Stone Chariot Temple Hampi

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The Stone Chariot temple is a famous monument within the Vittala Temple complex at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in the Vijayanagar district of Karnataka. The Vitthala temple is dedicated to Vitthala, a form of Vishnu.   

In medieval India Hampi served as the capital of the powerful Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagara ("City of Victory") on the Tungabhadra River. 

Dedicated to Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, Stone Chariot temple was built by Krishna Deva Raya, the greatest of the Vijayanagar rulers. It is one of the three famous stone chariots in India , the other two  being at Konark ( Odisha ) and Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu) 

Hampi, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is dotted with several monuments built during the Vijayanagara empire including the Virupaksha temple, Lotus Mahal, the queens’ bathing area, musical pillars, a stone chariot, and an elephant stable, The Tungabhadra river courses around the rocky terrain that characterizes the landscape of Hampi.

Manyakheta, Rashtrakuta capital

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Manyakheta was the capital of the Rashtrakuta dynasty which ruled large parts of southern India from 753 to 973. The capital city was founded by Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha I (Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha) who transferred regnal capital from Mayurkhandi (in the Bidar district of Karnataka)  to Manyakheta. He had embellished the new capital with beautiful buildings in order to "match the city of Indra's heaven, Amaravati." 

Today Manyakheta is modern Malkhed village in Sedam taluk in Gulbarga (modern Kalaburagi) district in Karnataka.

In 972-73 Manyakheta was sacked by Harsha Siyaka of the Paramara dynasty. After the downfall of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in 973, it became the capital of the Kalyani Chalukyas who had supplanted the Rashtrakutas.

During the rule of Satyasraya belonging to the Chalukyas of Kalyani, Manyakheta was sacked in 1008 by Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044) during the reign of Raja Raja Chola . 

Someshvara I Ahavamalla (c1042-1068) of Chalukyas of Kalyani( also known as Western Chalukya dynasty), shifted his capital from Manyakheta to Kalyani.