Achyutaraya temple, Hampi

August 14, 2017
Our walk through the Courtesans street lead us to the northern gateway of Achyutaraya Devasthana. This is actually a temple complex consisting of at least two shrines, five gateways with Gopura, and mantapas.. all enclosed in high walls. This was one of the prominent temples of Hampi. It was partially destroyed by the invading armies after Talikota battle yet the structures remain standing.

A board planted near the temple's main entrance reads as follows-
Located at the foot of Matanga hill immediate to the west. this temple complex is known as Tiruvengalanatha temple from the inscriptions. The temple facing north with the bazar described as Achyuthrayapete was got constructed by Hiriya Thirumalaraja the Mahamandaleshwara under the Vijayanagara King Achyutaraya (1542-1599 AD) in the year 1534 AD.

The main temple consists of a Garbhagriha, Sukanasi, an Antarala, a Rangamantapa and a spacious pillared Mahamantapa. Within the complex to the south west of the main temple is the Devi shrine.

Particularly note worthy is that the temple complex is enclosed with two Prakaras and the temple is in the central area of the inner Prakara having there Mahadwaras. The outer Prakara has only one Mahadwara, most imposing on the north. The inner sides of the Prakaras, are series of Mantapas with pillars in the facade. From the front of the northeastern Mahadwara ruins the Achyuthrayapete with a series of pillared Mantapas on both sides.

This is the outer Mahadwara, beyond the doorway is the inner Mahadwara. This design is more or less the standard in Vijayanagara temple seen at Hampi and other places including Someshwara temple of Halasooru in Bengaluru and Virupaksha temple and fort, Mulbagal.

Th inner Mahadwara and Gopura are almost as big as the outer one. While the outer Gopura is covered in plaster, this gopura is bare, its bricks exposed. Seems like construction was abandoned before completion. trying to imagine how much money was allocated for temple development. It seems construction industry and temples were major factors in Vijayanagara economy. While the construction created jobs and other businesses, temples were sources of income. Temples were where social events happened- be it thread ceremonies, weddings, anniversaries and what not. That's why temple premises were so spacious.

This is the sight on the right hand side of the inner Mahadwara.. the imposing Matanga Parvatha atop which is Veerabhadra temple. On the ground here is what seems like a partially constructed Kalyana Mantapa. And the elevated Mantapa is on the eastern perimeter of this temple.

A closer view of the Kalyana Mantapa pillars and the Dwara Mantapa. The path from the gateway leads to Nandi Mantapa, Virupaksha temple and Hemakuta hill.

View through the inner Mahadwara and Achyutaraya temple (see inset). Most religious buildings have high pointed roofs and the reason for that is to pull cosmic energy. So, people passing through this passage, which is directly under the Gopura, would be recharged. For some reason Vijayanagara builders places emphasis on Gopura but Hoysalas, Kadambas and Chalukyas preferred Shikharas. However, there's one Vijayanagara temple with a massive Shikhara- Anantasayana Devasthana.

On the Mahadwara walls are inscriptions in Kannada or Telugu. Talking about inscriptions, Chalukyans temples feature inscription slabs but Vijayanagara rulers preferred walls and even floors (rock beds).

Vijayamagara Mahadwaras feature the creeper sculpture, its can be seen in most temples. Here a couple of lovely damsels welcome visitors. The damsels decked up in jewelry are sculpted into niches.

The other damsel..what a sexy figure! Wondering if dancers of those days wore just jewelry. Anyway, coming back to the present, the face is damaged but remaining is OK. Its counterpart is badly damaged. Those invaders cared one hoot about art, no respect for others properties.. sad culture their's.

View of the inner courtyard. On the left is one corner of the temple, actually the Sabhamantapa. Notice the gracefully sloping roof edge.. designed for water to flow and land away from the base. All around the temple i.e. along the outer wall are Mantapas for visitors to camp.

Lets step into the temple now. This is the Sabhamantapa, part of the roof is missing. Not sure if it was damaged or work was incomplete. I'm leaning more towards unfinished because the columns and beams are intact. Also the inner columns are plain.. or are they recent ones which have replaced the ancient ones.

The Garbhagudi entrance has a pair of Dwarapalas, their pose looks somewhat uncomfortable. The pillar in foreground is more in focus.. is it a new pillar or an ancient one.

View of the Gopura from Sabhamantapa. Notice the little cubical temple which blocks the view from Mahadwara and vice versa. For some reason, many temples have such an arrangement. In fact, during childhood days, we visited a Ganesha temple regularly which had a plain granite slab was fixed opposite the door, it blocked direct view of the deity from the street. I think its to prevent evil eyes effect on the idol in Garbhagudi.

Vijayanagara temple pillars feature interesting sculptures. Here are few I could capture. This bearded man seems to be attired in some kind of robe with a cap. He's leaning on a long object which looks like a club.

A collage of three more characters. I've color-balanced the images for clarity sake. Coming from left- woman seated on a cushion, her headgear is some kind of crown; a man holding a large piece of meat; a fisher woman with a large catch, seems to be wearing a pearl necklace and bangles. These are my thought, would be nice to hear yours.

Coming back to the front side, this is the only way to climb into the Sabhamantapa. A pair of elephants greet visitors. Since the deity of this temple is a form of Vishnu, this little temple would be meant for his Vahana i.e. Gaurda.

Behind the main temple is another temple, smaller in size but equally grand. This temple Shikhara's conditionis much better. Was this temple dedicated to Vishnu's consort. Side view if the temple face (see inset). This seems to be a completely finished structure.

External walls of this temple are quite plain but they are inline with Vijayanagara architecture.

I think this is the eastern Dwara, much smaller than the Mahadwara.

Mantapa along the outer wall. This open space is called as outer Prakara in the temple description. I'm guessing that businessmen visiting this temple would camp at the inner Mntapas with their family members. And, their servants would camp in the outer Mantapas.

The tour of Courtesans' street and Achyutaraya temple would easily require 2½ hours. Would be a good idea to have an umbrella, water bottles and snacks. You'll need to recharge to trek back to the parking area which is a good 1½ kilometers away and the path goes across a hillock. One last look at the temple complex for the day.

From here we head towards the big Nandi sitting under a large Mantapa. On the way we pass by a temple dedicated to Hanuman but we missed it.

Next time I want to spend two full days here, rent bicycles and explore from sunrise to sunset.
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