Archival Details
- Tradition: Vijayanagara
- Period: 1856
- Credit line: Greenlaw, Alexander John Colonel, born 1818 – died 1870 (photographer)
- Source: Wikimedia Commons, accession File:Ganesha Shrine 1856 photo.jpg
The Vijayanagara empire (14th–17th century) was the last great Hindu empire of South India, ruling from its capital at Hampi in present-day Karnataka. Its temples, gateways, and monolithic sculpture — now preserved as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — are known for massive scale, elaborate pillared mandapas, and a style blending Dravidian temple architecture with Deccan influences, developed across successive dynasties until the capital was sacked in 1565.
