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Mysore Palace

Historical palace in Mysore, Karnataka, India

Summary

Historical palace in Mysore, Karnataka, India

Field	Value
name	Mysore Palace
alternate_name	Amba Vilas Palace
image	Mysore Palace Morning.jpg
location	Sayyaji Rao Rd, Agrahara, Chamrajpura, Mysuru, Karnataka 570001
location_town	Mysore
location_country	India
coordinates
start_date	1897
completion_date	1912
architect	Henry Irwin
owner	Wadiyar family and Government of Karnataka
website	https://mysorepalace.gov.in
current_tenants	Government of Karnataka
civil_engineer	B. P. Raghavulu Naidu (Executive Engineer Palace Division)

Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence. It is located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The palace is in the centre of Mysore, and faces the Chamundi Hills eastward. Mysore is commonly described as the 'City of the Palaces', and there are seven palaces including this one. However, the Mysore Palace refers specifically to the one within the new fort.

The land on which the palace now stands was originally known as mysuru (literally, "citadel"). The first palace inside the Old Fort was built in the 14th century, which was set ablaze and reconstructed multiple times. The Old Fort was built of wood and thus easily caught fire, while the current fort was built of stone, bricks and wood. The current structure was constructed between 1897 and 1912, after the Old Palace burnt down, the current structure is also known as the New Fort. Mysore Palace is one of the most famous tourist attractions in India, after the Taj Mahal, with more than three million annual visitors as on 2014.

History

A photograph of the Old Mysore Palace before the fire c. 1870

The last palace, now known as the Old Palace or the Wooden Palace, burned to ashes during the wedding of Jayalakshammani, the eldest daughter of Chamaraja Wodeyar in 1896. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and his mother Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi commissioned the British architect Henry Irwin to build a new palace. E.W. Fritchley worked as a consulting engineer. Meanwhile, the royal family stayed in the nearby Jaganmohan Palace. Construction was overseen by an executive engineer in the Mysore Palace division. He conducted elaborate architectural studies during his visits to Delhi, Madras, and Calcutta, and these were used to plan the new palace. The construction cost was placed at Rs 41,47,913 (around $ 30 million adjusted to inflation) and the palace was completed in 1912.

The palace was further expanded in around 1930 (including the addition of the present Public Durbar Hall wing) during the reign of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

The pioneer of modern yoga as exercise, Krishnamacharya, taught yoga in the palace in the early 20th century, at the request of the Raja of Mysore. Among his pupils there were B. K. S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois, founders of Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga respectively. An earlier Raja had 112 yoga postures (asanas) illustrated in a large 19th century book, the Sritattvanidhi, which likely influenced Krishnamacharya.

Architecture

Designed by Henry Irwin, an English architect, the style is that of Indo-Saracenic architecture, with elements from Islamic, Rajput, and Gothic architecture styles. It is a three-story, gray granite, structure, about 245 ft long and about 156 ft wide. There are square towers, five stories tall, at each of the cardinal points, topped with pink domes. The tallest tower, 145 ft tall, is at the centre of the palace and is topped with a gold plated dome.

The grand doors of the Palace display a variety of decorative techniques and some of the most beautiful ones are the ivory inlay doors. Here baby Krishna, a Hindu God is shown as Vatapatra Krishna or Vatapatrasayi - Krishna reclining on a banyan leaf.

The façade has arches, canopies, and bay windows. There are seven arches and two smaller arches that connect to the centralized arch of the façade. Above the central arch is a sculpture of Gajalakshmi. The palace is surrounded by gardens. It has four entrances: The 'Jaya Maarthaanda' (main entrance) to the East, 'Jayarama' to the North, 'Balarama' to the North, and 'Varaha' to the South. Brahmagiri & Karikallu thotti to the West

Attractions

The entrance fee to get into the palace grounds, is 120 rupees per adult, 50 rupees per child aged 7 to 18 years old, free for children younger than 7 years old and 1000 rupees for foreigners.

At the main entrance, there are bronze tigers, sculpted by British sculptor Robert William Colton, on either side of the walkways leading up to the palace. The Gombe Thotti, also known as The Dolls' Pavilion, was a place to display and worship dolls during Dasara festivities. Ane Bagilu, also known as Elephant Gate, is the main entrance to the palace's interior, symbolizing power and strength.

Gallery

File:Mysore Palace gate.jpg|Main approach to the Mysore Palace File:Mysore Palace (8113480008).jpg|Lighting of Mysore Palace during Mysore Dasara (2012) File:Roof design, Interior of the Mysore Palace, Mysore, Karnataka, India (2011).jpg|Roof artwork File:Grand Interiors of Mysore Palace.jpg|Audience Hall File:A Courtyard of Amba Vilas Palace (Mysuru Palace), during day.jpg|A courtyard of Mysore Palace during the day File:A side view of the magnificent Amba Vilas Palace (Mysuru Palace), against blue coloured sky, Mysuru, Karnataka.jpg|A side view of the Mysore Palace File:A very well lit Durbar Hall (ceremonial meeting hall of the royal court) of Amba Vilas Palace (Mysuru Palace), during day.jpg|A very well lit Durbar Hall (ceremonial meeting hall of the royal court) of Mysore Palace during the day File:Gandaberundamysorepalace.jpg|The Gandaberunda, the mythical two-headed bird of immense power and good fortune was the royal emblem of the Wodeyar dynasty and is seen in motifs scattered across the palace. File:Distant outer view of Mysore palace.jpg|Distant outer view of Mysore palace

References

(22 April 2014). "Tourism in Mysore".
"Maharaja's Palace". Mysore District.
"Mysore Palace".
"Mysore palace will complete 100 years next year". [[Deccan Herald]].
(2020-12-30). "Mysore Palace Karnataka: Famous monument Valuation, Key facts, History".
Sjoman, Norman E.. (1999). "The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace". Abhinav Publications.
Cushman, Anne. (Jul–Aug 1999). "New Light on Yoga". [[Yoga Journal]].
"Mysuru Palace".
"Architecture of Mysore Palace".
"Mysuru Palace {{!}} District Mysuru, Government of Karnataka {{!}} Heritage city {{!}} India".
"Old Mysuru Palace".
"The Dolls' Pavilion - Display of Dolls during Dasara Festivities.".
"Elephant Gate".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

kingdom-of-mysore palaces-in-mysore royal-residences-in-india tourist-attractions-in-mysore buildings-and-structures-in-mysore indo-saracenic-revival-architecture 1912-establishments-in-india houses-completed-in-1912 residential-buildings-completed-in-1912 20th-century-architecture-in-india

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