Hampi Shri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple

The story of Hampi Shri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple

What catches your eye here is the giant monolithic Narasimha figure, carved from a single block of stone and standing in the Hemakuta group of temples on Hemakuta Hill. Publications describe this as the largest statue in Hampi, and they place it within the UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Site of the Group of Monuments at Hampi.

Those same publications connect the shrine to Krishnadevaraya and give 1528 as the date of construction. They also link the sculpture to a royal idea of protection and gratitude, with Narasimha shown as a form of Vishnu, seated cross-legged on the coil of a seven-headed snake, with Lakshmi originally on his lap.

The figure was damaged in 1565, and the surviving detail is one of the most striking things to look for now: Lakshmi’s hand resting on Narasimha’s back. The goddess’s detached image is said to be in the Archaeological Museum at Kamalapura.

Lakshmi, also called Shri, is widely revered in Hinduism as a goddess of fortune, wealth, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance, so the temple’s name carries that devotional pairing.

If you want to visit, this place is open every day from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.