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Sasivekalu Ganesha- Hampi- Karnataka

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Sasivekalu Ganesha- Hampi- Karnataka

Hampi is also a place of mythological importance. This is the abode of Lord Virupaksha (another form of God Shiva – Virupaksha – the one with the oblique eyes) and his consort Pampadevi or Parvati. God Shiva was the presiding deity of the Vijaynagara Kings. It is believed that God Shiva was in penance here. Parvati wanted to marry Him and felt that the only way she could get Him would be thru penance. Hence she also sat in penance and when God Shiva came to know of this he agreed to marry Her. It is believed that the location of their marriage is the location of the Virupaksha temple.

The Vijaynagara Kings were not only devotees of God Shiva but paid equal importance to God Vishnu. This is evident from the many shrines that they built for Lord Ram and Krishna. Their Royal Emblem was Varaha – an incarnation of God Vishnu. Vishnu in the form of Varha destroyed the demon Hiranya who had captured the Earth. This emblem seems to be commensurate with their goal.

While the Kings of the various dynasties contributed to the growth and at times to the downfall of the Vijaynagara Empire the period reigned by the Tuluva King – Krishnadevaraya (The Tuluva Dynasty reigned between 1491 to 1570) saw the maximum growth in art, architecture and expansion of the Vijaynagara Empire. Despite Krishnadevaraya the Vijaynagara Empire suffered extensive damages the hands of invaders and many a shrine here as well as elsewhere in India were severely damaged or brought down.

We owe to this great King for preserving the Hindu culture, architecture and monuments as also for protecting, building and renovating the various shrines in South India. They built these magnificent structures with mind boggling architectural details in hard rock for us to see and admire. How they managed to carve out such intricate details in hard rock with the then existing facilities will forever remain a mystery. These are the monuments which can never be built again or emulated. But for the Vijaynagara Kings our temples especially in South India would have disappeared long ago.

As you drive round Hampi you will not miss the endless stretches of huge hard rock formations of odd shapes and sizes some breathtakingly huge and in curious formation. In fact the presence of the rocks on one side and the mighty Tungabhadra on the other made an ideal haven of safety for the Vijaynagara Empire and one of the reasons for their presence here. They now stand in mute testimony to this empire that was there once upon a time.

There are more than 45 excavated sites there to see now and many more are under various stages of excavation, study and documentation. Therefore to see this place and appreciate the architecture would take several months. In fact we came across people who have been staying there for several months. Nonetheless, we have covered as much as possible during our stay there and photographed some of the structures. This is the first album that I am presenting and therefore in all fitness would like to open my account with a short narration with photographs of two Ganesh temples known as “Sasivekalu” (mustard seed) Ganesh and “Kadlekalu” (Bengal gram seed) Ganesh.

As one drives into Hampi from Temple Sasivekalu Ganesh temple will appear before you.


Sasivekalu Ganesh temple



Elevation of the temple Elevation of the temple Sasivekalu Ganesh temple. The entire temple in the form of an open pavilion including the statue is constructed out of the locally available hard rock.. The entire temple in the form of an open pavilion including the statue is constructed out of the locally available hard rock.

A giant statue of God Ganesh about 8 feet tall and carved out of a single block of solid rock. The tummy of Ganesh resembles a mustard seed and hence in the local language He is called “Sasivekalu” (Mustard seed) Ganesh.

If you closely observe the photograph you will see that a snake has been tied around his tummy. It is said that he ate so much that he caught a snake that was nearby and tied it around his tummy to prevent it from bursting!

SasiveKaluGanesha_Small.jpg



He has four hands. The right hands hold the goad and the broken tusk while the left hands hold the pasha (noose) and a sweet ball – “Modak” as it is popularly known and his favourite food.

What a beauty. The love of a mother for her son. Here the sculpture has depicted Ganesh seated on the lap of Parvati. What an imagination and the perfect geometric proportions. Please note that all this has been done from a single stone. Imagine the planning and the efforts that would have gone into making this masterpiece.

This huge statue is entirely monolithic and is about 15 feet tall and located in pillared hall. The hall has pillars with intricate carvings. In fact one of the interesting features of the Vijaynagara architecture is to have interesting and intricate carvings on stone columns. Unfortunately the statue suffered damages at the hands of the invaders.

Temple Timings

Monday - Friday: 7.00 AM - 7.00 PM , Saturday: 7.00 AM - 7.00 PM , Sunday: 7.00 AM - 7.00 PM , Public Holidays: 7.00 AM - 7.00 PM


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