The Audience Hall : –
๐น The audience hall is a high platform with slots for wooden pillars at close and regular intervals. It had a staircase going up to the second floor, which rested on these pillars. The pillars being closely spaced, would have left little free space and thus it is not clear what the hall was used for.
Mahanavami Dibba : –
๐น Located on one of the highest points in the city, the “mahanavami dibba” is a massive platform rising from a base of about 11,000 sq. ft to a height of 40 ft. There is evidence that it supported a wooden structure. The base of the platform is covered with relief carvings.
Mahanavami : –
๐น Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanavami. Mahanavami is a ten-day Hindu festival during the autumn months of September and October.
๐น It is known as Dussehra in North India, Durga Puja in Bengal and Navaratri or Mahanavami in peninsular India. The Vijayanagara kings showed their prestige, power and control over the empire on this occasion.
Ceremonies on Occasion of Mahanavami : –
๐น Various ceremonies were performed on this occasion like:
- Worship of image, worship of the state horse and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals.
- Dances, wrestling matches, procession of highly decorated horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers.
- Ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief Nayakas and subordinate kings.
- The ceremonies had a deep symbolic meanings. On the last day of the festival, king’s army and the armies of the nayakas were inspected by the king in a grand ceremony in an open field.
- The nayakas brought rich gifts for the king on this occasion.
Scholars have doubts about the structure of Mahanavami Dibba : –
๐น Scholars have raised doubt that, the space surrounding the mahanavami dibba structure was not sufficient for big processions of armed men, women and large animals. Like some of the other structures in the royal centre, it remains an enigma.
Other Buildings in the Royal Centre ( The Lotus Mahal ) : –
๐น The Lotus Mahal, named by British travellers in the nineteenth century was one of the most beautiful buildings in the royal centre.
๐น While the name is certainly romantic, Historians are not sure about what the building was used for. A map drawn by Mackenzie suggested that it might have been a council chamber, a place where the king met his advisers.
Other Buildings in the Royal Centre ( Hazara Rama Temple ) : –
๐น One of the most spectacular of these is one known as the Hazara Rama temple. This might have been used only by the king and his family. Though images in the central shrine are missing, but sculpted panels on the walls survive. These include scenes from the Ramayana sculpted on the inner walls of the shrine.
The Sacred Centre of Vijayanagara : –
๐น The rocky Northern end of city was located on the banks of the Tungabhadra. As per the local traditions, these hills had the monkey kingdom of Vali and Sugriva mentioned in the Ramayana.
๐น Some other traditions suggested that Pampadevi did penance in these hills in order to marry Virupaksha, the God who protected the kingdom and also recognised as a form of Shiva.
๐น This marriage is celebrated even today every year in the Virupaksha temple. In these hills, Jaina temples of the pre-Vijayanagara period are also found. It implies that this area was associated with different sacred traditions.
Tradition of Temple Building ( Information about Vijayanagara temple ) : –
๐น Temple building in the region had a long history, going back to dynasties such as the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Cholas.
๐น Rulers very often encouraged temple building as a means of associating themselves with the divine often, the deity was explicitly or implicitly identified with the king.
๐น Temples also functioned as centres of learning.
๐น Besides, rulers and others often granted land and other resources for the maintenance of temples.
๐น Consequently, temples developed as significant religious, social, cultural and economic centres.
๐น From the point of view of the rulers, constructing, repairing and maintaining temples were important means of winning support and recognition for their power, wealth and piety.
Vijayanagara kings and Virupaksha and Pampadevi temple : –
๐น It is likely that the very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi.
๐น In fact the Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed “Shri Virupaksha”, usually in the Kannada script.
๐น Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana”. This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant Hindu Sultan.
Gopuram and Mandapas ( in short ) : –
๐ธ Gopuram : – It is a big gateway tower, usually decorate with carvings, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India.
๐ธ Mandapas : – It is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals.
Raya gopurams or Royal gateways : –
๐น The temples have structures of very large scale that must be symbolic of imperial authority. The best examples are Raya gopurams or Royal gateways that often made the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple from a great distance.
๐น They might also be the symbols of the power of kings, who have authority on the resources, techniques and skills needed to construct these extremely tall gateways.
Mandapas or Pavilions : –
๐น Other important features are mandapas or pavilions and long pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex.
๐น These streets were paved with stone slabs and lined with pillared pavilions in which merchants set-up their shops.
The Virupaksha Temple : –
๐น The Virupaksha temple was built over centuries While inscriptions suggested that the earliest shrine was dated to the ninth-tenth centuries and it was enlarged with the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire.
๐น Krishnadeva Raya has built the hall in front of the shrine to indicate his accession to throne. This was decorated with delicately carved pillars. He is also credited with the construction of the eastern gopuram. These additions meant that the central shrine came to occupy a relatively small part of the complex.
Use of temple sites : –
๐น The halls in the temple were used for variety of purposes. Some spaces had images of Gods to witness special programmes of music, dance, drama, etc.
๐น Other spaces were used for marriages of deities, and some other were meant for the deities to swing in.
๐น On these occasions, special images which were different from those kept in the small central shrine were used.
The Vitthala Temple : –
๐น The Vitthala temple was another important shrine. The main deity was Vitthala, a form of Vishnu generally worshipped in Maharashtra.
๐น The introduction of the worship of the deity in Karnataka shows that Vijayanagara rulers used different traditions to create an imperial culture. Like other temples, Vitthala temple also had several halls and a unique shrine designed as a chariot.
๐น One of the important features was the chariot streets. It extended from the temple Gopuram in a straight line. These streets were paved with stone slabs and lined with pillared pavilions in which merchants set up their shops.
Main features of Temples of Vijayanagara : –
- Rulers very often encouraged temple building themselves with the devine.
- Rulers and others often granted land and other resources for the maintenance of temples.
- Remains of temple buildings of pallavas, chalukyas, Hoysalas and cholas were found.
- Remains of places of worship of various religions were found in Granite hills.
- Temples developed as significant, religious, social, cultural and economic centres.
- Temples also functional as centre of learning.
- Gopuram of immense scale served as a mark of imperial authority.
- Other distinctive features included Mandapas or partition and long pillared corridors.
- Virupaksha Temple – Included in UNESCO’s world Heritage list
- Vitthala Temple- situated in Hampi, Vitthala temple was built by Krishna Dava raya in 16th Century.
- Hampi’s chariot shrine is marked on 50 rupees note by RBI, Justifying its significance.
- Vitthala Temple is also included in UNESCO’s world Heritage list.
National importance of Hampi : –
๐น Hampi was recognised as a site of national importance in 1976. A project was launched in early 1980s to document and record the material remains at Vijayanagara in detail. Many scholars from all over the world worked to compile and preserve this information.
Plotting palaces, Temples and Bazaars : –
- The remains of Hampi were discovered by Mackenzie in 1800s.
- After the initial surveys by Mackenzie, information was pieced together from travellers accounts and inscriptions.
- In the early 1980s, an important project was launched to document the material remains at vijayanagara.
- Liter ature written in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada & Sanskrit.
- One part of this enormous exercise was mapping.
- Entire area was divided into 25 squares. Each square was subdivided into yet smaller units.
- They have recovered and documented traces of thousands of structures from tiny shines and residences to elaborate temples.
- They have also led to the recovery of races of roads, paths, bazaars etc.
- The latter have been located through finds of pillar pases and platforms.
- These were all that remain of thriving markets.
Related Chapters
Bricks, Beads and Bones Notes
kings farmers and towns Notes
kinship caste and class notes
Thinkers beliefs and buildings notes
Through the eyes of travellers notes
Bhakti Sufi traditions notes
An imperial capital vijayanagara notes
Peasants zamindars and the state notes
Colonialism and the countryside notes
Rebels and the raj notes
Mahatma gandhi and the national movement notes
Framing the constitution notes