Route to Roots@Hampi: The Never-to-be-Forgotten Vijayanagar Empire

Just flip one side of a Rs. 50 Indian currency coin and there you will see it -the majestic stone chariot of Hampi. But have you ever wondered why a 700-year-old ruin, a part of forgotten history, deserves a special place in modern India’s resurgent future? Let us explore together on this epic journey of inner transformation, vibrant culture, monastic temperance and unthinkable grandeur—Route to Roots: Hampi Edition—with Swami Swatmananda, Chinmaya Mission Mumbai and seekers from all over.Hampi - one of the largest protected UNESCO World Heritage sites was the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara empire. It was established by the kingmaker, Vedic scholar and householder who later on took up Sanyasa, the 12th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Matha, Sri Swami Vidyaranya. He inspired and guided Hari Hara Raya and Buka Raya to set up an empire rooted in Sanatan Dharma, along the banks of the Tungabhadra.Our journey began with a 6-hour delay enroute from Mumbai to Hospet (16 hours usually) by bus, which itself turned out to be a lesson in patience and adaptation to new situations with calmness and proficiency.The first stop was the sacred area of Hampi that included the Krishna Temple complex, Sasivekalu Ganesha monolith, Hemakuta Hill group of monuments and the Virupaksha Temple complex. Sasivekalu Ganesh or ‘Mustard Ganesha’ is a loving local name for the over 8 feet tall Ganesha carved out of a single stone. It has an extremely prominent snake tied around his belly that symbolises that Bhagawan is the Master of Time.There was an exuberant rush to see a 10,000-year-old culture permanently chiseled in stone, for centuries of seekers to be inspired and to invoke devotion. With the blessings of Ganesha, the inner route to our Real Roots (Supreme Self) had begun.Adjacent to Sasivekalu Ganesh, lies the Hemakuta Hill with a number of monuments. We reached around sunset, and the scene is literally indescribable. One has to go and see it. Even pictures cannot capture the complete emotion of it.The old Virupaksha Temple is at the site where Bhagawan Shiva meditated after Sati’s passing away. Kamadeva tried to disturb Bhagawan’s penance and was reduced to ashes. There is a Kama-sarovar or a small pond which is always filled with water, in any season, near this temple. In the same kshetra, Mother Parvati did severe penance to please Bhagawan Shiva in the form of Virupaksha to be able to marry him. Symbolically, this means the union of matter and spirit-merging with one’s higher Self. Our entourage of devotees sang hymns and chanted the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra in praise of this divine union..The day concluded with a visit to the new Virupaksha Temple complex, dedicated to Virupaksha (Shiva), Pampa (Parvati) and Mother Bhuvaneshwari. Built across several centuries by the Vijayanagar kings, Chalukyan and Hoysala emperors, this is one of the few places in Hampi where puja is still offered. Unfortunately, most of the other structures of deities were destroyed and desecrated by the Bahamani Sultans and its wealth was looted. Then they were further destroyed by treasure hunters. Virupaksha’s majestic towering gopuram built by Krishnadevaraya is a masterpiece of Bharat’s cultural, artistic and spiritual brilliance. Standing 50 ft tall, it has nine steps with intricately carved designs of deities, demi-gods, celestial dancers and animals.Looking at the majestic gopuram, we first expressed gratitude to our glorious ancestors and then took a a few moments to reflect on what could be our contribution to the nation that would leave a legacy for the next ten generations to come.Inside the temple is a chamber with a tiny hole in the wall which serves as a pinhole and reflects and inverted image of the gopuram on the inside wall. Looks like the pinhole camera effect was known in Bharat long before it was known to the Western world! We chanted various stotrams after the darshan. We were fortunate to see the procession of Bhagawan and Bhagavati going around the temple, leading finally to their resting abode. The procession led by Lakshmi, the temple elephant, was a sight to behold! After the shayan aarti, when Bhagwan lay down to rest, she knelt down and prostrated. She blessed nearby pilgrims with her large trunk. To me, she exuded an aura of being the luckiest being on the planet, continuously surrounded by Bhagawan and His devotees. The next morning, we saw her sitting in the middle of the shallow waters of the Tungabhadra, enjoying her daily bath..In a quiet secluded corner is a statue of Swami Vidyaranya and his underground meditation space called the HariHara (Vishnu and Shiva) Temple. Here is what Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda had to say about him - ‘An invincible warrior, an able administrator, a great diplomat, a popular politician, an erudite scholar, a precise poet, a man of detachment and renunciation, of charity and nobility, of Sannyasa and study, Swami Vidyaranya was indeed a rare manifestation of the Divine’.He founded the Vijayanagar Empire by inspiring Hakka and Bukka to set up the capital at Anegundi. Madhvacharya (pre-sannyasa name), a householder, served as the prime minister of the Vijayanagar Kingdom along with his brother Sayanacharya, who wrote commentaries on the four Vedas (used even today!), composed thousands of hymns, poems, prose texts, commissioned temples, taught the principle of upholding higher values and created a legacy for centuries to come. It was his spirit and penance which continues to inspire even to this day, here at Hampi.Having scripted and performed the theatrical play, ‘Dharmayoddha Vidyaranya’, we were touched to see the holy shrine of Swami Vidyaranya and the magnificence he created through Vijayanagara. Each place came alive for us.If you are not amazed enough already and wondering at this point how much more is there, take a moment to visualise Hampi at its peak with 20,000+ temples, Jain temples, mosques, palaces, gardens—a literal paradise on earth. What humungous efforts, creativity and wealth must have gone into building that city!The next morning, we trekked up Matanga Hill to watch the sunrise and for morning satsang. The temple is where Matanga Muni from the Ramayana stayed and where Mother Shabri waited for years for the darshan of Bhagwan Ram. Shabri was completely convinced by the words of her guru that Bhagawan will come there to give her darshan. She was a simple tribal woman who served Matanga Rishi and his students by cleaning the ashram, filling up water etc. For a devotee, minding one’s thoughts is the most important. You can do the most menial of tasks but with the noblest of thoughts for all beings and creatures around you. Our work in life is determined by our karmas and swadharma. There is no need to copy another's life. Shabri did not copy any of the other students. She did her seva and kept her mind on the well-being of all as though they were all Ram. Swamiji narrated an incident from the Tulsi Ramayan, which says that as Bhagawan Ram was walking in the dense forest, his feet automatically moved towards Matanga Hill where Shabri resided. The power of Shabari’s devotion pulled him there. I hope we experience and share with others the sheer joy and ecstatic bliss of such devotion..During the satsang sessions, Swamiji expounded on the essence of Navadha Bhakti from the Ramayan. ‘When some things are special, it brings sorrow.When one thing is special, it becomes deep misery.When one thing is everything, it is sheer torture.But when nothing is special, all is joy.And when everything is special, that is devotion.’ Matanga Hill is an amazing sunrise point and provides a bird’s-eye view of the entire city of Hampi, the ruins, a note into India's glorious past and a resolve to rebuild a wonderful future. Matanga Hill cannot be forgotten without mentioning its monkeys! Cute monkeys, big and small, play mischievously with the devotees of Bhagawan Ram! We also saw various puranic spots of Kishkindha—-Rishyamukha Parvat, Anjanadri Parvat, Vali’s place of stay, etc. The journey continued with the Hazare Rama Temple. Carved in stone, it depicts the entire Valmiki Ramayana in three concentric layers running along the perimeter of the temple. Each layer consists of panels which depict a particular scene from the Ramayana. 108 such panels narrate the divine saga. It contains one of the most well preserved images and our excitement knew no bounds as we identified our favorite scenes from this ithihasa. The precision required to carve such a masterpiece in stone is unimaginable. One can’t just Ctrl Z a mistake here! Do you really think the Vijayanagar kings spend all this time and wealth on building something so grand just for a fable, an epic, a mere story? Or they really believed in Bhagawan Rama and what can be learnt from His Life even after 800 years and wanted to pass on these eternal values to the future generations? Think!.Our lunch that day was a sumptuous traditional meal served on a banana leaf by the loving villagers of Anegundi. Banana leaves are one of the most eco-friendly ways to dine and certainly saves a lot of cutlery effort! Maybe our society should declare one day in a week as Banana Leaf Lunch Day.The Ramayana tour continued at Chintamani, with a traditional folk dance called Hagaluvesha. Chintamani is what our itihasas call Kishkindha, the kingdom of Vali and Sugreeva. Intricate make-up patterns, colorful costumes, piped tunes and jazzy dance sequences make up this traditional folklore dance. It depicted through dance and music, Bhagawan Rama’s quest of finding Sita; how he befriended Sugreev with the help of Hanuman, how he defeated Vali, the difficulties faced while fighting the demons. It made me wonder if I need to get out more in the world and be away from my mobile phone. While the play was in Kannada, it didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the performance. The audience was captivated and giddy with joy as Sri Ram finally killed Ravan..The Ramayan is incomplete without Hanuman. The journey continued at Anjanadri Hill, considered the birthplace of Sri Hanuman. Interestingly, Jackie Chan had shot one of his movies here and was so inspired by the place, that in gratitude he donated for the temple restoration and enhancements. We watched the sun slowly set behind the Hampi landscapes from atop the Anjanadri Hill.During satsang, the next morning, Swamiji explained, in praise of Shabari’s devotion, Bhagawan Rama gave Shabari the Navadha Bhakti—the nine steps of devotion: Company of saints, Fondness for Bhagawan’s stories, Selfless service at the Guru’s feet, singing praises of Bhagawan, Chanting His name with faith, practicing self-control and good character, Seeing God everywhere, Contentment, and Equanimity. This deep understanding of faith and devotion, shared at such a sacred site, left us inspired to have complete faith in our Guru, Ishwara and live a life of pure devotion..From hereon, we visited an array of places in the ‘Hampi by the river’ tour - Yantrodaka Hanuman Temple, Kodanda Rama Temple, Coracle ride in the Tungabhadra, where we even went below a whole mountain. After this, we saw the magnificent Vijaya Vitthala Temple, with the famous Stone Chariot that is on our currency. It also has the hall with the musical pillars where the sargam can be heard on the stone pillars. The temple has depictions of many Islamic warriors also on its pillars and unfortunately, however accommodative we may be, their intentions were malicious. Vijayanagara was brought down after 200 years because of the two Islamic commanders who betrayed Vijayanagara in the battle at Talikota. There are numerous such incidents in our entire history and yet we do not learn from it and continue the same mistakes.The next stop was the Vijayanagar Citadel, our final destination on this journey. The Citadel in Hampi, now in ruins, was once the royal heart of the empire, showcasing remarkable architecture and cultural sophistication. The Royal Enclosure housed grand palaces and ceremonial platforms like the Mahanavami Dibba with over 108 pillars placed equidistant from each other, of which only the foundations remain today. The Queen’s Bath with its Indo-Islamic arches, and the Lotus Mahal in the Zenana Enclosure, blending Hindu and Islamic styles, offer glimpses of royal luxury. The well-preserved Elephant Stables, with grand domes, housed royal elephants, while the Underground Shiva Temple, partially submerged, adds a mystical element to the citadel's enduring legacy. .While much of the citadel has been reduced to ruins, these remaining structures still speak volumes of the architectural innovation and cultural richness of the Vijayanagara empire, evoking the grandeur that once defined this royal city. Five combined Sultani armies, betrayal by two Islamic commanders of the Vijayanagar army, six months of rape, plunder, temple desecration, torture and murder of millions left the city literally burning to an extent that even the stones started to melt by the end of it all!One of the most famous books on Vijayanagara is called the Forgotten Empire. It's up to us, the youth of this nation to realise what our real history is and what kind of a future we want to live in and leave for the coming generations to come. Do visit Hampi, not as a tourist but as an explorer into Bharat and its glory. Let us learn our lessons, protect our culture and think big like our ancestors, to leave a glorious legacy for the future. Jai Ma Bhuvaneshwari!