most structures in Hampi are carved on a one-piece boulder
notice that the right tusk is broken , and on of the right hands of Ganesh
holds the tusk.
One popular story to account for the dark spot on the moon is that Ganesha ,
once filled with food ( hence the pot belly )
fell from his mouse ( Ganesh sits on a mouse , as the mouse is his transport )
and broke his stomach
( hence the stitch lines across his stomach in this statue to repair his stomach )
Chandra the moon laughed at this, at which Ganesha
injured him by breaking off and throwing one of his tusks;
and cursed him so that it would be forbidden to behold Chandra
on Ganesh Chaturthi .
also notice that one of the left hands has has different color.
this is not the original hand from the same boulder carved , as when Hampi
was invaded , the hand was cut . on excavation they found the real hand and
was put back in place , but some said the hand was again stolen.
hence they replace the hand with a hand made of clay , jaggery and eggs ,
giving it a different colour from the original statue.
Krishna has 8 wives and 12000 girlfriends.
has Chinese influence in reddish color.
Largest statue in Hampi carved on one single stone.
as what was told by my guide , this is the symbol of men and women.
the top cylinder represents the penis , while the base represents vagina.
the water surrounding the stucture represents fertility.
costs us Rs10 per person one way.
usually foreign tourist pass will cost around Rs250
musical tones
when invaded , the statues are purposedly to be partially damaged ,
so that the statues remain standing but loses it's ' power ' .
at the bottom was carvings depicting the horse trading business of Hampi
with various kingdoms all over the world.
in one carving , depending on the angle that we see it.
Hampi is the birth place of Hanuman the monkey god.
avoid going to Hampi in summer ( may-july ) .
in January festivals will be held in Hampi.
it's advisable to hire tour guide as well.
places in Hampi are easily reachable , but
we need experienced guide to tell the stories behind the strucutures
to make the trip more worthy.
one of the few temple still in use ( as others are destroyed and abandoned )
but this temple at Matunga Hill is the only Hindu temple that
has Rama in sitting position.
from Ramayana Epic ,
Rama took a rest here ( hence the sitting position ) while Hanuman
continues the journey to Sri Lanka to rescue Rama's wife Sita
that was abducted by the evil Ravana.
according to Hindus , Hampi is the playing ground for Hanuman and
he arranged the boulders there.
But archeological studies found that the whole place used to be underwater
before Hampi civilization was built ,
and the boulders are arranged in such positions by the waves in the ocean.
Luxury swimming pool for the queen.
the place is surrounded by crocodiles outside for safety ,
while the queen takes a bath inside with live music and rose petals.
water are pumped to the higher floor , and supplied downwards to the
ground floor with clay pipes. while water is flowing down , small holes
made in the clay pipes sprays water droplets arount the castle ,
working as an air conditioner.
the place where the king keeps his elephants.
story said that the middle portions is the place for the king's
special Albino Elephant.
another 5 hours return trip back to Belgaum.
Day 1 Part I : en route ( click here )
Day 1 Part II : Hemakuta Hill ( click here )
Hampi , Karnataka , India
November 2014
special thanks to Odeng of Belgaum for organizing this trip.
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