Mythical Landscape

Many of the granite hills, caves and boulders of the Tungabhadra valley are linked with myths and legends. The first of these legends relates the story of Virupaksha’s marriage to Pampa, a beautiful local maiden. Hampi is also known as the Pampakshetra as it was here that Shiva married the local maiden Pampa and became the Pampapathi.

The site is believed to be Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom where the episodes of one of the chapters of the Ramayana took place. There are many locations connected to the Ramayana and it is believed that it was here that Rama met Shabari, Hanuman and Sugriva and took the Vanar Sena to Lanka to bring back Sita.

The bathing spot, Chakratirtha, is the holiest location in Vijayanagara. It is believed that here Shiva gave Vishnu one of his most powerful weapons, the Chakra. One may find many such historical places in the Hampi region.