Page 49 - All About History - Issue 27-15

Mysteries of the Taj Mahal

Garden
An earthly representation
of the Garden of Paradise,
with channels symbolising its
rivers. Perfectly symmetrical,
the garden is divided into The Taj
four sections, each divided
again into four, each of which
originally held four flowerbeds Mahal in
(64 in all).
numbers

elephants
were
used to
transport
building
materials

Decorations
Flowers are carved in marble
and sandstone and in jewelled
inlays. They stand for Mughal
kingship. Under Shah Jahan’s
rule, it was said India had 20, 000
become “the rose-garden of
the earth.” workers from across

northern India

types of
precious and
semi-precious
stone were
used

Pool
These symbolise the Celestial
Pool, where the faithful Central hall
quench their thirst in Paradise. This is where the mausoleums 5,000,000
devoted to Mumtaz Mahal and
Shah Jahan are, surrounded
by a fretwork marble screen. people visit each year
Eight chambers surrounding
12,000 TONS
the central area represent the
eight gates of Paradise.

Shah Jahan decreed that the people could keep In later Mughal times, the Taj Mahal was Thedomeweighs
any bricks they removed. Their work revealed the dubbed the ‘Illumined Tomb’, a title that it shares
glistening building. with the Prophet Muhammad’s tomb in Medina.
The whole complex was finished in 1654 after 22 As the historian John Roberts puts it in his book
years of work, and became a focal point for pilgrims History Of The World, “it is the only possible rival
and annual celebrations. The central room was to the mosque of Cordoba for the title of the most
used as a ‘festal hall’ for Shah Jahan and his friends, garden, with the Taj reflected in the central canal, 22
beautiful building in the world.” Millions of visitors
making the Taj a combination of tomb, memorial, annually would agree.
temple and place of entertainment. Though the From afar, the sight is a magical, ever-changing
tomb was at first visited only by Shah Jahan and interplay of river, sky, sunlight and moonlight on
his court, it was soon acknowledged as one of the the varied shapes and textures. From the end of the
greatest pieces of architecture in the world. years to build
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