Old Palace also known as Gagan Palace is located in the capital city of Anegondi near Hampi. The small kingdom of Anegondi expanded to emerge as the Vijayanagar Empire that rules South India. A fort surrounds this palace, however, both the fort and the palace are in ruins.
This huge and magnanimous structure is the place from where the kings ruled the Vijayanagara Empire. Both the royal and religious processions passed by while the king admired it from his gem studded golden throne. This magnificent edifice also features carved figures of various kinds depicting aspects of courtly life.
Lakshmi Narasimha is also known as Ugranarasimha, which signifies Narasimha in terrifying mood. Created out of a rock in-situ, it is believed that this was executed during the reign of Krishnadevaraya sometime in 1528AD. This mammoth image measures 6.7 meters in height and is seated on the snake Adisesha’s coil. There is also a lion-mask that towers above the hood of the snake.
One of the most important sculptures is definitely the monolithic bull, which is locally called as the Yeduru Basavanna or Lord Shiva’s ride. It acts like a guard and is placed at the east end of Hampi Bazaar. It stands on a two-storey pavilion over a high platform against the backdrop of huge boulders.
The elephant stable is spread over an expansive area and this is one of the structures that are a fine specimen of Indo-Islamic architectural style. The building features eleven big rooms with extremely high ceilings. There are domes over 10 rooms and they are made up of mortar and brick featuring different shapes. These rooms were used for elephants.