Virupaksha Temple - Hampi

Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi 350 km from Bangalore designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Virupaksha is a form of Shiva and has other temples dedicated to him.
Hampi sits on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the ruins of the ancient city of Vijayanagar, capital of the Vijayanagara empire.

Virupaksha Temple is the main center of pilgrimage at Hampi and has been considered the most sacred sanctuary.The Virupaksha-Pampa sanctuary existed well before the Vijayanagara capital was located here. Inscriptions referring to Shiva date back to the 9th and 10th centuries.

Evidence indicates there were additions made to the temple in the late Chalukyan and Hoysala periods, though most of the temple buildings are attributed to the Vijayanagar period.
In the middle of the 14th century, there began a flowering of native art and culture.

When the rulers were defeated by Muslim invaders in the 16th century, most of the wonderful decorative structures and creations were systematically destroyed. Krishnadevaraya, one of the famous kings of the Vijayanagara Empire was a major patron of this temple. The most ornate of all structures in the temple, the central pillared hall is believed to be his addition to this temple.

So is the gateway tower giving access to the inner courtyard of the temple. Inscriptions on a stone plaque installed next to the pillared hall explain his contribution to the temple.In the month of February the annual chariot festival is celebrated here.