Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Stone Chariot, Hampi

At Hampi, the stone chariot located in the Vittala Temple Complex is a shrine built in the form of temple chariot. An image of Garuda was originally enshrined within its sanctum. Garuda, according to the Hindu mythology, is the vehicle of lord Vishnu. 

The chariot built with many giant granite blocks. The joints of the blocks are smartly hidden in the carvings that adorn the Stone Chariot and due to this it appears as a monolithic structure. It is built on a feet high rectangular platform. All around this base platform is carved with mythical battle scenes. The four giant stone wheels attached to the chariot look complete with the axis shafts. On the wheels are concentric floral motifs. 

In front of the chariot two elephants are positioned as if they are pulling the chariot. These elephants where later additions to the chariot and they actually replaced two horses that were carved in that position. The tails and the rear legs of the horses can be still seen just behind these elephant sculptures. A broken stone ladder once gave access to the sanctum is kept between the elephants.

68 comments:

fufu said...

wow wow wow... the temples in india are very different with those i used to see in malaysia and singapore

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Amazing! I didn't know so much about the Stone Chariot in Hampi!!

You won't believe, I came thrice or four times everyday on your blog for the past few days to see your amazing posts! You're a gem!!

Bhavesh

jabblog said...

What beautiful, intricate work. I wonder why the horses didn't survive?

Kim, USA said...

Oh my I thought the chariot size is small when I see the second picture with woman it is huge!! And it is made of granite? Wow this is amazing really! Thanks for sharing!

H for Hairdo

Glennis said...

The chariot looks quite realistic but the tiny elephants would have a struggle to pull it!
Most unusual temple, a very interesting one. All the carving is as good as usual on Indian Temples.

Nalini Hebbar said...

monolith stone carvings show the excellent talent and technique that existed at that time...and granite is not a very soft stone to carve on!

I really enjoy your posts...:)

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Very detailed... ~bangchik

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Stunning pictures and amazing places!

Tania said...

Beautiful arcitecture and pictures as always!

Unknown said...

You just have such fascinating architecture and history.

Sylvia K said...

Gorgeous photos and always a fascinating story!! Makes for a wonderful post that I always enjoy, Rajesh!

Sylvia

Carver said...

I've never seen anything like that stone chariot. Incredible work.

eden said...

Amazing architecture! Great shots.

Ramosforest.Environment said...

Great shots. Beautiful stone charriot.
Luiz Ramos

Kcalpesh said...

Quite amazed at this ancient architecture! Beauty captured, beautifully by you! Nice informative writing too...

Pixellicious Photos

EG CameraGirl said...

Handsome carvings beautifully preserved!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Rajesh: That is an amazing shrine, it is very large.

Carletta said...

I'm constantly amazed at the architectural findings you share with us and this is no exception.
Wonderful!

Anonymous said...

another beautifully historical post.

joo said...

Another amazing place Rajesh!

indicaspecies said...

I was exploring Hampi less than 3 months back, and it is indeed awesome! Lovely pictures these.

Al said...

That's incredible, the artistry and scale are very impressive. I've never seen anything like it.

Arija said...

Beautiful photos, reminds me of the marble boat in the lake of the summer palace of the empress in Beijing.

dharmashots said...

Wow, am always amazed with structures like this one in your photo. Such amazing and great works of artists.

clairz said...

You have such wonderful works of art there. Thank you for sharing.

Ebie said...

Such great architecture and work of art!

Cloudia said...

Remarkable!



Aloha from Hawaii my Friend


Comfort Spiral

Pavan Bhat said...

Hampi in such detail in your posts! Very nice work. It'll take quite a while to read all of them but good compilation :-)

magiceye said...

amazing work indeed! thank you for sharing

Japa said...

Always a treasure of structures on each of my visit. Great artistry well captured.

Pietro Brosio said...

Amazing work! So interesting images, Rajesh!

Marites said...

such an amazing work of art and culture. I hope it'll last for a long long time. You captured it really well.

My skywatch entry is here.

penny said...

Gorgeous as always, Rajesh. I hope you have a happy weekend.

Trotter said...

Hi Rajesh! Wonderful pictures! That's an awesome temple!!

Blogtrotter 2 is still in Jamaica. Enjoy and have a great weekend!!

Eaglesbrother said...

An Amazing structure !!!
Did the breakage of the stone come from vandalisim or just from age and the elements?

Carol said...

Impressive structures!

Anonymous said...

magnificent structure!
i never seen anything like it!

chanpheng said...

Beautiful pictures and great commentary. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Victoria Tsavdaridou said...

Nice post!!! Very impressive structures!!!

LadyFi said...

Wow - look at the size of that chariot! Amazing.

Unknown said...

Incredibly beautiful! Glad you posted these as I have never seen this temple before.

Anya said...

LOVELY to see those chariots
really cool :-)
Its beautiful !!!

eileeninmd said...

Wow, these are amazing scenes. Love the elephants and the chariot. Nice post and photos!

Pooch Purple Reign said...

hi rajesh
i just cant get over the incredible detail in these carvings!
they are beautiful
~laura

Tes said...

Simply beautiful! Would love to see it in person!

Pearl Maple said...

The temples and shrines are amazing the size and level of details make thing so interesting to see.

Oman said...

wow. these are stunning images. i love the temples.

ShySongbird said...

How magnificent! I have never seen anything quite like it, so intricate too.

Ezhilan said...

Wonderful stone carvings! The rain drenched pavement gives it a nice look.Great place to visit.

Lowell said...

Incredible. The artisans who put this together were extremely skilled. Hard to imagine how much labor when into creating the chariot!

Shubd said...

Wow!! I have always wanted to visit Hampi ..now after this even more so .
Really enjoy reading the pieces of info .

Thanks for your visit and comment .

SandyCarlson said...

What an incredible structure. The people in the image sure do put it in perspective.

Deepak Acharya said...

It must be a great place for photography :)

My Unfinished Life said...

hampi is one place i always have wanted to go....lovely place

tapirgal said...

The detail is always amazing.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Rajesh:)

Greetings and good wishes on Sunday:)

The carvings are breathtaking and gorgeous.Great imagination,skill and hard work has gone to produce this masterpiece.

Many thaks for showing this lovely carving.

Best wishes:)
Joseph

Rajesh said...

Bhavesh: Thanks for the appreciation. I am glad you follow my blog keenly. I also follw your blog for you amazing shots.

Rakesh, fufu, mama zen, Glennis, Nalini, Bangchik, Phivos, Spiderdama, Sarah, Sylvia, Carver, Eden, Luiz, Kcalpesh, EG Tour, Guy: Thanks for the appreciation.

Janice: Thanks, I they were damaged and elephants brought from elsewhere replaced them.

Carletta, ewok1993, Joo, Al, Arija, dharamashots, clariz, Ebie, Cloudia, Pavan, Japa, magiceye, Pietro, Marites, Pam, Trotter: Thanks for the appreciation.

Kim, LadyFi: Thanks, the chariot is really huge and it is as big as any other shrine.

Celine: Thanks, it is a nice place where every time one visits, will discover new things.

Carol, Rafael, chanpheng, Vicky, JM, Anya, eileeninmd, Laura, Maple, Lawstude, Regina, Songbird, Arasu, Sandy, Deepak, tapirgal: Thanks for the appreciation.

Eaglesbrother: Thanks, the breakage is due to the fighting between the Kings in those days. When Vijaynager Empire was on the decline the Mughals attacked them and ransacked these beautiful temples in the area.

Jacob, Joseph: Thanks, The artisans were very skilled and many of them worked in unison to give it a shape.

Shubd, Tes, shooting star: Thanks, it is a must see place.

myonlyphoto said...

Wow and its a big one too. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing Rajesh. Anna :)

shruthi said...

its a gr8 place to visit.... and i jus love it

George said...

This is absolutely fascinating. I appreciate the detail you can see when the photos are enlarged.

Alexander said...

Oh very beautiful structure you have there. It is fantastic.

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Rajesh said...

Anna, Shruti, George, Alexander: Thanks for the appreciation.

Jeevan said...

This is an immovable chariot stands in mind as first thing about Hampi! You have captured it well in detail rajesh. Thanks

Rajesh said...

Jeevan: Thanks. Yes, when people talk about Hampi, the first thing that strikes is this beautiful chariot.

RamyaWrites said...

Wonderfully taken snaps.

Nishant Singh said...

Excellent! The pics are great and the writeup is good too :D...Great of explaining things, you have :D

Anonymous said...

nice!!

Deguide said...

Vittala temple is the pinnacle of VIJAYNAGAR ARCHITECTURE.....nothing can get better and bigger than this.