Place · Kishkindha village · India
Anegundi
/aːneɡundi/
Anegundi is the north-bank settlement across the Tungabhadra from Hampi, traditionally identified with Kishkindha, the monkey kingdom of Sugriva in the Ramayana. It served as the earliest seat of the Sangama brothers before Vijayanagara's founding, and remains a living village where ritual and everyday life continue atop a landscape of granite outcrops and older settlement layers.
- Periods
- Classical and Puranic Age, Regional Flourishing, Islamic Age and Bhakti Traditions, Early Modern Age, British Colonial Age, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Confidence
- Qualified / contested
- Location
- 15.347, 76.474
Worth knowing
Anegundi's name is often glossed as "elephant pit," from Kannada āne (elephant) and gundi (pit or hollow), a reference to former royal elephant stables. Unlike Hampi's ruins, Anegundi has been continuously inhabited, and the descendants of the Vijayanagara royal line still hold ceremonial standing here.
The identification with the epic Kishkindha rests on local tradition and medieval overlay rather than archaeological proof; Anjanadri's rival claim as Hanuman's birthplace is contested by Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh.
Connections (2)
- AnalogueKishkindhā
On the north bank of the Tungabhadra, Anegundi is the strongest traditional and scholarly candidate for the historical core of Kishkindha. Its granite outcrops, caves, and older settlement layers predate Hampi across the river. Local tradition holds an unbroken identification with Sugriva's capital, and the village still functions as a living ritual centre.
- Site withinHampi / Vijayanagara
Anegundi lies within Hampi / Vijayanagara — the two sites sit about 2 km apart, well inside the city's historical boundary and part of the same urban or peri-urban landscape. Anegundi is one of the specific sites that give Hampi / Vijayanagara its layered character, and reads differently when seen as a stop within the larger city rather than as an isolated monument on an open map. The surrounding neighbourhoods, roads and other heritage ensembles belong to the same single urban fabric.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Anegundi”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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