Vijayanagara

Vijaya Nagara is in Ballari district, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara Empire which extended over South India.

Around 1500, Vijaynagara had about 500,000 inhabitants (supporting 0.1% of the global population during 1440-1540), making it the second largest city in the world after Beijing and almost three times the size of Paris. The ruins are now a World Heritage Site.

Location

Most of the city lies on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River. The city was built around the religious center of the Virupaksha temple complex at Hampi. Other holy places lie within its environs, including the site that legend calls as Kishkindha, which includes the historically important Hanuman temple (the cave home of Anjana, Kesari and Shabari) and a holy pond called the Pampasarovar. It is known to house the cave home of Sugriva, the monkey king in the Hindu epic Ramayana.

The city at its greatest extent was considerably larger than the area described here; an account is given at the article on the Vijayanagara metropolitan area. The central areas of the city, which include what are now called the Royal Centre and the Sacred Centre, extend over an area of at least 40 km². It includes the modern village of Hampi. Another village, Kamalapura, lies just outside the old walled city, surrounded by ruins and monuments. The nearest town and railway is in Hospet, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) by road. Hosapete lies within the original extents of the old city, though most of the items of interest are walking distance of Hampi and Kamalapura.