Hampi Stone Chariot(Kallina Ratha)

History

The Hampi "Stone Chariot" in kannada known as "Kallina Ratha". This is often referred as the flagship of tourist attraction of Hampi. As the name suggests,this is not a chariot ;  it is a shrine built like a chariot. An image of Garuda was originally enshrined within its sanctum, Garuda accordingly to the Hindu mythology,is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. There was even a dome like superstructure over the Hampi stone chariot. That too is missing now. We can see them on the first ever photographs of Hampi taken in 1856 by Alexander Greenlaw.

This stone chariot is located inside the Vittala temple campus,that is situated in the north eastern part of Hampi. The striking chariot is considered to be the most fascinating sculptural achievement of the vijayanagara era. The stone chariot at Hampi is one of the three famous stone chariots in India. The two chariots are situated in Konark(Odissa) and Mahabalipuram(Tamil Nadu). This ancient structure was built in the 16th century,during the rule of king Krishnadevaraya one of the greatest kings of the vijayanagara temple.

Once while waging war on the eastern state the king Krishnadevaraya saw the famous stone chariot at the Konark sun temple in Odissa. The architecture and beauty of the chariot at Konark sun temple fascinated the king so much that he decided to construct a similar chariot in his own kingdom vijayanagara. As Hampi was the core of the vijayanagara empire,king decided to build a magnificient stone chariot in Hampi.

Architecture

The chariot built with many giant granite blocks. The joints of the blocks are smartly hidden in the carvings. It is built on feet high rectangular platform. All around this base platform is carved with mythical battle scenes. The four giant stone wheels attached to the chariot look complete with the axis shafts. On the wheels are concentric floral motifs.

In front of the chariot two elephants are positioned as if they are pulling the chariot. These elephants where later additions to the chariot and they actually replaced two horses that were carved in that position. The tails and rear legs of the horses can be still seen just behind these elephant sculptures. A broken stone ladder once gave access to the sanctum is kept between the elephants. We can still spot the marks on the floor and the doorsill where once the ladder stood.

Interestingly, the locals at Hampi believe that the world will be destroyed the day the stone chariot of the Vittala temple moves from its place.