Lotus Mahal
Topic: Vijayanagara and the Deccan · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara"
Meaning
The Lotus Mahal is a graceful building in the "royal centre" of Vijayanagara at Hampi. British travellers gave it this name in the 19th century, so it is not its original name. It has nine towers and arches in the Indo-Islamic style. This style came with the Turkish Sultans and grew as it mixed with local building ways. Nobody knows for certain what the building was used for.
Example
A map drawn by Colin Mackenzie, the East India Company surveyor who mapped Hampi from 1800, suggests that the Lotus Mahal may have been a council chamber, a hall where the king met his advisers. A building known as the "elephant stables" stands close to it.
Don't confuse with
- Mahanavami dibba: this is a huge stone platform in the same royal centre, used for the Mahanavami festival. The Lotus Mahal is a roofed building with arches.
Related concepts
- Royal centre of Vijayanagara
- Mahanavami dibba
- Mahanavami festival
- Indo-Islamic architecture
- Hazara Rama temple