Ugra Narasimha Statue

Carved from a single boulder in 1528 on the orders of Krishnadevaraya, Vijayanagara’s most celebrated emperor, this colossal statue depicts Vishnu in his fierce man-lion form, Ugra Narasimha, seated cross-legged on the coils of the seven-hooded serpent Adishesha. At close to seven metres tall, it remains one of the largest monolithic sculptures surviving from Vijayanagara rule and one of the largest in India.

The statue originally included a smaller figure of the goddess Lakshmi seated on Narasimha’s lap, giving the composition a gentler, paired form — traces of her hand are still visible resting on his waist. The Lakshmi figure, along with much of the statue’s surrounding shrine, was destroyed during the sacking of Hampi in 1565 following the Battle of Talikota, and the fierce, solitary form seen today is largely the result of that destruction rather than the original design intent.

A small linga shrine, the Badavilinga, stands immediately beside it, said to have been commissioned by a local woman rather than royalty — an unusual counterpoint to the imperial scale of its neighbour.

Getting there: The statue stands near the Krishna Temple in Hampi, easily reached by bicycle or auto-rickshaw from Hampi Bazaar. The post office is in Hampi Bazaar.