Now, read my experience below
We headed down towards the Virupaksha temple from Hemakuta. The Virupaksha temple is one of the oldest functioning temples in India and it is believed to have been functioning uninterrupted since the 7th century. After we got into the temple, we paid a small fee of Rs 2 to enter and Rs 50 for cameras.
We were welcomed by the 22 year old elephant, Lakshmi. The elephant blesses you and also poses for photographs! We heard the ringing of the bells and saw a puja in progress at the temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as the consort of the local goddess Pampa. The temple started functioning as a small shrine and additions were made by the Chalukyas, Hoyasalas and also the Vijayanagara kings.Krishnadevaraya, the most famous of the Vijayanagara kings built the Ranga Mandapa, the central pillared hall in 1510 AD. You can also find the ceiling painted in natural colours.
Not only did we admire the beauty of the work, but also did some puja. There is one particular area where you can see the inverted shadow image of the gopura and this increases and reduces in size as we move our hand. We have learnt that in physics. We also have a shrine dedicated to Vidyaranya, the sage.
I would like to mention that Kali Das, our guide, runs the Hampi Children's Trust and you can find the details here. He can also be found of Facebook.
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