NARRATOR: Hampi, India.
Here lie the ancient
ruins of Vijayanagara
believed to have been
constructed between
the 14th and 16th centuries AD.
At its center stands the
Vittala temple complex,
a masterpiece of
Indian architecture
and the largest and most
revered temple in the city.
DEEPAK SHIMKHADA:
Vittala temple was
built with the mind of creating
a celestial palace here
on earth.
With that in mind, the king
assembled the great architects,
and great engineers,
and then great craftsmen
to create this
wonderful building
that can also have a wonderful
sound that will please God.
LAYNE LITTLE: Attached
directly to the temple
is what is called the Ranga
Mantapa, or the stage pavilion.
Here there are many
pillars, some reaching
to a height of nearly 12 feet.
There's a series of what are
called compound pillars, where
you have a central pillar
surrounded on all sides
with smaller colonnettes.
These colonettes are
famous because when
they're struck they emit
beautiful and haunting sounds.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: According to the
local guides at the temple,
the 56 pillars are individually
tuned to one of the seven notes
of the Sarigama, an ancient
Sanskrit musical scale dating
back thousands of years that
is still predominant in Hindi
music today.
LAYNE LITTLE: Certain
groups of these pillars
have been crafted to
represent the tonal
vibrations of the scale
for different instruments.
[music playing]
Some being crafted to
represent Woodwinds,
some being crafted to
represent percussion
instruments, et cetera.
JONATHAN YOUNG: The British,
when they were in charge
of India, were mystified
by this amazing quality,
and actually cut one of the
pillars to see how it was done.
But it was just
granite and it was
just very careful workmanship.
NARRATOR: While the
stone pillars themselves
seem like simple
technology, recent analyzes
have revealed they
may be comprised
of an advanced geopolymer
blend of granite
with silicate particles
and metallic alloys.
But what continues
to puzzle scientists
is that the first basic
geopolymers were invented
in the Soviet Union
during the 1950s,
hundreds of years after
these pillars were crafted.
ROBERT SCHOCH: As a
geologist, how this was done
is really baffling and amazing.
I've heard reports of
people trying to mimic it
in modern times to try to just
do a little section of it,
even one pillar.
[music playing]
And people just haven't
been successful.
So what were they
doing back then?
We just don't know.
According to Hindu priests,
each of these pillars
was specifically tuned
harmonically in order
to communicate with the gods.
[music playing]
So you have to wonder, did
extraterrestrial beings
come down and give
instructions on creating
these specific frequencies?
