TAJ MAHAL, FATEHPUR SIKRI, AGRA DELHI FORT, KUTUB MINAR ALL MONUMENTS HINDUS TEMPLE/ PALLACE
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METICULOUS INQUIRY IS REQUIRED IN FALSEHOOD OF MUSLIMS MONUMENTS
There
is thus a valid reason why Hindus are not
in a position to produce any documentary evidence with regard to the Hindu origin of fort. Even
then we maintain that if a systematic archaeological excavation is undertaken
inside the fort and if its dingy cellars
and basements are opened and scoured they may still reveal Sanskrit
inscriptions and idols smashed and
buried by Muslim occupiers. In fact whatever little and excavation has been
made has resulted in the recovery of horse and elepahnt statues. Yet taking
things as they stand any court of law will uphold the plea that Hindus have a
valid reason for not being able to produce any documentary proof.
The
court will then ask the Anglo-Muslim school to produce its documents. That
school too has not got even a shred of a document to prove that any one ot more
Muslim rulers built or rebuilt the fort. A hazy mention to that effect in a
court flatterer’s chronicler is no documentary proof. It is like you or we
noting in our diaries that we built the Houses of Parliament in London.
There
is no valid reason why Anglo-Muslim school should not be able to produce even a
single document pertaining to the Muslim claims to the fort. Had the claims
been true such documents should have been available in plenty because when the
British deposed the Mogul emperor they preserved and carefully classified all
the documents they seized form the mogul
archives. Those records contain hardly anything but letters.
When
the Anglo-Muslim school is unable to produce even a single document in support
of its claim any law court would draw an a priori adverse inference. Even then we claim no special advantage form
this fundamental weakness in the case of the respondent Anglo-Muslim school. In
ordinary life there are very many occasions when documents are not available on
either side and yet there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence on the basis
of which the court can come to a clear judgement over the rival claims.
Its
is such circumstantial evidence which we propose to lay before the bar and
bench of learned public opinion:
1.
According
to the British historian Keene, Agra fort has been in existence from the
pre-Christian era. Ancient Hindu kings like Ashok (3rd Century B.C.)
and Kanishka (1st Century B.C.) had lived in that fort.
2.
That
same fort is again referred to by the Persian poet-historian Salman,in the 11th
century A.D.. Early in that century when the Hindu king Jaipal ruled over Agra. The fort suffered its
first Muslim raid under the invader Mahmud of Ghazni.
3.
Thereafter
some chauvinistic Islamic accounts vaguely claim that the Muslim sultan
Sikandar Lodi demolished the Hindu fort. That claim has been found to be
baseless.
4.
A
few years later another vague claim is made by some other mediaeval Muslim faltterers that sultan Salim
Shah Sur either destroyed the Hindu fort or Sikandar Lodi’s fort and built his
own fort at exactly the same place or some other place.Even the claim has been
found to be fraudulent because no trace is found of the fort that Salim Shah
Sur is said to have built. Muslim history is replete with such fraudulent
claims, according to the late British historian Sir H.M.Elliot.
5.
The
claim that Akbar built the fort is also found to be baseless because while he
is said to have demolished the fort in 1565 A.D., a murderer Adham Khan being
thrown from the terrace of a palace-apartment inside the fort in 1566 A.D. is
emphatic proof that the claim made on behalf of Akbar is as fraudulent as those
made on behalf of two other Muslim sultans earlier. In fact it is also pointed
out that not a single building of Akbar’s time exists in the fort.
6.
Akbar’s
son Jahangir is said to have perhaps built a palace inside the fort here or
there demolishing his own father’s palace but even that conjecture is found to
be based on mere fancy or on some idle engravings.
7.
Jahangir’s
son Shahjahan is said to have demolished 500 buildings inside the fort and
erected 500 others. On the very face of it this claim is absurd. No one will
merely for fun of it destroy 500 palatial mansions built by one’s father or
grandfather. Such demolition itself will occupy a lifetime. Moreover it must
also be remembered that Shahjahan is credited with building the fabulous Taj
Mahal in Agra, a whole new township of Delhi, also the Red fort in Delhi, The
Jama Masjid in Delhi and perhaps many other buildings. Not only are there no
court records of any building activity but even inscriptions do not
substantiate any building claim. We wish to alert visitors not to be misled by
the appearance of Arabic or Persian lettering on mediaeval buildings. All such
lettering is mostly of Koranic extracts or the name of Allah. Those
inscriptions are seldom temporal. In a few instances where there are temporal
inscriptions they usually bear the name of the engraver or of the person buried
and some irrelevant matter. For instance nowhere on the Taj Mahal has it been
mentioned that the Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan.We therefore wonder how the
whole world had been duped for 300 long years into believing that the Taj Mahal
was built by Shahjahan. Similar is the case with Red fort in Agra. No where is
it said that Akbar or his son Jahangir or the latter’s son Shahjahan built
anything there.
In
this connection we also want to alert visitors to mediaeval buildings and
students and scholars of history not to believe in translations of Arabic and
Persian inscriptions presented readymade to them through earlier books. We have
found in very many instances that they have been distorted in translation. For
instance on the Taj Mahal the inscriber has carved his name as Amanat Khan
Shirazi (an insignificant slave of the emperor Shahjahan). Anglo-Muslim
accounts have boosted this inscriber of letters as one of the great wonder
architects of the world. Similarly on Fatehpur Sikri where a building is said
to have been graced (by his presence) by Salim Chisti it is merrily ascribed to
him.
8.We
therefore advise all students of history never to take for granted the
translation of Muslim inscriptions provided heretofore but get them translated
de novo whenever one has to make use of them. The whole question of the
translation and interpretation of Muslim inscriptions not only in India but
throughout the world must be reopened and gone through thoroughly, for much
wishful thinking has gone into presenting them in translations to non-Muslims.
In fact it would be very educative to have an encyclopaedia for all Muslim
inscriptions and the misleading translations and interpretations they have been
subjected to heretofore. As an instance of a great snare in the study of
mediaeval history such exposure will be of immense educative value in warning
future researchers and students of history.
9.Once
the hurdle of a false Muslim claim made on Akbar’s behalf is got over we
find that the fort that we see today in
Agra is the same which was owned by
ancient Hindu kings like Ashok and Kanishka .After Akbar there is no serious
claim made on behalf of any Muslim ruler as the author of the fort. That means
that the fort that we see in Agra city today is the ancient Hindu ochre fort a
colour so dear to Hindus. In fact ochre is the colour of Hindu flag- a colour
for which and under which they have fought for their national and cultural
existence and identity –a colour which has inspired them to great deeds of
valour, sacrifice, bravery, chivalry, gallantry and glory. Can that ochre
colour be ever owned by Muslims? It goes against all history and tradition.
10.
Despite several centuries of Muslim occupation and canards of Muslim authorship
all the fort’s Hindu associations are intact. This is something remarkable.
11. The two thousand year history
of the fort that Keene traces turns out to be authentic. The slight hitch and
doubt that he encounters gets explained away by his own very intelligent
footnote that the incident of a murderer having been flung from the terrace of
the palace inside the fort could not be possible if the fort had been destroyed
a year earlier.
12. The lack of any coherence in
the dates of starting the forts construction and its completion is proof of the
fact that the world has been buffed about the Muslim origin of the fort.
13. Muslim accounts are unable to
explain the name of any apartment, as to who built it ,when was it built ,what
for it was built, what its cost was and why it has an Hindu aura about it ?
This is because the fort did not
originally belong to the invaders from Arabia ,Iran ,Turkey, Afghanistan,
Khazasstan and Uzbekstan. They were mere intruders ,conquereors,usurpers.I
14. All this discussion should
convince the reader that the Red Fort in Agra is of hoary Hindu antiquity and
is at least 2200 years old.
The
great Kshatriya community pride to defend their faith and the culture of our
country against foreign invasions in converting the monuments by the foreign
invaders require a sacrifice magnanimity an moral purity in the exposure of the
truth to the public and thereby to safeguard their right of freedom of
information couched under Article 19(1) (a) is the theme behind the writing
this Article .The serene beauty, majesty and grandeur of the Taj Mahal, one of
the seventh wonders of the world is not so well known regarding the true story
of its origin. The magnificent palace which was built earlier got converted
into the Tomb .The changeover has proved a shroud deluding from lay visitors to
the researchers and the great historian Sri P.N.Oak, a co-worker of Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose. The popular nostalgia of legendary love to get the
conversion of every Hindu Palace/Temple due to mythical attachment from fanatic
raging fire converting dazzle of leaping flames and blinding smoke should be
discouraged into a cool research regarding the origin. This is required to
check a different form of terrorism prevalent amongst the crusader of the death
to the innocent victim on the psychological level. Let us examine the scared
truth about the origin of the monuments.
The meticulous inquiry into the matter through the coherent and authentic account .The exposure of the falsehood is always reconcilable with the historical event and thus the burden of proof is always lying upon the individual denying the existing facts. The onus will be shifted upon the authority when inconsistent anomalous and contradictory versions about the origin of Taj Mahal may be scientifically tested upon the yardstick of the truth. Let us begin with Badshahnama, a Shahjahan’s chronicle which discloses that the cost of scaffolding exceeded that of the entire work done regarding Mausoleun. Mr Narul Hasan Siddiqui book that a Hindu Palace was commandeered to bury Mumtaz in which Shahjahan’s fifth generation ancestor Barbar lived in Tejo Mahalaya. All these facts are to be examined through the scientific methods in order to expose the false propaganda that the Mogul invaders have not given any contribution for building the monuments. We may further examine that the mythical indo Saracen architecture medieval mosques and tombs in India were built or conquered and misused by the invaders the number of such monuments may include Mohammed Ghaus ‘s tomb in Gwalior,Salim Chisti mausoleun in Ftahepur Sikri,Nizzamuddin Kabar in Delhi ,Moinuddin Chisti’s Makbara in Ajmer ,Red fort Shicundera Etamatudaula at Agra, Jama Masjid ,Red fort Delhi, Kutub Minar in Delhi and Sufdarjung. The disputed site of Lord Krishna temple Mathura and Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi may also be examined not only to resolve the controversy but also to curve out the animosity among the citizen in India on the ground of the religion.
The extract of Badshahnama may be examined
after getting them translated form Persian passage in the English rendering. On
page number 403 of Badshahnama it is admitted in verse 26 to 33 that Huzurat
Mumtazul Zamani whose sacred dead body was buried in Burhanpur in a garden was
brought from 600 miles after six months and transported to Agra(Akbarabad). In
the south of the great city there was a palace of Raja Maan Singh which was
owned by Raja Jay Singh known as Tejo Mahalaya(The temple of Lord Shiva /Teji
ji) And this place was selected burial of the Queen for which the great
ancestral heritage ,religious sanctity was associated with Raja Jai Singh who
was compensated by offering the government land.Thus a palace was converted in
a dome, handy readymade Mausoleun.The authority of Badshahnama is the first
proof regarding the existence of the temple at the time when Huzurat Mumtazul Zamani
was buried. The similar treatment were given to the different Hindu palaces and
temples by converting them at as Mausoleun of Akbar at Secundara and
Humayun in Delhi and the Vishnu temple
to Kutub Minar by overbearing Muslim fanatic potentate specially when these monuments were
constructed by Hindu Rulers.
One
great tragedy of Indian history has been that while Indians remained subdued
and gagged under alien domination for over a millenium foreigners who wielded
all power in India played great havoc with Indian history merrily destroying or
distorting it at will either out of sheer cunning and cussedness or through
their colossal ignorance and wanton barbarism.
In
that process all mediaeval buildings which came under long Muslim occupation
came to be misused as tombs or mosques. And in course of time, thanks to alien
chauvinism, court flattery and fanatic
cunning ,all ancient Hindu townships and building got ascribed to Muslim
authorship. Thus with astounding historical naivete Ahmedabad was, by its sheer
name, assumed to have been founded by Ahmedshah ,Tughlaqabad by Tughlaq Shah
and Ferozabad by Ferozshah .
If
one is to be guided by such puerile logic and shallow historical scholarship
then one will have to conclude that the city of Allahabad in the state of Uttar
Pradesh must have been founded by the Muslim God Allah himself. This is with
regard to mediaeval townships. But even for mediaeval buildings the same
nonchalant, nondescript method is followed. Thus it is blatantly stated that if
a building is known as Salimgarh it must have been built by or for Sheikh Salim
Chisti (emperor Akbar’s fancied spiritual preceptor ) or Prince Salim (Akbar’s
heir apparent)or some other Salim. Likewise if a building is called Jahangiri
Mahal it is, by that very token insisted that it must have been built by Prince
Salim after ascending the throne as Jahangir. Such superficial derivations and
conclusions about authorship make nonsense of all historical research
methodology.
During
nearly 1100 years of alien rule in India most of her history has been distorted
or destroyed. All massive, majestic and alluring historic Hindu constructions
in India ,from Kashmir to Cape Comorin ,have got ascribed to alien Muslim
invaders such as Turks, Afghans,Iranians ,Arabs, Abyssinians and Moguls out of sheer usurpation or conquest. Such misappropriated
constructions include forts, palaces, mansions, sera’s, roads, bridges, wells,
canals and even road- side mile-pillars. Misuse of a colossal number of Hindu
temples, palaces and mansions as tombs and mosque for several centuries has
misled many generations of the publics, tourists, students and scholars of
history all over the world into believing that those buildings were originally
commissioned by the Muslims.
The
intelligentsia of Hindusthan has been somewhat slow in assimilating that
finding is a measure of the havoc that history causes in the minds of a subject
people by making it impervious even to logic and legal proof. While
warrior -patriots like Rana Pratap and
the great Chhatrapati Shivaji spill
their purple blood to emancipate the land and its people should it not be the
patriotic duty of historians to spill at
least some blue-black ink for an academic re-conquest of occupied buildings
falsely ascribed to alien conquerors?
The
so called Imambadas in Lucknow for instance are ancient Hindu places which are
being merrily ascribed to this or that alien Muslim nawab who subjugated that
part of Hindusthan.
There
was E.B.Havell,a great architect and one endowed with deep insight. Havell has
debunked the claim that the Taj Mahal is the product of any non-Hindu
architectural style. In discussing the architecture of the Taj Mahaland the
claim of some historians that an Italian named Veroneo may have been its
designer, Mr. Kanwar Lal quotes Mr.Havell thus: “So if Veroneo was so deeply
versed in Indian craft tradition that he could design a lotus dome after the
rules laid down in the Shilpa Shastras ,the dome itself ,built by Asiatic
craftsmen would not have been his. The dome of Taj at Agra and the dome of Ibrahim’s tomb(in Bijapur) both are
constructed on the same principles. They
are nearly of the same dimensions, and a fact unnoticed by Fergusson and his
followers , the contours of both correspond exactly, except that the lotus
crown of the Taj at Agra tapers more finely and the lotus petals at the
springing of the dome are inlaid instead of being sculptured. The Taj Mahal is,
infact, exactly such a building as one would expect to be created in India …by
a group of master builders inheriting the traditions of Buddhist and Hindu
buildings. The plan which consists of a central dome chamber surrounded by four
small domed chambers, follows the plan of an Indian pancharatna ,or “five
jewelled” temple. Its prototype as have
shown elsewhere is found in the Buddhist temple of Chandi Sewa in Java and in
the sculptured stupa shrines of
Ajanta. Neither Shahjahan nor his court builders, much less an obscure Italian
adventurer can claim the whole merit of its achievements.
How
very clear is Mr.Havell in his assertion that the Taj Mahal is built in the
ancient Indian, Hindu style and none of Shahjahan’s contemporaries could design
or conceive of it. We regret that Mr.Havell was unaware of the admission in
Shahjahan’s own official chronicle, The Badshahnama, that the Taj Mahal is an
ancient Hindu mansion. Had that confession come to light in his time he would
have rejoiced to find his architectural conclusion fully corroborated by
history, and he would then have been acknowledged as an authority on Indian
architecture far superior to Percy Brown or Fergusson.
Like
all other so called Muslim tombs i.e. Hindu buildings used by them first as
residences and later as burial places the Taj Mahal too is not a single tomb
but an ancient Hindu mansion reduced to an Islamic burial ground. Besides
Mumtaz, Shahjahan himself lies buried by her side. But that is not all. There
are two other graves in the same precincts.
Mr
Kanwar lal (P. 69 The Taj by Kanwar Lal ,ibid.) observes . “At the other end of the Jilokhana, towards
the east there are again two buildings These are the tombs of Satunnisa
(Khanam) who was a favourite attendant of Mumtaz Mahal and who was entrusted
with the task of looking after the temporary tomb of Mumtaz Mahal at Burhanpur.
Similar is the tomb of Sarhandi Begum, another of Shahjahan’s queens. The two
structures are built exactly the alike.”
The Satunnisa Khanam’s tomb
consists of a high octagonal plinth, round a central octagonal mortuary
chamber. That Taj is based on good authority, but the special assignment to her
of this particular tomb has no better foundation than popular belief. That
shows that like every other detail about the Taj Mahal legend even the
Satunissa Khanam tomb is a concoction.
All such tomb like mounds were erected in usurped Hindu mansions so that Hindus
may not reclaim and re use those buildings. The Muslims knew of the Hindu
weakness of not disturbing or reclaiming sepulchral sites. So, erecting false
oblong grave like mounds was like posting a strong military contingent or
planting a scarecrow, which cost practically nothing. It was a simple device a
strategic totem to claim Hindu buildings for Islam and it worked admirably.
It
is sometimes innocently asked by history teachers that if the Taj Mahal had
existed centuries before Shahjahan, how is it there are no earlier references
to it. There are three answer to the question. Firstly, the Taj Mahal being
then the palace and not the monument open for public inspection as it now is,
used to be closely guarded. It was accessible only to the elite and then only
on invitation or conquest. As such one cannot except the same prolific
references to it as a tourist attraction that one comes across in these days of
publicity and modern communications. The second answer is that ancient and
mediaeval India teemed with mansions, palaces and temples of bewildering and
bewitching variety, so much so that being all very spectacular, one could not
be distinguished from another by mere description. Despite such very good
reasons for not expecting any identifiable details in earlier records of what
is at present known as Taj Mahal, luckily, Babur, the founder of the Moghul
dynasty in India, who was the great great grandfather of emperor Shahjahan, has
left us a disarming and unmistakable description of the Taj Mahal, if only we
have the inclination and insight to grasp it. So our third answer to the
question why no mention is found in earlier chronicles of the Taj Mahal and
other buildings is that though many a time there is a clear mention of such
buildings, our senses benumbed by traditional tutoring fail to grasp their
significance. Such is the case with the Taj Mahal.
The rampant corruption was
prevalent during the Mogul time and there were large percentage of unauthorized
profits of innumerable middle men thus there was no money to raise a cenotaph
in the ground floor in octagonal chamber by covering them with costly mosaic
stones to match with the palace flooring and barricading the hundred of rooms,
ventilators staircases, doorways, balconies and corridor. There exist a
seven-storey marble Tejo Mahalaya Hindu temple palace complex. The seven storey
massive girth in its lofty gateways and arches necessitates the removal of
stone pitching and as such Badshahnama discloses the expenditure incurred in
scaffolding of these Hindu complexes and in engraving the Koran on the walls of
edifice. The great French merchant visitor Tavernier testimony too fully
corroborates the aforesaid conclusion. Let us examine his testimony introduce
in Maharashtreeya Jnyankosh. “Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a French jeweller,
toured India for trade between 1641 and 1668 A.D. His travel account is mainly
devoted to commerce. He used to sojourn at Surat and Agra (while in India). He
visited all parts of India, including Bengal , Gujrat ,Punjab, Madras ,
Karnatak, etc. He owned a vehicle .He had to spend Rs. 600 for the cart and
pair of bullocks. ‘The bullocks used to cover 40 miles a day for two months at
a stretch. Four days were enough for the journey from Surat to Agra or Golcunda
and the expense used to be between Rs. 40 and Rs.50. The roads were as good as
Roman highways. European traveler’s felt inconvenienced in Hindu territories
for want of meat, which was freely available in Muslim dominions. A good postal
system was in vogue. Both the town –folk and the government used to provide
protection against highway robbery’…is the kind of information Travernier has
recorded (in his book titled Travels in India). Not being learned, he has not
recorded much except where wealth and commerce was concerned.
The other important piece
of evidence arises from some chance digging conducted in the Garden in front of
the marble edifice early in the year 1973 A.D.It so happened that the fountains
developed some defect .It was therefore thought advisable to inspect the main
pipe that lay imbedded underneath. When the ground was dug to that level some
hollows were noticed going down to another five feet. Therefore the ground was
dug to that depth. And to the utter surprise of all there lay at that depth
another set of fountains hitherto unknown. What appeared more significant was
that those fountains are aligned to the Taj Mahal, decisively indicating that
the present building existed even before Shahjahan. Those hidden fountains
could have been installed neither by Shahjahan not his successors, the British.
Therefore they were of the pre-Shahjahan era . Since they were aligned to the
Taj Mahal building it followed ipso facto that the building too pre-dated
Shahjahan. This piece of evidence too therefore clinches the issue in favour of
our conclusion that Shahjahan only commandeered an ancient Hindu temple –palace
for Mumtaz’s burial.
The
archaeology officer who supervised that digging was Mr.R.S.Verma, a
conservation assistant. This same official made another chance discovery. Once
while strolling staff-in-hand on the terrace near the so-called mosque and the
circular well on the western flank of the marble edifice. Mr. Verma detected a
hollow sound coming from below the floor where his staff hit the terrace. He
had a slab covering that spot removed and to his surprise that was an ancient
opening, apparently sealed by Shahjahan, to a flight of about 50 steps reaching
down into a dark corridor. The broad wall under the terrace was apparently
hollow. From this it is clear that the corresponding spot on the eastern
terrace also hides a similar staircase and corridor, at its bottom. And God
only knows how many more such walls, apartments and stories lie sealed, hidden
and unknown to the world. Thus also incidentally points to the sorry state of
research with respect to the Taj Mahal. Nobody seems to have done neither any
archaeological investigation in the grounds of the Taj Mahal nor conducted a
diligent academic study of the whole issue. Apparently extraneous political and
communal considerations have inhibited historians and archeologists from
conducting any meaningful research into the origin of Taj Mahal. Such Academic
cowardice is highly reprehensible.
Naturally when chance alien
visitors like Peter Mundy visit such sites undergoing extensive superficial
changes his observing that “the building is begun….( and ) is prosecuted with
extraordinary diligence “ is not wrong .He couldn’t visualise that some
generations after him posterity would be bluffed into believing that the Taj
Mahal complex was raised by Shahjahan
himself .Travernier and Peter Mundy could not possibly visualize such a
falsification of history and could not be more explicit. We ourselves visiting
some building as chance visitors wouldn’t be more explicit. For instance if we
were to visit Bombay or London at a time
when somebody has acquired somebody else’s mansion and has enclosed it in
massive scaffolding to renovate it for his own purpose we won’t dare or care to
ask him how he acquired the building ,for how much, from whom ,what changes
he proposed to make ,and spend how much
over it .We would simply refer to it as his building. Such inquiries are all
the more impossible when a wide hiatus of language, race, culture authority and
wealth separates the two. Peter Mundy
also fortunately records the object of the leveling up of the hillocks. The
hillocks were removed , he says, ”because they might not hinder the prospect “
of the mausoleum .The very fact that within a couple of years of Mumtaz’s death the hillocks were
leveled to afford a glimpse of the mausoleum clearly indicates that the Taj
building complex already existed .All
that was necessary was to level some of the hillocks and make the building
visible from a distance. In fact the very object of the ancient Hindu builders
of the Taj raising those hillocks seems from Mundy’s noting, to prevent the
tempting Taj to be the target of a malicious enemy’s attack. Since Shahjahan
was converting it into a tomb open to all and sundry, he no longer had the need
to keep it out of the gaze of enmical people.
Waldemar Hansen notes on pages 181-182 of his
book (titled “The Peacock Throne” ,published by Holt ,Rhinehart and Winston )
that “Even as early as 1632 on the first anniversary of Mumtaz Mahal’s death
,the courtyard of the mausoleum in progress had been adorned with superb tents,
with the entire court assembled to pay homage- princes of the royal blood ,grandees and an assemblage of
religious scholars including sheikhs, ulemas and hafizes who knew the whole
Koran by heart. Shahjahan had graced the event with his presence, and as the
empress’s father Asaf Khan was present by imperial request, a great banquet was
spread before the then nascent tomb and guests partook of a variety of foods,
sweetmeats and fruits. Verses from the Koran filled the air, prayers were
offered for the soul of the dead and a hundred thousand rupees went into
charity. In later years on other anniversary days, Shahjahan attended memorials
at the incomplete edifice whenever in Agra, formally accompanied by Jahanara
and the harem .The ladies always occupied a central platform set up for the
occasion, and remained concealed from the public gaze by kanats, screens of red
cloth and velvet. Noblemen gathered under pitched tents.
“The Mehtab garden is innundated and looks
desolate. Its scenic beauty will reappear only when the floods recede”. That
the rear portion of the building complex remains safe is a mystery. The stream
keeping away from the rear wall has prevented damage.
“On Saturday too I visited the
spot and then I called on the Prince (Dara) who also paid me a return visit.
Then taking leave of all I resumed my
journey (to take charge as govrneor of the Deccan) on Sunday and today the 8th
instant I am in the vicinity of Dholpur…”
Thus from Aurangzeb’s noting it
is apparent that in 1652 A.D. itself the Taj Mahal building complex had become
so ancient that it needed elaborate repairs. So what was carried out in 1652
A.D was not the completion of a new building but the repairs to an old building
complex. Had The Taj Mahal been a building completed in 1653 it would not have
fallen to the lot of a chance ,lone visitor like Aurangzeb to notice the defects
and order repairs in 1652.The defects should have been noticed by the thousands
of workmen and hundreds of court supervisors who were supposed to be building
the Taj Mahal. And since such serious defects had been in fact noticed a
year before completion all the tom-tomming
of the “master –builders” of the
Taj is utterly unjustified. The builders of the Taj were no doubt
master-craftsmen but they were not Shahajahan’s contemporaries but Hindus of
several centuries earlier. Similarly it was not Shahjahan who commissioned the
Taj Mahal but some ancient Hindu king . Likewise the Taj did not come into
being as an Islamic mausoleum but as Hindu temple –palace.
The builders of the Taj Mahal
–ancient secret revealed
“Tourists come from the world over to see Taj
at Agra and all marvel at the genius of
the architects that could plan and
accomplish so lovely a “dream of marble”.
They
were commissioned by the Mogul emperor Shahjahan to raise a mausoleum befitting
his love for Mumtaz Mahal , his beloved consort ; and they created this Wonder
of the world.
“Yet, despite strenuous efforts
to discover it , their identity had
remained a mystery ;wild guesses as to their origin being foreign were abroad.
Even Bernier (1642 A.D.) notes only a rumour that the architect was killed lest
the secret of his art be revealed and a rival to Taj created.
“But the secret has at long
last been found in a manuscript book discovered lately in the library of
Mr.Mehmud Khan of Bangalore. The glory of building the Taj belongs definitely
to India,to a family of Lahore architect, Ahmad, the father ,and his three
sons. The book is in Persian verses in the Persian character, its author being
Lathfullah Maaahandis, himself one of the three son architects and it is almost
300 years old, falling within the last years of Shahjahan’s reign.
“ It has been declared to be
the only copy in the world, by the well-known authority on these matters , Syed
Suleiman Sahib Nadvi,Principal ,Shibly Academy ,Azamgarh.
“The book is in Mahandis’ own
handwriting .As is noticed from different verses, the author was a staunch
follower of Dara Shikoh , Shahjahan’s eldest son ,and when Aurangzeb finally
came to power, after defeating Dara Shikoh, the author and his family suffered.
He sent a petition to the emperor but as it was not heeded the family had to
retire into seclusion and poverty.
“It seems that the book was
very secretly kept by the family in fear of Aurangzeb ,as it contained verses
in praise of Dara Shikoh .The subsequent dates and writing on the last page
show that the book was brought and kept in the library of the library of the
historical personage Nawab Ebrahim Khann
Hazbar Jung ,the famous Mahammedan general nick named Gardy ,who sided with the Maharatas in the
battle of Panipat in 1761 against Ahmed Shah Abdali.The book has been in the
family of the present owner for
generations, but it was not noticed until Moulana Syed Suleiman Nadvi ,the well
known historian, author and editor of the Moariff (the monthly journal of the Society of Authors and Shibly Academy,
Azamgarh ,U.P.) Discovered it and, on information gleaned from it, read a
lengthy Urdu paper on the builders of the Taj in Punjab University.
“In the verses on two pages of
the book described in the article, the author praises Shahjahan ,and speaks of
his father Ahmed, the ‘Nadar–ul-Asar’ (the unique of the world ),as supreme
master craftsman, geometer ,astronomer and prosateur .He was appointed
court architect by Shahjahan’s Ryal
Warrant ,and was the builder of the Taj
Mahal at Agra and the Lal Quila (Red Fort) at Delhi. He died in 1649,two years
after the Taj was built .The author his son and co-architect of the Taj learnt
at his feet.”
Article titled Some Facts About the Taj Mahal by
Mohammed Din, published in The
illustrated weekly of India dated December 30,1951.The article runs thus:
“When The Taj Mahal was built,
the many mechanical aids available today were unheard of; yet the extraordinary
ingenuity employed in its construction and the high degree of engineering skill
evidenced in its design make the mind pause.
Not less remarkable were the
talent and skill of the artisans employed. In translating this fabulous
architectural dream into brick and mortar, and area 967 ft. long and 373 ft.
wide was excavated to a depth of 44 ft. where sub-soil water was met .The whole
excavated area was filled in mass with rubble stone in hydraulic lime to
provide a common foundation for the three heavy structures, the Taj Mahal ,
Jamaet – Khana and one mosque which were to be raised close to one another.
About 20,000 men were engaged on this work.
“Over this foundation the
plinth of the Taj Mahal , 313 ft. square and 8 ft. high, was built in stone
with hydraulic lime mortar and marble
stone casing. The casing was laid after the rubble masonry was raised to its
designed height, then the marble facing was set.
“The main engineering problem
was to haul up the materials to the required height during the progress of the
work. This was done by constructing wooden
pillars of square timber posts bundled together and skillfully tied with
top levels at different heights, and so spaced as to carry a strong platform 40
ft. wide and a spiral roadway with a slope of 1 in 20, to permit loaded mules
and mule carts to run over it, and to hold dumps of materials for construction
work. This spiral platform was continuous and ran all round the dome, and
remained in position till the work was raised to its designed height of 240 ft.
above ground level. Special engineers were engaged to build the scaffolding and
platform, and 500 carpenters and 300 blacksmith were employed on this project
alone. The total length of the spiral platform was about 4,800 ft. The mortar
was hoisted by means of Persian wheels, which were fitted on the spiral
platform. These were worked by bullocks and mules.
“The materials for the massive
work were brought from many distant places. The marble stone was obtained from
Makrana in Rajputana ,for which about a
thousand elephants were engaged. The maximum weight of a block of stone was
about 2.5 tons, which is the safe carrying capacity of an elephant. A number of
elephants were also engaged to work the pulleys.
“The timber for scaffolding was
brought from the Kashmir and Naini Tal areas. About 2000 camels and 1000
bullock carts were employed for carting bricks and light materials to the
construction site and about 1000 mules for lifting the materials along the
spiral platform.
“The marble stone required for
drum and dome was dressed on the ground and then lifted and laid in position by
means of pulleys…
“After the main dome and drum
work was finished, work on annexes and subsidiary buildings was taken in hand
and completed in the same manner.
“There are four minarets at the
four corners of the Taj Mahal …
“The river Jumna was half a
mile away from the structure. After the building was completed , the river was
diverted artificially to flow alongside the Taj to add to the beauty of
landscape.
“Contemporary Muslim writers
recorded the names of those who designed and constructed the Taj Mahal, and the
names and quantities of precious stones used. It appears that Mohammed Isa
Afandi, of turkey, was the chief designer and draftsman. Among the other
foreigners employed on the construction, there were men from Arabia ,Persia,
Syria ,Baghdad and Samarkand and there was at least one Frenchmen, Austin de
Bordeaux, a goldsmith.
The precious stones used
included 540 pieces of cornelian from Baghdad, 670 turquoises from upper Tibet,
614 malachite’s from Russia ,559 onyxes from Deccan and 625 diamonds from
Central India. The construction of Taj Mahal
was begun in 1632 and was not completed till 1650.It is believed to have
cost more than a crore and a half of rupees which in terms of the present value
of money ,would be at ten times as much
.Two thirds of this were contributed by the State office and one third by third
by the State treasury of the province. The allocations of expenditures on different parts of the
structure have been carefully recorded in documents which are still existent.
“Shahjahan, magnificent in his
kingship, was equally magnificent in his sorrows. This exquisite memorial of an
emperor’s love was built by the sorrowing Shahjahan for his departed spouse. He
manifestly designed it to go down in history to a worshipful posterity; three
hundred years after, it is still acclaimed as one of the supreme achievements
of the architect.
The measurement mentioned could
of course always be taken from the erstwhile Hindu Temple palace, which stands
before us today as the Taj Mahal, and stuffed into any post-mortem of the
construction.
The account of how the edifice
was erected is apparently the result of an hind-sight post-mortem carried out
by some contemporary architects, as far as they can visualize it .As for the
500 carpenters and 300 blacksmiths and such others employed, we have no special
objection because that many would be easily absorbed in erecting even a
scaffolding around the massive Hindu Temple palace, which the Taj Mahal is, to
convert it into a Muslim tomb.
The following conclusions
emerge from what Emperor Shahjahan’s own court chronicler has recorded in the
official history of the reign, Badshahnama :
1.The Taj Mahal is a Hindu
palace.
2.It has around it a majestic
and spacious garden.
3.The huge building complex was
obtained in exchange (if at all ) for almost a song, i.e. at best transferring
to the owner an open plot of land. This too seems fishy because the location
and the size of the plot of land are not
mentioned. Most probably it was just a blatant expropriation effected by
turning Jaisingh out of his wealthy ancestral palace. The detail that Jaisingh
was compensated by gifting him on open plot of land is obviously a royal
Islamic bluff to cover up the fact that Raja Jaisingh was blatantly robbed of
his wealthy temple-palace.
4.The Hindu palace had a dome.
5.Mumtaz was buried, so they
say, under that dome soon after her exhumed body was brought from Burhanpur to
Agra, if at all.
6.The estimated
expenditure (to transform the Hindu
Palace into a Muslim tomb ) was Rs.40 lakhs .(the actual expenditure is unknown
).
7.Of the above sum , Rs.5 lakhs
was spent on the grave and cenotaph and the balance of Rs 35 lakhs on the
scaffolding and the Koranic engravings.
8.Designer or architects are
out of the picture, since the Taj Mahal was never raised by Shahjahan.
9.The Hindu palace was known as
Mansingh’s palace during Emperor Shahjahan’s time though it was in the
occupation of his grandson Jaisingh.
The above account being fairly plausible fits
with the truth that the Taj Mahal is an ancient Hindu palace commandeered for
conversion into a Muslim tomb.
In spite of this fundamental
vagueness we would have accepted the duration of the period during which the
Taj Mahal was a building if there had been any consensus about it among
historians. Unfortunately, there is none
.See how many versions are there:
1.The Maharashtreeya Jnyankosh quoted (Pp. 35-36 ,Maharashtreeya Jnyankosh
,ibid,Vol. 15) says that the
“construction commenced in 1631 A.D. and ended in January 1643 A.D.”That
gives a period of a little less than 12 years .
2.The encyclopaedia Britannica (P. 758, Encyclopaedia Britannica
,1964 Ed.,Vol. 21) says “the building was commenced in 1632.More than 20,000
workmen were employed daily to complete the mausoleum building itself by
1643,although the whole Taj complex took 22 years to complete .Unlike the first
encyclopaedia ,the latter gives us two separate periods :one of 10 to 11 years
and the other of 22 years. About this latter period of 22 years we would also
like to know why the mausoleum needed a building complex containing stables and
guard and guest rooms was Mumtaz still supposed to go riding, casting away the
burqa and escorted by large cavalry contingents? Was she also expected to
receive guests?
3.Tavernier’s account runs
completely counter to all Muslim versions, which form the basis of the
encyclopedic accounts quoted above. The Encyclopaedia Britannica account is actually as amalgam of the
Tavernier and Muslim accounts in as much
as it borrows the figure of
20,000.workmen and 22 years from Tavernier while deftly weaving in it the 11or
12 year period fancied in Muslim accounts.
Tavernier (PP.109-111, Travels in India, ibid.) says he
witnessed the commencement and accomplishment of this great work on which they expended 22 years
during which 20,000 men worked incessantly .The cost of it has been enormous.
The scaffolding alone cost more than the entire work…”
Even presuming that Tavernier
arrived in Agra in 1641, and the work began soon after his arrival there, it
should have lasted from 1641 to 1663.But Shahjahan was deposed and imprisoned
by his son Aurangzeb in 1658 .How then could the work of the Mumtaz mausoleum
proceed until 1663,i.e. five years after his losing control of state affairs ?
And if, in fact, It did, what are we to make some Muslim accounts, which claim
that the work had ended in 1643? Then again, is the problem of the commencement
of the construction still remains hanging in air.
4.Mr.Mohammed Din’s article
(The Illustrated weekly of India dated Dec 30,1951.) asserts “the construction of the Taj Mahal
was begun in 1632 and was not completed till 1650”.Mr.Mohammed Din seems to be
sure only of the date when the building commenced .If we take 1632 as the year of commenced then what are
we to make of Tavernier’s assertion that work started in his presence ?
5.Yet another version estimates
the Taj Mahal to have been under construction for 17 years .This is from
Mr.Arora’s book (P. 10 City of Taj by
R.C.Arora ,printed at the Hiberninan Press,15 Portuguese Church Street ,Calcutta).
He says “Shahjahan commenced building the Taj in 1631,the fourth year his
accession .The splendid mausoleum was completed in 1648.
It is not even certain that
Mumtaz died in 1630.Even assuming that she died in 1630 she perhaps died
towards the close of that year. In such a case is it possible for the emperor
to make a decision to build a dreamland monument, have a huge amount sanctioned
for it, broadcast his scheme to distant lands, have artists prepare plans have
them sent to Shahjahan, from among which, we are told ,he selected one ,have a
wooden model constructed ,the necessary workmen collected, the bewildering
variety of material ordered and construction begun all by 1630?
6. A like version is also found
in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer(P. 19 ,Vol II). It states: “the beautiful
Taj Mahal (built 1630-1648) probably the most noted mausoleum in the world..
etc .etc. All the arguments repeated above apply to this Gazetteer version too,
namely, that since we are not even sure whether Mumtaz died in 1630, how could
calling for mausoleum plans, selecting one, ordering the building material etc.
all be done just in one year?
Since bricks (and timber) are
generally bought and used soon after being marketed (and are not stored for
generations like diamonds, bullion and ornaments) thermoluminescence is very
helpful in determining the age of a brick-structure fairly accurately. The
carbon – C14 test is applicable to anything, which had been part of a living
organism such as piece of bone or timber. A living tree continues to breathe in
carbon di oxide while alive.But once it is dead the breathing in stops and the
dead piece continues to lose its carbon di oxide (including C14) content at a
known rate.
The report published in the
Itihas Patrika (a quarterly journal,Vol 4 No. 4 dated 31 December 1984,THANA)is
produced hereunder….
Sample 1
“Wood piece from door at North
(east) end of Taj Mahal at beach level fronting on Jumna River.
“Age 1359+ - 89 A.D. Thus there
is a 67% probability that the age of the sample lies between 1448 and 1270 A.D.
Submitted by Evan T.Williams
Professor of chemistry
City
University of New York,
Brooklyn College,
Brooklyn,N.Y.,11210
The Taj Mahal originated as a temple
-The inscription in Sanskrit has 34 stanzas of which stanzas 25,26 and 34 being
relevant to our topic are reproduced as translation. Translated, these means
:”He (King Parmardi Dev or on his behalf
his minister Salakshan ) raised a palace which had inside it the idol of
Lord Vishnu whose feet the king used to touch with his (bowed ) head.
“Similarly the King also had
constructed this temple,(dedicated) to the God who bears the crescent on His
(fore)head, made of crystal white stone. Consecrated in that (magnificent)
temple the lord (was so pleased that He) never thought of repairing to His
(Himalayan ) abode on mount Kailas. The inscription found at Mauja
Bateshwar,near Agra is at present in the Lucknow Museum.It is of the King
Paramardi Dev dated Vikram Samvat 1212,Ashwin(month),5th day of the
bright lunar fortnight. It has in all 34 stanzas which describe the origin of
the Chandratreya (regal) dynasty and its important rulers. The inscription was
found embedded in a mound at Bateshwar
.It was later deposited in the Lucknow Museum by General Cunnigham, where it
still is.The two beautiful marble temples which King Paramardi Dev had raised,
one for Lord Vishnu and the other for Lord Shiva were subsequently desecrated
during Muslim invasions .Some clever(farsighted)person has this inscription
,concerning these temples,buried in a mound. It remained buried for many years
until1900 A.D. when during excavations it was discovered by General Cunnigham.
The Shiva (Chandramauleeshwar) temple is obviuosly the Taj Mahal for the
following reasons:
1.It is of crystal white marble
as mentioned in the inscription .
2.Its pinnacle and entrance
arches bear the trident (trishul) which is an exclusive emblem of
Chandramauleeshwar.
3.The edifice is said to have
been of such captivating beauty that the Lord (Shiva) Chandramauleeshwar never
again thought of returning to his Himalayan abode of Kailas.
4.The Taj Mahal garden included
plants and tress all sacred to Hindus. Among them is the Bel and Harshringar
,the leaves and flowers of which are considered a necessity for the worship of lord Shiva.
5.The central Chamber of the
Taj Mahal which is now believed to
contain the cenotaphs of emperor Shahjahan and his wife Arjumand Banu
Begum has around it ten quadrangular chambers providing a perambulatory passage
for devotees as is the Hindu custom.
6.As the devotee passes through
each of those rooms, ventilators provide him a view of the centre of the
octagonal central chamber where the emblem of Lord Chandramauleeshwar was
consecrated.
7. The high dome of the Taj
Mahal central chamber with its reverberative effect provided the proper gimmick
to produce the ecstatic din that accompanies
the worship of Lord Shiva when
he is supposed to perform the cosmic(Tandava Nritya) dance amidst the blowing
of conches, beating of drums and tolling of bells.
8.The high dome is also a
common feature of Shiva temples to enable the hanging of a pitcher for water to
drip over the emblem of Lord Shiva. The chain which held the pitcher still
remains suspended from the centre of the dome.
9.Silver doors and gold
railings mentioned as fixtures of the Taj Mahal are a common feature of Hindu
temples surviving even to our own day .Had the gold railing, fancied to have
been provided for Mumtaz’s tomb, been subsequently removed one should have seen
holes in the mosaic flooring for the props which supported the railing. There
are no such holes. That means that it was Shahjahan who removed the gold
railing of the ancient Hindu Shiva temple and carried it away to the treasury,
before using the location of the Hindu idol to graft an Islamic cenotaph.
Visitors may also notice there an ancient Hindu colour sketch of eight
directional pointers,16 cobras,32 tridents and 64 lotus buds all Hindu motifs
in multiples of eight That design is sketched in the concave domed ceiling of
the octagonal central chamber, which anyone standing close to Mumtaz’s cenotaph
may look up and see.
10.Guides at the Taj Mahal
still mention a tradition of a drop of rainwater dropping from the high dome
top on the cenotaph within. This obviously is a remnant of the past memories of
the water dripping on the emblem of Lord Shiva from the pitcher.
11.Tavernier mentions the six
courts in the Taj Mahal building complex where a bazar used to be held.It is
common knowledge that in Hindu tradition bazars and fairs are invariably held
around temples which constitute the focal points of Hindu life.
12.The trident(trishul)
which is Lord Shiva’s exclusive weapon
is also inlaid at the apex of the Taj Mahal’s marble entrance arches on all
four sides It is in red and white lines exactly as some Hindus wear in colour on their foreheads. Its being
installed there at the apex of the entrance arches clearly proves that it is an
unmistakable Shiva temple.
13.A full length design of the
entire trident pinnacle as it towers
above the dome, has been inlaid in the red stone yard to the right of the Taj
Mahal as we stand facing the marble edifice. This again proves its Hindu origin
since it has been a tradition in Hindu architecture to inscribe the basic scale
used in the construction of every building ,somewhere in the premises. In the
case of Taj Mahal the length of its trident pinnacle may be the basic scale
used in raising the Shiva temple.
14.The ‘Taj Mahal itself is far
from Persian .It is a corrupt from of the Sanskrit term “Tejo Maha Alaya meaning Resplendent Shrine “It was
known as resplendent shrine because it
reflects a dazzling sheen in sunlight and moonlight. That name also attaches to
it because Lord Shiva’s third eye is said to emit a jet of lustre i.e. teja.The
tarditional conjecture that the term Taj Mahal derives from the name of Mumtaz
Mahal porves baseless on closer scrutiny.
15. Apparently Akbar did not
dispossess the Jaipur royal family of the Taj Mahal because the Jaipur family
was his strongest Hindu ally and its scion ,Bhagwandas and Mansingh were his
most trusted generals. They were also in laws of the Mogul rulers.That after
Humayun’s defeat the Taj Mahal passed into the hands of the Jaipur royal family
is apparent from Emperor Sahhajahan’s chronicle which admits having
commandeered The Taj Mahal from Jai Singh ,the then head of the Jaipur royal
family.
16.Besides the trident
pinnacle, there are other Hindu symbols in the Taj namely the conch, the lotus
and the sacred Hindu chant “OM” in Devanagiri character.
Visitors to the Taj may notice
the letter “om” woven in bold relief in embossed flower –designs on the
interior marble walls. As one stands poised at the top of the stairs leading to
the basement (to se what they call the ‘real graves’ ) one may see on the walls
around the upper marble cenotaph chamber ,at chest level, the esoteric sacred
Hindu letter ‘om’ woven into embossed marble flower pattern. Pink lotus
patterns on the border of the grilled panels that enclose the cenotaph may also
be noticed.
A peacock Throne could never
have been ordered by fanatic mediaeval Muslim rulers surrounded by even more
fanatic maulvis. Throughout their millennium long rule in India their one
penchant was to break images not to make them.
The peacock Throne could only
be a piece of Hindu Palace furniture because traditionally a Hindu throne must
have the effigy of some bird or animal known for its splendor or valour. In
Hindu terminology the very term for a throne is a “Lion Seat (Simhasan).”
Hardly had the project begun,
than we are told that by 1635 Shahjahan
had amassed such a plethora of gems and bullion, within seven years of
his accession that he did not know what to do with them. He therefore had a
fabulous Peacock Throne ordered.
According to Shahjahan’s
court chronicler (PP. 45-46,ibid.),it
appears that the peacock Throne was “three yards long, two and a half yards
broad, yards high and set with jewels worth 86 lakh rupees. The canopy had 12
emerald columns. On top of each pillar
were two peacocks thick –set with rubies ,diamonds, emeralds and pearls.
The throne cost ten million rupees”.
“The marble screen enclosing an
octagonal area in the centre of the cenotaph chamber was, according to the
Badshahnama placed here in 1642 by Shahjahan …According, however ,to
competent authority the screen was placed here by Aurangzeb after
he laid his father’s remains there.
“The basement rooms are
centrally situated as a line of 14 rooms
along the face of the Great Basement, under its terrace; and each of them is
connected by a doorway with as inner lobby running east and west along their
entire length. From each end of the lobby a staircase ascends to the terrace of
the Great Basement ,where its entrance closed by red sandstone slabs, lay
unsuspected until discovered a few years ago, the clue being given by a small window overlooking the
river in each of the two easternmost rooms. The rooms, once frescoed and otherwise decorated being now in darkness and infested by bats , cannot be explored without
a torch or lamp. Whether they originally opened on to a ghat and gave
admittance to the Taj from the river; or being provided with windows, were used
as cool resorts during the heat of the
day, cannot now be decided”.
In the Agra Fort gallery,
facing the Taj, is a tiny glass piece embedded in the wall to mirror the Taj
Mahal. Originators of the Taj legend have conveniently annexed the device to
add to the mesmeric effect of the myth. Embedding tiny, round glass reflectors by their thousands in arched
recesses of palaces and in women’s
dresses is a very common and widespread
Rajput practice. Such glass reflectors can still be seen fixed in numerous
ancient palaces in Rajasthan, and continue to be used for decoration in Rajput
women’s dresses. Saracenic architecture, if there be any such,should rather
believe in “purdah “ i.e. shrouding or hiding and would never think of glass
reflectors.Mirror –pieces decorated the royal apartments in Agra fort because
it was a Hindu fort.Moreoever Shahjahan was never permitted access during
interment to that part of the fort which overlooks the Taj. It is, therefore
absurd to argue that during detention he consoled himself by catching glimpses
of the Taj in the tiny glass piece. A further absurdity and inconsistency is ;
would an old monarch, bent with age, stand up all the time to strain his
bedimmed vision, and peer into a tiny glass piece with his back to the Taj
to catch a fleeting, reflected
glimpse of the Taj when he could as well have a clear ,full, straight and direct view of it seated comfortably
facing the monument? And would not such a stance give him a pain in the neck?
This is yet another instance of how students of history ,archaeologists and lay
visitors have never bothered or cared to take stock of the loose bits of the
Taj legend, and tried to rearrange them to find out whether they add up to at
least a coherent and cogent account, even if fictitious.
In addition to its sculptural splendor, the Taj is also
believed to have had gem studded marble screens, gold railing and silver doors.
Readers can well add up to the cost of all these. It will amount to a fabulous,
astronomical sum. Perhaps even all the Mogul emperors together could not have
invested that much on a single monument.
Had the Taj been an original tomb, Shahjahan
would never have allowed Indian flora to form the dominant feature of the tapestry design inside the mausoleum of
his wife. It is idle to argue that because the workmen employed on the Taj
happened to be Hindus their motifs got incorporated in the Taj design. It must
be remembered that it is the person who pays the piper that calls the tune.
Moreover when it is a question of the peace of departed soul, symbols and
motifs of a detested religion would never have been allowed to be incorporated
in the ornamental patterns of the Taj. In fact
the whole idea of having such a luxurious tomb built and having
decorative patterns made inside it is frowned upon in Islamic religion and
tradition. But Shahjahan had no alternative
but to put up with them since he had taken over a ready made “heathen”
monument.
We have cited five direct proofs to establish
that the Taj is an ancient Hindu palace.These are:
1.Shahjahan’s own court
chronicler Mulla Abdul Hamid’s admission.
2.Mr.Nurul Hasan Siddiqui’s
book, The City of Taj, reiterates the same position.
3.Tavernier’s testimony too
establishes that a lofty palace had been obtained, and that it was a world
tourist attraction even before Mumtaz’s burial.
4.Emperor Shahjahan’s great
great grandfather Babur’s Memoirs refer to the Taj Mahal 104 years before
Mumtaz’s death whose tomb the Taj is supposed to be.
5.The Encyclopaedia Britannica
has been quoted to show that the Taj Mahal building complex comprises guest
rooms, guard rooms and stables. These are all adjuncts of a temple palace but
never of a tomb.
In addition to the above we have ,in the foregoing
pages,advanced many other proofs as follows:
6.The very name Taj Mahal means
a crown palace or a resplendent shrine (Tejo Maha Alaya) and not a tomb .
7.Shahjahan’s reign was as full
of turmoil and warfare as that of most other Muslim rulers of India. He could
not therefore, have any wealth, peace, security or inclination to launch on
such an ambitious project as the Taj Mahal.
8.Shahjahan’s lechery and
profligacy ruled out any special attachment to Mumtaz, whose mausoleum the Taj
has been misrepresented to be.
9.Shahjahan was cruel, hard
hearted and stingy ;as such he could never have the artist’s soft heart and a liberal patron’s generosity to lavish
wealth on a building to house a corpse.
10. Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori,
the court chronicler, mentions no architect and estimates the cost of the work done to be only Rs 40,00,000
which clearly shows that no new building was erected.
11.Shahjahan, whose reign was
supposed to be a golden period of
history, has not left even a scrap of authentic paper about the construction of
Taj Mahal. There are no authentic orders commissioning the Taj ,no
correspondence for the purchase or
acquisition of the so-called site ,no design drawings no bills or receipts and
no expense account sheets Some of those usually produced or referred to have
already been proved to be forgeries.
12.Had Shahjahan really been
the conceiver of the Taj Mahal, he need not have specially instructed Mulla
Abdul Hamid Lahori not to forget mentioning or describing its ‘construction’ in
the official chronicles, because the grandeur and majesty of the Taj as the finest
achievement of a ruling monarch could never be lost sight of by a paid court
chronicler.
13.That Shahajahan could not
even in his wildest dreams conceive undertaking such a gorgeous project is
apparent from the fact that even the
Muslim accounts tell us that he made the workers toil on meagre rations without giving them any cash payment.
Tavernier tells us that Shahjahan could not marshal even timber enough for as
much as scaffolding. Some accounts have also pointed out that Shahjahan made
Rajas and Maharajas pay a large part of the “cost”. So even the additions and
alterations required in converting a Hindu palace to the semblance of a Muslim
tomb were made by compelling labourers to toil for a mere meagre food
allocation and by imposing levies on subservient chieftains.
14. If a stupendous monument
like the Taj Mahal were specially built for the burial of a consort there would
be a ceremonial burial date and it would not go unrecorded. But not only is the burial date not mentioned but even the approximate period
during which Arjumand Banu Begum may
have been buried in the Taj Mahal
varies from six months to nine years of her death.
15. Mumtaz was married to
Shahjahan when the latter was 21 years old. Royal children in his times used to
be married much before their teens. This shows that Arjumand Banu was
Shahjahan’s umpteenth wife. There was thus no reason why she should have been
buried in a special monument.
16. Having been a commoner by
birth Arjumand Banu was not entitled to a special monument
17.History makes no special
mention of any out of the way attachment or romance between the two, unlike
that of Jahangir and Nurjahan. This shows that the story of their love is a
concoction seeking to justify the myth about the building of the taj over her body.
18. Shahjahan was no patron of
art. Had he been one, he would not have had the heart to chop off the
hands of those who are said to have
toiled to ‘build’ the monument for his wife. An art lover especially one disconsolate
on his wife’s death,would not indulge in an orgy of maiming skilful craftsman.
But the maiming story is apparently true because made to toil mercilessly on
meagre rations on a palace usurped from its erstwhile Hindu master, the
infuriated workmen broke out in revolt.
19.There is no record in
history that Shahjahan had any special infatuation for Mumtaz. In fact history
records that he used to run after various other women from his own daughter to
his maids.
20.The existence of the landing
ghat at the rear suggests a temple palace, not a tomb.
21.Even the central marble
structure consists of a 23-room marble palace suit which is superfluous for a
tomb.
22.The plan tallies with
ancient Hindu architectural design and specifications.
23.The entire Taj building
consists of over 1000 rooms along its corridor, in two basements, on the upper
floors and in its numerous towers, which clearly bears out the contention that
it was meant to be a temple palace.
24. The many annexes, guard and
guest rooms etc. prove that it is a temple palace. The pleasure pavilions in
the Taj premises could never form part of a tomb but only of a palace.
25.The Taj complex houses a
pair of Nakkar Khanas, i.e. drum houses. Drum houses
are not only superfluous in a
tomb but it is a positive misfit because a departed soul needs peace and rest.
On the other hand a drum house is a necessary concomitant of a temple-palace
because drum beats are used to herald
royal arrivals and departures summoning
of the townsfolk for royal announcements and proclamations and announce
divine worship time.
26.The Taj building complex
also contains cowpen which used to be part of all Hindu royal and temple
premises.
27.The Sanskrit words “Kalas”
and “pranchi” (fenced off open spaces around the dome and other structures)
would never have been in the Taj premises had it originated as a Muslim tomb.
28.The decorative patterns and
motifs throughout the Taj Mahal are not only entirely of Indian flora but also
of sacred Hindu emblems like the lotus, which infidel characteristics,
according to Islamic beliefs would never allow any peace to the soul of the
Muslim lady, if any, lying buried beneath.
29. The galleries, arches,
supporting brackets and cupolas are entirely in the Hindu style such as can be seen all over Rajasthan.
30. Like every other suspicious
aspect of Taj, its period of construction is variously stated to be 10,12,13,17 or 22 years, which again
proves that the traditional story is a concotion.
31.Even Tavernier’s testimony
that he saw the commencement and the end of this work, while weakening the
traditional case, strengthens ours.
32. The reports that Shahjahan
levied large amounts on rajas and Maharajas and that the so called (tampering)
work dragged on over 10,12,13,17,or even 22 years are all very true details.
Since Shahjahan was too shrewd and hard headed to spend anything out of his own
treasury and would lose no opportunity of taxing and persecuting the local
people, he made political capital even out of the death of his own wife.
33.The designers are variously
mentioned by Western scholars to be Europeans, and are claimed by Muslims to be
Muslims, while the Imperial Library Manuscript contains Hindu names.
34.The Taj Mahal had a grand
garden. A graveyard never boasts of luscious fruits and fragrant flower trees,
since the idea of enjoying fruit and flowers of a graveyard orchard
is revolting.
35.The trees, moreover were
those bearing Sanskrit names and select sacred plants at that ,like Ketaki,
Jai, Jui, Champa, Maulashree, Harshringar and Bel.
36.The designer of Taj is unknown.
37.Far from causing him any
expenditure, the Taj proved to be a veritable gold mine for Shahjahan. While
Arjumand Banu was buried in a stripped, cold,stone temple palace, the building
was robbed of all its costly trappings which were removed to Sahjahan’s
treasury.
38. The Taj palace is located
in the twin township of Jaisinghpura and Khawaspura which are Rajput words, not
Muslim.”Pura” in Sanskrit signifies a busy locality and not an open plot of
land as is sometimes claimed.
39.The Taj Mahal entrance faces
south. Had it been a Muslim building it should have faced west.
40.Its decorative and marble
work tallies exactly with that in the
Amer(Jaipur) palace built circa 967.
41.The Taj temple palace has
various other annexes outside its outer peripheral redstone wall, meant for
courtiers and palace staff.
42. Akbar on his early visits
to Agra used to stay in Khawaspura and Jaisinghpura, which clearly shows that
he stayed in the Taj .
43.Bernier,another foreign
visitor to Shahjahan’s court, tells us that
the nether chambers had a rare magnificence and no non-muslim was
allowed entry to them.That shows the hush-hush secrecy maintained about them.
44.Even the term Taj Mahal doesn’t figure in any Mogul court records.
45.An English visitor, Peter
Mundy who was in India only for about a year after Mumtaz’s death mentions the
Taj Mahal as one of the most spectacular buildings. Thus Shahjahan’s sacrilege
of the Hindu Taj temple-palace by misusing it as an Islamic graveyard ought to
be rectified by removing Arjumand Banu’s remains,if they really are in the Taj
Mahal, to her original grave, still
existing in Burhanpur. The garden pavilion of an Hindu mansion in
Burhanpur(about 600 miles south west of Agra) where Mumtaz was buried in1631 A.D. after her death in her 14th
delivery during 18 years of married life. Shahjahan Mumtaz had encamped in the
adjoining Hindu palace during a north south journey when Mumtaz died.The ground
plan of the orthodox Vedic octagonal Tejomahalaya shrine in Agra where Mumtaz’s
exumed body is supposed to have been interred again. Why this sacrilege? An
aerial view. The white marble
Tejomahalaya framed by four towers at its plinth-corners on the south bank of
the sacred Yamuna river. Two identical red stone buildings(each with three
marble domes) facing the marble edifice from the east and west were meant to be
reception pavilions for royal or religious congregations. The central marble
building and the flanking red stone buildings are all seven storied with
octagonal features,which is a Vedic specialty.Seven storied octagonal buildings
are mentioned even in Ramayanic description of Ayodhya. A meticulous count will
reveal 33 arches in the marble plinth seen in front in between the two towers
on the left and the right. Since the marble platform is a square the breadth
too has 33 arches consequently the marble plinth itself encloses 33x 33=1089
rooms That is the ground floor. Above it on either side of the lofty entrance
arch may be seen vaulted arches on two levels one above the other, which constitutes
two more stories in marble. The outer
western gateway leading to the spacious
parking area for visitors’ vehicles lined by arcaded red stone verandahs with
rooms for shopkeepers selling their wares. The entire parking area is lined by
such shopping arcades which Tavernier describes as bazar of six courts.The
western gateway has assumed importance in modern times because the main bus
depot and railway stations of the populous, bustling Agra city lies in that
direction. In olden days it was the elevated gateway at the left which used,to
be the main entrance of the Tejganj alias Tajganj township.The Tejomahalaya
shopping arcade has had at its outer eastern and western corners, flanking the
Shree gate, two other subsidiary sentinel-temples. This octagonal pavilion with
a white dome in the south west corner bearing the inverted lotus cap and
straight Vedic pinnacle pitcher shaft is one of them. But alas, since
Shahjahan’s time the sacred sanctum has an Islamic cenotaph attributed to an
harem-maid Satunnisa Khanam. But since no name is inscribed on it that seems to
be an inspired canard explaining away the desecration of the Hindu shrine.
The interior of the
multi-storied vaulted entrance gate leading first to the rectangular garden and
then to the wonder marble edifice at the far end. The temple palace management
staff used to work on both floors on various assigned duties. The carved
decorative red stone bunting around the interior and exterior of this gateway,
about knee-high from the floor, if minutely observed turns out to be an
ingenious running chain of three-in-one Ganesh images, two in profile on the
flanks and one with a frontal facing in the middle. The marble Taj Mahal has
identical vaulted lofty archways in all the four directions. Their temple décor
was chiseled away and Koranic extracts were improvised to fill the cavities.
Close look at the marble stone frames around the vertical and horizontal
Koranic passages to notice the patches of dissimilar shapes and tints of marble
used. Cobras lined up above a string of inlaid temple bells pattern form the
upper border of the Taj Mahal. Both cobras and bells have sacred associations
in Vedic spiritual lore.
The gateway at which entry
tickets are issued, is decorated both inside and out, at the knee level with a
bunting depicting such ingeneous three-in-one Ganesh caricatures; two in
profile on the flanks enclosing a frontal one in the middle. The arches in the
marble plinth and the rectangular ventilator above each one of them,(allowing
light and air to the 1089 chambers inside the plinth)may be minutely observed
to have been sealed with marble slabs.
The seven arches at the bottom
enclose the stairs, which lead to the top of the marble plinth symmetrically
from the right and left.The Nandi(Lord Shiva ‘s Bull ) occupied the spot where
the person clad in white robes is seen standing facing the entrance, before it
was uprooted at Shahjahan’s orders. That spot was patched up later with
inferior reddish slabs. There is trident shaped designs in inlay filigree at
the two upper corners of the entrance and the trident shaped red lotus bud at
the apex of the arch.
The Koranic stones fixed
vertically and horizontally along such lofty arches on all four sides were
improvised to fill up gaping cavities left after digging out idols of Vedic
deities and Sanskrit extracts. We arrive at the above conclusion because (1) a
close inspection of the marble frames enclosing the Koranic extracts reveal
patches of marble of different shapes and tints (2) The Koranic extracts are
random, haphazard out of sequence and incomplete (3) On hot days with the
visitor’s feet burning on the marble
plinth a fierce sun beating down on the head and the eyes burning with
intense sunlight radiated by the white
marble sheen even a devout Muslim knowing Arabic won’t have the heart or
even the steady head or patience to crane and strain his eyes and neck
alternately vertically and horizontally to make any head or tail of that
message of Allah. A close-up of the upper part of a minaret. The galleries rest
on snake-shape brackets, which is a distinct Hindu architectural trait.
Mumtaz’s tomb in the crypt (basement). The pavement patched up with marble
slabs of varying sizes and tints indicating that the Shivling here has either
been replaced by the cenotaph or is covered up by it.
After one enters the lofty arch
from the marble platform one steps onto spacious halls which form a
perambulatory passage all around the central octagonal sanctum. That sanctum
too has entrances on all four sides. But only the south entrance has been kept open since Shahjahan’s time.
All these outer and inner
entrances had silver doors which are common to all renowned Hindu(Vedic)
shrines. Those were uprooted and ranged on the outer marble plinth before being
spirited away to Shahjahan’s Mogul treasury. European visitors to the shrine
around 1631 A.D. noticing the uprooted costly fixtures such as silver doors
ranged on the marble platform misunderstood them to have been ordered by
Shahjahan to be used in the building.Contrarily the thousands of labourers
rounded up from the by lanes of Agra city under threats of dire consequences
were forced to toil gratis to uproot all the costly fixtures such as the gem
studded gold railings(around the Shivaling),silver doors, precious stones
stuffed in the marble lattices and the golden pitcher dripping water on the
Shivlinga, and transport them to the mogul treasury. Notice the framed
decorative panels to the left and right of the doorway. They depict embossed OM
shaped Dhatura flowers and conchshell- type foliage. The panel at the left has
the sacred conchshell design. The right side panel depicts a plant with flowers
shaped like the sacred Vedic chant (OM).
Mumtaz’s cenotaph in the
foreground and subsequent Shahjahan’s cenotaph besides it in the upper marble
octagonal chamber. Notice that both the cenotaphs are highly decorated with
inlay work.
Neither Shahjahan nor Mumtaz
could have been buried here because this chamber is on the 4th floor
above the river surface. Corpses are invariably buried in mother-earth and
never on stone floors. Consequently this
so-called Mumtaz’s cenotaph in this central octagonal chamber either covers the sacred Hindu ( Vedic )
Shivling itself or the sacred spot from
which the Shivling was uprooted.Shahjahan and Mumtaz must be fake. Why should
there be even one pair of fake cenotaph? And since one pair of cenotaphs is fake the crucial question is
which is the fake one. The one in the lower chamber or upper chamber? Or does each floor contain one fake
and the genuine cenotaph alternating between Shahjahan and Mumtaz?
Science have been so somnolent for the last 350 and
odd years as to allow the preposterous Shahjahan and Mumtaz legend, stained with carnal love to pass muster in spite of being riddled with
a myriad loopholes disclosed .Around the hook
(from which hangs the chain) is a sketch in concentric circles. In the
smallest innermost circle are arrows symbolizing the eight surface directions.
Around it is another circle of 16 serpents looking down on the Shivling
underneath. Around it is a wider circle of 32 tridents. Surrounding it is a
bigger circle depicting 64 lotus buds. Even this mathematical progression of
multiples of 8 i.e. 8x2=16x2=32x2=64 is
of esoteric Vedic significance and has no relation with Islam.The
preponderating significance of 8 in Vedic tradition may be judged from terms
such as Ashtapailu, Ashtavadhani, Ashtaputra, Ashtadhatu, Ashtang Ayurved, Mangalashtak and Sastang namaskar.
The octagonal lattice around
the cenotaph of Mumtaz (which has replaced or covered the sacred Shivling) has
in its upper border a total of 108 pitchers, some rotund and striped and some
oblong like vases. The rotund striped pitcher is seen bathing the Shivaling
underneath with a stream of milk. The decorative flora on the vase and other
parts of the Taj Mahal alias Tejomahalaya is all native to India. Such
decoration in the orange, Vedic colour behooves a Hindu temple or palace but
never a somber Islamic sepulchre.
A close-up of the gilded pinnacle rising
from the inverted lotus cap of the marble dome .The pinnacle is known as Kalash
in Vedic parlance because of the stack of pitchers which constitute it. The
curvy shaft seen in the upper portion represents the crescent on Lord Shiva’s
forehead. Above it is an oblong pitcher, two mango leaves curving on either
side with a coconut balanced on top. Such a coconut –topped pitcher represents
divinity in Vedic tradition.
The three domes of the so called
mosque are a misfit in Islam. Since Islam has only one Allah and one prophet
for whom is the third dome? Moreover the qibla (i.e. the prayer niche) is not
aligned to the Kaba in Mecca as it should be in a genuine mosque. Also when
there are three qiblas instead of one they couldn’t all be aligned to the Kaba
at the same time. And since the twin buildings on the eastern flank is a
non-mosque it automatically follows that its counterpart to the west is also a
non-mosque. Only buildings with the same function and purpose can have an
identical design.
There is staircase and another
symmetrical one at the other end lead down to the storey beneath the marble
platform Tow such staircases (one each at the eastern and western ends) behind
the marble plinth take one to the nether chambers. Visitors may go to the back
of the marble plinth at the eastern or
western end and descend down the staircase because it is open to sky. But at
the foot the archaeology department has set up an iron grill door which it keeps
locked. Yet one may peep inside from the iron grill in the upper part of the
door. Shahjahan had sealed even these two staircases. It was the British who
opened them. But from Shahjahan’s time the stories below and above the marble
ground floor have been barred to visitors. We are still following Mogul
dictates and Muslim secrecy though long free from Mogul Islamic rule.
One of the 22 locked rooms in
the secret storey beneath the marble platform of the Taj Mahal, which the
archaeological Survey of India keeps
conspiratorially locked to hoodwink the public. Therefore the public must
pressurized the government to open all locked and sealed chambers in all
monuments including the Taj.
Strips of ancient Hindu paint
are seen on the wall flanking the doorway. The niches above had paintings of
Hindu gods, obviously rubbed off by Muslim desecrators.
One of the 22 riverside rooms
in a secret storey of the Taj Mahal unknown to the public. Shahjahan far from
building the shining marble Taj wantonly disfigured it. Here he has crudely
walled up a doorway. Such imperial Mogul
vandalism lies hidden from the public. This room is in the red stone storey
immediately below the marble platform. Indian history has been turned topsy turvy
in lauding destroyers as great builders. Therefore Shahjahan should be referred
to not as the creator of Taj but as a plunderer of its costly fixtures and
disfigurer of the sublime, serene beauty of the holy Tejomahalaya.
Many such doorways of chambers
in secret stories underneath the Taj Mahal have been sealed with brick and
lime. Concealed inside could be valuable evidence such as Sanskrit
inscriptions, Hindu idols, the original Hindu model of Taj, the desecrated
Shiva Linga, Hindu scriptures and temple equipment .The Government is deliberately
refraining from opening hundreds of such sealed chambers. Inside the Taj Mahal
for fear of enraging Muslims and exposing the incompetence of historians
worldwide.
There was the traditional treasury
well of the Hindu temple palace. Treasure chests used to be stacked in the
lower stories. Accountants, cashiers and treasurers sat in the upper stories.
On being besieged if the building had to be surrendered to the enemy the
treasure chests used to be pushed into the water for salvage later after
recapture. For real research, water should be pumped out of this well to reveal
the evidence that lies at the bottom. This well is inside a tower near the so
called mosque to the west of the marble Taj. Had the Taj been a mausoleum this
octagonal multi storied well would have been superfluous.
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