Prasanna Virupaksha Temple (Underground Shiva Temple)

About

The Prasanna Virupaksha temple dates back to the 14th century AD. The temple is dedicated to Prasanna Virupaksha, an avatar of Lord Shiva. The temple has remained buried for over four hundred years before it was discovered in the 1980’s decade. It is believed that Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya had donated extensively to this temple.

This temple dedicated to Lord Siva was built many meters below the ground level. For this reason, almost all the time the sanctum and the core parts of the temple are underwater, restricting entry to the inner areas.

A water canal system is visible around the main temple. But this canal is dry and you can walk down to a point from where it’s impossible to go further. There is a small temple for Siva’s consort too near the main shrine. The Kalyanamantapa (ceremonial marriage hall) is a great-looking structure. It has been believed that this is one of the oldest temples in Hampi.

View of the main hall in front of the shrine. The main tower too can be seen Your entry to the temple passes through the main tower in front of the temple campus. It looks like this tower was an addition done later on and was never completed. A series of wide large steps along the axis of the tower and the sanctum leads you to the inner part of the temple. The main hall in front of the shrine is huge with massive cubical pillars supporting the roof. The lamppost actually protrudes through the roof. Depending upon the water level you may be able to proceed to the sanctum area.