Hampi Hopping, Outer Circuit: Between Hampi and Hospet

Hospet is the large town and railway station closest to Vijaynagar, located about 13km from Hampi Bazaar. Given the vast extent of Vijaynagar’s ruins and the ‘suburbs’ that surrounded the main urban center, it is no surprise that there are monuments all along the road between these two locations. These various suburbs were patronized by different members of Vijaynagar’s royal family over the generations, and Hospet itself used to be one such suburb. No trace of Vijaynagar ruins remain within the town itself, but as we will see below, there are impressive remains just outside the town, which can be peeked at by rail travelers as the trains come into the station (from the Guntakal/Ballari side).

Note on the smudged photos: The photos in this post have a bad finger smudge, which I did not notice when I was reviewing the photos on the spot because so many of these photos were taken with the sun behind the monuments, and I mistook the smudge for glare. Apologies for that, and I hope the photos are useful nonetheless!

Close to Hampi, the village of Kadirampur has a couple of tombs of Muslim nobles/generals (unknown) from the 14th or 15th c AD.

Kadirampur tombs

About 7km from Hospet, the village of Malpannagudi has an active Mallikarjuna temple from the Vijaynagar period with later alterations.

Mallikarjuna temple at Malpannagudi from the outside

Gopuram

Gopuram and mahamandap face-off

Mahamandap

Subsidiary shrine

Parapet brick and plaster work on the enclosure walls

Gateways on either side of Malpannagudi

Stepped-well from the early 15th c just outside (west of) Malpannagudi

Just about 2km from Hospet in the village of Anantasayanagudi is a large, impressive and unique 16th c temple dedicated to Anantapadmanabha. The unusual tower of this temple can be glimpsed by observant train travelers as the train comes into Hospet from the Guntakal/Ballari side.

Anantapadmanabha temple at Anantasayanagudi through the gopuram

Massive gopuram base

Demolition/conservation work underway along the enclosure wall

Main structure with mahamandap in front and the unusual oblong shikhar/tower visible behind

The shrine room is massive (the tower is 24m high) and rectangular in shape, necessitating the unusually shaped oblong shikhar/vimana. The sculpture in the sanctum was of a reclining Vishnu on the serpent Ananta, but only the large base remains now. There is no ardhmandap. The large columned hall of the mahamandap leads directly to the antaralay and the shrine behind.