Stepped tank and Public bath, Hampi

Hampi is said to be the second largest city in the world when Vijayanagara was at its zenith. The city was known for its markets which means the city population was considerable. Hampi was designed to cater to such demands with its advanced canal systems, large & small water tanks including troughs for animals. Here's a list of prominent Pushkarni-

1. Manmatha Pushkarni next to Virupaksha Devastana
2. Pushkarni of the courtesan street
3. Vittala Devastana Pushkarni 
4. Krishna Bazaar Pushkarni 
5. Pattabhirama Devastana Pushkarni 
6. Pushkarni near Mahanavami Dibba (stepped tank inside the royal enclosure)
7. Paan-Supari Bazar Pushkarni (small stepped tank)
8. Yellamma Devastana Pushkarni (small tank)

Apart from the Pushkarnis, there are bath houses and water pavilions such as-

1. Queen's bath house
2. Octagonal water pavilion
3. Public bath in the royal enclosure

Of all the Pushkarnis, the stepped tank in the royal enclosure is the most attractive one. The square tank with its pyramidal steps is indeed a sight to behold. This tank was discovered in mid 1980s. Prior to the discover, the tank was completely buried. Wondering if the tank was filled up deliberately before the Muslim invasion of 1565.

The previous picture was shot in Dec-2013 and the second picture was shot in July-2017. I would like the readers to see both states- empty and filled. In plan the tanks is a square measuring approximately 64' x 64', it has five tiers, each tier connected to the next tier by pyramidal steps. The first tier has 9 sets of steps on each side, the subsequent tiers have 7, 5,3 and 1. The total number sets comes to 100.

The same view with water. The dark stone makes the water appear dark and reflects the sky like a mirror. Try to imagine the tank when water is filled to the brim. This tank being close to Mahanavami Dibba was specially made for religious events. It is said that Teppotsava was held in this tank. That would be possible when the water level is right up to first tier. When its half filled, imagine this sight- a dark night, no moon, oil lamps on the pyramidal steps.. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 lamps.. that would be 25 lamps per pyramid.. 74 pyramids.. totally 1850 oil lamps glowing together. What a glorious sight that would be!

The central steps are slightly wider than the others. When the water level is low or empty, anyone wishing to climb down can take the central steps. During rainy season, one needs to be super careful here.

There's more this stepped tank. If you look carefully, there are Kannada letters and numerals etched on the blocks. I would like to quote a paragraph from The Talkative Man about this structure: Each stone used for the construction has numerals, symbols and Kannada letters on it. For example letters u, da, tu and pa represent north (uttara), south (dakshina), east (turpu), and west (paschima). In five stages there are 36 steps and each step has been assigned a Kannada letter beginning from tna upto jna and ti. In addition to these numerals and Kannada letters some symbols also have been used, according to the four directions. Another interesting feature is the mark of measurement through symbols. Thus the stepped tank (pushkarini) is not only beautiful and elegant but also supplies the technical methodology adopted by the architects to transplant it from the workshop to the spot of the tank. Clever technique by ancient builders.

The aqueduct which supplies water to this tank and also another tank in the vicinity which is said to be a public bath. A short branch of the aqueduct slopes towards the tank, that's where falls into the tank. I guess the tank had a run off to prevent spill over.

 Right besides the aqueduct is an open well or it could be a small tank. The pillars flanking the well are notched at the top. Ends of an wooden shaft would fit into the notches, a pulley would be fixed on the shaft to draw out water.

A peek into the aqueduct. Made of granite, each block is 9 to 12 feet long and raised on granite columns The joints were sealed with mortar to prevent leakage. There must've been a maintenance team to monitor the function of the waterways.

Stone's throw from the stepped tank is rectangular water tank called as the Public Bath. The royal enclosure had palaces and audience halls. Also in the neighborhood is the noblemen's quarters. So the idea of having a bath here is convenient for the population of these two enclosures. The floor of the tank is plastered with mortar. So this served as a swimming pool as well. At the far end of this tank is a four pillared mantapa on a platform.

The mantapa must be for performing rituals like Linga poojae or Sandhya Vandane. A steep flight of steps descends into the tank. Also next to it is an arrangement to draw water using rope.

Before closing this post, I would like to mention a water trough between the audience hall and Hazara Rama Devastana. The trough is approximately 42 feet long and 2 feet wide. I guess it was meant for horses.

There could be many more monuments hidden in the ground waiting to be discovered.
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Octagonal water-pavilion and Bhojanashala

These two monuments are hardly noticed by most tourists. Despite my four visits I've not stopped by to take a closer look at the Octagonal pavilion and not heard of Bhojanashala until recently. And both are right besides Hampi-Kamalapur road. I learnt of them during my research of Hampi and decided to sketch them. I wasn't happy with the outcome nevertheless published them as they are.

First, the water pavilion - This is an octagonal shaped structure with identical arched openings on each of the eight faces. The building is made of granite blocks, bricks, mortar and plaster. The structure is topped by a mesh crown. Inside, there's a pit where water flowed continuously. The function of this building was to provide fresh water to the people visiting the royal enclosure. One could have have wash up or bathe. The structure's architecture is Indo Saracenic. It has been restored by the archaeological department at some point of time but it still looks neglected - which is the reason why tourists tend to ignore it.

The other monument Bhojanashala is opposite the octagonal water pavilion. Bhojana means food and shala means hall or place. This is an open place, flat ground with two stone lined canals flanked by stones slabs with circular pits. This is said to be common dining area for the soldiers serving in the nearby royal enclosure. Probably a chapra (shelter of woven coconut leaves held up by wooden poles) was setup back then. The canal is two feet wide and a foot deep. The dark colored slabs measure approximately 2' x 1½' x 5" thick. The top surface of each slab has 7 circular pits- one 1' diameter circular pit and six 4" diameter pits. Few plates also have 1 + 4 pits and some have elliptical pits instead of circular. These are stone plates just like commercially available stainless steel lunch plates. The practice of eating of stone plates is ancient but for the advanced society like Vijayanagara it seems primitive.. may be eating out of stone has health benefits. The 'canals' are approximately 250' and 200' long. The total number of plates if 350 to 400 - that many people could eat in one batch. So one can imagine the cooking arrangements to serve hundreds of people in one go. One must stop to see this unique artifact.

The pavilion and Bhojana-Shala are situated right besides Hampi-Kamalapur road on the left-hand side half a kilometer before the Queen's bath house.

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