Place · royal gold-weighing frame · India
King's Balance (Tula Bhara), Hampi
Also known as Tula Purushadanam Hampi, Tulapurushdana
The King's Balance (Tula Bhara or Tulapurushadanam) stands on the path between the Vitthala Temple and the Virupaksha Bazaar — a 5-metre black-granite doorway with a cross-beam from which the Vijayanagara king was weighed in gold and precious stones at coronations and major festivals, and the equivalent weight distributed to Brahmins, poets and the poor. The practice is described in the Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes's account of 1522. The two upright pillars carry carved figures of the king and queen flanking the central crossbeam; the iron hook from which the balance hung is still in place.
- Date
- 1500–1565
- Periods
- Vijayanagara
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Patron dynasty
- Vijayanagara
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 15.340, 76.458
Connections (1)
- Site withinHampi / Vijayanagara
The King's Balance stands on the path between the Vitthala Temple and the Virupaksha Bazaar at Hampi. Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes described in 1522 how the king was weighed on it in gold and precious stones at coronations and major festivals, with the equivalent weight distributed to Brahmins, poets and the poor.