Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi

The story of Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi

Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi stands inside Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, so what you are really looking at is a smaller shrine within the main pilgrimage center at Hampi. Virupaksha Temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the complex around you has been considered a sacred sanctuary over the centuries.

The shrine is dedicated to Hanuman, also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya. In Hindu tradition he is revered as a divine vanara and as a devoted companion of Lord Rama. Central to the Ramayana, he is celebrated for unwavering devotion to Rama and is considered a chiranjivi. In Shaiva tradition he is regarded as an incarnation of Shiva, while in most Vaishnava traditions he is the son and incarnation of Vayu.

The larger temple complex you are standing in was built in the 7th-century and later expanded by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka under Deva Raya II, also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire. The place was shaped within the setting of Vijayanagara, the historic capital city that spread across a large area on the banks of the Tungabhadra River.

When you look around, read this shrine as part of that living sacred landscape rather than as an isolated building.