Virupaksha Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Vidyanagar airport is the closest, 40 km away, with daily flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

• By train

  Hosapete is the nearest railway station, 15 km away.

• By road

  Several buses run from Bengaluru to Hampi.

Why devotees come here

Virupaksha Temple is a 7th-century Shiva temple in Hampi, Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, and Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the main centre of pilgrimage at Hampi. Shiva is worshipped here as Virupaksha, also called Pampapathi.

Legend says Parvati did years of penance on the Hemakuta Hills, which overlook the site, so that she could win Shiva as her husband. The temple has been the main centre of pilgrimage at Hampi for centuries, and it is considered a sacred sanctuary.

The temple's history is uninterrupted from about the 7th century CE. Lakkana Dandesha, a chieftain under Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire, built the huge complex. Krishnadevaraya commissioned the central pillared hall in 1510 to mark his accession. Major renovations and additions followed at the beginning of the 19th century. The Deccan sultanates destroyed the other numerous temples at Hampi. This temple is presently the only well preserved and maintained one there.

The main tower on the east is nine storeys and about 50 metres tall, built in the fifteenth century. Inside, the main temple has a sanctum, three ante chambers, a pillared hall and an open pillared hall. The central hall, Ranga Mandapa, has 38 pillars in five aisles. The main shape of the temple is triangular, and the inverted shadow of the main tower falls on a wall inside.

Festivals

• DecemberBetrothal and wedding of Virupaksha and Pampa

  The temple attracts huge crowds for these festivities.

• FebruaryAnnual chariot festival

  The chariot festival is celebrated here every year in February.

Tips for your visit

• Inside Hampi, hire a taxi or rent a bike or bicycle to get between the temple and the other sites.
• The Lotus Mahal, a two-storeyed palace topped by a lotus-shaped dome, is among the nearby sights.
• The inverted shadow of the main tower falls on a wall inside the temple.

Questions people ask