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Hindu temple in Vijayanagara

Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi

Photograph of Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi
Paul Goedert · Google Maps user photo

Listen to this story 1 min

The story of Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi

Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi stands within Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, so you are looking at a smaller Hanuman shrine inside one of the best-known sacred complexes here. Hanuman, also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is revered in Hinduism as a divine vanara and a devoted companion of Lord Rama, central to the Ramayana.

The Virūpaksha Temple itself is located in Hampi in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India, on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. Built in the 7th-century, it is dedicated to Virupaksha, a form of Shiva, and it forms part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

That larger setting matters for how you read this shrine: it belongs to a living devotional landscape, with this deity’s worship linked to Hanuman’s role as a protector and faithful servant of Rama. The name Sri Anjaneya Swami Gudi points you straight to that association.

As you stand here, the important thing to notice is the relationship between the small shrine and the larger temple complex around it. This is not an isolated monument; it is part of a historic place of worship still embedded within the Hampi sacred site.

In brief

The Virūpaksha Temple is located in Hampi in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India, situated on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. Built in the 7th-century, it is dedicated to Virupaksha, a form of Shiva. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple was expanded by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka (chieftain) under the ruler Deva Raya II, also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire.

The Virupaksha Temple is the main center of pilgrimage at Hampi, and has been considered a sacred sanctuary over the centuries.

Before you go

Time to allow
30-60 min
Best months
June to February
Address
8FM5+WXG, Hampi, Karnataka 583239, India

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