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Temple

Anantasayana Temple

A huge vaulted Vishnu temple near Hospet, built to house a giant reclining image of Ananthasayana.

Anantasayana Temple: Ananthasayana temple at Ananthasayanagudi
Anantasayana Temple: Entrance to Ananthasayana temple at AnanthasayanagudiAnantasayana Temple: Kannada inscription of Krishnadeva Raya (1524 AD) at Ananthasayana temple in AnanthasayanagudiAnantasayana Temple: View of Ananthasayana temple at Ananthasayanagudi

Open

6:00 am – 6:00 pm

Entry

Free entry

Best time to go

Morning

Time to spend here

About 30 minutes

Crowds

Usually quiet

In Anantashayanagudi village near Hospet, about 10 km from Hampi Bazaar on the way to/from Hospet. Off the usual circuit and usually deserted.

Before you go

Car to the gate

No long walk in

No toilets mapped nearby

Go before you set off

No drinking water mapped nearby

Bring enough with you

Listen to the story

About this place

About ten kilometres from Hampi, near the village of Anantashayanagudi on the Hospet road, stands this unusually large temple built by Krishnadevaraya in 1524 to mark the birth of his son. It once enshrined a colossal reclining image of Vishnu as Ananthasayana — the god asleep on the coils of the serpent Ananta on the cosmic ocean — from which both the temple and village take their name. The sanctum is covered by an enormous elongated barrel-vaulted roof, one of the few of its kind in Vijayanagara architecture, designed to shelter the giant recumbent figure. The idol is long gone, but the vast empty hall and soaring vault remain profoundly atmospheric, and the site sees very few visitors.

How to get there

  • By road to the entrance

  1. Go by car, bike or auto to Anantasayana Temple

    Google Maps takes you by road to the nearest point to the place.

    Directions in Google Maps
Walk there from where you areBigger map

Walking paths and times are from Google Maps. The way in can change on festival days: follow the signs and ASI staff.

Photo credits