Elephant Stables are situated not far from Lotus Mahal, off Feminine Quarters (Zenana Enclosure). It is a single oblong structure of considerable size.
The building consists of eleven large rooms with very high ceilings. The room in the center has a large Shikhara made of carved stones while the ten rooms – five on either side of the central room have domes on them. These domes are of brick and mortar, and are of different shapes drum-shaped, ribbed and octagonal.
Though Vijayanagara Empire had a large number of war elephants, over 900 elephants at the peak of Vijayanagara Empire under the able ruler King Krishnadevaraya, these rooms were used as Elephant stables for ceremonial elephants. The elephants were tied to the chains hanging from the center of the ceiling as can be made out from the iron hooks embedded and still visible in some of the ceilings.
The large enclosure of Elephant Stables also houses a museum that contains statues and few other artifacts.
Centuries before Mysuru Dasara began, the tradition of elephants’ procession during Dasara was brought in by Vijayanagara Kings. The 10 processional elephants would be housed in these stables and brought out for procession during Navaratri for a walk along Mahanavami Donna to display the might of the Empire!
Apart from the war elephants and ceremonial elephants, it was common for temples to have elephants of their own to perform various pujas. One such elephant – Laxmi can still be seen in Virupaksha Temple, Hampi.