The palace is built in four levels with elegant architectural
features of both Muslim and Rajput architecture. Its layout is a symmetrical
square built in the inner courtyard of the fort and has eight large domes.
It has a plethora of rooms with arcaded openings, projecting platforms
and windows with lattice design work. The roof above the top floor of this
Mahal is accessed through a steep stairway. It provides picture perfect
views of the temples and the Betwa River outside the fort complex.
The entrance gate from this palace, which was earlier
the main gate and which has carved ornamentation, leads to the royal baths
and then to an elegant small dwelling unit built exclusively for Rai Parveen,
the female escort of the Raja Indramani. She was a poet and musician. It
is said that Emperor Akbar who was enamored by Parveen's beauty had
taken her to his palace in Agra to be his courtesan. But Parveen, who wanted
to get out of the situation, composed a gazal or a couplet which stated
her status as an already used woman not fit for an emperor, which enabled
her to get release from Akbar's court and return to Orchha.
The building is a double storied structure built with
bricks, rising to the height of the trees in the well tended garden called
Anand Mahal. The garden is laid out with octagonal flower beds and has
good network of water supply. There are niches in the Mahal which permit
natural light to the main hall and smaller rooms.
After sunset we made our way to the evening ceremonies
at the Chaturbhuj Temple
