About

HAZARA RAMASWAMY TEMPLE is located inside the royal enclosure area of the city of Vijayanagara historical town of Hampi. HAZARA RAMASWAMY TEMPLE referred to as the Ramachandra temple, The temple is dedicated to Lord Rama, a Hindu deity of the Ramayana fame, and an avatar of Vishnu. Hazara Ramaswami Temple is believed to have been the private place of worship of the royal family. Hazara Rama temple is one of the most elegant temples in Hampi. Its construction was started in the early 15th century, under the orders of Devaraya I and was completed before the end of his reign. It was originally built as a simple structure. It consisted of only a sanctum, a pillared hall, and an ardha mantapa. Later the temple structure was renovated to add an open porch and beautiful pillars. 'Hazara' means Thousand and the name literally means ‘Thousand Rama’ temple owing to this multitude of Ramayana panels on its walls. The whole epic of the Ramayana can be seen on the walls of the temple.

The walls and pillars of the temple are beautifully adorned illustrating the chief episodes of the Ramayana. The outer walls depict images of god, goddesses and the social life of the people of Vijayanagara kingdom, Hindu Mahanavami (Dasara) and the spring Holi festival horses, elephants, dancing girls and infantry in procession and celebrations in parallel bands of artwork.  The lowest band shows marching elephants, above it are horses led by horsemen, then soldiers celebrated by the public, then dancers and musicians, with a top layer depicting a boisterous procession of the general public. The depiction mirrors the description of festivals and processions in surviving memoirs of Persians and Portuguese who visited the Vijayanagara capital.

The rangamandapa has entrances to the south and north and the western entrance leads to the sanctum. One of these doors leads to the open enclosure from which the garbhagriha and its beautiful vimana become visible. Inside the main mandapa are four intricately carved pillars in the Hoysala style; these carvings include depictions of Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita of Vaishnavism, Durga as Mahishasuramardini of Shaktism and Shiva-Parvati of Shaivism.

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