Lakshmi Narasimha
Hampi's largest monolith — a 6.7 m Ugra Narasimha carved from a single boulder beneath a seven-hooded serpent.
Open
6:00 am – 6:00 pm
Entry
Free entry
Best time to go
Morning
Time to spend here
About 25 minutes
Crowds
Can get busy
Stands right beside the Badavilinga and a short walk from the Krishna Temple — see all three together.
Listen to the story
About this place
Carved in 1528 during Krishnadevaraya's reign, this is the largest monolithic sculpture in Hampi: a 6.7-metre Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, seated cross-legged in yoga posture beneath the canopy of the seven-headed serpent Adishesha. Goddess Lakshmi once sat on his left lap, but the statue was mutilated in the 1565 sack of the city; her figure now survives only as a hand resting on Narasimha's back, while the detached image is kept in the Kamalapura museum. The bulging eyes and fierce expression give the deity his 'Ugra' (wrathful) name.
Where it is
Close by
Photo credits
- Lakshmi Narasimha: Hampi, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Narasimha Statue · Ingo Mehling · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lakshmi Narasimha: LAKSHMI-NARASIMHA statue at Hampi · The original uploader was BRK at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lakshmi Narasimha: Ugranarasimha statue at Hampi dtv · Special:Contributions/BRK · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lakshmi Narasimha: Lakshmi Narasimha statue Hampi Karnataka India · Gs9here · CC BY-SA 3.0
