Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Deity

Shiva as Virupaksha

Status

Part of the UNESCO Group of Monuments at Hampi

Gopuram height

About 50 m

Nearest airport

Vidyanagar, about 35 km

Nearest railway station

Hosapete

History

Worship at this spot goes back to well before Vijayanagara; the earliest parts of the shrine are believed to date from around the seventh century. The temple grew greatly between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the Vijayanagara kings made it their royal shrine. Krishnadevaraya added a pillared hall and an inner gateway in the early sixteenth century. It forms part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What to see

• The main eastern gopuram, about 50 metres tall
• The inner courtyards and the richly carved pillared hall with painted ceilings
• The shrines of Pampa and Bhuvaneshwari within the complex
• A small chamber where the gopuram casts an inverted shadow through a narrow opening
• Hampi Bazaar, the long colonnaded street in front of the temple

Visiting hours and dress

The temple is open from morning until about 1 pm and again in the evening until about 9 pm; timings can shift on festival days. Men are advised to wear shirts with trousers or dhotis, and women sarees, churidars or similar modest clothes. You will need to leave footwear at the entrance.

Festivals

The wedding of Virupaksha and Pampa is celebrated in December with rituals and processions. The annual chariot festival falls around February, when the deity is drawn along the bazaar street. Maha Shivaratri draws large crowds, and the temple is a focus of the Hampi Utsav and of the Purandaradasa Aradhana music festival.

How to reach

The nearest airport is at Vidyanagar, about 35 km away. Hosapete is the closest railway station, about 13 km from Hampi, with autos and buses to the temple.

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