Buildings in the Royal Centre and Sacred Centre

• The Lotus Mahal is one of the most beautiful buildings in the royal Centre, and it is thought to have once served as a council chamber where the king met with his counsellors
• Some temples were also discovered in the royal centre, the most remarkable of which was the Hazara Rama temple, designed to be utilised only by the monarch and his family

• The temple’s inner walls are carved with scenes from the Ramayana

The Sacred Centre

Choosing a Capital:

• According to legend, the hills along the banks of the Tungabhadra housed the Ramayana kingdoms of Vali and Sugriva
• Pampadevi, the local mother goddess, performed penance on these hills to marry Virupaksha temple (a form of Shiva), the kingdom’s guardian deity

• The existence of the Virupaksha and Pampadevi shrines influenced the decision of Vijayanagara’s location
• The monarchs of Vijayanagara claimed to be ruling in the name of the divinity Virupaksha
• In the Kannada script, all royal directives were signed “Shri Virupaksha”
• Rulers also used the title “Hindu Suratrana,” a Sanskritization of the term Sultan, to show their strong ties to the gods

Gopurams and Madapas: 

• During this period, new characteristics in temple building emerged
• The Raya gopurams, which typically dwarfed the towers on the central shrines and were undoubtedly meant as reminders of the king’s might, are the clearest example of this
• Mandapas and long pillared passageways are among the other features
• The Virupaksha temple took centuries to complete

• The first shrine, according to inscriptions, dates from the ninth to the eleventh century, and it was enlarged with the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire
• Krishnadeva Raya built the hall in front of the main shrine to commemorate his accession, adorned with exquisitely carved pillars
• He also built the Gopuram on the eastern side
• The temple’s halls were used for special music, dancing, theatre, and other events. Some were intended for deities to swing into, while others celebrated deities’ nuptials.
• On certain occasions, memorable images were utilised, distinct from those housed in the modest central shrine

• The Vitthala temple is equally impressive

• Vitthala, a Vishnu commonly worshipped in Maharashtra, was the main god
• The introduction of deity worship in Karnataka demonstrates how the Vijayanagara kings drew on several traditions to construct an imperial civilization
• It features multiple halls and a one-of-a-kind shrine in the shape of a chariot
• The chariot routes that extended in a straight line from the temple gopuram distinguished the temple complexes
• These streets were bordered with pillared pavilions where merchants set up their shops and were paved with stone slabs

Timeline 1: Major Political Developments:

• The Delhi Sultanate was established between 1200 and 1300. (1206)
• 1300-1400: The Vijayanagara Empire was founded (1336)

• The Bahmani kingdom was established (1347)
• Jaunpur, Kashmir, and Madurai were all ruled by Sultans

• 1400-1500: Orissa’s Gajapati kingdom is founded (1435); the Sultanates of Gujarat and Malwa are founded

• The Sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and Berar emerge (1490)

• Conquest of Goa by the Portuguese, 1500-1600 (1510)
• The Bahmani kingdom falls apart, and the Sultanate of Golconda rises to power (1518)
• Babur established the Mughal dynasty (1526)

Timeline 2: Landmarks in the Discovery and Conservation of Vijayanagara

• Colin Mackenzie travels to Vijayanagara in the year 1800
• Alexander Greenlaw took the earliest detailed images of archaeological remains at Hampi in 1856
• J.F. Fleet started recording the inscriptions on the temple walls in 1876
• Under John Marshall’s leadership, conservation began in 1902
• UNESCO designated Hampi as a World Heritage Site in 1986

Conclusion

The Royal Centre had almost 60 temples. Thirty different architectural complexes have been designated as palaces. The biggest of the enclosures is the “king’s palace.” It features two of the most spectacular platforms, which are often referred to as the “audience hall” and the “mahanavamidibba.” Rituals related with the edifice most likely corresponded with Mahanavami, literally the great ninth day of the ten-day Hindu festival known alternately as Dussehra which is celebrated in Northern India during the fall months of September and October. The Lotus Mahal was one of the most gorgeous structures in the royal centre. The Hazara Rama temple is one of the most remarkable of them. This was most likely intended to be used privately by the monarch and his family. Scenes from the Ramayana are carved on the shrine’s interior walls. Theyakas also built other magnificent palaces.