Virupaksha temple offers another sight

Lakhs of Shiva devotees who flock to Virupaksha temple in Hampi never miss the sight of the inverted shadow of the main tower Raja Gopura in a dark chamber as the sun rays pass through a slit on its wall. 

Now they have another such rare sight to behold thanks to a group of tourists and a local photographer who found inverted shadow of Garbha Gudi where Lord Shiva’s idol is located.

Here too, a slit on the wall worked like a camera eye to throw a reverse image on the ground. Recently, a photographer from Bellary SS Rachaiah had visited Hampi to click some pictures. There he met a group of tourists and clicked their photos too. No sooner had Rachaiah left than the group made a discovery: they found the inverted shadow of Garbha Gudi as the sun rays passed through the slit.

They were thrilled and tried to capture it on their cell phones. But the images were not clear and they immediately called Rachaiah. When he came to know about the find, he rushed to the spot and bagan madly snapping photos. He knew he had hit a gold mine.

“I went to Salu mantapa behind Virupaksha temple and found the inverted shade of Garbha Gudi and clicked photos,” said Rachaiah.

The inverted shade of Garbha Gudi can be seen after sun rise till 9 am and also for some time in the evening, he said.

The inverted shade of Raja Gopura facing the east can be seen during the day throughout the year. On Padya day during Ugadi, sun rays from the slit will fall on the idol of Lord Shiva.