Mysore Palace

 There are very majestic palaces in Europe we had seen in Venice ,Paris,castles in Prague ,which were magnificient structures and with luxury furniture and items .

But palaces in India were just the archetypical oriental fantasy one reads in fairy tales .

Compared to these Bruneis Royal Palace ,is a more Modern structure ,more like a huge college without much antique or art sticking to it .

Rajasthans palaces and Forts are still magnificient .

So are Hyderabads and Trivandrums .

Many have people living in the fort complexes just like in the past .

Many of the  huge palaces have become luxury hotels and some turned into museums .

Some of the members of the royal families still stay in parts of the palace .

The Mysore palace of the Wodeyar dynasty in Mysuru Karnataka is one such example .

The dynasty began from 1399 .

Strangely the Wodeyars actually came from Gujarat precisely Dwaraka from the Yadava clans of Lord Krishna himself some say .

In 1399 two brothers Yaduraya and Krishnaraya came down to Mahisura a village in South India known after bull demon king Mahisasura killed by Godess Chamundeswari and the place so called later turning into Mysore .

The brothers had a dream to go to Kodibhaireswarar temple there and they slept in its precints .

At that time the king of the small Mysore kingdom Chamaraja  had died and there was a power struggle .

The kings widow was being threatened by  a powerful army chieftain Maranayaka  to marry off her daughter Devajamaananinni to him so that he would become king .

The Queen prays desperately to her chosen Godess and is told in a dream to send a priest to Kodibhaireswara  temple and ask two young men  there to help .

The priest meets the two brothers and tells the Queens predicament .

The brothers ask the priest to bring the army chieftain  alone to an isolated place in the forest on the pretext of getting married to the princess by the Queen and its done as planned .

The hiding brothers manage to kill the chieftain and one of them marries the princess with the Queens consent and become the king heralding the Wodeyar dynasty which would rule for 24 rulers .

Only after the dwindle of Vijayanagar empire in 1568 would the Wodeyars become truly powerful .

Many of the heirs were adopted too as many had no natural offsprings .

Between 1761 and 1799 during Hyder Ali (who usurped power as a Prime minister to the Wodeyars )and son Tipu Sultan rule they lose thier kingdom .

All palaces in Mysore are then removed and its named Nazarbad with capital shifted to Seringapatanam .

Once Tipu is dead, killed in the battle of Sreerangapattinam ,by the British they restablish Mysore kingdom allowing a five year old Krishnaraja wadeyar III  to the throne with rhe British  acting as a benevolent protector to the dynasty .

The original wooden palace was in ruins and a new palace is built though at time of coronation there was only a shamiana .

Later after two centuries this gets destroyed by fire during wedding of a princess in 1897 and it was Maharani Vannivilasa Sannidhana  as regent who orders for construction of a new palace by architect Henry Irwin who is known for building the Viceragal lodge in Simla and the Madras Railway station .

It was started in october 1987 and completed in 1912 costing around 47 lakhs approximately those days and costing in crores now .

It was three storeyed with a tower of 145 meters and a golden flag .

The most important part being its fire resistant nature by using granite .

The vast ground around is called Thotti in Kannada .

The facade of the main building of Mysore Palace  has seven big arches and two small ones , a sculpture of Gajalakshmi adorning the main arch .

On east is the famous elephant gate .

On the ground floor is the magnificient kalyanamandapam with paintings of Dussera celebrations done based on  black and white photographs of real life celebrations with remarkable clarity and three D effects .

It also has stained glass ceiling work done in a foundry in Glasgow Scotland the main theme being peacoch hence called Peacock pavillion .

The Wodeyars took over the habit of celebrating Dussera from the Vijayanagar kings .

On the First floor is the Durbar hall or Diwan ee Aam 287 feet in length and 129 feet wide .

On same foor is a smaller more private Amba vilasa or Diwan ee khaas .

The Durbar hall with arched columnades gaily painted and lit with no pillars to obstruct the view of the throne has been eulogised as one like the thousand and one Arabian night fantasies .

Amba vilasa too is exquisite in its art work and both halls have ceilings with art work and teak ceilings .

The palace has other than paintings by Raja ravi varma ,art works by Shilpi Siddalingaswami  ,artist Nagaraju and Venkatappa who was responsible for the pleasing colours of the halls .

The two most valuable artifacts exhibited in palace are the Golden Howdah and Golden throne .

The howdah had Devi Chamundeswari utsavamurthy taken in Dussera procession and throne is still used for ceremonial purposes by the king .

Its said the golden throne came from Pandavas who had it in Hastinapura brought down by one Kempiralaya and buried in Andhra pradesh for hiding it  but later discovered by Vijayanagar kings who passed it down as a heirloom transferred to Wodeyars when they took over lineage of Vijayanagar empire once its power dwindled .

It was in 1610 that Raja Wodeyar ascended this throne with pomp and pageantry to innaugrate Dussera festivities and enjoined his descendants to continue Dussera celebrations .

Naturally Tipu took it to his palace but it was brought back to Mysuru after the tyrants fall .

The throne is a work of art with the steps embellished with female figurines ,

Throne is decorated with  golden pillars and  mango leaves .

The golden umbrella has festoons .

The seat has tortoise seat the Kurmasana .

The four sides are decorated with vyalas and creepers .

Elephants on the east Horses on the south Soldiers on the west and chariots on the north decorate the royal seat ..

Brahma to south Maheswara to North and Vishnu in center forms the trinity .

In the corners are found Vijaya and four lions, two of the mythical Shardulas ,two horses ,and swans in four corners .

Its further adorned with naga nymphs and Asthadikpalakas or gaurdians of eight quarters .

There are eight Bronze tigers in the ground in front made by British sculptor Robert William Colton in 1909 and they are hollow inside .

The palace takes more than  fifteen  years to be completed under his royal highness krishnadevaraya Wodeyar .

It is built in Indo sarcaneic style with domes, huge pillared halls and has a magnificient facade .

It has fine works of art ,like paintings by Raja Ravi varma whose last painting before he died in 1906 on Ramas breaking the bow to get Sitas Hand is depicted in an oil canvas .

The palace main entrance is called Jaya marthanda gate 

But at present its closed and entry is through other gates .

A very nominal charge is taken on entry and one needs to remove footwear before entering palace in order to not damage fine Italian tiles on the floor and also in reverence to Ganesh temple inside .

The western part of palace is out of bounds as it is the residential quarters of royal family still staying there .

One sees the seven lined cannons owned by Tipu given by the British to Wodeyars and still used for the 21 gun salute on Dussera celebrations .

The Gombe thotti is the part of hall with art exhibits and is called doll house .

The habit of dolls exhibited in Dussera called kolu is done here .

One sees the huge mounted elephant heads which are real elephant heads embalmed .

These were wild elephants causing lot of trouble to locals and the king had shot them down in 1955 .

Later the Maharaja gives up shooting game and becomes President of World Wild life preservation .

They flank the brass elephant gate .

The golden Howdah or Ambari has 80 kg of gold was used for the maharaja to sit on elephant for Dussera ceremonies with his brother and nephew .

Its core was wooden with gold sheet  embellishments 

There are red and green lights to signal to mahout to stop or go as the king wishes .

The last king who used it was Sri Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar .

These days its used to carry Devi Chamundeswari utsava murthy in ceremonial procession .

Near the palace is the famous 

St Philomonas church with a signboard that says God bless our Maharajah .

There are furniture armoury trophy rooms most not open for public .

The marble staircase leading to Durbar hall opens out to a plaster of paris life style statue of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV with his faithful servant Jamedar Peer Baig so life like created by B.Basaviah palace artist .

Collonaded Durbar hall is most awe inspiring .

Paintings of Raja Ravi varma and

 Silpi Sidalingasamy are present .

Central panel of four generations of Wodeyars as depicted by Sri Y Nagaraju .

Two large flower vases of porcelain with decorative floral designs by Japanese artist Ginksansou of Kyoto Japan are placed at northern and southern end of the Durbar hall .

From the hall one can have a panoramic view of open yard of lawns and fountains ,towers of temples,majestic Jayamarthanda gate ,and in horizon a view of fampus Lalitamahal and ruggen uneven encounters of the Chamundi hill .

The ceiling has ten incarnations of Vishnu executed by Shilpi Siddalingaswamy .

The central panel has 12 zodiac signs around Hindu trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Siva .

There are chandeliers from Chechoslovakia .

One enters through a passage into Ambavilasa .

This passage has an ivory inlaid door leading to Ambavilasa Ganesh temple .

The image is made of 450 saligramas or sacred black stones  brought from 300 sacred shetras or places .its said even in the big fire nothing happened to Ganesha idol .

Door leading to Ambavilasa is rosewood inlaid with ivory motifs fepucting Krishna as a baby on a pippal leaf .

This doorway in 1947 was sent to London Albert hall for an exhibition and won first prize for artistic inlay .

The Ambavilasa or Diwan ee khaas is for smaller more private audiences of the monarch .

There are steel doorways fixed to walls jn a sqaure room if one enters Ambavilasa by spiral staircase and not through Durbar hall which is the original route .

The silver doors are full of artistry two on east wall depict amorous figurines .

The entry doors to Ambavilasa are wood with silver inlay where ten incarnations of Vishnu are depicted on the reverse is child Krishna .

Above lintel is Brahma Vishnu Maheswara .

Godess Chamundeswari as Durga .

Mahisasiramardhini on exterior flanked by Lakshmi and Saraswathi .

The palace complex also has the famous Kodibhaireswara temple where it all started .it has Bhairava as main deity with Bhadrakali next 

The lakshmiramana sami temple with inscriptions dating back to 1499 .

This temple has a story to it .

Virarajayya a chieftain had a grouse against Wodeyar maharajah and conspired with the priest Srinivassiah of this temple to kill him using poisoned theertha or ceremonial pooja offering of holy water but the priests hands tremble as he gives the holy water and the king enquires the reaon .

The priest breaks down and confesses his crime .

The king drinks the offering believing in the Godess does not die .

He transfers the priest to a temple near present Brindavan gardens the ears and nose of the chieftain cut off his fort and treasure confisticated and offered to Godess Chamundeswari .

He builds a tall gopura with gold inlays to Laksmiramana temple in gratitude .

The Swetha varahaswami temple ,

Trinsyeneswara swami temple ,

Sri prasanna kridhnaswami temple ,

Kille venkataramanasami temple ,

Sri Bhuvaneswari ,and Gayathri temple are all associated with Mysore royal family .