The Vittala Temple was built primarily during the reign of Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 CE), the most powerful emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. Construction continued under his successor Achyutaraya. The temple was intended to be the most magnificent shrine in Hampi, dedicated to Vittala (a form of Krishna). An inscription dated 1513 CE records Krishnadevaraya's donations to the temple.
After the Battle of Talikota (1565 CE), Hampi was sacked, and the temple was abandoned mid-construction. The temple remained in ruins for centuries but was well-preserved due to the arid climate. In the 20th century, the Archaeological Survey of India undertook extensive conservation work. Hampi was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
The temple's construction was part of Krishnadevaraya's ambitious building programme that included the Krishna Temple (1515 CE), the Hazara Rama Temple (early 15th century with later additions), and the monolithic bull and Ganesa statues. The Vittala Temple was designed to be the crowning jewel of this programme. The incomplete sections of the temple — notably the partially carved pillars in the eastern entrance and the unfinished gopuram — provide archaeologists with rare insight into Vijayanagara construction techniques.
The stone masons' marks visible on unfinished surfaces include Telugu and Kannada characters, revealing the linguistic diversity of the workforce. The temple's long pillared bazaar was designed as a commercial street for temple-related trade, with the 56 columns on each side originally supporting thatched roofs for merchants' stalls, creating a temple-market complex that was a distinctive feature of Vijayanagara urban planning.
