Information on Gagan Mahal (Bijapur, Karnataka) - History & Architecture

Gagan Mahal is a palace in combination with audience hall which is situated in Bijapur of Karnataka. It is one of the famous tourist attractions of Bijapur. The name of this monument was chosen due to its amazing view of the sky. Gagan Mahal is regarded as a delicate building with small yet stunningly decorated galleries, windows and sophisticated carvings. It features the thoughts of science where the structure of the palace was designed for effective refrigeration, irrespective of any air conditioning system. Gagan Mahal possesses a well-designed pool which act as water drainage system of 16th century establishment. Although several portions of the palace has been damaged due to negligence, it still have certain noteworthy features which are quite pleasant to observe.

Gagan Mahal Architecture

There are three arches of Gagan Palace where the principal arch is regarded as the tallest and broadest architecture in the whole Bijapur city. It is about 66 feet long and 56 feet height. The platform of the hall is about 80 feet wide where thousands of viewers can accumulate together. The architecture of the palace is splendid and impressive. The three archways of Gagan Mahal is fringed by other archways which lead to narrow stairway of upper floors.

At the ground floor of Gagan Mahal, there is an audience hall a namely 'Durbar Hall'. The key palace of Gagan Mahal is situated in the top floor of the building. The architecture of the hall has significant resemblance with an Opera stadium. The hall is entirely open in one part so that the viewers can gain an unhindered sight of various proceedings from outside of the monument. The building and neighbouring palaces of Gagan Mahal form the royal centre and is enclosed by moat and citadel walls. Presently, Gagan Mahal is a portion of a beautiful open park.

Gagan Mahal History

Gagan Mahal is also termed as 'Heavenly Palace' which was established in the year 1561 by Ali Adil Shah. It was mainly designed for the private residence of royal family members. Gagan Mahal was initially regarded as queen's compartments and several indications of residence of queen still exist in the palace. There are pipes in the palace which was used for cooling the compartments of queen through summer season. Furthermore, there is also a bathing pool which was supposed to be used by royal family members. The well balanced architecture along with courtyards of Gagan Mahal are luxuriantly designed with places having statues and demonstrate traditional splendour of the king himself. From the back side of the hall, royal ladies could watch animal contests as a part of entertainment. Not unusually, animals fight with humans who were thrown to them by the command from king can also viewed in the hall. Several rulers such as Ibraham dil Shah, Muhammad Adil Shah and Ali Adil Shah has made Gagan Mahal as their fortress and maintained it accordingly.

Gagan Mahal Tourism Importance

Complex artefacts, beautiful windows and small attractive galleries are key attractions of Gagan Mahal. Its unique architecture and design makes Gagan Mahal an important place for visiting. Presently, Gagan Mahal has been termed into a public park, still it has various attractions. It demonstrate Tudor architecture designs and the leftovers of the palace is regarded as a vital tourism place for travellers.