The Dargāh Sharīf of Khwāja Mu’īnuddīn Chishtī is situated at the foot of the Tārāgaṛh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizām of Hyderabad and the Akbari Mosque, built by the Mughal emperorShāh Jahān. It contains the domed tomb of the saint. Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son. The large pillars called “Kose (‘Mile’) Minar”, erected at intervals of two miles (3 km) along the entire way between Agra and Ajmer mark the places where the royal pilgrims halted every day. It has been estimated that around 125,000 pilgrims visit the site every day.
Tārāgaṛh Fort, the fort guarding Ajmer, was the seat of the Chauhān rulers. It is reputed to be one of the oldest hill forts in India and the world. It was built by King Ajāypāl Chauhān on the summit of Tārāgaṛh Hill and overlooks Ajmer. The battlements run along the top of the hill. The walls are two miles (3 km) in circumference and the fort can only be approached by way of a very steep slope. When it fell to the British Raj, the fort was dismantled on the orders of Lord William Bentinck and was converted into a sanatorium for the British troops stationed at the garrison town of Nasirabad.
Adhāī Din Kā Jhonpdā, a VaishnavaHindu temple built in 1153 and converted into a mosque by Quṭbuddīn Aybak in 1193, is situated on the lower slope of Tārāgarh hill. Aikbak’s successor, Shams al-Din Iltutmish added to the mosque. It is noted for its double-depth calligraphy inscriptions, in the Naskh and Kufic scripts. Apart from the mosque, called Jāma’ Iltutmish (pronounced Altamish locally), nearly the whole of the ancient temple has fallen into ruins, but the relics are still unsurpassed as examples of Hindu architecture and sculpture. Forty columns support the roof, but no two are alike and the ornaments are exceptional in their decorations.[3]
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This image has been taken from the left side wall of the jhopra and here you will find that few stone slabs that were used for covering the wall has fallen down leaving the internal wall naked from where one stone statue of lord Vishnu (or some other Hindu God) can be seen very easily.
Below this image i have provided another zoomed image showing the statue more clearly.
Broken Column in Dargah Sharief.
Broken Idol in Dargah Sharief.
Images Of Hindu Gods in the Pillars.
Hindu Gods Images in Dargah Sharief.
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The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:
1. Sultan Muhammed bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351)
“The Sultan is not slack in Jihad. He never lets go of his spear or bridle in pursuing jihad by land and sea routes. This is his main occupation which engages his eyes and ears. Five temples have been destroyed and the images and idols of “Budd” have been broken, and the lands have been freed from those who were not included in the daru’l Islam that is, those who had refused to become zimmis. Thereafter he got mosques and places of worship erected, and music replaced by call to prayers to Allah… The Sultan who is ruling at present has achieved that which had not been achieved so far by any king. He has achieved victory, supremacy, conquest of countries, destruction of the infidels, and exposure of magicians. He has destroyed idols by which the people of Hindustan were deceived in vain…”
Gharib Nawaz Sultanul Hind Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.)
(A Glimpse of his early life)
Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty (R.A.) was born in the year 530 Hijri at Sanjar in Sistan province of Iran. He was an Iranian by birth and an Indian by adoption.
He was a direct descendant of Prophet Mohammed since his maternal and paternal genealogy is respectively traced from Hazrat Imam Hasan and Hazrat ImamHussain, the two illustrious sons of Hazrat Ali who was the son-in-law and cousin of the Holy Prophet.
His father Hazrat Ghysauddin Chishty, was a pious and a well to do person. He migrated to Neshapur due to political and recurring disturbances in Sistan. Neshapur was famous for its University and a Library. Scholars from far and near used to visit the great center. Once the flourishing city of renowned Ulemas and Sufis who inspired many scholars, Neshapur was totally ruined by the barbarous invaders and the internal enemies. His father, Hazrat Ghyasuddin Chishty, died when he was only 15.His mother’s name was Bibi Ummul Vara. She also died at about the same time.
During his childhood, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty was totally different from other children. He was sober, silent and serene. He kept himself busy in prayers and meditation or else he used to look after his orchard and the wind mill which he had inherited from his father.
One day it so happened that a Majzoob, (One lost in divine meditation) Sheikh Ibrahim Qandozi came to his orchard while he was watering his plants. As he saw the Majzoob, he approached him with all humanity and offered some fruits of his orchard. He treated him so nicely that, in return, Sheikh Ibrahim Qandozi gave him a piece of bread (or khal) and asked him to eat it which he did. Immediately after eating the piece of bread, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) found him in a strange world. When, after a while, he opened his eyes, he did not find Sheikh Ibrahim Qandozi there.
Thus his meeting with Sheikh Ibrahim Qandozi changed the course of his life. He disposed of his property and other belongings and distributed the money thus received among the poor and the needy. He renounced the world and left for Bukahra Sharif in search of knowledge and bigger education.
In Bukahra, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) completed his education under the able guidance and supervision of renowned Ulemas, including Moulana Hisamuddin Bukhari who awarded him the highest academic robes.
Samarqand was also known as a great seat of learning during those days. Hence Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) went there and studied Theology, Philosophy and Grammar and equipped himself with the best available education.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) than started on a journey towards Baghdad in quest of knowledge and in search of a true spiritual guide. At Haroon (or Harwan) he met a great Sufi Dervaish of his times Hazrat Khwaja Usman Harooni and became his disciple. He remained under his guidance for twenty years and ultimately became his Khalifa. Khwaja Sahab visited Madina and in dream he received the direction to reach Hindustan (India) and Ajmer
Recently I saw a news report in India Today , Times of India and other news papers that the Supreme court was informed by the ASI, Government of India has declared that Tajmahal was never a Hindu Shiva temple and was Tajmahal, that is a Tomb. Also earlier the Supreme court had observed that that Tajmahal was a Siva temple existed only in the imagination of some, hinting at Sri. PN Oak who first propounded the theory.
However neither the ASI nor the Supreme Court provided the reasons , historical evidence to prove that Tajmahal was not built on Siva temple nor have they disproved the facts that Tajmahal was a Siva temple earlier.
Let people decide on the evidence.
I am sharing articles on this and on the fact Shah jehan Mumtaz love story is a lie perpetrated.
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ASI has finally declared that Taj Mahal is a tomb not a Shiva temple.
All evidences presented to prove Taj Mahal is Tejomahalay are imaginary, says ASI.
Local Agra officials say Taj Mahal is world heritage monument and should not be made centre of unnecessary disputes.
With the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) finally filing an affidavit in an Agra court declaring the Taj Mahal as the tomb of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the controversy over the Taj Mahal’s alleged past as a Shiva temple is expected to finally come to an end. Filing the affidavit in the local court in the case filed by advocate Rajesh Kulshreshtha, the ASI advocate Anjani Sharma said that the Taj Mahal had been constructed by emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his deceased wife Mumtaz. Sharma went on to add that whatever ‘evidence’ has been presented in support of the claims that the Taj Mahal was actually a Shiva temple ‘tejomahalay’ was imaginary. Sharma also said that the Supreme Court has already decided what parts of the Taj Mahal are to be opened for tourists and what should be closed, so there was no need for a review of this matter. According to an ASI official, this entire controversy appears to have originated from a book written by self-styled historian PN Oak which presents so-called evidence about the Taj Mahal’s Hindu origins. Ever since the publication of the book, this controversy raises its head time and again. It doesn’t help that political leaders and ministers give irresponsible statements in its support, further fuelling the fire.
Now let us have a look at the Architectural Angle of the Taj Mahal with reference to Islamic Architecture and Vedic Architecture.
Burhanpur is a mid-size city in Madhya Pradesh state, India. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River, 340 kilometres southwest of Bhopal and 540 kilometres northeast of Mumbai. Wikipedia.
She had been accompanying her husband while he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan‘s uncleDaniyal on the bank of the Tapti River.[7] The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal‘s death and Shah Jahan’s grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement, the emperor was reportedly inconsolable.[8] Apparently after her death, Shah Jahan went into secluded mourning for a year.[8] When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Shah Jahan’s eldest daughter, the devoted Jahanara Begum, gradually brought him out of grief and took the place of Mumtaz at court.
Her personal fortune (valued at 10,000,000 rupees) was divided by Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half and the rest of her surviving children.[9] Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife’s final resting spot. As a result her body was disinterred in December 1631 and transported in a golden casket escorted by her son Shah Shuja and the head lady in waiting of the deceased Empress back to Agra.[10] There it was interred in a small building on the banks of the Yamuna River. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally brought him to the region. While there, he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife. It was a task that would take more than 22 years to complete: the Taj Mahal.(wiki)
2.The point is that the chronicles are very careful in not mentioning explicitly that the body was buried inside the Taj.
Even today, when I visited the Place last year , I was informed by the Archaeological Guide showed a well like structure which was shut down by a Grille and that it contained the Body of Mumtaz!
3..Aurangzeb’s chroniclers do not record this.
4.Carbon Dating of the Taj Mahal.
Carbon Dating of The Taj Mahal Door.
The timber door before it was sealed up with bricks. In 1974 American Professor Marvin Mills took a sample from this door for Carbon dating and concluded that the Taj Mahal pre-dates Shahjahan. After this revelation, the Government of India removed the timber doors and the openings were bricked up.
A wooden piece from the riverside doorway of the Taj subjected to the carbon 14 test by an American Laboratory, has revealed that the door to be 300 years older than Shahjahan,since the doors of the Taj, broken open by Muslim invaders repeatedly from the 11th century onwards, had to b replaced from time to time. The Taj edifice is much more older. It belongs to 1155 A.D, i.e., almost 500 years anterior to Shahjahan.
5.Proof of vedic Architecture.
The Verandah or Prahara
Temples have Corridors for doing the Rounds, clockwise , built around the Garbha Gruha and Artha Mandapa.
This Corridor!) is not a Corridor, see it’s with width and symmetry.
The Architecture is Not islamic, but Rajput.
7,Cupolas or Kalasams.
Temples have Cupolas , called Kalasas, one can understand this if one sees the South Indian Temple Srchitecture.
You can see it in images also.
Curiously , these Kalasa are Eleven in Number.
This represents the Ekadasa Rudras,.
You won’t find it even in Vishnu Temples for Vishnu is associated with number twelve, His Important Nama,Name, The Dwadasa nama , contains twelve letters and Vishnu is one of the 12 Adityas.
Their number is always odd, 11 in this case, typical of the Vedic system. Notice also the cobra design in pairs below the gallery. This is associated with Lord Shiva.Koranic inscriptions were a graffiti added by Shahjahan.
In continuation of my earlier posts, lets us consider the Etymology of The Taj and Mahal.
Blue print of the Taj Mahal showing cross-section of Central Edifice in a book by J Fergusson in 1855. It clearly shows the hidden basements For larger Image Click on This Image.
Nowhere an Islamic Mausoleum the word Mahal is found anywhere in the World.
The name itself consists of two words, Mumtaz and Mahal.
The name of Mumtaz is not Mumtaz, it was a pet name , given by, one is not sure by whom.
That Shahjahan called her this way is not found in any reference.
Even if one were to assume her name has been given to the Taj Mahal, it should be The Taz Mahal and not Taj Mahal.
“Tavernier, a French jeweller has recorded in his travel memoirs that Shahjahan purposely buried Mumtaz near the Taz-i-Makan (i.e.,`The Taj building’) where foreigners used to come as they do even today so that the world may admire. He also adds that the cost of the scaffolding was more than that of the entire work. The work that Shahjahan commissioned in the Tejomahalaya Shiva temple was plundering at the costly fixtures inside it, uprooting the Shiva idols, planting the cenotaph in their place on two stories, inscribing the koran along the arches and walling up six of the seven stories of the Taj. It was this plunder, desecrating and plundering of the rooms which took 22 years.
Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra recorded in 1632 (within only a year of Mumtaz’s death) that `the places of note in and around Agra, included Taj-e-Mahal’s tomb, gardens and bazaars’.He, therefore, confirms that the Tajmahal had been a noteworthy building even before Shahjahan.
27. De Laet, a Dutch official has listed Mansingh’s palace about a mile from Agra fort, as an outstanding building of pre shahjahan’s time. Shahjahan’s court chronicle, the Badshahnama records, Mumtaz’s burial in the same Mansingh’s palace.
28. Bernier, a contemporary French visitor has noted that non muslim’s were barred entry into the basement (at the time when Shahjahan requisitioned Mansingh’s palace) which contained a dazzling light. Obviously, he refered to the silver doors, gold railing, the gem studded lattice and strings of pearl hanging over Shiva’s idol. Shahjahan commandeered the building to grab all the wealth, making Mumtaz’s death a , a convenient pretext.
Johan Albert Mandelslo, who describes life in agra in 1638 (only 7 years after mumtaz’s death) in detail (in his `Voyages and Travels to West-Indies’, published by John Starkey and John Basset, London), makes no mention of the Tajmahal being under construction though it is commonly , in error,,asserted or assumed that the Taj was being built from 1631 to 1653.
The plaque put the archaeology department outside the Taj Mahal describes the edifice as a mausoleum built by Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal , over 22 years from 1631 to 1653. That plaque is a specimen of historical bungling. Firstly, the plaque sites no authority for its claim. Secondly the lady’s name was Mumtaz-ulZamani and not Mumtazmahal. Thirdly, the period of 22 years is taken from some mumbo jumbo noting by an unreliable French visitor Tavernier, to the exclusion of all muslim versions, which is an absurdity.
20. Prince Aurangzeb’s letter to his father,emperor Shahjahan,is recorded in atleast three chronicles titled `Aadaab-e-Alamgiri’, `Yadgarnama’, and the `Muruqqa-i-Akbarabadi’ (edited by Said Ahmed, Agra, 1931, page 43, footnote 2). In that letter Aurangzeb records in 1652 A.D itself that the several buildings in the fancied burial place of Mumtaz were seven storeyed and were so old that they were all leaking, while the dome had developed a crack on the northern side.Aurangzeb, therefore, ordered immediate repairs to the buildings at his own expense while recommending to the emperor that more elaborate repairs be carried out later. This is the proof that during Shahjahan’s reign itself that the Taj complex was so old as to need immediate repairs.
21. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur retains in his secret personal `KapadDwara’ collection two orders from Shahjahan dated Dec 18, 1633 (bearing modern nos. R.176 and 177) requistioning the Taj building complex. That was so blatant a usurpation that the then ruler of Jaipur was ashamed to make the document public.
22. The Rajasthan State archives at Bikaner preserve three other firmans addressed by Shahjahan to the Jaipur’s ruler Jaising ordering the latter to supply marble (for Mumtaz’s grave and koranic grafts) from his Makranna quarris, and stone cutters. Jaisingh was apparently so enraged at the blatant seizure of the Taj Mahal that he refused to oblige Shahjahan by providing marble for grafting koranic engravings and fake cenotaphs for further desecration of the Taj Mahal. Jaising looked at Shahjahan’s demand for marble and stone cutters, as an insult added to injury. Therefore, he refused to send any marble and instead detained the stone cutters in his protective custody.
The three firmans demanding marble were sent to Jaisingh within about two years of Mumtaz’s death. Had Shahjahan really built the Taj Mahal over a period of 22 years, the marble would have needed only after 15 or 20 years not immediately after Mumtaz’s death.
Moreover, the three mention neither the Taj Mahal, nor Mumtaz, nor the burial. The cost and the quantity of the stone also are not mentioned. This proves that an insignificant quantity of marble was needed just for some superficial tinkering and tampering with the Taj Mahal. Even otherwise Shahjahan could never hope to build a fabulous Taj Mahal by abject dependence for marble on a non cooperative Jaisingh.”
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Shajahan himself was probably responsible for this twisting of historical truth. The truth would have shown him to be inconsistent and this could not be tolerated. For this reason also, the histories contain no statements of any kind that are critical of the Emperor or his policies, and even military defeats are rationalized so that no blame could be attached to him. … effusive praise of the Emperor is carried to such extremes that he seems more a divinity than a mortal man.” (p. xxvi)
With the court chroniclers’ histories carefully edited, and with the great scarcity of documents we are fortunate to have four surviving farmans or directives issued by Shahjahan to Raja Jai Singh of Amber-the very same local ruler from whom the Emperor acquired the Taj property. On the basis of these farmans, the court chroniclers and a visiting European traveler, we learn that: (i) Mumtaz died and was buried temporarily at Burhanpur on June 17, 1631; (ii) her body was exhumed and taken to Agra on December 11, 1631; (iii) she was reburied somewhere on the Taj grounds on January 8, 1632; and (iv) European traveler Peter Mundy witnessed Shahjahan’s return to Agra with his cavalcade on June 11, 1632.
The first farman was issued on September 20, 1632 in which the Emperor urges Raja Jai Singh to hasten the shipment of marble for the facing of the interior walls of the mausoleum, i.e., the Taj main building. Naturally a building had to be there to receive the finish. How much time was needed to put that basic building in place?
Every successful new building construction follows what we call in modern-day construction a “critical path”. There is a normal sequence of steps requiring a minimum time before other processes follow. Since Mumtaz died unexpectedly and relatively young (having survived thirteen previous child-births), we can assume that Shahjahan was unprepared for her sudden demise. He had to conceive, in the midst of his trauma, of a world class tomb dedicated to her, select an architect (whose identity is still debated), work out a design program with the architect, and have the architect prepare designs, engineer the structure and mechanical systems, detail the drawings, organize the contractors and thousands of workers, and prepare a complex construction schedule. Mysteriously, no documents relating to this elaborate procedure, other than the four farmans have survived.
We cannot assume that the Taj complex was built additively with the buildings and landscaping built as needed. It was designed as a unified whole. Begley and Desai make this clear by their analysis of the grid system that was employed by the designer to unite the complex horizontally and vertically to into a three-dimensional whole. If one did not “know” that it was a solemn burial grounds, one would believe that it was designed as a palace with a delightful air of fantasy and secular delights of waterways and flowering plants. Could it be that this is Raja Jai Singh’s palace, never destroyed, converted by decree and some minimum face-lifting to a Mughal tomb?
Assuming that Shahjahan was galvanized into prompt action to initiate the project on behalf of his deceased beloved, we can safely assume that he needed one year minimum between conception and ground-breaking. Since Mumtaz died in June 1631, that would take us to June 1632. But construction is said to have begun in January 1632.
Excavation must have presented a formidable task. First, the demolition of Raja Jai Singh’s palace would have had to occur. We know that the property had a palace on it from the chronicles of Mirza Qazini and Abd al-Hamid Lahori. Lahori writes:
“As there was a tract of land (zamini) of great eminence and pleasantness towards the south of that large city, on which before there was this mansion (manzil) of Raja Man Singh, and which now belongs to his grandson Raja Jai Singh, it was selected for the burial place (madfan) of that tenant of paradise.[Mumtaz]” (p. 43)
Measures would have to be taken during excavation of this main building and the other buildings to the north to retain the Jumna River from inundating the excavation. The next steps would have been to sink the massive foundation piers, put in the footings, retaining the walls and the plinth or podium to support the Taj and its two accompanying buildings to the east and west plus the foundations for the corner towers, the well house, the underground rooms, and assuming the complex was done at one time, all the supports for the remainder of the buildings throughout the complex. To be conservative in our estimate, we need at least another year of construction which takes us up to January 1634.
But here is the problem. On the anniversary of the death of Mumtaz, each year Shahjahan would stage the Urs celebration at the Taj. The first Urs occurred on June 22, 1632. Though construction had allegedly begun only six months earlier, the great plinth of red sandstone over brick, 374 yards long, 140 yards wide, and 14 yards high was already in place! Even Begley and Desai are somewhat amazed.
Where was all the construction debris, the piles of materials, the marble, the brick scaffolding, the temporary housing for thousands of workers, the numerous animals needed to haul materials? If “heaven was surpassed by the magnificence of the rituals”, as one chronicler puts it, then nothing should have been visible to mar the exquisite panorama that the occasion called for.
But by June 1632, it was not physically possible that construction could have progressed to completion of excavation, construction of all the footings and foundations, completion of the immense platform and clearing of all the debris and eyesores in preparation for the first Urs.(http://www.stephen-knapp.com/an_architect_looks_at_the_taj_mahal_legend.htm)
Nobody knows who started this fairy tale of a Love Story between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.
Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.
It is as true as the Love story of Ambikapathy and Amaravathy in Tamil lore.
Both have no historical references except in poetic works.
As Shakespeare took the germ of an idea for his famous Dramatic works,from Plutarch’s Lives,people have taken fancy to some ideas and developed an interesting story;the difference being that Shakespeare’s works had some facts as basis, while these have none.
Let’s look at the story of Shah jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.
“Shah Jahan, initially named Prince Khurram, was born in the year 1592. He was the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. In 1607 when strolling down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, Shah Jahan caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. It was love at first sight and the girl was Mumtaz Mahal, who was known as Arjumand Banu Begum at that time. At that time, he was 14 years old and she, a Muslim Persian princess, was 15. After meeting her, Shah Jahan went back to his father and declared that he wanted to marry her. The match got solemnized after five years i.e., in the year 1612.(http://www.tajmahal.org.uk/story.html)
Another version:
“Beginning of a Love Story
The story goes back in 1607, when a prince of the royal Mughal household strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. Five years and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride.”(http://www.taj-mahal-travel-tours.com/taj-mahal-story.html)
Facts.
”
In 1607, Prince Khurram was engaged to Arjumand Banu Begum – when they were 15 and 14 years old, respectively. The young girl belonged to an illustrious Persian noble family which had been serving Mughal Emperors since the reign of Akbar, the family’s patriarch was Itimad-ud-Daulah, who had been Emperor Jahangir‘s finance minister and his son; Asaf Khan – Arjumand Banu’s father – played an important role in the Mughal court, eventually serving as Chief Minister. Her aunt was the Empress Nur Jahan and is thought to have played the matchmaker in arranging the marriage.
But for some reason, the Prince was not married to Arjumand Banu Begum for five years, which was an unusually long engagement for the time. However, Shah Jahan married a Hindu princess during this time, whose name has not been recorded by contemporary chroniclers, with whom he had his first child – a daughter – who died in infancy.[9]
Politically speaking, the betrothal allowed Prince Khurram to be considered as having officially entered manhood, and he was granted several jagirs, includingHissar-Feroze and ennobled to a military rank of 8,000, which allowed him to take on official functions of state, an important step in establishing his own claim to the throne.
In 1612, aged 20, Prince Khurram married Arjumand Banu Begum on an auspicious date chosen by court astrologers. The marriage was a happy one and Prince Khurram, while married to her, remained devoted to her and she bore him fourteen children, out of whom the seven survived into adulthood. In addition, Khurram had two children from his first two wives”
2.Where is much celebrated Love angle where it is indicated that Shah Jahan’s Father, Jahangir opposed this and the lovers were married amidst a lot of trials and tribulations?
3.The name Mumtaz is a Nom de plume., meaning ‘Pride of Palace’
4.Shah Jahan was engaged to Mumtaz for 4 years, a very long period of waiting in Muslim tradition and in the meanwhile married a Rajput Princess.
5.He was engaged to Mumtaz at the age of 15 , when Mumtaz was 14!
6..Shah Jahan had three wives.
Arjumand Banu Begum aka Mumtaz Mahal
Akbarabadi Mahal
Kandahari Mahal .
Number of concubines.
Like all his ancestors, Shah Jahan’s court included many wives, concubines, and dancing girls. Several European chroniclers noted this. Niccolao Manucci wrote that “it would seem as if the only thing Shahjahan cared for was the search for women to serve his pleasure” and “for this end he established a fair at his court. No one was allowed to enter except women of all ranks that is to say, great and small, rich and poor, but all beautiful”. When he was detained in the Agra Fort, Aurangzeb permitted him to retain “the whole of his female establishment, including the singing and dancing women.” Manucci notes that Shah Jahan didn’t lose his “weakness for the flesh” even when he had grown very old,. Shah Jahan also had an affair with Farzana Begum, Mumtaz Mahal’s sister. It was said that Farzana Begum’s son was the son of Shah Jahan, and Manucci wrote, “as for myself, I have no doubt about it, for he was very like Prince Dara..
Allegations of incest
Several European chroniclers suggested that Shah Jahan had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Jahanara Begum. The European traveller Francois Bernier wrote, “Begum Sahib, the elder daughter of Shah Jahan was very beautiful… Rumour has it that his attachement reached a point which it is difficult to believe, the justification of which he rested on the decision of the Mullahs, or doctors of their law. According to them it would have been unjust to deny the king the privilege of gathering fruit from the tree he himself had planted.” Joannes de Laet was the first European to write about this rumour. Peter Mundy and Jean Baptiste Tavernier wrote about the same allegations. However, the historian K.S. Lal pointed out that Aurangzeb may have been involved in “magnifying a rumour into a full-fledged scandal,” and that “Aurangzeb had disobeyed Shahjahan, he had incarcerated him for years, but if he really helped give a twist to Shah Jahan’s paternal love for Jahan Ara by turning it into a scandal, it was the unkindest cut of all his unfilial acts.” He remarked that in “these circumstances, it is not possible to say anything with finality.”(http://sj-shahjahan.blogspot.in/)
There is no reference to this ‘Love’ in Shahnama and other Chronicles, excepting in the latter that Shah Jahan loved Mumtaz and she deserved it.
Neither this Love is mentioned in the works by the people who were commissioned by Aurangzeb to write his history.
During the reign of Aurangzeb the man picked to write the AlamgirNamah was Mirza Muhammad Kazim Shirazi. He successfully compiled facts about the first 10 years of Aurangzeb’s rule….
Apart from the AlamgirNamah and Maasir-i-Alamgiri we have the collection of letters belonging to Aurangzeb compiled by his meer munshi Inayat Ullah Khan Kashmiri known as the Rukhaat-e- Alamgiri and the Adabe-e-Alamgiri. The mother of Inayatullah Kashmiri Hafeza Maryam was appointed as the hifz ustad (teacher appointed to help memorizing the Quran) for Zebunnisa Begum the eldest daughter of Aurangzeb.
The third source we have is the Ahkaam-e-Alamgiri ascribed to the pen of Hamiduddin Khan Bahadur who wrote a series of essays on the life and times of Aurangzeb Alamgir. Hamiduddin Khan was a very trusted officer of Aurangzeb so much so that he even entrusted Hamiduddin Khan with his last will for dividing his empire amongst his sons.
The fourth source we have is the Muntakhab-ul-lubab written by Khafi Khan. It is said that Khafi Khan did not scribe the Muntakhab-ul-Lubab with anyone’s permission or knowledge. The interesting fact attributed towards Muntakhab-ul-Lubab is that it was brought out after some 30 years from the death of Aurangzeb. Khafi Khans father was a servant in the service of Prince Murad Baksh. Muntakhab-ul-lubab provides some critical analysis on the rule of Aurangzeb from the early Mughal historians. It is pertinent to mention here that Khafi Khan belonged to the Fiqh – e – Jafaria who were extremely hostile to scholars of Fiqh – e- Hanafia who were favored by Aurangzeb.
Mother India was a popular Magazine, I recall it was a fortnightly, edited and published by Baburao Patel.
Taj Mahal,Agra, India.
I used to await its arrival from my brother’s office, on a sharing basis eagerly.
The year was 1967-68, when I was studying my PUC in Hyderabad.
The cover price of the magazine was Rs.3/.
It used to be sold in the black market anywhere between Rs.15 and 30!Mind you, it was basically a political magazine,famous for its question and answer section, by Baburao Patel and he was such a Wit, I am yet to find one who has such a sharp intellect and courage.
He spared none.
An agnostic, leaning towards Hinduism, he publishes a series of articles by.Professor Oaks on ‘Taj Mahal a Hindu Temple.
I used to read the articles very keenly and since I could not understand much of it (I was 17 then) and thought that I would study it after I gained some knowledge.
But then one gets busy in the mundane realities of Life and as every one , I was busy eking out my livelihood and could not afford the reference books mentioned in Oaks’s articles as they were very costly, were not easily available.
It has taken 37 years for me to refer to the books and articles on the Taj Mahal Myth.
I had been to Benares, Gaya and Allahabad last December and I went to the Taj Mahal for the third time in my life.
During my earlier visits, It never struck me to take down notes
This time around , I collected some details of the Taj Mahal, with an intention to write about it,
Then promptly forgot about it.
Till , one of my readers,Sanjay Prasad, asked me whether I would write on this controversy, a couple of days back.
Yes the time has come to write on this subject.
Referring my notes, photos of the Taj Mahal,reputed independent writers and Historians, I am examine the controversy whether the Taj Mahal was , in fact, a Vedic Temple, which antedates the Taj under the following heads.
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