Hampi has some mind blowing-ly large sized monolith sculptures!!! Here are the main ones!
Lakshmi Narasimha (Yoga Narasimha): The most prominent sculpture of Hampi is the huge seated Narasimha in Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. Narasimha is the lion faced incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This is currently a Yoga Narasimha meaning, the Lord has a band called Yoga Pattam between his knees making it a yogic pose! However originally it was a Lakshmi Narasimha meaning, he has his consort Lakshmi seated on His left lap all in a single piece of granite!
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Today just one of Her arms is visible, around his waist! After His knees, half of his thighs, forearms and ofcourse, Lakshmi etc were destroyed in the Islamic invasion, it was restored sometime after 1984. Additions were done at its knees to ankles and to support the structure, a wedge was placed below the thighs and the Yoga Pattam was also introduced as a reinforcement! The below image is from the ASI Archive of how it was before restoration!
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This is 6.7m tall. The Lakshmi Narasimha has a Makara Thorana (an ornate arch) around, with a seven hooded snake - all carved out of one boulder!!! This was made during the era of Krishna Deva Raya in 1528 by a Brahmana.
To Get There:
From Bangalore: 343km via NH48 & NH50
From Hyderabad: 373km via NH44
From Goa: 316km via NH67
From Pattadakkal (another UNESCO site): 135km via NH50
These sites are covered in The Virupaksha Trail & Tungabadhra Trek organized as a guided tour by Orange County Resort.
Each trail costs Rs.1000/- per head as a group.
If you want it exclusive just for you it costs Rs.4000/- for 2 trails (+ Rs.1000/- incl vehicle).
If you want a guide for yourself for the whole day it costs Rs.8000/-
Otherwise, KSTDC certified guides (they carry an ID card mentioning the same) can be hired at the Tourism Office or Ticket Office located in the premises of Virupaksha Temple, Sasivekalu Ganesha and Vittala Temple. The prices are Rs.1200 for 2-3hrs and Rs.1700 for 5-6hrs for upto 3 persons. For a larger group, the price would be higher. Also they are highly adaptable to your requirements / interest area etc and they could also meet you at your hotel and begin from there!
Ph no: of Prakash, one of the certified guides: +91 94820 61626
Otherwise, KSTDC certified guides (they carry an ID card mentioning the same) can be hired at the Tourism Office or Ticket Office located in the premises of Virupaksha Temple, Sasivekalu Ganesha and Vittala Temple. The prices are Rs.1200 for 2-3hrs and Rs.1700 for 5-6hrs for upto 3 persons. For a larger group, the price would be higher. Also they are highly adaptable to your requirements / interest area etc and they could also meet you at your hotel and begin from there!
Ph no: of Prakash, one of the certified guides: +91 94820 61626
P.C: The black and white photographs of the sculptures before restoration belong to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
Dedicated to Venkat