The Hazara Ramachandra temple was the ceremonial temple of the royal family. The temple was built by Devaraya I during the early 15th century. Hazara Rama temple is the only temple which is situated inside the royal enclosure of Hampi.
Hazara in Kannada means courtyard, hence the name Hazara Rama temple, meaning temple in the courtyard.
An interesting fact of this temple is the placement of Lord Hanuman. Lord Hanuman is always beside Lord Rama, but here Lord Hanuman is placed opposite the main entrance.
The high outer walls of the temple portray the Mahanavami (Dasara) and the spring Holi festival procession and celebrations in parallel bands of artwork. The lowest band shows marching elephants, above it are horses led by horsemen, then soldiers, then dancers and musicians, with a top layer depicting a cheerful general public. The depiction mirrors the description of festivals and processions in surviving memoirs of Persians and Portuguese travelers who visited Hampi.
The inner walls of the temple has panels depicting the story of Ramayana. There are 108 friezes depicting every episode from Ramayana as though in an exhibition. The Ramayana continues on the friezes on the inside wall of the outer wall.
The temple has maha mantapa or ranga mantapa, an open pillared hall; ardha mantapa, closed pillared hall; and garbha griha or sanctum.
Ranga mantapa has intricately carved pillars with sculptures of Vishnu’s dashavatara.
The ardha mantapa was also used as yajna (ceremony) mantapa, whose roof is designed to ventilate fumes and smoke through the ceiling. Inside the ardha mantapa are four finely polished and intricately carved pillars in black stone. This style is typical of the Hoysala style of architecture. As black stone is not available in the region, it is believed that the pillars were carved else where and then brought in to Hampi to be installed in this temple. The carving on these pillars include depictions of Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita, Ganesha, Durga as Mahishasuramardini, and Shiva-Parvati. The garbha ghriha doesn’t contain any idol.
There is also temple dedicated to Pampa devi and a kalyana mantapa in the courtyard. All these structures are enclosed in a 24 feet high wall.
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