Hampi (town) in the context of "Hampi"

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⭐ Core Definition: Hampi (town)

Hampi is a city in the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located along the Tungabhadra River in the east and center part of the state, Hampi is near the city of Hospet. It is famous for hosting the Hampi Group of Monuments with the Virupaksha Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was possibly known as Kishkindha in the Ramayana age.

Hampi is mentioned in Ashokan epigraphy and texts such as the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampaa Devi Tirtha Kshetra. Hampi was a part of Vijayanagara, the capital of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th-century. It became a center of economic and administrative activity of the Deccan region kingdom founded in opposition to Islamic Sultanates in South India. After over two centuries of rule, the Empire was defeated and abandoned. Since the 19th-century, its ruins have been an important site for archaeologists and historians.

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👉 Hampi (town) in the context of Hampi

Hampi or Hampe (Kannada: [hɐmpe]), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampa Devi Tirtha Kshetra. Hampi continues as a religious centre, with the Virupaksha Temple, an active Adi Shankara-linked monastery and various monuments belonging to the old city.

Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565 (as Vijayanagara), when it was abandoned. It was a fortified city. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the Portuguese, say that Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets. Hampi-Vijayanagara is estimated to be the world's second-largest city by 1500, after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by Muslim armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins.

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Hampi (town) in the context of Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Virupaksha Temple (ʋɪruːpaː'kʂɐ) is located in Hampi in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India, situated on the banks of the river Tungabhadra, a 7th-century temple of Lord Shiva. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is dedicated to Sri Virupaksha. The temple was expanded by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka (chieftain) under the ruler Deva Raya II, also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Hampi, capital of the Vijayanagar empire, sits on the banks of the Tungabhadra River (Pampa hole/Pampa river). Virupaksha Temple is the main center of pilgrimage (ತೀರ್ಥಯಾತ್ರೆ) at Hampi, and has been considered the most sacred sanctuary over the centuries. It is intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha/Pampa pathi, as the consort of the local goddess Pampadevi who is associated with the Tungabhadra River. There is also a Virupakshini Amma temple (mother goddess) in a village called Nalagamapalle, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, approximately 100 km from Tirupati.

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