Mahanavami Dibba, Hampi, Karnataka India

This unique monument stands in the largest of the walled enclosure within the Royal Centre, at one of the highest spots within this zone. The platform rises in three ascending diminishing stages, each a solid square, added at a different time. Steps led up the platform from the south and west sides, but there is no structure on top, only the recently exposed stone footings of a vanished wooden pavilion.

The platform is often identified with the House of Victory mentioned by the foreign visitors, from where the king witnessed the celebrations of the Mahanavami festival. According to these accounts, the king ascended to a temporary shrine to a goddess (Durga) was erected on top where the king sought blessings for his regalia, weapons and troops.

In the palace complex is a massive stone basement, which is all that remains of a large structure called the Mahanavami Dibba. Domingo Paes, a Portuguese traveller in Vijayanagar between 1520 and 1522, records that it was erected to mark Krishnadeva Raya’s victorious military campaign in Orissa. Originally, there would have been a gorgeously decorated, pillared hall or a many-storeyed pavilion on this platform. It was here that the king celebrated the nine days of the Mahanavami festival, which marks the victory of Durga over Mahishasura: the conquest of knowledge over the confusion of ignorance. This was the occasion when kings used to review their armies and check their preparedness for battle. The spectacular celebrations and parades left a deep impression upon foreign visitors, who described them in great detail. There are reliefs on the side of the Dibba that depict the great processions that took place. The king’s armies can be seen, as can hunters and dancers. Portuguese merchants are shown displaying to royal figures the well-bred horses they brought from Arabia. The coats, trousers, hats, beards and upward-turned moustaches of the foreigners were keenly observed and represented by the artists.