King's Balance

About this place

Near the Vittala Temple, at the end of Kampa Bhupa's Path, stands the King's Balance — Tula Bharam or Tula Purushadana — two carved granite pillars about 5 metres tall bridged by a heavy stone beam with three loops on its underside. On auspicious days such as solar and lunar eclipses, coronations and new-year, the Vijayanagara king was weighed here against gold, gems and precious stones, which were then distributed to Brahmins and temples. One pillar carries a relief believed to depict Krishnadevaraya with his two queens. The scale pans are long gone, but the arch-like frame survives almost complete.