In 1908 two leading theosophists, Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater, published Occult Chemistry, a book claiming that by using clairvoyance they had observed the structure of atoms. They said they could focus their inner vision on a single atom and describe it, producing detailed drawings of elements made of smaller units they called anu, and found strange arrangements of shapes, with hydrogen containing eighteen of these units. The book also listed elements unknown to science. Scientists did not accept the findings, and the claims have no physical support, but the work appeared at the same time that physics was discovering that atoms were not indivisible, which made atomic structure a popular topic.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.