Hindus treat Hampi as a sacred land. According to the folklore, a number of mythical events are associated with Hampi. Your understanding of what you see at Hampi would be greatly enhanced if you have some clues about the Hindu mythology and its themes. 
[caption id="attachment_1374" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Mahasathi"]<a href="http://chaluvaraju.pantoto.org/hampi-mythology-and-legend/mahasthi/" rel="attachment wp-att-1374"><img src="http://chaluvaraju.pantoto.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Mahasthi-150x150.jpg" alt="" title="Mahasathi" width="150" height="150" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1374" /></a>[/caption]