Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c16.t4.2

c16.t4.2

Within the citadel there is a very large basement which appears to have been that of an important building—perhaps the audience hall of the Vijayanagar kings. The upper surface of the platform shows traces of the existence of six rows of pillars, each row containing ten pillars, for there are to be seen sixty bases on which the pillars probably rested. They were in all likelihood made of timber since no stone pillar is seen there now even in a broken condition. From the statement of Abdur Razāk that the king’s “Audience Hall was elevated above all the rest of the lofty buildings in the Citadel” we can fairly presume that it had one or two stories above it. But it appears they were all in timber. The basement of the platform is adorned with simple carvings.