The Sacred Centre

The Sacred Centre

The northern end of Vijayanagara, a rocky area along the Tungabhadra river, was chosen as the sacred centre of the city. This was no accident — the site was already thick with religious associations long before the empire was founded.

Local tradition holds that these hills were the monkey kingdom of Vali and Sugriva from the Ramayana. Another tradition says that Pampadevi, the local mother goddess, performed penance here to marry Virupaksha — the guardian deity of the kingdom, who is also a form of Shiva. That marriage is still celebrated every year in the Virupaksha temple. On top of this, Jaina temples from the pre-Vijayanagara period are also found among these hills. So the area was already a meeting point of several sacred traditions.

Temple building in this region had a long history, going back to the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Cholas. Rulers encouraged temple construction as a way to associate themselves with the divine — often the deity was identified, explicitly or implicitly, with the king himself. Temples also served as centres of learning. Rulers and others granted land and resources for temple maintenance, which made temples into major religious, social, cultural and economic centres. For rulers, building, repairing and maintaining temples was a way to win support and recognition for their power, wealth and piety.

It is very likely that the choice of Vijayanagara's site was inspired by the existing shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. The Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed "Shri Virupaksha", usually in Kannada script. Rulers also used the title "Hindu Suratrana" — a Sanskritisation of the Arabic word Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant "Hindu Sultan". This shows how they drew on earlier traditions while also innovating. Royal portrait sculpture was now displayed in temples, and the king's visits to temples became important state occasions, where he was accompanied by the important nayakas of the empire.

Gopurams and Mandapas

New features appeared in temple architecture during this period. The most striking were structures of immense scale that marked imperial authority. The best example is the raya gopuram — royal gateways that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines. These towering gateways could be seen from a great distance and were probably meant as reminders of the king's power to command the resources, techniques and skills needed to build them.

Other distinctive features included mandapas (pavilions) and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex.

The Virupaksha Temple

This temple was built over centuries. Inscriptions suggest the earliest shrine dated to the ninth-tenth centuries, but it was substantially enlarged after the Vijayanagara Empire was established.

• The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Krishnadeva Raya to mark his accession. It was decorated with delicately carved pillars.
• He is also credited with constructing the eastern gopuram.
• These additions meant the central shrine became a relatively small part of the whole complex.

The halls in the temple served different purposes:

• Some were spaces where images of gods were placed to watch special programmes of music, dance and drama.
• Others were used to celebrate the marriages of deities.
• Yet others were meant for the deities to swing in.
• Special images, distinct from those kept in the small central shrine, were used on these occasions.

The Vitthala Temple …