UPSC Articles
Hampi World Heritage site
Part of: GS Prelims Art & Culture and GS-I- Heritage
In news:
- The Supreme Court confirmed the Karnataka government authorities’ decision to demolish buildings constructed in Virupapura Gaddi, an oval islet formed by the Tungabhadra and located west of the Hampi World Heritage site.
- The constructions were in violation of the Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1961.
From Prelims point of view
- Group of Monuments at Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- located in east-central Karnataka, India
- It became the pilgrimage cente of the Hindu religion.
- It was the capital of Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century
- Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River,
- Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, India’s richest at that time,
- Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates;
- its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins
- Described by UNESCO as an “austere, grandiose site”
- Includes “forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures, water structures and othersthere is evidence of Ashokan epigraphy, and it is mentioned in the Ra Virupaksha Temple, an active Adi Shankara-linked monastery and various monuments belonging to the old city.
Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 12th February 2020
