Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

ARCHITECTURE

PALACES

The palace was built at a central place. There one came across the Brahmastambha or the foundation pillar of the royal palace. This appears to be the main pillar of the building from which the main plumbline (Brahmasutra) was determined for the whole con- struction. It appears to have been a ceremonious pillar inset with ivory scrollwork. The palace complex was entered through a principal entrance known as Rajadvar or the royal gate. On top of the entrance there were imposing carved figures of combating lions and elephants and hence it was known as 'Simhadvar' or 'Simhapratoli'. The palace was well guarded. There was no restriction against entry in the Skandhvar which was open to the public, but the entry into the palace complex was controlled strongly. The palace was guarded by the Bahya-pratiharas, i.e, chamberlains posted outside the palace. Above the entrance to the royal palace there was a minstrels' gallery where music was played at a stated time accom- panied by the sound of the drum (Dhundubhi-Dhvani) Inside the Rajkila there was a regular scheme of spacious and extensive courts (amantam bhunanabhyantore, Kakashya). The palace of Harsha was planned in three courts (Samantikra Myatrinika, Akshyantarini). In the first court, at the left side of the main gate was an extensive pavilion (Akasthanamandapa) for the royal elephants (ibhadhisyagara). Here the king's own elephant Darpasata, was kept. On the right side opposite the elephant stables was the stable (manduri) for the king's horses who were known as Bhupals, Vallabha, Turanga. Bana often refers to the king riding on the royal elephant or horse while entering the gate crossing the forecourt (Mahasopana) leading to the hall of public audience. In the centre of the second court was located 'Bahyasthan- amandapa' i.e. the Hall of Public Audience, also called 'sabha'. In front of it was the extensive court, called Ajira’. The king had the privilege of riding his horse or elephant upto this point. In order to gain access into the .audience hall the king had to dismount at the foot of the staircase. The audience hall was approached by these steps. The king occupied the royal seat in the audience hall. This seat or throne was known as Indrasana or Simhasana. It was a raised seat as high as an elephant and had the shape of an AmbarV or hand placed on the back of an elephant. The throne was adorned with rows of bells and small fly whisks. On this raised ivory throne was placed a small ivory coach. Bana also indicates the presence of the Goddess Lakshmi behind the king's throne. The figure was produced by inlay work (Bhakti) probably of gold in ivory. It is also possible that the figure of Vishnu (Lord of Lakshmi) was done in inlay at the back of the throne and Lakshmi attended on him in an invisible form. The 'Visvakarma Vastushastra' in its 12th chapter states that the royal palaces may be constructed either in the centre of the city or at the place assigned for it in particular type of cities. The form of the site is best chosen as a square but rectangular sites are also allowed. The dimension may be anything from 50 to 500 dandas or it may be 1/8 or 1/16 of the entire area of the city. The several buildings shall usually have storeys, and special halls on the first and second floors called 'Chandrasalas' shall also be constructed. The palace may have a single gate.

Palace architecture has developed in India in parallel with the development of fort architecture. The royal palace was always located in a well fortified city. The palace complex was thus an important feature of the notable forts and fortified cities of ancient and medieval India. Many of the palaces of the great kings of India have completely vanished. Some of the imperial capitals, such as Thaneswar, Ka- nauj, Vijayanagar and Delhi, were plundered and subjected to re- lentless demolitions. It is only possible to visualise the glory of ancient palaces in India on the basis of historical writings, Sanskrit literature and Shilpa Shastras (the canonical books of Hindu crafts- men). Ashoka's palace at Pataliputra is described by Megasthenes as no less magnificent than the palaces of Susa and Ekbatana. It was still standing at the beginning of the 5th c A.D. when Fahien visited India, but by the time Hiuen Tsang visited the city the palace had been burnt to the ground and the place was almost deserted. Recent excavations have revealed the remains of a great hall, with stone pillars. This graphic description of the palace of King Harshavardhana is given by Banabhatta in his 'Harshacharita': The palace complex was situated on a Giridurga or hill-fort which has strong stone ramparts with slits for shooting arrows. The entrance to the fort was through a big gateway flanked by a storeyed tower. Outside the gateway and adjacent to it were erected some tall pedestals for mounting on the back of the elephants ( uchhak- umbhakuta). These are also termed as 'Hastinakha' in earlier literature. The large door-leaves of the gateway when closed were barred at the rear with a strong wooden bolt, fixed transversely and inserted into the wall of the fort; this was to*be pulled out by hand (hastargala-danda) to open the gateway.