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Ruins

Mahanavami Dibba

A 12 m granite ceremonial platform in the Royal Enclosure, carved with processions of elephants, horses and dancers.

Mahanavami Dibba: Mahanavami dibba, Main view
Mahanavami Dibba: Mahanavami DibbaMahanavami Dibba: Public Bath in Mahanavami DibbaMahanavami Dibba: THRONE PLATFORM(Mahanavami Dibba)-Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram (2)

Open

6:00 am – 6:00 pm

Entry

Free entry

Best time to go

Morning

Time to spend here

About 35 minutes

Crowds

Can get busy

Inside the Royal Enclosure alongside the Stepped Tank; there is little shade, so mornings and evenings are best.

Before you go

Car to the gate

No long walk in

Toilets 280 m away

Straight-line distance

Drinking water 580 m away

Straight-line distance

Listen to the story

About this place

The Mahanavami Dibba, or Dasara Dibba, is a colossal three-tiered granite platform about 12 metres high at the heart of the Royal Enclosure. Built by Krishnadevaraya after his Udayagiri campaign, it was the ceremonial grandstand from which the kings watched the nine nights of Mahanavami (Dasara) — military parades, wrestling, dances and processions vividly recorded by the Portuguese travellers Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz. Its receding tiers are covered in bas-relief friezes of hunters, musicians, horses, camels and elephants, a stone chronicle of Vijayanagara court life. Stairways at the front and rear climb to the flat viewing top.

How to get there

  • By road to the entrance
  1. Go by car, bike or auto to Mahanavami Dibba

    Google Maps takes you by road to the nearest point to the place.

Walking paths and times are from Google Maps. The way in can change on festival days: follow the signs and ASI staff.

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