GOLGUMBAD Monument Panoramic Views

Gol Gumbad, the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1626 –56) located in Bijapur, District Bijapur, Karnataka State is an important monument of Indo-Islamic architecture aptly known for its amazing dimensions and unique acoustic features. The construction of this building was completed and the deceased king was interred in this building in 1034 AH (AD 1656) and contains the sepulcher containing the tombs of Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1626-1656), the seventh Sultan of the Adil Shahi dynasty, his wives and daughters. Soon after his accession to the throne in AD 1626, the Sultan started constructing this edifice for burying his mortal remains. He was buried in the vast vault beneath the floor along with other family members. The exact position of the real tomb is indicated by the wooden canopy kept on the high platform at the middle of the floor of the hall.

The foundation of this mausoleum rests on the bedrock, which has prevented any unequal settlement. Above the basement this building is a huge cube with each sidewall decorated with three arches. The central arch, wider than the side ones, has doorways except on the north, where a semi-octagonal chamber buttresses the wall. At the corners of this great cube are added seven tiered towers octagonal in cross-section. After the death of its builder further decoration of the structure appears to have been given up.

This edifice ranks among the most imposing ones in India for the sheer monumentality of its massive dome and its floor area. The hemispherical masonry dome has an internal diameter of 37.92 m. The thickness of the dome varies from 3.05 m. near the base to 2.74 m. near the top. The floor area of the monument is 1703.56 sq. m.

At a height of 33.22 m from the floor of the hall, projects a 3.25 m wide gallery, all round the inner periphery of the dome. This gallery is called the ‘Whispering Gallery’, because even the finest whisper or sound made in it is heard from side to side and even a single loud clap is distinctly echoed over ten times.

The tomb, located in the city of Bijapur, or Vijapur in Karnataka, southern India, was built in 1659 by the famous architect, Yaqut of Dabul. The structure consists of a massive square chamber measuring nearly 50 m on each side and covered by a huge dome 37.9 m in diameter making it the second largest pre-modern dome in the entire world (after the dome of Hagia Sophia and Pantheon). The dome is supported on giant squinches supported by groined pendentives while outside the building is supported by domed octagonal corner towers. The Dome is the second largest one in the world which is unsupported by any pillars. The acoustics of the enclosed place make it a whispering gallery where even the smallest sound is heard across the other side of the Gumbaz. At the periphery of the dome is a circular balcony where visitors can witness the astounding whispering gallery. Any whisper, clap or sound gets echoed around 10 times. Anything whispered from one corner of the gallery can be heard clearly on the diagonally opposite side. It is also said that the Sultan, Ibrahim Adil Shah and his Queen used to converse in the same manner. During his time, the musicians used to sing, seated in the whispering gallery so that the sound produced could be reached to very corner of the hall.

Right below the whispering gallery, in the hall the dancers provided entertainment. Each tower consists of seven storeys and the upper floor of each opens on to a round gallery which surrounds the dome. In the centre of the chamber is a square raised podium approached by steps in the centre of each side.

Gol Gumbaz and the ASI MuseumIn the centre of the podium are the tombs of Muhammad Adil Shah II and his relations. To the west of the podium in a large apse-like projection is the mosque, also raised slightly above the floor level of the chamber.

Gol Gumbaz Circa 1860Henry Hinton, a photographer from Britain was one of the first to record the splendid beauty of Gol Gumbaz. He mentions in Print 1 of The Ruins of Beejapoor, in a series of nineteen views from collodion negatives (Bombay, 1860).

"…built on a terrace 200 yards square. Height of tomb externally 198 ft, internally 175. Diameter of dome 124 feet, 4 minarets of 8 storeys, 12 ft broad entered by winding staircases terminating in cupolas'. The Gol Gumbaz, a grand mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah, though a structural triumph of Deccan architecture, is impressively simple in design, with a hemispherical dome, nearly 44 mts in external diameter, resting on a cubical volume measuring 47.5 mts on each side. The dome is supported internally by eight intersecting arches created by two rotated squares that create interlocking pendentives. A centotaph slab in the floor marks the true grave in the basement, the only instance of this practice in Adil Shahi architecture."