Hampi, beauty admist ruins ~ Part V

We came back from Daroji way before time and both of us were full of excitement on seeing 7 bears. So for the rest of the evening we though of covering some more places in Hampi instead of keeping them for the next day.

Octagonal Bath

 We first went to the Octagonal Bath. There lies one huge enclosed area as you enter the Hampi town. That enclosed area has three interesting places. One is the Octagonal Bath, another is the Saraswathi Temple and the third is the Chandrasekhara Temple. This particular place is less popular to tourists although the Octagonal bath is really nice.

  True to its name the Octagonal Bath is a big octagonal structure that was once used as a community bath. It has pillars on all sides and a raised structure in the middle.

Saraswati Temple

Pillar Inside Saraswati Temple

Ya, That's Me

  Close to it is the Saraswathi Temple. Though there is no deity inside but the temple was dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning and knowledge, Saraswathi. Its a small temple on a elevated area and has beautiful carvings on the walls and pillars inside.

Chandrakeshwara Temple

    This place will not take you more than 30 mins to see. Then we moved on to another area of Hampi that has the Queen's Bath which is on the Kamalapura Hampi road. The Queen's bath is really majestic, and showcases Islamic architecture. It has a manicured garden surrounding it.

Queen's Bath

Queen's Bath

  The inside of Queen's bath is also very beautiful. The bath area is surrounded by a veranda which has nicely shaped doors and windows in the shape of lotus petals. The structure is very well ventilated with adequate light and air. Surrounding the Queen's bath is a trench suggesting of a continuous water inlet and outlet system.

  On walking a little further we came to the Royal Enclosure. Before its demolition by Muslim invaders it was the House of Power for the Vijaynagara kingdom. The Royal enclosure occupied an area of 59000 sq m and it housed as many as 43 buildings. I took this photo so that a lot of information can be passed on without me having to write too much.

Royal Enclosure Detail

Mahanavami Dibba

Granary

  A very interesting structure in the Royal enclosure is the Mahanavami Dibba which is actually a decorated huge platform where many royal occasions used to take place. The Mahanavami Dibba has beautiful carvings of elephants, horsemen, warriors, flowers and patterns on the walls.

Broken Stone Carving at Mahanavami Dibba

Pushkarani

Pushkarani

  There is also a beautiful Pushkarini or a step well. It has beautiful steps all surrounding it. During the rainy season this step well gets filled with water.

  While walking from the Mahanavami Dibba towards the Pushkarini we saw quite a few large large structures on the right side of the road. They were the granaries used for storing grains, pulses and seeds. By looking at their massive size and numbers, one can easily understand that at one point of time Hampi was such a prosperous kingdom blessed with ample grain and beauty.

  The day was almost over. As we were getting out we saw the very beautiful temple of HazaraRama. I took some very beautiful photos from outside with the mesmerizing sunset sky as the backdrop. 

Some remains of structures on the way to Hazara Rama Temple

Sunset by Hazara Rama Temple

Wall full of carving at Hazara Rama Temple

Inside Hazara Rama Temple

    Tomorrow we will again come to this place to see the temple of HazaraRama in our own detailed way. Till then stay tuned.