A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c14.158

c14.158

² “The *Dewan Khanah* resembles a forty-pillared hall” (Sir H. Elliot's translation, “History,” iv. 108). I am doubtful as to what building is referred to. The Hakluyt translator's rendering seems to point to the great enclosure west of the elephant stables, which has been called the “Zenana.” I know of no hall exactly answering to Sir Henry Elliot's description. The lofty walls with watch-towers at the angles which surround the enclosure referred to would be just such as might be supposed to have been erected for the protection of the royal archives and offices of the kingdom—the “Dewân Khâna.” If so, the “hall” in front would be the structure to which has been fancifully given the name of “the concert-hall.” This hall, or *Daftar-Khâna*, would be the usual working office of the Minister and his colleagues—the office of daily work or courthouse, the necessary documents and records being brought to and from the central offices in the enclosure.