Sasivekalu Ganesha

Sasivekalu Ganesha is a monolithic Ganesha statue housed in an open pillared pavilion on the southern foothills of Hemakuta Hill in Hampi, Karnataka, within the Vijayanagara World Heritage Site. Standing about 2.4 metres tall and carved from a single boulder, it was commissioned in the early 16th century. The site is notable for its Vijayanagara craftsmanship, mustard-seed legend, and proximity to other Hampi monuments.

Visitors can expect an open, pillared pavilion sheltering a large monolithic four-armed Ganesha carved from a single granite boulder, seated with a broken tusk and a snake tied around the belly. The shrine is set on Hemakuta Hill's southern slope with boulder-strewn landscape and views of nearby temples. The area is accessed by a short walk and steps, with no enclosed sanctum, allowing close viewing and photography of the sculpture and surrounding Vijayanagara ruins.

The Sasivekalu Ganesha statue was commissioned in 1506 CE by a trader from Chandragiri in memory of King Narasimha II of the Vijayanagara Empire, as recorded in an inscription on the statue. It exemplifies Vijayanagara monolithic sculpture and temple architecture, with the deity depicted with four arms holding a goad, noose, broken tusk and modaka, with a serpent tied around the belly.

The shrine is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, revered as the remover of obstacles, and remains an active place of worship and pilgrimage within the sacred landscape of Hampi. The name Sasivekalu refers to mustard seeds, reflecting a local legend that the sculpted belly resembles a mustard seed or that the patron was a mustard trader, illustrating folk traditions associated with Vijayanagara religious art.