Musafir

The Lotus Mahal: This two storied palace, located in the Zanana enclosure, is one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture, with its typically Hindu base and Islamic super structure. Dated circa 16th century, it is an indented square in plan, with massive piers, with cusped arches, which demarcate fourteen bays in the lower pavilion. It has nine pyramidal cupolas on the second storey, of which the central one is the largest.

The exemplary plaster work on the outer faces of the cusped arches are in the form of Kirthimukha(lion faced) toranas. The torana creepers have playful birds perched on them. The Lotus Mahal is also referred to as Chitrangini Mahal locally.

This structure is one of the best in the architecture that one gets to see in Hampi. It is still intact and was one of the important places where the queen used to spend time. The ceiling of the ground floor is concave and in partitions. As mentioned, there are arches on the outer end of the building and is caved with very delicate and fine art. We can see this delicate art at one another place and we will talk about it soon.

It is said that the floor on the upper level is also concave and water was filled in the cavities. This was done to make the building cool during summer when the queen spent most of the time here, trying to overcome the extreme heat. It was kind of a natural air conditioner. As the walls are of plaster, they would be cooled more easily and provide a nice atmosphere inside. Even though no body is allowed inside the Lotus Mahal, we can feel nice breeze once we get near to it.

The Watch Towers: As mentioned before, there are three watch towers at the east, southeast and north of the enclosure. They are are built in Islamic architecture and their magnitude clearly shows us the kind of protection that the enclosure would have had then. All the three are multiple storied and the way to the upper levels has been closed now

From here, we move on to the Elephant stables.

Before we move to the Royal Enclosure, we take a detour towards the Zanana Enclosure.

On the way to the Zanana Enclosure, there is the office of the Archaeological Survey of India and a small open air museum of the various artefacts that are found in the region. The most notable pieces in this museum are the turret of the Chalukyan era and Lord Vishnu as Sesha Sayana.

Now we move on to our destination, the Zanana Enclosure.

The Tenali Rama pavilion: Just outside the Zanana enclosure, on a rocky area nearby, is a pillared hall named after one of the most notable courtiers of Sri Krishnadevaraya. Tenali Ramakrishna is known for his humour and notoriety. He is said to be blessed  by Goddess Gayatri after which he not only became knowledgeable and wise but also joined the “Ashtadiggajas” (Eight Wise Men) of the court of Krishnadevaraya.

The Zanana Enclosure is a structural complex with tall enclosure walls on four sides with entrances at northeast and north. The structures in this enclosure are in Indo-Islamic style of architecture. The structures are judicially spaced exemplifying manifestations of Vijayanagara secular architecture.

The Treasury Building: This rectangular building identified as the treasury stands at the north of the enclosure and is made of brick and has nice design on its top. Currently, it is modified as a small museum and holds beautiful sculptures and some very old inscriptions on stone slabs. It also contains utensils, water flasks, ports and coins of the Vijayanagar era found in the area. It also contains pictures of the monuments of Hampi taken by well known historians and officials of the East India Company. 

The Queen’s Palace: This ornate terraced building stands in the middle of the Zanana enclosure and would have been magnificent in those days. All that remains today is the basement which is very strong in construction survived the wear and tear of centuries.

The floor of the palace stands at a height of almost 10 feet marking its importance among other buildings in the vicinity. There are two levels of basement before the floor of the palace. The panels on the basement are carved with nice designs and are still intact. Although cracks have formed in the stone basement, it is still very hard. There is a small staircase to the floor and is guarded by two stone elephants. Understandably, this palace bore the brunt of the invaders and its glory lost.

To the east of the palace, there is a Jal Mahal, probably one of the buildings meant for the queen. It was also taken down and the basement is the one remaining. There is also a tank which was probably used for storage for the inhabitants. As there are no steps to the bottom of the tank, this would not have been an bath.

To the east of the Jal Mahal, is one of the most beautiful monuments of Hampi, the Lotus Mahal.