Monday, November 23, 2009

Hazar Rama Temple, Hampi

This 15th century shrine of Lord Rama located in the Royal Area of Hampi is popularly called "Hazara Rama Temple". Inscriptions inside the Hazara Rama temple provide evidence of the indicate the period of origin of this temple as Devaraya I erected it in the early 15th century. This is the only temple in the area with its external walls decorated with five rows of bas-reliefs. They portray the processions of elephants, horses with attendants, military contingents, and dancing girls. 


The name of the temple is Rama due to the large number of Ramayana panels carved in long arrays, onto the walls of this temple. Incidents in the story like Dasaratha performing a sacrifice to beget sons, the birth of Rama, his exile into the forest, the abduction of Sita and the ultimate fight between Rama and Ravana are all carved in a vivid manner. In these panels, the story of Rama and through it the triumph of good over evil is brought out.


This high wall encloses the entire complex with the main entrances set on the east. The temple consisted of a sanctum, an ardha mantapa and a pillared hall with an open porch with tall and elegant pillars. The pillar hall is notable for its unique pillars in black-stone. They are set on a raised stone platform in the middle of the hall. The other structures in this temple complex are a shrine for Devi and Utsava Mantapa.

To the south is a small doorway, which leads to the Durbar Area. It is believed that this thempe is used privately by the royal family.

42 comments:

joo said...

How nice to see you again - welcome back!!!
Beautiful place and ineresting information as usually - I really missed it:)
Greetings
Joo

radha said...

Welcome back. Hope you are rested and well.
The more I read about Hampi, the more I want to visit the place. The last time I went was as a child - so very long ago - and have only hazy memories of the place

Anya said...

Welcome back :-)
And with a fantastic post ....
Unique shots !!!!

(I hope you are feeling better now, take care ... )
(@^.^@)

Sylvia K said...

Welcome back, Rajesh, so good to see you back again, hope all is well and that you are feeling better! Thanks for a marvelous post and your captures are beautiful as always!

Enjoy your evening!

Sylvia

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Welcome back my dear friend. How is everything now? Your pictures are just great. Fantastic post. BRAVO!!

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Happy to see you back. Hope you are well and rested.

A very nice article with good pictures.

Jim said...

Amazing.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Rajesh,

So glad to hear from you again after a long time. hope you are fully recovered now.

Excellent post!

Rgds
K

Pooch Purple Reign said...

thank you.... that is so interesting and beautiful!! also thank you for visiting me! ~ laura

Pooch Purple Reign said...

also, i think the story of rama is in the movie"the little princess"
~laura

Indrani said...

Welcome back Rajesh!
Hope you have recovered fully.
Great post on this temple.

Reader Wil said...

Welcome back! Hopefully you are feeling better now!. your post is interesting and I see that the buildings in your country are very old. Older than most European buildings. Have a great week and take care!

Swetha said...

welcome after a long break.. The 1st picture is good..

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

I knew Hampi from just a bit of the heavy childhood education. Your post is wonderful!

Long-tailed Shrike

Tony nile life said...

Please can you tell me the name of your profile plant as we grow them here in Egypt. The photos are on. http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post_1684.html

Samson said...

Welcome back buddy, hope you are feeling better now... nice post on hampi

roughterrain crane said...

Welcome back!
I'm looking forward to reading your blog.
The fascinating history.

Diane AZ said...

Hi Rajesh, Those are some lively carvings on the external walls. Interesting to learn what the story was about. Nice post!

Carver said...

I love the intricate carvings. Great post.

ninja said...

Such magnificent beauty!

Amber said...

Welcome back! These photos are gorgeous, and as always I wish to visit India!!!

Sharodindu said...

Welcome back! I am very to see you on bloggistan with another great post!
Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Good to see you again. I so hope I will one day see the beauty of India.

Zuzana said...

Welcome back, I hope you are fully recovered.;) I missed seeing your magnificent pictures.;) These ones are no exception.;)
xo
Zuzana

Kavita Saharia said...

Welcome back Rajesh...Hope with a healthier back.Nice description with all the pictures...thanks for sharing.Keep posting.

penny said...

Your world certainly is a beautiful place. It has wonderful architecture and history. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

well come back with this wonderful post. i hope to be better now.

Bhushavali said...

Ah... So long.... Welcome back dear... Missed you posts so much... Glad that u kept commenting however....
Back with a bang I guess... Great post... Lovely sculptural details...

My new blog on Fashion - FASHION PANACHE
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Sumandebray said...

good to see you back!
Got to explore Hampi one day.

Ranju said...

welcome back Rajesh !!
hope you are feeling better now...

having born & brought up in Mysore, I have been to most places in Karnataka, but never got a chance to visit Hampi...hope to visit it sometime in the future..

beautiful pictures !!

Jyoti Ajay said...

good pictures.wel come back.

Linda said...

Nice to see you blogging again.
I enjoyed the wealth of detail in these carvings.

SandyCarlson said...

Nice to see you posting again. This was a great post. I enjoyed the tour.

Gattina said...

Very interesting ! an architecture I am not used to at all !

LV said...

Thank you for an informative and interesting post. Took us back a ways in history. I learn something new each day. Thanks for stopping by my place.

Joe Todd said...

Welcome back Rajesh really enjoyed the tour. We don't have buildings that old in Ohio

GMG said...

Hi Rajesh! Welcome back!
I thought I had already commented on this one...
Anyhow, the enlarged first picture is excellent!!

Old Town Bilbao is now at Blogtrotter for your joy. Have a great weekend!!

Pietro Brosio said...

Interesting post, wonderful images of the Temple, the architecture is really amazing.
Welcome back, Rajesh.

Rajesh said...

Thanks to all. It is well wishes and prayers of all of you brought me back to my feet. Still there is a long way to go, but much better now.

Tony, I do not know the name of the plant in the profile. I had clicked it on my mobile camera a a resort as I loved the colors.

Anonymous said...

Now, I must visit this place.

myonlyphoto said...

Wow you been back for a while, and I missed to whole arrival - welcome back, and this is such a nice temple, thanks for sharing. Anna :)

Rajesh said...

Anna, Deepak: Thanks for the appreciation.