Hampi : A riches-to-ruins story...
Hampi is a small village/town, on the banks of River Tungabhadra, in Bellary district of Karnataka. It doesn't even boast of a railway station - the nearest train halts in Hospet, about 13 km away. However, it is a UNESCO World heritage site, known for its ruined remains of more than 1600 temples, shrines, royal and sacred complexes, forts, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures and other architectural marvels.
Hampi was, from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD, also called Vijayanagara, and was the capital of "the last great Hindu empire in South India" - The Vijayanagara empire. Infact, Persian and Portuguese chroniclers say that in 1500 AD, Vijayanagara (Hampi) was the second largest city in the world, extremely prosperous, beautiful and grand. It is rhetorically said that pearls and other precious stones used to be sold on roadsides like coconuts and bananas are today. Curious to know which was the largest city in the world? From the 15th to 18th centuries, the largest city in the world was Beijing.
This is how large the Vijayanagara empire was in its zenith. And Hampi, also known as Vijayanagara, was its capital.
How then did the second largest city in the world get reduced to a rumbling ruin? Therein lies a tale.
Actually, the story of Hampi begins not in history, not even in pre-history, but in mythology. It begins with a lady called Pampa, also called Parvati, doing immensely intense tapas, in order to woo an ascetic recluse called Shiva. She does her tapas on the Hemakuta hills nearby. Finally, Shiva comes to Hemakuta, sees Pampa's (Parvati's) resolve and agrees to marry her. The Sanskrit word Pampa becomes the Kannada Hampa and over time gets corrupted to Hampe or Hampi. The region is also called Pampakshetra. Aeons pass. Temples are built on Hemakuta hills to commemorate the lore. The ruins of the Hemakuta temple complex still stand.
Next, this region is believed to be the same as Kishkindha, the Vanara kingdom of Vali and Sugreeva, from the Valmiki Ramayana. It is also considered to be the birthplace of Hanuman. Hence it has gained a significant religious value over time.
Now, let's come to recorded history. Rock edicts suggest that this region seems to have been under Ashoka's Mauryan empire in the 2nd century BC.
From the 6th to 10th centuries, this place was called Pampapura and was ruled by the Chalukyas. Sometime during this period, the Virupaksha Shiva temple was built and patronized by the Chalukya kings.
In the 14th century, the armies of the Delhi Sultanate, particularly those of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq, invaded and pillaged South India. Two brothers, Hakka and Bukka (Harihara I and Bukka I), resisted and founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336, with its capital in Hampi. A sage by the name Vidyaranya took them under his protection, mentored them and established them on the throne. So the city was called Vidyanagara for a while, morphing into Vijayanagara in due course - the City of Victory. The Amar Chitra Katha titled on them beautifully explains their trials and tribunals.
Vijayanagara reached its zenith under the rule of its most iconic emperor - Krishnadeva Raya, who ruled from 1509 to 1529. Under his rule, Hampi-Vijayanagara became the world's second-largest city, and one of India's richest. Its wealth attracted traders from across the Deccan area, Persia and Goa. He ushered developments in intellectual pursuits and the arts, maintained a strong military and fought many wars with sultanates to its north and east. He invested in roads, waterworks, agriculture, religious buildings and public infrastructure. According to historical memoirs left by Portuguese and Persian traders, Hampi was of metropolitan proportions - they called it "one of the most beautiful cities in the world".
Now comes the tragic part.
In 1565, the five Sultanates north of Vijayanagara united and attacked the reigning king Aliya Rama Raya in what is called the Battle of Talikota, about 80 km southeast of Bijapur.
The Vijayanagara army was winning the battle, but the tide turned when two Muslim commanders of the Vijayanagara army switched sides and turned their loyalty to the Sultanates. They captured Aliya Rama Raya and beheaded him on the spot. The Sultanate army then reached Hampi, looted, destroyed and burnt it down to ruins over a period of several months. This is evidenced by the quantities of charcoal, the heat-cracked basements and burnt architectural pieces found by archaeologists in Vijayanagara region.
Robert Sewell, a historian who worked for British India and a scholar on Vijayanagara Empire, wrote in his book, A Forgotten Empire - Vijayanagar: A Contribution to the History of India, "With fire and sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day, their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description."
Such is the glorious story of Hampi - the historical and religious city-in-ruins, that was one day prosperity personified.
