Located in hilly terrain formed by granite boulders, Hampi is a subset of the widespread ruins of Vijayanagar, the last great Hindu kingdom in South India. Protected by the turbulent Tungabhadra River in the north and rocky granite ridges on the other three sides, the history of Vijayanagar can be briefly described as a saga of Hindu resistance against the invading northern Muslim Sultanates. In the wake of the rebellions against the Muslim Tughluq rule in the Deccan, Harihara and Bukka, two of the five sons of Sangama, founded the Hindu Vijayanagar Empire in 1336. The empire was named after its capital city of Vijaynagar, meaning the city of victory, the remarkable site of the ruins of which is today known as Hampi and is reckoned as a World Heritage Site. The site of the said ruins is, in fact, the silent witness of the forgotten story of the pomp and splendor, grandeur and the fabulous wealth of a lost Kingdom.

It is believed that the adjoining region of Vijayanagar was actually part of a Kampili Kingdom and the Sangama brothers were the treasury officers of Kampili. In 1327 AD, when Muhammad bin Tugluq defeated and killed the king of Kampili, the two brothers were taken to Delhi as prisoners and were forced to convert to Islam. Some years later the brothers were sent back to govern Kampili, with the hope that they would be able to deal with the local revolts and invasions by the neighbouring Hindu kings. However, under the influence of a Hindu sage Madhavacharyya, they again embraced Hinduism and proclaimed their independence from the Delhi sultanate. They also defeated the neighbouring Hoysala king, Veera Ballala III of Dorasamudra and thereby secured their home base. For the rest of the 14th century the city flourished, as the empire expanded its borders. The new capital, Vijayanagar was established by Harihara I, who reigned till 1356.

There is another popular account, which says that, when Hoysala king Veera Ballala III died in the war against the Sultan of Madurai, Harihara, a Hoysala commander in charge of its northern territories, gained sovereign powers over the entire Hoysala territory and was made the first king of a new great empire. In 1346, the five Sangama brothers, including Harihara and Bukka, attended a great celebration at which Bukka was made joint ruler of the empire and the heir.

Krishna Devaraya, generally regarded as the greatest of the Vijayanagar kings, reigned from 1509 to 1530.During his days, the Vijayanagar kingdom flourished at its peak, He campaigned against the Gajapati ruler of Orissa, conquered all his territory up to the Godavari and raided as far as Kataka, the capital of Orissa. After decisively defeating an invading coalition of Bahmani forces and capturing Raichur fort, Krishna Devaraya took advantage of a quarrel between Bijapur and the Bahmanī ruler to subdue both Gulbarga and Bidar. However, while Krishna Devaraya was fighting in the east, Adil Shah of Bijapur had recaptured Raichur fort. Nevertheless, Krishna Devaraya routed him in 1520 and invaded Bijapur in 1523, capturing several forts and razing Gulbarga. His death in 1529 ended the period of the kingdom’s greatest military and administrative success.

In 1565 AD, the combined force of the Muslim rulers disastrously defeated the Vijayanagar forces under Rama Raya in the battle of Talikota and the triumphant army looted and razed the magnificent city, destroyed the temples, raped the women and massacred the entire population of about 10.000 Hindus.

The ruins of Vijaynagar, spread over a huge area of around 27 sq km, include Hampi and several other villages known as Hampi ruins. Located in Karnataka, near the modern city of Hosapete, the ruins include forts, royal and sacred complexes, temples, pillared halls, memorial structures, water structures and others. It is estimated that most of the monuments were built between 1336 and 1570.The ruins are broadly divided into two categories – the Secret Centre and the Royal Centre.

The Secret Centre, located immediately to the south of the Tungabhadra, mainly includes many important temples, like Virupaksha Temple, Vitthala Temple, Krishna Temple, Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple and the King’s Balance.

Situated on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra River, Virupaksha temple, also known as Pampapati temple, is one of the biggest and well-maintained structures in Hampi. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, It has two courts with gorgeous entrance towers, known as Gopuram. The 52 m tall captivating main entrance faces east into a colonnaded street that extends for about 1 km to a monolithic statue of Nandi. There is a 12 m wide and about 730 m long double-storey impressive structure facing the Virupaksha temple, known as the Virupaksha Bazar.

Situated northeast of Hampi and dedicated to Vitthala or Vishnu, Vitthala temple represents the culmination of the Vijaynagar style of art and architecture. The compound of the temple contains an exotic stone chariot, like the Sun temple of Konark in Orissa, which is actually a shrine dedicated to Garuda, the escort of Lord Vishnu. The large community hall, called Mandapa, has four sections, two of which are aligned with the temple sanctum. The Mandapa has 56 carved stone beams of different diameters, length, shape and surface, which produces different musical notes when struck. There is another big market structure outside the Vitthal temple, bigger than the Virupaksha market, which seems to be the main market place in Vijaynagar.

Situated on the slope of the Hemakuta Hill, Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple contains a remarkable 15 feet (4.6 m) tall monolithic statue of Lord Ganesha, which is one of the largest statues of the deity that exists in the southern part of India.

The partly ruined Krishna temple lies abandoned to the south of Hampi. The King's Balance, also called Tula Bhara or Tula Purushadana, looks like an archway and consists of two carved granite pillars, spanned by a carved horizontal granite transom. It is said that, on special occasions, scales were hung from the transom, and the Raya (the emperor) was weighed against gold or jewels.

Apart from that, there is a massive 21.98 feet (6.7 m) tall rock cut idol of four-armed Narasimha, an incarnation of Vishnu, with a monstrous seven-hooded snake acting as an umbrella on his head. Unfortunately, all the arms of the deity are now lost. It is estimated that, once there was a big temple, which housed the statue.

There is a small valley between the Secret Centre and the Royal Centre. Except the Ramchandra temple, Lotus Mahal, the Queen’s Bath and the Elephant stables, this section mostly contains the ruins of the palaces, administrative buildings and temples, which were associated with the royals. The east facing Ramchandra temple stands in a rectangular courtyard, with the outside walls of its courtyard decorated with reliefs. However, the inner sanctuary of the temple is now empty without the deity.

The Lotus Mahal, situated in the Zenana enclosure of the monuments, is also known as Kamal Mahal or Chitrangini Mahal. The two-storey building was constructed in a particular style, where twenty-four pillars supported its arches. The ceiling is equipped with a number of vaults and symmetrically arranged domes. The central bay of the building has a plain flat-coffered ceiling decorated with a lotus bud at the center, while the upper storey includes a number of balconies with windows and foliated arches.

A long building with a row of eleven tall and large domed chambers with beautiful arched entrances and decorative ceilings was used as the Elephant Stables to ‘park’ the royal elephants. The structure indicates the Islamic influence in its domes and arched gateways. The barracks for the guards are located next to the elephant stables.

The Queen’s Bath, a large square structure with an ornate interior, is located close to the entrance of the Royal Enclosure in Hampi. It contains a 15m square and 1.8m deep stepped well designed for bathing. The Bath surrounded by decorated corridors and projecting balconies, is open to the sky, possibly to provide relief from daytime heat

Hampi, containing the desolate ruins of Vijayanagar, is considered as one of the most significant tourist places of attraction in India. Hampi is the silent witness of the glorious and gorgeous past of the Vijayanagar Empire, the last great Hindu kingdom in South India.