spices, horses, precious jewels, the finest silk, and perfume, standing with its head held high as it tells the legends of this magical city across the globe...

Pampa-kshetra, Khishkindha- kshetra, Bhaskara- kshetra are some of the popular names by which Hampi was known in the earlier times. Pampa is derived from a Tamil name of goddess Parvathi. As it is believed according to the StalaPuranaa, that the goddess Parvathy had performed her thapas to win lord shiva's heart in one of the mountains of Hampi known as Hemakuta. whereby, even the locals popularly address lord Shiva as pampapathi (husband of pampa). The river flowing out of the Hemakuta mountain is also named Pampa river. The original Sanskrit word pampa, when adapted by Kannada became Hampa. Thus the place where Pampa convinced Shiva to marry her, became Hampi. As an early pilgrimage site, the location also has been referred to as a major location in Ramayana, during lord ram's search for his wife Sita.

                                              Hampi has been registered in history as early as the second century as per the brahmin inscriptions found during excavations. The city is suspected to be a part of the Maurya empire in the third century. Between the sixth and eighth century, the town is further mentioned in the Badami Chalukyas inscriptions under the name Pampapura. it was not until the tenth century that the kingdom was under the rule of Kalyana Chalukyas and became the center of religious and educational activities, especially the construction of Virupaksha temple, the only temple in Hampi that continues daily prayers worship and sacred events after most of the temples were destroyed over various invasions that took place over the centuries. Between 12th and 14th century the city was taken over by the Hoysala empire. Widely known as the “Hampeya-Odeya” or the “lord of humpi, the Hoysala empire brought fame to the land following the Kalyana Chalukyas. The Hoysala empire however soon fell to the invasions of the Delhi Sultanate, mainly the armies of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq. It is a common misconception that the Hoysala empire was ruined solely by that Delhi Sultanate, what is not of common knowledge is that there were several attacks from the small neighboring cities that were under the Hoysala rule to gain independence that made the city even more vulnerable to the foreign invasions. Rome was not destroyed in a day…..the Delhi armies are said to have stayed back in Hampi for almost a year for the sole purpose of destroying the city. Following the Hoysala empire in the later part of the fourteenth century comes the era of Vijayanagara empire. That was built upon the ruins of the Kampili kingdom which was also invaded and destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate.

  Virupaksha temple
Credits: Bisni Lidiya N. A.

The Vijayanagara rulers had a much more successful time during their ruling in which they focused on art, intellect, architecture, infrastructure, as well as developing a strong military front with which they fought back many invasions as well as expand their kingdom. The kingdom at this time also invited the Jain culture into their lands and was well accepted and popularly practiced. Although most of the sculptures and arts are solely based on Hindu mythology, there remains that indicates their newfound preference and belief in the Jain way of life. While most of the ruling men chose to follow the Jain customs it is vital to notice that the women in the royal family had the opportunity to select the religion that they wanted to follow. in addition to that, the Vijayanagara empire always took the counsel of their queen in administrative matters. While an official position may not have been employed, the women of Vijayanagara had a better opportunity at expressing their abilities.  Following the footsteps of the previous rulers, the Vijayanagara also actively engaged in trade with foreign countries. All the way from the middle east to Europe. Unlike most other monuments dated back to this time, the Hampi architecture shows tolerance to multiple cultures and ethnicity coexisting. The royal baths, elephant stables, the queens’ private chambers, the Lotus Mahal, the Queen's bath, the running water facilities, the secret meeting rooms, as well as the main darbars show the influence of various building techniques as well as cultural aspects. One of the most attractive qualities of these structures was life like stone carvings on them.  Again, the female members of the royal family were taken as models for the sculptures of goddesses, as well as making sculptures of the queens themselves. The artists, perhaps influenced by the Hindu mythology or by there own inspiration at the time have included the female sexuality in there creations even in their temple arts.  Even in temples that were exclusive to the royal family, a female deity of equal importance was placed in the same platform as the male deity for the king and queen to worship separately.  

 credits: Bisni Lidiya N. A.

Some of these magnificent creations have survived the battle with time in addition to multitudinous battles they have encountered with the Delhi rulers and once again that Samantha kings who wanted an independent city of their own. The Vijayanagara rulers also had a long line of misfortunes amongst themselves. The younger princes were never able to hold together their kingdoms as efficiently as their predecessors. The lack of an ideal rapport amongst the administration and the military…..the joint efforts of the Delhi rulers as well as Vijayanagara's own subordinate kingdoms soon brought the end to the once powerful and undefeatable empire of Humpi. The countless and priceless artifacts that sang the beauty and quality of a time forgone, ruined forever.  Many of the foreign invaders focused on destroying the temples as they were the center of religious and cultural worship. When the enormous structures proved too much effort to destroy, they had taken to breaking down the deity, leaving the population at uncertainty about their very own identity.  The pattern of destruction alone was systematic and meticulous to ensure maximum damage. Using swords to strike at the neck, arms or similarly weaker portions of the sculpture. Burning down summer castles build with sandalwoods. And so on…

 Achyutaraya temple
Credits: Bisni Lidiya N. A. 

But the builders of ancient Hampi was far more stubborn and committed that even after multiple invasions, most of the history lives to tell the tale. The efforts are still ongoing to discover the true beauty of Hampi that nature has chosen to hide from prying eyes. Every day new excavation sites are charted, new discoveries are made, and every day we are gaining back a bit of the history that makes the world a more beautiful place to live.

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