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TAJ MAHAL – UNESCO World Heritage Site

The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1983.

Taj Mahal  is in Agra, Uttar Pradesh
On the banks of River Yamuna.

It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Built: 1632- 1648/ 1653.
The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 AD,
whereas the outlying buildings and gardens were finished in 1653 AD.

Architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahauri

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as “the tear-drop on the cheek of time”, it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India’s rich history.

Took a trip to Taj Mahal on April, 21, 2016.

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One of my regrets was that I had not seen the Taj Mahal.
This 2016 vacation I could finally make up for it.
A trip to Delhi [April 20- 25] was a birthday gift from mom-dad.
I saw the Taj on April 21st, 2016.
Let me take you to this wonderful place.

 

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THE TAJ MAHAL

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died after giving birth to the couple’s 14th child. The grieving Shah Jahan, who commissioned a number of impressive structures throughout his reign, ordered the building of a magnificent mausoleum across the Yamuna River. Construction began around 1632 and continued for the next two decades. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 AD. However, the outlying buildings and gardens were finished in 1653 AD. The chief architect was Ustad Ahmad Lahouri, an Indian of Persian descent who later designing the Red Fort at Delhi. Workers – masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans – were brought from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran. The services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants were used. It took almost 22 years to build the Taj Mahal as we see today.

 THE MAUSOLEUM [ Rauza-i munauwara]: Art and Architecture

– Main Chamber and Lower Chamber of the Mausoleum / Cenotaph and Sacrophagus:
Taj Mahal has a double-story mausoleum. The lower chamber [crypt] contains the real graves / tombs [sarcophagus] of the emperor and empress. The main chamber tombs [cenotaphs] are illusory. Visitors are allowed to see only the main chamber cenotaphs. Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt with their faces turned right, towards Mecca.

– Photography is Prohibited inside the tomb.

– Octogonal structure: The mausoleum is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It sits on a large square white marble platform, called a plinth. The mausoleum has chamfered corners forming an octagon structure.
*A chamfer is a transitional edge between two faces of an object, and is more often 45° with respect to the two adjoining faces.
– Iwans and Pistaqs: The Taj Mahal’s front facade is dominated with “iwans”, the main one lying just below the onion shaped dome. By definition, iwans are vaulted spaces covered by three sides and open from one. They normally have an ornate gateway that was called a “pishtaq”. The mausoleum has four main iwans on the four faces of the structure. There are 24 more iwans, identical in size – with four on each face and two on the angled sides – making a total of 28 iwans. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building.
– The dome: Onion dome and Double shelled dome: The dome is the most remarkable part of the Taj Mahal. Enormous white onion shaped dome crowning the tomb is located at the exact center of the structure. The central dome reached a height of 240 feet [73 meters]. The central dome of the Taj Mahal sits on a massive drum that adds support to the circular top. The central dome is flanked by four smaller ones on it four corners [chattris].  Tall decorative spires [guldastas] extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome.
The central dome is actually double shelled, and the interior false dome was made much smaller to be in proportion to the inner chamber. This gives the building perfect visual balance; extraordinary from the outside and comfortable small from the inside. Similar technique is used at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
– Finial of the Dome: The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. The summit of the gold gilded finial perched at almost 220 feet from the ground, gives a finishing look to the Taj Mahal. The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The Hindu-motif includes with lotus leaves mounted on a “kalash” with a coconut on top. The finial is topped by a crescent moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward.
– Chattris [kiosks] and Guldastas [decorative spires]: The main onion shaped dome is flanked on the four sides by four kiosks [chattris]. The chattris have an octagonal base with small arches on each of the eight sides. The top is nicely finished with an inverted lotus with a gold finial rising from its summit. As mentioned earlier, the main dome is also flanked by tall decorative spires [guldastas]. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The onion dome, chattris, and guldastas, are all topped by a gilded finial which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements. Note that chattris are also present at the tops of the four tall minarets.
– Minarets: Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth. The minarets are detached from the main tomb structure. Each minaret more than 130 feet [40 meters] tall. These minarets are designed with a slant towards the outward side. This was done so that in case of any minaret topples, it causes no damage to the central dome. These four minarets rise from the plinth with an eight sided base and a circular pillar. On the top of the pillar is an octagonal balcony. Minarets did not become a common feature of Mughal architecture until the 17th century. A few precedents exist in the 20 years before the construction of the Taj in the Tomb of Akbar and the Tomb of Jahangir. They give three dimensional effect to the edifice.
– The Main Chamber: Cenotaphs: A large double storied domed chamber houses the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. It is a perfect octagon in plan. The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mehal is in the center. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is greater than Mumtaz Mahal and installed more than thirty years later by the side of the latter on its west. The cenotaphs are richly decorated with calligraphy and inlay work [Pietra dura]. The borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones representing flowers executed with wonderful perfection.
– Lower Chamber: Crypt with Sarcophagus: As mentioned earlier, it is the lower chamber, or the crypt, that contains the real graves [sarcophagus] of the emperor and empress. The main chamber tombs [cenotaphs] are illusory. However, visitors are allowed to see only the main chamber cenotaphs. Mumtaz Mahal’s body was buried in the Taj Mahal after her death in 1631. Shah Jahan laid to rest at his wife’s side in 1666. Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt with their faces turned right, towards Mecca.
– Marble Lattice Screen: Exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen encircle both the cenotaphs. Since photography is prohibited in the tomb, I do not have images of lattice screen.
– Decorative elements include: Calligraphy, Dados, Pitra dura, Relief work and Ornamental niches.

Optical illusions: There are several optical illusions at play in the Taj Complex. Some can be noticed straightaway, others require keen eyes.
– 2D Herringbone patterns in stone inlay make flat walls look like they are turning with every column of the pattern giving it a 3 dimensional feel.
– The minarets tilt slightly away from the structure, but appear to be perfectly perpendicular to the ground level.
– The letters in calligraphy at the gateways and arch get bigger with height, to a viewer at the ground level they appear to be of the same size.

As the story goes, Shah Jahan intended to build a second grand mausoleum across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal, where his own remains would be buried when he died; the two structures were to have been connected by a bridge. The foundation was laid, but it was never progressed much. In fact, Aurangzeb (Shah Jahan’s third son with Mumtaz Mahal) deposed his ailing father in 1658 and took power himself. Shah Jahan lived out the last years of his life under house arrest in a tower [Musamman Burj] of the Agra Fort, with a view of the majestic Taj Mahal. When Shah Jehan died in 1666, he was buried next to Mumtaj Mahal at the Taj Mahal.

 

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Finial of the Dome: The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. The summit of the gold gilded finial perched at almost 220 feet from the ground, gives a finishing look to the Taj Mahal. The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The Hindu-motif includes with lotus leaves mounted on a “kalash” with a coconut on top. The finial is topped by a crescent moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point towards the heaven.

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Calligraphy: The calligraphy of the Taj Mahal mainly consists of the verses and passages from the holy book of Quran. Black marble has been used to decorate both the south gateway and the main mausoleum with Arabic inscriptions. The black marble lettering is inlaid into white marble scroll-like borders that frame the architectural features. The text is written in the ‘thuluth’ script, in a style associated particularly with the Persian calligrapher, Amanat Khan, who was resident at the Mughal court. He was as responsible not only for the design of the script but also for the choice of text. The majority of the text is taken from the Quran. There are twenty two passages in all.

The inscription over the main gateway invites the reader to enter Paradise, the abode of the faithful and reward for the righteous. The inscriptions on the exterior walls of the tomb leave one in no doubt about the impending doom that awaits unbelievers on the Day of Judgments. Inside the mausoleum, the tone is more reassuring in places, with lengthy descriptions of Paradise adorning some of the walls.

On the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal located in the burial chamber [crypt], the ninety names of God can be found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides including “O Noble, O Magnificent, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious…” And the tomb of Shah Jahan bears a calligraphic inscription that reads “He travelled from this world to the banquet hall of eternity on the night of the twenty sixth of the month of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri”.

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Dados with relief work and pietra dura:
Dados are decorative marble panels. They hace carved decoration in relief. These maybe framed with inlaid floral border. The inlay work is also called Pietra dura.
Pietra dura is the new term I learned. So what is Pietra dura?
Pietra dura also called parchin kari or parchinkari in South Asia, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. The stonework, is glued stone-by-stone to a substrate after having previously been “sliced and cut in different shape sections; and then assembled together so precisely that the contact between each section was practically invisible”. Stability was achieved by grooving the undersides of the stones so that they interlocked, rather like a jigsaw puzzle, with everything held tautly in place by an encircling frame’. Many different colored stones, particularly marbles, were used, along with semiprecious, and even precious stones.

 

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Minarets: Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth. Each minaret more than 40 metres tall. Minarets did not become a common feature of Mughal architecture until the 17th century. A few precedents exist in the 20 years before the construction of the Taj in the Tomb of Akbar and the Tomb of Jahangir. They give three dimensional effect to the edifice.

 

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OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: OUTLYING BUILDINGS

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The tomb is the centrepiece of a 42-acre Taj Mahal complex. But the outlying buildings in the complex are equally impressive. The complex includes a forecourt,  a formidable great gate, formal garden,  a mosque and a guest house.  There are enclosure walls on the east and west which have a pavilion at the center.

 

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Forecourt / Jilawkhana

Jilawkhana is the forecourt of the Taj.  The three entrances to the Taj complex – the Western, Southern and Eastern open up in the forecourt or Jilawkhana. There are residential quarters [Khawasspuras] to the north eastern and the north western corners of the forecourt. There are also Saheli Burj 1 and 2  – the tombs of two lesser known wives of Shahjahan – situated in the south eastern and south western corners of the forecour.   However it is the Great Gate [Darwaza-e-rauza] which  is the main feature of the forecourt [Jilawkhana].

 

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Khawasspuras (residential quarters)– To the north eastern and the north western corners of the Jilawkhana are the Khawasspuras or the residential quarters for the attendants that used to attend to the tomb. The faces of the residential quarters which open into the Jilawkhana are lined up with open bazaars which run from the western to the eastern gates. The open bazaars are colonnaded with Shahjahani columns framing engrailed Shahjahani arches.

 

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Saheli Burj 1 and 2 – These are the tombs of two lesser known wives of Shahjahan, situated in the south eastern and south western corners of the forecourt (Jilawkhana). There was some confusion about the identity of those for whom the tombs are built, but Thomas and William Daniel in a plan drawn by them in 1789 mention these as the Akbarabadi Mahal on the east and Fatehpuri Mahal on the west. Both of them are mirror images of each other and sit on a raised platform that can be accessed by steps. They are actually like a miniaturized version of the main mausoleum in planning. The tombs are located at the ends of smaller Chaharbaghs, with their axis of symmetry running along East-West direction.

 

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Great Gate /Darwaza-e-rauza

The Great Gate is the gateway to the mausoleum is what formally separates the mausoleum from the outer world. It is the most impressive structure in the Taj Mahal complex next to the mausoleum. The main gate which stands majestically in the center of the southern wall of the forecourt. It sets the necessary tone to view the Taj.

The main gateway is a monumental structure built primarily of marble and red sandstone. Its archways mirror the shape of tomb’s archways. This gate is about 100 feet tall. It is surrounded by octagonal towers topped with domed white marble cupolas. Eleven smaller domes adorn the top of the structure above the entrance and between the two high columns (Guldastas). The central roof vault of the gate has intricate geometric pattern representing stars in the night sky.

The gate is flanked on the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden in front of the galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways and each quarters in turn subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure walls on the east and west have a pavilion at the centre.

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The Formal Garden / Charbagh

The Great Gate  opens in a formal garden – Charbagh – which literally means Four Gardens or quartered garden. The large Charbagh provides the foreground for the classic view of the Taj Mahal. The garden has raised pathways, and sunken flowerbeds. These main four parts of the garden are divided using water channels [reflecting pools], each channel joining the center. At the center, halfway between the tomb and the gateway, where the four water channels meet is a raised marble lotus water-tank [hauz] with a cusped border called the “called al Hawd al-Kawthar” that signifies ‘The celestial pool of abundance’. The central water-tank is the point where the two water channels intersect dividing the garden into four sections. The tank was so positioned that one can perfectly see that Taj Mahal’s reflection in its waters. There are two main walkways one on either side of the reflecting pool. The four main garden beds are further subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden.

The mausoleum is placed at the end of the Charbagh, or quadripartite garden, rather than in the exact center. This added depth and perspective to the distant view of the monument.

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Masjid and Mehman Khana / Mosque and Jawab:

The mausoleum is flanked by two almost identical buildings on either side of the platform [above and below images]. To the west is the Mosque, to the east is Jawab [answer] whose primary purpose was architectural balance and which may have been used as a guesthouse during Mughal times [Mehman Khana / Guest House]. The two buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The distinctions are that 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 with the outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. Both the buildings have a water tank facing their entrance.

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TAJ MAHAL and AGRA FORT

I think the story of Taj Mahal is incomplete without the story of Agra Fort. Right across the banks of Yamuna is Agra Fort. All the five early Mughal emperors lived at Agra Fort. At the Agra Fort is Musamman Burj also known as the Saman Burj or the Shah-burj.

Musamman Burj was also built by Shah Jahan, and was his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that at first a small marble palace built by Akbar was situated at this site, which was later demolished by Jehangir to erect new buildings. Shah Jahan in his turn chose this site to erect the multi-storied marble tower inlaid with precious stones for Mumtaz Mahal. It was built between 1631–40 and offers exotic views of the famous Taj Mahal. It is made of delicate marble lattices with ornamental niches so that the ladies of the court could gaze out unseen. The decoration of the walls is pietra dura. The chamber has a marble dome on top and is surrounded by a verandah with a beautiful carved fountain in the center.

But this beautiful building has a tragic story.

Shah Jehan was captured and imprisoned in this Mussamman Burj by Auranzeb, his third son with Mumtaz Mahal (for who Taj Mahal and Musamman Burj were made). The lattice screen in the Burj from offers a view of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jehan died gazing at it, from his prison at Agra Fort.

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BACK to the TAJ MAHAL

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Some of the new terms I learnt while writing about the Taj Mahal
Iwan, Pistaq, Dado, Pietra dura, Guldasta and Mannabet kari.

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Published by Jyoti Srivastava
Image copyright © Jyoti Srivastava
Took a trip to Taj Mahal on April, 21, 2016.

Some places I missed in my Delhi trip, prominent on my wish list:
Itmad-ud-Daula, Sikandra, Fatehpur Sikri, Skeikh Salim Chisti’s Tomb.

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