Place · Vijayanagara Vaishnava temple · India
Krishna Temple Complex, Hampi
Also known as Krishna Mandir Hampi, Balakrishna temple Hampi
The Krishna Temple on the eastern slope of Hemakuta Hill, consecrated 1513 by Krishnadevaraya to install the Bala Krishna icon he had captured from the Gajapati fortress of Udayagiri in his first great southern campaign. The dedicatory inscription in the pavilion records the event: 'Krishnadevaraya brought the image of Krishna from Udayagiri as the trophy of his victory.' The temple's gopuram, mandapas and the sprawling bazaar street (chariot street) along its east front are among the most complete surviving ensembles of early 16th-century imperial Vijayanagara architecture.
- Date
- 1513
- Periods
- Vijayanagara
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Patron dynasty
- Vijayanagara
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 15.331, 76.458
Connections (3)
- Site withinHampi / Vijayanagara
The Krishna Temple Complex sits on the eastern slope of Hemakuta Hill inside the central Hampi urban grid. Krishnadevaraya consecrated it in 1513 for the Bala Krishna icon he had captured from Udayagiri Fort the year before. The gopuram, mandapas and the chariot-street bazaar along its east front are among the most complete 16th-century imperial Vijayanagara ensembles that survived the 1565 sack of the city.
- Founder ofKrishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya consecrated the Krishna Temple at Hampi in 1513 after returning from his first great southern campaign — his first act of monumental temple patronage at the imperial capital. The dedicatory inscription records that the Bala Krishna icon of the sanctum was captured in the previous year's siege of Udayagiri Fort and brought to Hampi as the trophy of the campaign.
- Spoils fromUdayagiri Gajapati Fort, Nellore
The Bala Krishna icon enshrined in the Krishna Temple at Hampi was captured by Krishnadevaraya in 1512-13 at the siege of Udayagiri Gajapati Fort in Nellore district — the opening engagement of his first southern campaign. The dedicatory inscription in the Hampi temple's pavilion names Udayagiri explicitly as the icon's provenance and the consecration as the victory offering.