HAMPI

HAMPI: TOWN
PLANNING
BAP-312 SET T LE MENT DE SIGN
DEEKSHA(02806142019), JAHANVI(03006142019),
JYOTI(03106142019)
About Hampi
 LOCATION: Bellary District, Northern Karnataka, India.
 FOUNDED BY: Harihara and Bukkaraya
 FAMOUS FOR: Vijayanagara Empire, Religious and Heritage Monuments
 ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE: UNESCO World Heritage Site, Listed as the
Group of Monuments at Hampi.
 GEOGRAPHY: Situated on the banks of Tungabhadra River, 353 Kms from Bangalore
and 7 4 kms from Bellary.
– Principal industries are Agriculture and Tourism

– Presence of several mineral deposits
– iron ore and manganese, mining has been done for a number of years
History
 First settlement of Hampi date from 1 CE.
 Before rise of Vijayanagara kingdom the region was probably in the hands
of chiefs of Kampili.
 Hampi was one of the best areas of the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire
from 1343 to 1565, when it was besieged by the Deccan Muslim
confederacy.
 Hampi was chosen because of its strategic location, bounded by the
torrential Tungabhadra river on one side and surrounded by defensible hills
on the other 3 sides.
 The ruins of Hampi were discovered by Colonel Colin Mackenzie in 1800.
 Hampi demonstrates over 1600 surviving remains of forts, riverside royal
and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, halls, pillars, mandapas, gateways,
check-posts, etc. Among these, few important ones are the Krishna temple
complex, Narasimha, Ganesa etc.
Narasimha, Ganesa, Hemakuta
group of temples
Krishna temple complex Lotus Mahal complex
Pattabhirama temple complex

Architecture
The site is significant historically and architecturally. The landscape abounds with large stones
which have been used to make statues of Jaina deities.
 The Archaeological Survey of India continues to conduct excavations in the area to search for
additional artifacts and temples.
 The city of Vijayanagar was originally encompassed by seven lines of fortifications. These
fortifications had a large number of bastions and gateways. The seventh & the innermost
fortification enclosed the main city and is the best-preserved.
 The extant monuments of Vijayanagara or Hampi can be divided into Religious, Civil &
Military buildings The Jain temples on Hemakuta hill, the two Devi shrines & some other
structures in the Virupaksha temple complex predate the Vijayanagara Empire.
 The earliest amongst them, the Shiva shrines with their stepped pyramidal vimanas or
superstructures, date to the early Chalukyan period around the ninth-tenth century AD.
Factors influencing
 The metropolis of Hampi started growing

enormously after 14th century, not only as
a temple town, but as an urban centre.
 Topography of the land was far from flat, little symmetry could be achieved in the city planning.
The city plan included a network of roads, leading up roughly to the royal centre. The roads lead
to some lane sand by-lanes, connecting the different localities to the main road. Besides the
roads in the city, archaeological excavations have shown the existence of 30m and 60m wide
roads connecting Hampi to other major ports and cities of importance to provide routes for
business and trade.
Development of Vijayanagar
The Vijaynagara kings planned the city to ensure a smooth operation of the different functions required
of the capital.
They segregated the central area of the city into two separate cores - “The Royal Centre” and “The
Sacred Centre” namely. Allocating the most centrally located space in the city to these two urban cores
made these areas easily accessible to all the royal staff as well as the commoners.
The Royal Centre comprised of the palaces, the fortifications, the stables, the water tanks, the royal
enclosures and other buildings for the upper class of the society.
The Sacred Centre was the focus of all religious activity and consisted of the temple complexes i.e. the
temples and their surrounding bazaars and water tanks.

Sacred Centre
 The architectural style of the temples of
Hampi and surrounding areas was a fusion and
culmination of the architectural styles of the
Cholas, Chalukyas, Pandavas, and Hoysalas.
 The Material of construction was granite, as
opposed to schist and soapstone used by the
Hoysalas. Since granite is much harder than
soapstone, the depth of the sculptures became
less refined but it made the structures more
long-lasting.
 Vijayanagara temples are usually surrounded
by a strong enclosure. They are accessed
through monumental gateways or “gopurams”.
Large temples have tall “Rayagopuram” built
with wood, brick and stucco in Chola style.
The top of the gopuram has a
“shalashikhara” resembling a barrel made to
rest on its side.
The main components of a Vijaynagar temple in plan are
 “Garbhagriha” or santum sanctorium where the idol of the
deity is placed
 “Shukanasi” or an antechamber
 “Navaranga” or “ Antarala” connecting the sanctum and
outer halls
 “Mandapam” or “Mahamandapam” which is a pillared hall
 “Rangamandapam” or enclosed pillared hall
 Most temples also have a closed circumambulatory passag
e or “Pradakshinapatha” around the sanctum
 In some temples a “Kalyanamandapam” or
ceremonial hall and a “Kalyani tank” or temple tank was
also provided to serve the needs of annual celebrations
held in the temples.
Click icon to add picture
Bazaars and Streets

 These bazaars are as very long and broad, were four bazaars
situated opposite to one another, near the king’s palace.
 There were bazaars or streets named such aas pan-supari
street or soolai (dancing girls) bazaar, belonging to specific
professions.
 The street opposite to the Virupaksha temple, called hampi
bazaar still exists with long rows of colonnaded structures on
both sides of the road. Similarly, there is a krishna bazaar
opposite to the krishna temple, which is now a cultivated
field.
 “The space which separates the first fortress from the
second, and up to the third fortress, is filled with cultivated
fields and with houses and gardens. In the space from the
third to the seventh one meets a many crowd of people,
many shops and a bazaar.
Water Supply
• In earlier times, water was used not just for
agricultural, occupation and industry-related and
domestic needs. since water generally held importance
in ritualistic practices, structures like tanks, reservoirs,
wells, step-wells, southern indian’s temple tanks
• (kalyani
Importanttank) etc.in the town planning of vijayanagar city was the provision of a full and
feature
continuous supply of water distributed throughout the entire enclosure aresa. It is interesting to
note that as early as 14th century, the kitchen was literally running water. this was brought by
means of number of aqueducts, sluice etc.
• Such a constant stream furnished the gorgeous tanks and baths adjacent to the palaces, like the
queen’s bath, the octagonal bath, octagonal fountain etc.
Royal Centre
 The Royal Centre comprises the structures built by the
Vijaynagaras for the nobility.
 This is where the daily business and governance was carried
out from and housed all the amenities for the royal class of
men. The site is marked with interlocking compounds
divided by walls made of granite blocks without any mortar.
 It is to be noted that the Vijaynagaras ensured that the
royalty lived in luxury. The Royal Centre shows the
existence of gymnasiums, baths, audience halls where
games and shows could be performed, palaces, spas etc.
 The superstructure was generally made of timber and roofs decorated with precious stones and
metals.
 They used stone, an enduring material, for the plinth and basements levels and for the
fortifications around the palaces.
 Multi-storey building, was built deploying the Islamic techniques of construction in stone and
plaster. This is very evident in the Lotus Mahal and Elephants' Stables in the Zanana Enclosure
at Hampi. The Elephants' Stables has eleven large domes chambers interconnected with large
arched openings. The domes are of various types such as circular, octagonal, ribbed and fluted in
design, symmetrically laid out.

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HAMPI: TOWN

– Principal industries are Agriculture and Tourism

Krishna temple complex Lotus Mahal complex

Pattabhirama temple complex

 The metropolis of Hampi started growing

Bazaars and Streets

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