Taj Mahal
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Wikipedia-Article "Taj Mahal"
- This article is about the Indian monument. For other meanings see Taj Mahal (disambiguation)
The Taj Mahal is a monument located in Agra, India, constructed between 1631 and 1653 by a workforce of more than twenty thousand. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commisioned its construction as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, who was known as Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj (as it is often called) is among the most recoginizable and celebrated buildings in the world -- a masterpiece of Mughal architecture that brilliantly combines elements of Persian and Hindu architecture. Admirers find every aspect of its aesthetic to be elegant and refined -- from its overall design to the precision of the semiprecious inlays that decorate its stunning white marble walls. The Taj has achieved special note because of the romance of its inspiration -- the most famous memorial to a man's love for his wife.
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Overview
While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj is actually a complex of elements, each making a powerful aesthetic statement, and combining to create a unique work of art.
Every element has been thoughtfully designed and carefully executed, with an awareness of its importance both individually and as part of the whole.
Shah Jahan, who commissioned the monument, was a prolific and tasteful patron with effectively limitless resources. After the death of Mumtaz, who was his constant companion, Shah Jahan was reportedly inconsolable, and soon after he began construction of the Taj. His lavish aesthetic and romantic nature is apparent in every aspect of the Taj.
The Taj incorporates and expands on many design traditions, particularly Persian, Hindu and earlier Mughal architecture. The beauty of its design may be seen in the way it draws the attention of the viewer:
- The site itself, and its position on the Yamuna River
- The four-sectioned garden with its walkways and water features
- The outlying buildings that frame the main mausoleum
- The main structure, the tomb or mausoleum itself, with its elegant dome
- The exterior decorations of the mausoleum, including bas-relief, inlay, and caligraphy
- The jewel-inlaid interior decorations
Origin and inspiriation
Shah Jahan's wife, Mumtaz, was his constant companion. She bore him twelve children and died in childbirth. Following her death, Shah Jahan was reportedly inconsolable, and soon after he began construction of the Taj.
Shah Jahan was the most prolific builder of all the Mughal Emperors. He is thought to have created the gardens and palaces of Shalimar in honor of Mumtaz. His decision to build a memorial to her inspired him to integrate his aesthetic and romantic nature.
Shah Jahan's army of artisans combined traditional Persian and Hindu design elements. After centuries of Mughal building based on red sandstone, they had recently developed refined construction techniques using white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones.
To achieve its astonishing beauty, the cost of the Taj design was a secondary consideration; in the end, it was among the most expensive buildings ever created.
Mughal influences on Taj Mahal design
The design of the Taj combines many of the most successful aspects of previous Mughal architecture. The overall design derived inspiration from a number of successful Mughal buidings: these include Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (often called the Baby Taj), and his own Jama Masjid.
Hindu influence on Taj Mahal design
Hindu craftsmen, particularly sculptors and stonecutters, plied trade throughout Asia during this period, and their work was particularly prized by tomb builders. Almost exclusively, Hindus' only large buildings were temples (not palaces or public buildings). These imposing structures were constructed using rock-cut architecture, or by building massive edifices with large blocks of stone. Every surface was then carved with sculpture.
The Mughals in particular abandoned Persian construction techniques (mostly brickwork covered with decorative tile) in favor of these techniques of Hindu temple construction. The Taj is a prime example: All the buildings are made of large blocks of stone; cut, polished, and sculpted.
Wherever Hindu craftsmen worked, they incorporated design elements from Hindu iconography. Thus sculptured elements of the Taj include lotuses, roses, and similar forms typical of Hindu temple carvings.
Hindu design also influenced Mughal mosques: as at the Taj, Mughal mosques are typically divided into three halls, and incorporate domes -- elements typical of Hindu temple design.
Design elements: the Taj vocabulary of design
Consistent repeated design elements are employed throughout the complex. These unify the complex with a single aesthetic vocabulary.
Major design features of the tomb are echoed throughout the complex and outlying building.
- Finial: decorative crowning element of the Taj domes
- Lotus decoration: depiction of lotus flower sculpted on tops of domes
- Onion dome: massive outer dome of the tomb (also called an amrud or apple dome)
- Drum: cylindrical base of the onion dome, raising it from the main buiding
- Guldasta: decorative spire attached to the edge of supporting walls
- Chattri: a domed and columned kiosk
- Spandrel: upper panels of an archway
- Calligraphy: stylized writing of verses from the Qu'ran framing main arches
- Arch: also called pishtaq (Persian word for portal projecting from the facade of a building)
- Dado: decorative sculpted panels lining lower walls
Most of the elements can be found on the Gateway, mosque and jawab as well as the mausoleum.
The site
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The Taj complex covers an area of approximately 580 m × 300 m, comprised of five main components. Shah Jahan sited the complex on the river Yamuna where it bends west to east, about 1.6 kilometers from the imperial palace at Agra Fort. The site incorporates the river in a way unseen in any other complex. The complex was designed to be accessed from both the north (from the river Yamuna) as well as by land from the south. In modern times, the complex is entered from the south, through the the darwaza, a monumental gateway, which visually frames the tomb. Walkways then lead the viewer north through the charbagh (a formal Mughal garden divided into four parts). Measuring 300 m × 300 m, the garden has sunken parterres or flower-beds, raised pathways, avenues of trees, fountains, water courses, and pools that reflect the Taj. The entire width of the north end of the garden abuts a rectangular red sandstone platform (the chamelifarsh), which extends about 120 m to the edge of the river. To the west side of the platform is a mosque, to the east an identical building. These serve to frame the tomb. Two stairways descend from the chamelifarsh to the river entranceway. The focus of the complex is the raised marble plinth in the center of the chamelifarsh platform, which supports the main building, the white marble mausoleum or tomb of Mumtaz. The importance of this building is emphasized by its raised foundation, and by the wide walkway and long reflecting pool which lead there from the entrance gateway. |
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The garden
The complex is set in and around a large charbagh (a formal Mughal garden divided into four parts). Measuring 300 m × 300 m, the garden has sunken parterres or flowerbeds, raised pathways, avenues of trees, fountains, water courses, and pools that reflect the Taj.
Each of the four quarters of the garden is divided into 16 flowerbeds by raised pathways. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, reflects the Taj.
The charbagh garden was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor Babur, a design inspired by Persian gardens. The charbagh is meant to reflect the gardens of Paradise (from the Persian paridaeza -- a walled garden). In mystic Islamic texts of the Mughal period, paradise as described as ideal garden, filled with abundance. Water plays a key role int these descriptions: In Paradise, these text say, four rivers source at a central spring or mountain, and separate the garden into north, west, south and east.
Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular in form, with a central tomb or pavillion in the center of the garden. The Taj garden is unusual in siting the main element, the tomb, at the end rather than at the center of the garden. But the existence of the newly discovered Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna provides a different interpretation -- that the Yamuna itself was incorporated into the garden's design, and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.
The layout of the garden, and its architectural features such as its fountains, brick and marble walkways, geometric brick-lined flowerbeds, and so on, are similar to Shalimar's, and suggest that the garden may have been designed by the same engineer, Ali Mardan.
Early accounts of the garden describe its profusion of vegetation, including roses, daffodils, and fruit trees in abundance. As the Mughal empire declined, the tending of the garden declined as well. When the British took over management of the Taj, they changed the landscaping to resemble more the formal lawns of England.
Outlying buildings
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Outer wallThe Taj complex is bounded by a crenellated red sandstone wall on three sides...the river-facing side is unwalled. Outside the wall are several additional mausoleums, including many of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favorite servant. These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of smaller Mughal tombs of the era. On the inner (garden) side, the wall is fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples later incorporated into Mughal mosques. The wall is interspersed with domed kiosks (chattris), and small buildings which may have been viewing areas or watch towers (such as the so-called Music House, now used as a museum). [edit]
GatewayThe main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of red sandstone. The style is reminiscient of that of Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. It serves as a visual bridge between old-style Mughal architecture and the transcendant design of the Taj. The gateway establishes several important visual elements:
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Masjid and jawabAt the far end of the complex, two grand red sandstone buildings open to the sides of the tomb. Their backs parallel the western and eastern walls. 
The two buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The western building is a mosque or masjid; its opposite number is the jawab or "answer", whose primary purpose was architectural balance (and which may have been used as a guesthouse (or mihman khana) during Mughal times). Comments about their design, therefore, apply to both buildings equally. The masjid's basic design is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly to his Jama Masjid in Delhi: a long hall surmounted by three domes. Mughal mosques of this period divide the liwan (sanctuary hall) into three areas: a main sanctuary with slightly smaller sanctuaries to either side. At the Taj, each sanctuary opens on to an enormous vaulting dome. Unlike the tomb (which has a large exterior dome and a false interior dome), these buildings provide awe-inspiring views of the dome-maker's craft. Seen from the hall's interior, the design of the domes display a geometric pattern of exeptional beauty and complexity. The only decorative distinctions between the two buildings are these: the jawab lacks a mihrab, a niche in a mosque's wall facing Mecca, and the floors of the jawab have a geometric design, while the mosque floor was laid out the outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. The interior of the liwan is inlaid with marble and jasper geometric pietra dura decorations. |
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The tomb
Base
The focus of the Taj is the white marble tomb. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin: a building with arched entrances, topped by a large dome. In India, and most especially at the Taj, this simple idea reached its zenith.
The tomb stands on a square plinth. The base sturcture is a large, multi-chambered structure. The main chamber houses the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz (the actual graves are a level below).
The base is essentially a cube with chamfered edges, roughly 55 meters on each side (see floorplan, right). On the long sides, a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway frames an arch-shaped doorway, with a similar arch-shaped balcony above. These main arches extend above the roof the building by use of an integrated facade.
To either side of the main arch, additional pishtaqs are stacked above and below. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas.
The design is completely uniform and consistent on all sides of the building. Four minarets, one at each corner of the plinth, facing the chamfered corners, frame the tomb.
Features of the base
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Dome
The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is its most spectacular feature. Its height is about the same size as the base building, about 35 m. Its height is accentuted becuase it sits on a cylndrial "drum" about 7 m high.
Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome (also called an amrud or apple dome). The top of the dome is decorated with a lotus design, which serves to accentuate its height. The dome is topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Islamic and Hindu decorative elements.
The dome shape is emphasized by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners. The chattri domes replicate the onion shape of main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb, and provide light to the interior. The chattris also are topped by gilded finials.
Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from the edges of the base walls, and provide visual emphasis of the dome height.
The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas.
Finial
The main dome is crowned by a gilded spire or finial. The finial provides a clear example of the integration of traditional Islamic and Hindu decorative elements. The finial is topped by a crescent moon, a typical Islamic motif, whose horns point heavenward. Because of its placment on the main spire, the horns of the moon and the finial point combine to create a trident design -- a traditional Hindu symbol of Shiva.
Similarly, the spire is made up of a number of bulbous forms. The central form bears a striking resemblance to a Hindu sacred water vessel (kalash or kumbh).
Minarets
In any other context, the Taj minarets alone would be an astonishing sight: four large towers each more than 40 m tall. The minarets again display the Taj's basic penchant for symmetrical, repeated design.
The towers are designed as working minarets, a traditional element of mosques, a place for a muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb.
The minaret chattris share the same finishing touches: a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. Each of the minarets was constructed slightly out of plumb to the outside of the plinth, so that in the event of collapse (an typical occurence with many such tall constructions of the period) the material would tend to fall away from the tomb.
Exterior decoration
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Nearly every surface of the entire complex has been decorated. The exterior decorations of the Taj are among the finest to be found in Mughal architecture of any period. Once again, decoration motifs are repeated throughout the complex. As the surface area changes -- a large pishtaq has more area than a smaller -- the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements come in basically three categories:
Islamic strictures forbade the use of anthropromorphic forms. The decorative elements were created in three ways:
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Abstract geometric decoration
Abstract forms are used especially in the plinth, minarets, gateway, mosque, and jawab, and to a lesser extent on the surfaces of the tomb. The domes and vaults of the sandstone buildings are worked with tracery of incised painting to create elaborate geometric forms. (The incised painting technique is to scratch a channel in the stone, and to then lay a thick paint or stucco plaster across the surface. The paint is then scraped off the surface of the stone, leaving paint in the incision.)
On most joining areas, herringbone inlays define the space between adjoining elements. White inlays are used in the sandstone buildings, dark or black inlays on the white marble of the tomb and minarets. Mortared areas of the marble buildings have been stained or painted dark, creating geometric patterns of considerable complexity.
Floors and walkways throughout use contrasting tiles or blocks in tesselation patterns.
Vegatative motifs
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The lower walls of the tomb are white marble dados that have been sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasize the exquisite detailing of these carvings. The dado frames and archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylized, almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are yellow marble, jasper, and jade, levelled and polished to the surface of the walls. |
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Calligraphy
Throughout the complex passages from the Qu'ran are used as decorative elements. The calligraphy is a florid and practically illegible thuluth script, created by the Mughal court's Persian calligrapher, Amanat Khan, who was resident at the Mughal court. He has signed several of the panels.
The calligraphy is made by jasper inlaid in white marble panels. Some of the work is extremely detailed and delicate (especially that found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb). Higher panels are written slightly larger to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below.
Recent scholarship suggests that Amanat Khan also chose the passages as well. The texts refer to themes of judgment: of doom for nonbelievers, and the promise of Paradise for the faithful. The passages include: Surah 91 (The Sun), Surah 112 (The Purity of Faith), Surah 89 (Daybreak), Surah 93 (Morning Light), Surah 95 (The Fig), Surah 94 (The Solace), Surah 36 (Ya Sin), Surah 81 (The Folding Up), Surah 82 (The Cleaving Asunder), Surah 84 (The Rending Asunder), Surah 98 (The Evidence), Surah 67 (Dominion), Surah 48 (Victory), Surah 77 (Those Sent Forth) and Surah 39 (The Crowds).
Interior decoration
The interior chamber of the Taj steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. One may say without exaggeration that this chamber is a work of jewelry.
Here the inlay work is not pietra dura, but lapidary. The inlay material is not marble or jade, but precious and semiprecious gemstones. Every decorative element of the tomb's exterior has been redefined with jeweler's art. The result is, for most viewers, simply astonishing.
The chamber
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The inner chamber of the Taj Mahal contains the cenotaphs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan. It is a masterpiece of artistic craftsmanship, virtually without precedent or equal. The inner chamber is an octagon. While the design allows for entry from each face, only the south (garden facing) door is used. The interior walls are about 25 m high, topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level. As is typical with exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The four central upper arches form balcony or viewing areas; each balcony's exterior window has an intricate screen or jali cut from marble. In addition to the the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by the chattris at the corners of the exterior dome. Each of the chamber walls has been highly decorated with dado bas relief, intricate lapidary inlay, and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex. |
The jali
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The octagonal marble screen or jali which borders the cenotaphs, is made from eight marble panels. Each panel has been carved through with intricate piercework. The remaining surfaces have been inlaid with semiprecious stones in extremely delicate detail, forming twining vines, fruits and flowers. |
Details of jali lapidary
(craftsmanship is best seen in enlarged version -- click image to see enlargement)
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The cenotaphs
Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves, so the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are laid in a relatively plain chamber beneath the inner chamber of the Taj. They are buried on a north-south access, with faces turned right (west) toward Mecca.
The Taj has been raised over their cenotaphs (from Greek keno taphas, empty tomb). The cenotaphs mirror precisely the placement of the two graves, and are exact duplicates of the grave stones in the basement below.
Mumtaz's cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber. On a rectangular marble base about 1.5 by 2.5 m is a smaller marble casket. Both base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet.
Shah Jahan's cenotaph is beside Mumtaz's to the western side. It is the only assymetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife's, but reflects the same elements: A larger casket on slightly taller base, again decorated with astonishing precision with lapidary and calligraphy which identifies Shah Jahan. On the lid of this casket is a sculpture of a a small pen box. (The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Mughal funeary icons decorating men's and women's caskets respectively.)
Construction and design
Construction details
Construction began with setting foundations for the tomb. An area of roughly three acres was excavated and filled with dirt to reduce seepage from the river. The entire site was levelled to a fixed height about 50 m above the riverbank.
In the tomb area, wells were then dug down to the point that water was encountered. These wells were later filled with stone and rubble, forming the basis for the footings of the tomb. An additional well was built to same depth nearby to provide a visual method to track water level changes over time.
Instead of lashed bamboo, the typical scaffolding method, workmen constructed a collosal brick scaffold that mirrored the inner and outer surfaces of the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle. According to legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep bricks taken from the scaffold, and it was dismantled by peasants overnight.
A fifteen-kilometer tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials from Agra to the construction site. According to contemporary accounts teams of tweny or thirty oxen strained to pull the blocks on specially constructed wagons.
To raise the blocks into position required an elaborate post-and-beam pulley system. Teams of mules and oxen provided the lifting power.
The order of construction was
- The plinth
- The tomb
- The four minarets
- The mosque and jawab
- The gateway
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years. (Since the complex was built in stages, contemporary historical accounts list different "completion dates"; discrepancies between so-called completion dates are probably the result of differing opinions about the definition of "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex.)
Water infrastructure
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Water for the Taj complex was provided through a complex infrastructure. Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs -- an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism. The water flowed into a large storage tank, where, by thirteen additional purs, it was raised to large distributon tank above the Taj ground level . From this distribution tank, water passed into three subsidiary tanks, from which it was piped to the complex. A .25 m earthen pipe lies about 1.5 m below the surface, in line with the main walkway; this filled the main pools of the complex. Additional copper pipes supplied the fountains in the north-south canal. Subsidiary channels were dug to irrigate the entire garden. The fountain pipes were not connected directly to the feed pipes. Instead, a copper pot has been provided under each fountain pipe: Water filled the pots allowing equal pressure in each fountain. The purs no longer remain, but the other parts of the infrastucture have survived. |
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Craftsmen
The Taj was not designed by a single person. The project demanded talent from many quarters.
The names of many of the builders who participated in the construction of the Taj in different capacities have come down to us through various sources.
'Puru' from Benarus, Persia (Iran), has been mentioned as the supervising architect in Persian language texts (e.g. see ISBN 964-7483-39-2).
The main dome was designed by Ismail Khan of Turkey, considered to be the premier designer of hemispheres and builder of domes of that age.
Qazim Khan, a native of Lahore, cast the solid gold finial that crowned the Turkish master's dome.
Chiranjilal, a lapidary from Delhi, was chosen as the chief sculptor and mosaicist.
Amanat Khan from Persian Shiraz, Iran was the chief calligrapher (this fact is attested on the Taj gateway itself, where his name has been inscribed at the end of the inscription).
Muhammad Hanif was the supervisor of masons.
Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz handled finances and the management of daily production.
The creative team included sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building turrets, another who carved only marble flowers — thirty seven men in all formed the creative nucleus. To this core was added a labour force of twenty thousand workers recruited from across northern India.
European sources, particularly during the period of the British Raj, suggested that some or all of the Taj was the work of European artisans. There is no reliable scholarly evidence to back up these assertions.
Materials
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction. The white marble was brought from Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab and the jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
Costs of construction
The total cost of the Taj's construction was about 40 million rupees. At that time, 1 gram of gold was sold for about 1.3 rupees. Based on the October 2005 gold price that would translate to more than 500 million US$. (Comparisons based on the value of gold in two different economic eras are often misleading, however).
Aesthetics
Various studies on the Taj speculate on what makes it unique and beautiful. One reason is attributed to its perfect proportions and geometry. Another is ascribed to the various moods that the Taj presents to its viewers. Clad in delicate, white Makrana marble, the Taj changes its character across time as the light changes- dawn, noon, twilight, night. The shadows that fall on the marble to enhance the effect, being very delicate. The Taj is considered especially ethereal when viewed on a full moon night. For Tagore, the Taj was a "tear in the face of eternity".
Analysis of design elements
 Relative size of Taj compared to Qutub Minar |
 Gateway to the Taj, another view |
 Schematic showing relative size of entry arches at Taj and Gateway |
 Schematic showing repeated decorative elements |
 Schematic showing proportions of Taj main dome and building. Dome is one half the size of supporting base (green rectangles); the drum is same size as space between archways (tan rectangles). |
 Schematic showing relative proportions of Taj domes, roughly 12:1 |
 Schematic showing relative proportions of arches at Taj (largest to smallest roughly 12:1) |
 Schematic showing identical relative proportions of arches at Gateway (12:1) |
History
Soon after its completion, Shah Jahan was deposed and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb. Legend has it that he spent the remainder of his days gazing from through window at the Taj. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurengzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal, next to his wife, the only disruption of the otherwise perfect symmetry in the architecture.
By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal had fallen badly into disrepair. During the time of the Mutiny, the Taj faced defacement by British soldiers, sepoys and government officials who chiselled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls.
At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, completed in 1908. He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber (modeled on one hanging in a Cairo mosque, when local craftsmen failed to provide adequate designs). It was during this time that the garden was remodeled with the more English-looking lawns that are visible today. By the 20th century the Taj Mahal was being better taken care of. In 1942, the British Raj erected a behemoth scaffolding over it in anticipation of an air attack on it by the German Luftwaffe and later by the Japanese Air Force (see photo). During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were erected by the Government of India to mislead would-be bomber pilots.
Its most recent threats came from environmental pollution on the banks of the Yumna river, including acid rain occurring due to the Mathura oil refinery (something opposed by Supreme Court of India directives).
The Taj Mahal, as of 1983, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major tourist destination.
Recently, the Taj Mahal was declared Sunni Wakf property on the grounds that it is the grave of a woman whose husband, Emperor Shah Jahan was a Sunni. The Indian government has dismissed claims by the Muslim trust saying that their claims were baseless and the Taj Mahal is Indian national property.
The Taj is often described as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Millions of tourists have visited the site -- more than three million in 2004, according to the BBC -- making it one of the most popular international attractions in India.
Legends and theories
Origins of the name
The name comes from Persian, the language of the Mughal court, Taj means crown and Mahal means palace. Most sources suggest that Taj Mahal is a shorter variant of Mumtaz Mahal, the nickname of Arjumand Banu Begum, meaning First Lady of the Palace. As early as 1670, the French traveler Francois Bernier referred to the place as Tage Mehale.
The "Black Taj"
A longstanding popular tradition holds that an identical mausoleum complex was originally supposed to be built on the other side of the river, in black marble instead of white. The story suggests that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before the black version could be built. Ruins of dark marble found across the river are, the story suggests, the unfinished base of this "Black Taj".
Recent scholarship disputes this theory, and throws some interesting light on the design of the Taj. All other major Mughal tombs were sited in gardens that form a cross, with the tomb at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal pieces. The Taj gardens, by contrast, form a great 'T', with the tomb at the centre of the crosspiece. But the outline of the ruins on the other river bank would extend the design of the Taj gardens to form a cross of proportions typical of other Mughal tombs. Further, the marble in the ruins opposite the Taj, while dark from staining, were originally white. In addition, an octagonal pool in these ruins would have reflected the Taj. Scholars have called these ruins the Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden".
Shah Jahan's asymmetric tomb
Aurangzeb had Shah Jahan's tomb and cenotaph placed in the Taj rather than building him a separate mausoleum such as other emperors had. He thus destroyed the symmetry of the Taj design. A variation on the Black Taj legend suggests that Aurangzeb's decision was made from malice or parsimony. In Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb however, which was a major influence on the Taj design, Aurangzeb's grandparents were interred in a similar asymmetric fashion.
Stolen items
Legends abound concerning items orignally attached to the Taj which were "stolen". Some original items have been removed over time, but many are mere legends only. These legends include
- Gold leaf, supposed to have covered all or part of the dome.
- A golden railing supposed to have circled the cenotaphs (suggested perhaps by a temporary enamel railing that was replaced after completion of the marble jali)
- Diamonds supposedly inlaid in the cenotaphs
- A blanket woven of pearls supposedly covering Mumtaz's cenotaph
Numerous items from the Taj have gone missing however; these include
- An entrance door of carved jasper
- Gold leaf that adorned the cast iron joints of the jali screen around the cenotaphs
- Numerous rich carpets that covered the interior of the tomb
- Enamelled lamps from the interior chamber
British plan to demolish the Taj
There is an often-repeated story that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India in the 1830s, planned to demolish the Taj and auction off the marble. In some versions of the tale, the demolition crew were ready to begin their work but were stopped only because Bentinck was unable to make the scheme financially viable. There is no contemporary evidence for this story, which may have emerged in the late nineteenth century when Bentinck was being criticised for his penny-pinching Utilitarianism, and when Lord Curzon was emphasising earlier neglect of the monument, and presenting himself as a saviour of Indian antiquities. Nevertheless, the story may have been based on a real proposal.
Was the Taj originally a temple?
P.N. Oak, President of The Institute for Rewriting Indian History, has repeatedly asserted that the Taj was a Hindu temple of the god Shiva, usurped and remodelled by Shah Jahan. Oak also claims that the tombs of Humayun, Akbar and Itmad-u-Dallah -- as well as the Vatican in Rome, the Kaabah in Mecca, and Stonehenge, and "all historic buildings" in India -- were also Hindu temples or palaces.
The Taj is only a typical illustration of how all historic buildings and townships from Kashmir to Cape Comorin though of Hindu origin have been ascribed to this or that Muslim ruler or courtier. [1]
He further says that if Taj was not a Shiva temple, that it might then have been the palace of a Rajput king. In any case (he says), the Taj was Hindu in origin, stolen by Shah Jahan and adapted as a tomb -- although Oak also claims that Mumtaz is not buried there.
Oak further states that the numerous eyewitness accounts of Taj construction, and Shah Jahan's construction orders and voluminous financial records, are elaborate frauds meant to hide its Hindu origin.
His many provocative assertions have gained a lot of popular interest and made Oak a well-known media figure, despite being based on speculation, doubtful historical accounts and strained logic.
He has sued to break open the cenotaphs, and to tear down brick walls in the lower plinth: In these "fake tombs" and "sealed apartments", Oak says Shivalingams or other temple items were hidden by Shah Jahan. In 2000 India's Supreme Court dismissed Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal, and reprimanded him for bringing the action. [2]
According to Oak, the Indian government's refusal to allow him unfettered access amounts to a conspiracy against Hinduism.
Oak's assertions are not accepted by legitimate scholars.
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- For more information:
- Taj Mahal — The True Story by P.N. Oak ISBN 0-9611614-4-2
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- (Links to websites supporting Oak's discredited assertion that the Taj was originally a temple)
- The Tajmahal is Tejomahalay A Hindu Temple — 110 essential points compiled from Oak's book
- Was the Taj Mahal a Vedic Temple? — Photos from the 1934 scrapbook that Oak used to frame and support his assertions
- For more information:
See also
References
- Carroll, David (1971). The Taj Mahal, Newsweek Books
- Gascoine, Bamber (1971). The Great Moguls, Harper & Row
- Lall, John (1992). Taj Mahal, Tiger International Press
- Rothfarb, Ed (1998). In the Land of the Taj Mahal, Henry Holt
- Stall, B (1995). Agra and Fathepur Sikri, Millenium
- Stierlin, Henri [editor] & Volwahsen, Andreas (1990). Architecture of the World: Islamic India, Taschen
- Tillitson, G.H.R. (1990). Architectural Guide to Mughal India, Chronicle Books