Ruins of Vijayanagara near Hampi. Krishna Temple in ruins - 1868

Photograph of the ruins at Vijayanagara from the 'Photographs to Illustrate the Ancient Architecture of Southern Indian' collection, taken by Edmund David Lyon in c. 1868. Vijayanagara, the City of Victory, was the most powerful Hindu kingdom in Southern India from 1336 until the defeat by the Muslim armies in 1565. It was built on the bank of the Tungabhadra River and is surrounded by granite hills. The ruins of this vast royal city incorporate distinct zones and are divided into two main groups, the sacred centre and the royal centre. Lyon wrote that this photograph '...shows the Ruins of a Pyramidal Tower on the left of the road as the hill is ascended. There is a large enclosure inside, but so overgrown with weeds that it is almost impossible to enter it. The temple seems to have been a handsome one, but differing in nothing essential from any other Hindu temples of the Dravidian style...'

Source : British Library