One of the age old question and unresolved controversy around the Taj Mahal is whether it was originally a Hindu temple?
The 17-hectare (42-acre) Taj Mahal complex, has a mosque and a guest house, and gardens bounded on three sides by a crenelated wall.
This has been the subject of many a debates between historians in which some experts swear that the Taj Mahal an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra– meaning ‘Crown of the Palace’ was a temple and while other disagree.
The name “Taj Mahal” in Urdu is believed to be derived from the Persian word tāj “crown” and the Arabic word mahall “palace”. An alternative derivation of “taj” is that it was a corruption of the second syllable of “Mumtaz”.
It has been a commonly held belief so far that Taj Mahal was built by the 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century as the final resting place for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died at the age of 38 while giving birth to their fourteenth child.
The theory that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple or was constructed on the grounds of an existing Lord Shiva temple started a few years back. The protagonists of this theory claim to have historical and architectural evidence to support their claim.
In 2000 the Supreme Court dismissed petition by Purushottam Nagesh Oak (P. N. Oak) – an Indian historian who suggested that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal. Another similar petition by Amar Nath Mishra, a social worker was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court in 2005. Amar Nath Mishra, claimed in the petition that the Taj Mahal was built by the Hindu king Paramardi in 1196.
Several court cases inspired by P. N. Oak’s 1989 book Taj Mahal: The True Story, tried to argue that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple and it was built in 1155 AD and not in the 17th century. In November 2015, the Union Minister of Culture stated in the Indian Parliament that there was no evidence that Taj Mahal was a temple – ever. In August 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India categorically denied that Taj Mahal ever housed a temple.
As far as land on which Taj Mahal was built is concerned, historians believe that the land was owned not by the Mughal Empire but Raja Jai Singh I of the Kachhwaha Rajput clan from Amer on the south side of Agra.
According to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Emperor Shah Jahan acquired this land from Raja Jai Singh who was one of the allies of the Mughal Empire, in exchange for four mansions (havelis) in Agra.
As part of the quid-pro-quo deal Raja Jai Singh, ceded the land to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and in return accepted the four mansions (havelis) in different parts of Agra.
The construction of the monument began thereafter in 1632 and took 22 years to be completed in 1653 at an estimated cost of around ₹32 million which in today’s time would be almost double – close to ₹52.8 billion.
According to historical records Taj Mahal was built under the supervision of Ustad Ahmad Lahori (lit. ’Master Ahmad of Lahore’), also known as Ahmad Ma’mar Lahori (lit. ’Ahmad the Architect’), was an architect and engineer of the Mughal Empire who served as the chief architect during the reign of Shah Jahan. Widely regarded as one of the greatest architects of the 17th-century known for his Indo-Islamic and Persian architectural styles. He is understood to have designed the Red Fort in Delhi as well as the imperial city of Shahjahanabad and the Taj Mahal in Agra, along with Mir Abd-ul Karim and Makramat Khan.
Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his 1636 book Padshahnama, describes Taj Mahal as rauza-i munawwara (Perso-Arabic: rawdah-i munawwarah), meaning the illumined or illustrious tomb.
In 1631, Shah Jahan appointed him for the construction of Taj Mahal. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans who worked under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ahmad Lahori. The project took 12 years to come to life. Thereafter Ustad Ahmad Lahori relocated to Delhi where the emperor commissioned to build the new imperial city, Shahjahanabad, in 1639. The building of the city, including the Red Fort, was complete by 1648.
The white marble for constructing the Taj Mahal came from Makrana in Rajasthan, while the red sandstone was quarried from Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh. Many precious and semi-precious stones, used for decoration, were imported from across the world, including jade and crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet, Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, sapphire from Sri Lanka and carnelian from Arabia. In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stone were inlaid into the white marble.
During World War II the British government erected a scaffolding to around the building to prevent air strikes by the Japanese Air Force. Even the Archaeological Survey of India which maintains the monument put up a scaffolding in 1947, 1965 and 1971 war to mislead the Pakistani bomber pilots looking to damage the monument.
In the 1830s Lord William Bentinck, the governor-general of India, supposedly planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble. According to Bentinck’s biographer John Rosselli the story arose from Bentinck’s fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort.
Reasons why people think Taj Mahal was a temple:
- Most Mughal-era buildings use red stone for exteriors and white marble for special inner spaces or tombs of holy men, Taj’s is made of white marble and red sandstone. This white-and-red colour scheme corresponds with the principles laid down in ancient Hindu traditions—in which white stands for purity, and red represents the warrior class.
- Taj Mahal has many architectural features like lotus symbols, a special riverfront platform, and use of gems and flower designs that are commonly found in Hindu temples.
- Local folk-tales and historical accounts suggest that there was a Hindu temple called Tejo Mahalaya at the site, which was gifted by Raja Maan Singh to Shah Jehan before the Taj Mahal was built.
- There are many unusual structural elements in the Taj Mahal that do not match typical Mughal architecture. These anomalies support their idea of it being a temple.
Reasons Experts Disagree:
- Most historical records, including those from the Mughal era, consistently describe the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal. None of these records mention it as a converted temple.
- Critics argue that while the Taj Mahal may have some features that resemble Hindu temples, it also includes elements from Mughal, Persian, and Islamic architectural styles, which were common during that period.
- Those who believe it was a temple often base their claims on interpretations of architectural features and historical accounts. However, they do not have concrete archaeological evidence to support their theory.
- Historical records show that during the Mughal era, existing Hindu temples were often preserved and restored rather than being converted into mosques or mausoleums.
Conclusion
The Taj Mahal is often shrouded in controversy regarding its origins. Despite claims suggesting it was once a Hindu temple, historical evidence confirms it was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The land, previously owned by Maharaja Jai Singh, was acquired through a fair exchange
