The Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, one of India’s most ancient and revered temples, holds within its stone walls a fascinating secret that continues to intrigue both devotees and scientists. Built more than 1,400 years ago, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shivan and stands as a masterpiece of Vijayanagara architecture. Yet, beyond its sculpted pillars and sacred shrines, lies an astonishing optical phenomenon that predates modern science, an ancient example of the camera obscura effect.

Inside the temple, in a quiet and dimly lit chamber, visitors can witness something truly magical, an inverted image of the temple’s towering gopuram (gateway tower) projected clearly onto the wall. This remarkable projection, which appears golden and luminous in the afternoon light, is not an illusion or painting, but a natural optical effect created through a tiny hole in the wall. When sunlight passes through this small opening, it projects a complete, upside-down image of the massive 52-meter-high gopuram onto the opposite wall.

What makes this phenomenon even more mysterious is its timing. The image only appears between 2 PM and 6 PM, when the sun shifts toward the west. During the morning hours, the image is barely visible because the eastern face of the gopuram is not illuminated by sunlight. As the day progresses, the sun’s rays fall directly on the tower, making it shine brilliantly, this light passes through the small aperture, creating a golden, inverted reflection within the chamber.








Curiosity about this phenomenon has sparked numerous theories. Some visitors once believed the wall was coated with special paint or phosphorescent materials, but simple experiments proved otherwise. When a cloth was held in front of the wall, the inverted image appeared on it as well, confirming that it was indeed created by light entering through the hole. When the hole was covered, the image vanished instantly, proving that the effect was purely optical and not man-made trickery.

This natural projection is an early example of what modern science calls the pinhole camera or camera obscura, a concept where light passing through a tiny opening project an inverted image of the outside scene onto a surface inside. While this principle became known to the world through Renaissance studies in optics, the builders of Virupaksha Temple had already mastered it over a millennium ago, embedding it into their sacred architecture.

The golden inverted gopuram at Virupaksha Temple is thus more than a visual marvel. They created not only a temple of worship but also a monument that demonstrates the timeless harmony between faith, light, and the laws of nature.

Source / Image Credit : Lost Temples, Karnataka Tourism , Times Of India