Achyutaraya, Tuluva Emperor (1529-42)

alvar, Vaishnava saint

Ananta, cosmic serpent

Anantashayana, Vishnu asleep on Ananta

Anjaneya, name of Hanuman

avatara, incarnation of Vishnu

Bahmanis, 14th-15th century sultans of the Deccan

Bhuvaneshvari, name of Parvati, consort of Shiva

Bukka, Sangama king (1356-77)

bund, dam wall

chhatra, rest-house

Devaraya I, Sangama emperor (1406-22)

Devaraya II, Sangama emperor (1424-46)

Dipa-stambha, lamp column

Durga, Durgadevi, fierce goddess who empowers kings

Ganesha, popular elephant-headed deity

Garuda, eagle mount of Vishnu

ghat, stepped bathing place; mountainous ridge

gopura, towered entrance gateway

Hanuman, monkey hero in the Ramayana

Harihara I, Sangama king (1336-56)

Harihara II, Sangama king (1377-1404)

Haranyakashipu, demon disembowelled by Narasimha

Hoysalas, 12th-13th century rulers of southern Karnataka

kalasha, pot-shaped finial

Kali, fierce form of Devi

Kama, god of love

Kampila, pre-Vijayanagara period king (1315-27)

Kishkindha, monkey kingdom in the Ramayana

Kodandarama, Rama crowned

Krishna, popular incarnation of Vishnu

Krishnadevaraya, Tuluva emperor (1509-29)

kuta, square-to-dome roof form

Lakshmana, brother of Rama in the Ramayana

Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu

linga, phallic emblem of Shiva

Mahabharata, epic story of the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas

Mahanavami, nine-day festival celebrating Durga, held in September-October

Mahishasuramardini, Durga slaying the buffalo demon

mandala, geometric diagram symbolizing cosmic order

mandapa, columned hall

Matanga, sage who curses Vali in the Ramayana

matha, religious establishment

naga, snake

nagakal, snake stone

Nandi, bull mount of Shiva

Narasimha, fierce man-lion incarnation of Vishnu

Narasimha, Saluva emperor (1485-91)

Pampa, Pampadevi, local goddess worshipped at Hampi; consort of Virupaksha

pura, urban quarter

Raghunatha, name of Vishnu

Rama, hero of the Ramayana; incarnation of Vishnu

Ramanuja, 12th-century Vaishnava saint

Ramaraya, regent of Sadashiva who usurped power

Ramayana, story of Rama

Rashtrakutas, 8th-9th century rulers of northern Karnataka

Ravana, demon vanquished by Rama in the Ramayana

Sadashiva, Tuluva emperor (1542-65)

Saluvas, second dynasty of Vijayanagara

sati, ritual suicide

Shaiva, pertaining to the cult of Shiva

Shiva, major Hindu cult deity

Sita, wife of Rama

Sugriva, monkey king of Kishkindha, crowned by Lakshmana

tirtha, sacred bathing spot

tirthankara, Jain saint

Tirumangai, one of the alvars

Tiruvengalanatha, name of Venkateshvara

Tuluvas, third dynasty of Vijayanagara

Venkateshvara, form of Vishnu

Vaishnava, pertaining to the cult of Vishnu

Vali, monkey king of Kishkindha killed by Rama

Vasantotsava, spring festival held in February-March

Vidyaranya, sage

Vijayanagara, the City of Victory

Virabhadra, fierce warrior form of Shiva

Virashaiva, Shaiva cult founded in the 12th century

Virupaksha, name of Shiva worshipped at Hampi

Vishnu, major Hindu cult deity

Vitthala, form of Krishna

yali, fantastic leonine beast

zenana, women’s quarter