Consider the following statements about the royal centre at Vijayanagara:
(A) Some of its distinctive structures have been assigned names on the basis of their form as well as their functions.
(B) It is not clear what the audience hall was used for, since its closely spaced pillars left little free space.
(C) The king's palace has three impressive platforms, of which the audience hall is the highest.
(D) The audience hall had a staircase going up to the second floor, which rested on stone walls.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A and B only
(A) Some of its distinctive structures have been assigned names on the basis of their form as well as their functions. — Correct. Historians gave these buildings names such as audience hall from their form and functions, since no labels survive.
(B) It is not clear what the audience hall was used for, since its closely spaced pillars left little free space. — Correct. The pillars stood so close that little free space was left, so the use of the hall is not clear.
(C) The king's palace has three impressive platforms, of which the audience hall is the highest. — Incorrect. The king's palace has two impressive platforms: the audience hall and the mahanavami dibba.
(D) The audience hall had a staircase going up to the second floor, which rested on stone walls. — Incorrect. The second floor of the audience hall rested on wooden pillars, set in slots in the platform. Stone walls are the wrong support.
NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 The mahanavami dibba |