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| Hampi,Octagonal Bath, Karnataka. dreamstime.com |
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| Hampi,Octagonal Bath.flickr.com |
The city Hampi is an example of a vandalized and vanished opulent part of a vast kingdom of Vijayanagar that included part of Tamil Nadu and how its civilization, rich culture and tradition were very much affected by the change of political scenario. .It was golden era of the Vijayanagara under Krishna Deva Raya (1509-30) who had built so many temples across south India. The battle of Talikota in 1565 between the combined armies of the Deccani Sultanates against the mighty Vijayanagara under king Ramaraya brought about the doom for many reasons. In its wake a rich and sublime city and its surrounding places turned into desolate as the plundering lasted several months. Beautiful building, temples and structures were either damaged or partially pulled down. One such a nice building is Octogonal Bath, once part of the bathing complex.
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| Hampi, giant Octagonal bath. dreamstime.com |
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| Hampi,Octagonal Bath_en.wikipedia.org- |
Located in an isolated area it is a gigantic structure made in the shape of an Octagon.The bathing area / shelter has an octagonal shaped platform at the middle with an encircling pillared veranda around it. The circular section between the veranda and the platform was once filled with the water (now empty); now bone dry.
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| rHampi damaged 13 th CE Saraswati temple dreamstime.com/ |
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| Hampi,Octagonal Bath royal center dreamstime.com/ |
Above image: Damaged Octogonal royal ath, one of the many in the royal cnter, You can see the damages to the structure.
There are damaged structures around the bath particularly on he west and it is beloved that they were parts of richly ornate royal buildings. Apparently there seems to be many richly ornate bathing complexes in Hampi in the by-gone era, specifically meant for elite women in that period. Their design style is Indi-Islamic.
Scattered across the place are imposing monumental remnants of Vijayanagara empire that include lots of fully and partially damaged structures, and the state government is making serious efforts to make Hampi a popular international tourist center.
htps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi#/media/File:Octagonal_Bath_-_Rupesh_Sarkar
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/7035353827
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