lashkar-e-hind
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Probably there is none who has not been duped at least
once in a life time. But can the whole world be duped? This
may seem impossible. But in the matter of Indian history the
world has been duped in many respects for hundreds of years
and still continues to be duped.
The world famous Taj Mahal in Agra is a glaring
instance. For all the time, money and energy that people the
world over spend in visiting the Taj Mahal they are dished out
a concoction. Contrary to what visitors are made to believe
the Taj Mahal is not an Islamic mausoleum but an ancient
Shiva temple known as Tejo Mahalaya which the 5th genera-
tion Mogul emperor Shahjahan commandeered from the then
Maharaja of Jaipur. Therefore the Taj Mahal must be viewed
as a temple-palace complex and not as a tomb. That makes a
vast difference. You miss the details of its size, grandeur,
majesty and beauty when you take it to be a mere tomb. When
told that you are visiting a temple-palace complex you won't
fail to notice its annexes, ruined defensive walls, hillocks,
moats, cascades, fountains, majestic garden, hundreds of
rooms, arcaded verandahs, terraces, multi-storied towers,
secret sealed chambers, guest rooms, stables, the trident
(trishul) pinnacle on the dome and the sacred, esoteric Hindu
letter OM carved on the exterior of the wall of the sanctum
sanctorum now occupied by the cenotaphs.
For detailed proof of this breath-taking discovery, you
may read the well known book entitled "The Taj Mahal is a
Temple Palace". But let us place before you, for the time
being an exhaustive summary of the massive evidence ranging
Over 103 points, namely:-
1. The term Taj Mahal itself never occurs in any Mogul
court paper or chronicle even in Aurangzeb's time.
2. The attempt to explain it away as Taj-i-Mahal i.e. a
crown among residences is, therefore, ridiculous.
3. Moreover, if the Taj is believed to be a burial place how
can the term 'Mahal' i.e. 'mansion', apply to it?
4. The other popular Islamic explanation is that the term
'Taj Mahal' derives from 'Mumtaz Mahal'--the lady who
is supposed to be buried in it. This explanation is itself
full of absurdities as we shall presently see. It may be
noted at the outset that the term 'Taj' which ends in a 'j',
could not have been derived from Mumtaz ending in a'z'.
5. Moreover, the lady's name was never Mumtaz Mahal but
Arjum and Banu Begum alias Mum taz-ul-Zamani , as men-
tioned in Shahjahan's official court chronicle, the Bad-
shahnama.
6. Since the term Taj Mahal does not at all occur in Mogul
records it is absurd to search for any Mogul explanation
for it. Both its components namely 'Taj' and 'Mahal' are
of Sanskritic origin. Mahal in Hindu parlance signifies a
mansion i.e. a grand edifice. Taj is the popular corrup-
tion of the word 'Tej' meaning splendour. In no Muslim
country from Afghanistan to Abyssinia, is any edifice
described as Mahal.
7. The term Taj Mahal is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit
term 'Tejo Mahalaya' signifying a Shiva temple. Agresh-
war Mahadev i.e. the Lord God of Agra was consecrated
in it.
8. The famous Hindu treatise on architecture, titled Vis-
wakarma Vastushastra mentions the 'Tej Linga' amongst
Shiva Lingas i.e. stone emblems of Lord Shiva, the Hindu
deity. Such a Teja Linga was consecrated in the Taj
Mahal hence the term Taj Mahal alias Tejo Mahalaya.
9. Agra city, in which the Taj Mahal is located, is an
andent centre of Shiva worship. Its orthodox residents
have through the ages continued the tradition of wor-
shipping at five Shiva shrines before taking the last meal
every night especially during the month of Shravan.
During the last few centuries residents of Agra had to be
content with worshipping at only four prominent Shiva
temples viz. Balkeshwar, Prithvinath, Manakameshwar
and Rajarajeshwar. They had lost track of the fifth
Shiva deity which their forefathers worshipped. Appa-
rently the fifth was Agreshwar Mahadev i.e. the Lord
Great God of Agra consecrated in the Tejo-Mahalaya
alias Taj Mahal.
10. The people who dominate the Agra region are Jats.
Their name for Shiva is Tejaji. The Jat special issue of
the Illustrated Weekly of India (June 28, 1971) mentions
that the Jats have Teja Mandirs i.e. Teja temples. This
is because Teja Linga is one among several names of
Shiva Lingas mentioned in Hindu architectural texts.
From this it is apparent that the Taj Mahal is Tejo
Mahalaya, the Great Abode of Tej'.
11. A Sanskrit inscription too supports the above conclusion.
Known as the Bateshwar inscription it is currently pre-
served in the Lucknow museum. It refers to the raising
of a "Crystal white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord
Shiva once enshrined in it decided never to return to
Mount Kailas--his usual abode". This inscription was
found within a radius of about 36 miles from the Taj
Mahal. The inscription is dated 1155 A.D. From this it
is clear that the Taj Mahal was built at least 500 years
before Shahjahan.
12. Shahjahan's own court chronicle, the Badshahnama ad-
mits (on page 403, Vol. 1) that a grand mansion of unique
splendour, capped with a dome, (imaarat-e-alishan wa
gumbaze) was taken from the Jaipur Maharaja Jaisingh
for Mumtaz's burial.
13. The plaque put up by the archaeology department outside
the Taj Mahal describes the edifice as a mausoleum built
by Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, over 22 years
from 1631 to 1653. That plaque is a specimen of
historical bungling. Firstly, the plaque cites no authority
for its claim. Secondly, the lady's name was Mumtez-ul-
Zamani and not Mumtaz Mahal. Thirdly, the period of 22
years is taken from some mumbo jumbo noting by an
unreliable French visitor Tavernier, to the exclusion of
all Muslim versions, which is an absurdity.
14. Prince Aurangzab's letter to his father, emperor Shah-
jahan, belies the archaeological department's reliance on
Tavernier. Aurangzeb's letter is recorded in at least two
chronicles titled 'Aadaab-e-Alamgiri' and
'Yaadgaarnama'. In that Aurangzeb records in 1652 A.D.
itself that the buildings in the fancied burial place of
Mumtaz, were seven-storied and were so old that they
were all leaking, while the dome had developed a crack on
the northern side. Aurangzeb, therefore, ordered imme-
diate repairs to the buildings at his own expense while
recommending to the emperor that more elaborate re-
pairs be carried out later. This is proof that during
Shahjahan's reign itself the Taj complex was so old as to
need immediate repairs.
15. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur retains in his secret personal
custody two orders from Shahjahan dated December 18,
1633 (bearing modern numbers K.D. 176 and 177) requisi-
tioning the Taj building complex. That was so blatant a
usurpation that the then ruler of Jaipur was ashamed to
make the documents public.
16. The Rajasthan State Archives at Bikaner preserves three
other firmans addressed by Shahjahan to Jaipur's ruler
Jaisingh ordering the latter to supply marble from his
Makrana quarries, and stone cutters. Jaisingh was
apparently so enraged at the blatant seizure of the Taj
Mahal that he refused to oblige Shahjahan by providing
marble for grafting Koranic engravings and false tombs
for further desecration of the Taj Mahal. Jaisingh
looked upon Shahjahan's demand for marble and stone
cutters, as an insult added to injury.
17. The three firmans demanding marble were sent to
Jaisingh within about two years of Mumtaz's death. Had
Shahjahan really built the Taj Mahal over a period of 22
years the marble would have been needed only after 15
or 30 years and not immediately after Mumtaz's death.
18. Moreover, the three firmans mention neither the Taj
Mahal, nor Mumtaz, nor the burial. The cost and the
quantity of stone required also are not mentioned. This
proves that an insignificant quantity of marble was
needed just for some superficial tinkering and tampering
with the Taj Mahal. Even otherwise Shahjahan could
never hope to build a fabulous Taj Mahal by abject
dependence for marble on a non-cooperative vassal like
Jaisingh.
19. The Taj Mahal is scrawled over with 14 chapters of the
Koran but nowhere is there even the slightest or re-
motest allusion in that Islamic overwriting to Shahjahan's
authorship of the Taj. Had Shahjahan been the builder he
would have said so in so many words before beginning to
quote the Koran.
20. That Shahjahan far from building the marble Taj only
disf igured it with black lettering is mentioned by the
inscriber Amanat Khan Shirazi himself in an inscription
on the building.
21. Well known western authorities on architecture like E. B.
Havell, Mrs. Kenoyer and Sir W. W. Hunter have gone on
record to say that the Taj Mahal is built in the Hindu
temple style. Havell points out that the ground plan of
the ancient Hindu Chandi Seva temple in Java is identi-
cal with that of the Taj.
22. A central dome with cupolas at its four corners is a
universal feature of Hindu temples.
23. The four marble pillars at the plinth corners are of the
Hindu style. They were used as lamp towers during the
night and as watch towers during the day. Such towers
serve to demarcate the holy precincts. Hindu wedding
altars and the altar set up for God Satyanarayan worship
have pillars raised at the four corners.
24. The octagonal shape of the Taj Mahal has a special
Hindu significance because Hindus alone have special
names for the eight directions, and celestial guards
assigned to them. The pinnacle points to the heaven
while the foundation signifies the nether world. Hindu
forts, cities, palaces, and temples generally have an
octagonal layout or some octagonal features so that
together with the pinnacle and the foundation they cover
all the ten directions in which the king or god holds
sway, according to Hindu belief.
25. The Taj Mahal has a trident pinnacle over the dome. A
full scale figure of that trident pinnacle is inlaid in the
red stone courtyard to the east of the Taj. The central
shaft of the trident depicts a Kalash (sacred pot) holding
two bent mango leaves and a coconut. This is a sacred
Hindu motif. Identical pinnacles may be seen over Hindu
and Buddhist temples in the Himalayan region. Tridents
are also depicted against a red lotus background at the
apex of the stately marble arched entrances on all four
sides of the Taj Mahal. People fondly but mistakenly
believed all these three centuries that the Taj pinnacle
depicts an Islamic crescent and star or was a lightning
conductor installed by the British rulers of India. Con-
trarily the pinnacle is a marvel of Hindu metallurgy
since the pinnacle made of a non-rusting alloy, is also
perhaps a lightning deflector. That the replica of the
pinnacle is drawn in the eastern courtyard is significant
because the east is of special importance to the Hindus,
as the direction in which the sun rises. The pinnacle on
the dome has the word Allah carved on it after capture.
The pinnacle figure on the ground does not have the word
Allah.
26. The two buildings which face the marble Taj from the
east and west are identical in design, size and shape and
yet the eastern building is explained away by Islamic
tradition, as a community hall while the western building
is claimed to be a mosque. How could buildings meant
for radically different purposes be identical? This
proves that the western building was put to use as a
mosque after seizure of the Taj property by Shahjahan.
Curiously enough the building being explained away as a
mosque has no minaret.
27. A few yards away on the same flank is the Nakkar Khana
alias drum house which is an intolerable incongruity for
Islam. The proximity of the drum house indicates that
the western annex was not originally a mosque. Con-
trarily a drum house is a necessity in a Hindu temple or
palace because Hindu chores morning and evening begin
to the sweet strains of music.
28. The embossed patterns on the marble exterior of the
cenotaph chamber wall are foliage of the conch shell
design and the Hindu letter 'OM'. The octagonally laid
marble lattices inside the cenotaph chamber depict pink
lotuses on their top railing. The lotus, the OM and the
conch shell are sacred motifs associated with Hindu
deities and temples.
29. The spot occupied by Mumtaz's cenotaph was formerly
occupied by the Hindu Teja Linga--a lithic representa-
tion of Lord Shiva. That emblem may still lie buried in
the cenotaph for all we know. Around it are three
perambulatory passages. Perambulation could be done
around the marble lattice or through the spacious marble
chambers surrounding the cenotaph chamber, and in the
open over the marble platform. It is also customary for
Hindus to have apertures along the perambulatory pas-
sage, overlooking the deity. Such apertures exist in the
perambulatories in the Taj Mahal.
30. The sanctum sanctorum in the Taj Mahal had silver doors
and gold railings as Hindu temples still have. It also had
nets of pearl, and gems stuffed in the marble lattices. It
was the lure of this wealth which made Shahjahan
commandeer the Taj Mahal from a helpless vassal
Jaisingh, the then ruler of Jaipur.
31. Peter Mundy an Englishman who left India within a year
or two of Mumtaz's death notes having seen a gem-
studded gold railing around Mumtaz's tomb. Had the Taj
Mahal been under construction for 22 years a costly gold
railing would not have been noticed by Peter Mundy
within a couple of years of Mumtaz's death. Such costly
fixtures are installed in a building only after the building
is ready for use. This indicates that Mumtaz's cenotaph
was grafted in the centre of the gold railings. Subse-
quently the gold railings, silver doors, nets of pearls,
gem-fillings etc. were all carted away to Shahjahan's
treasury. The seizure of the Taj Mahal thus constituted
an act of high-handed Mogul robbery which occasioned
big tussle between Shahjahan and Jaisingh.
32. In the marble flooring around Mumtaz's cenotaph may be
seen tiny mosaic patches. Those patches indicate the
spots where the supports for the gold railings were
embedded in the floor. They indicate a rectangular
fencing.
33. Above Mumtaz's cenotaph, hangs a chain by which now
hangs a lamp. Before capture by Shahjahan the chain
used to hold a water pitcher from which water used to
drip on the Shiva Linga.
34. It is this earlier drip-drop Hindu tradition in the Taj
Mahal which gave rise to the Islamic myth of Shahjahan's
love tear dropping on Mumtaz's tomb on a full moon day
on winter eve.
35. There are many absurdities in the Shahjahan tear legend.
Firstly, Shahjahan was no saint capable of post-mortem
miracles. Secondly, why should only one lone tear drop on
the cenotaph in 365 days from a proverbially disconso-
late Shahjahan? Even that tear could be shed by
Shahjahan's ghost entering the chamber through the
public entrance to weep his heart out on Mumtaz's
tombstone itself. Why should Shahjahan's ghost perform
a precarious circus feat of clambering up a slippery
marble dome which even an agile monkey won't dare
attempt, and shed one tear once a year from a height Over
200 feet?
The tear is said to drop in the form of dew or rain water,
at the stroke of the midnight hour through a tiny needle hole
aperture made by an irate mason's random hammer stroke
This gives rise to many more absurdities viz. is the liquid the
secretion of Shahjahan's ghost or dew or rain? Furthermore
there is no aperture in the dome as is claimed or assumed.
Had there been any such, rain water would have leaked in too
and made the interior wet. Moreover, the Taj Mahal has a
double dome. The concave dome one sees from inside, ends
like a huge inverted pan on the terrace. The dome one sees
from the outside rests like a top hat on the inner dome. Inside
it is a huge chamber about 83 feet high with the convex top of
the inner dome providing a curious domed floor. Because of
this double dome arrangement no liquid, including Shahjahan's
tear can even drop inside the Taj. Even if the upper, dome has
a chance aperture the drop, if any, will be arrested by the
inner dome. This is a typical instance of how gullible
multitudes place quick and easy faith in the most absurd
concoctions.
36. Even the hammer-story is a fabrication. Firstly, nobody
seems to ask why should any mason bear any grudge
towards Shahjahan when the latter is said to have spent
liberally and lavishly in cam missioning the mausoleum?
Secondly, even if a mason bore any grudge he would not
be permitted access to the emperor to exchange hot
words with. Even if there were any argument between
the two it would not be between a Shahjahan standing in
the garden and the petulant mason on the slippery perch
like an irate monkey on top of the dome at a perpendi-
cular height of 243 feet or so. What is more, an angry
masonts most powerful hammer stroke would not make
even the slightest dent in the dome because the dome
has a 13 feet thick wall covered with hard marble.
The hammer stroke and tear drop stories are a fraudu-
lent Islamic fabrication based on two facts. One of those we
have already noted namely that in the Hindu tradition water
did drip in droplets from a pitcher hung over the Shiva Linga.
The second fact is that Shahjahan was so stingy by
nature that he did not want to spend even a cent from his own
treasury in transferring a captured Taj Mahal into an Islamic
mausoleum. His troops used to round up workers from Agra
city and the neighbourhood at sword point or at the crack of a
whip. Such forced labour was employed for years in pulling
out Hindu idols, grafting Koranic engravings, and sealing, five
Of the seven stories of the Taj klahal. Being compelled to
work for years without wages, the workmen rebelled. A
haughty Shahjahan punished them by amputating their hands.
37. But the above gruesome detail has been given a romantic
twist by fabricators of the Shahjahan legend. They want
people to believe that Shahjahan maimed the workers
because they should not build a rival Taj for someone
else. This facile, disingenious version is based on many
imponderable details. Firstly, for anybody to conceive a
rival Taj he should have had as comely and infatuating a
wife as Mumtaz is believed to have been. Secondly, she
should have died after the Taj Vlahal was supposed to
have been completed by Shahjahan. Thirdly, that fancied
prospective rival should be swayed by tearing envy and
jealousy. Fourthly, he must be as affluent as a Mogul
emperor and be an equally irresponsible spendthrift itch-
ing to squander his millions on a fabulous mausoleum.
Even if all this fantastic nonsense is conjured up as a
reality, an angry Shahjahan could still nip the competitive
impudence of a subject of his by a simple imperial fiat
prohibiting the budding of a rival Taj.
A further absurdity is that while on the one hand it is
contended that Shahjahan was so soft hearted as to weep
disconsolately over the death of his wife, it is also contended
In the same breath that he turned fiercely treacherous as soon
as the wonder mausoleum was complete and ordered the
maimimg of the master workmen. Would a sovereign be
gratified and reward the master craftsmen who execute a
work of art or would he punish them with maiming for all their
skill and devotion? Such rascality and treachery not attri-
buted even to a snake is unwittingly attributed to Shahjahan by
his absentminded admirers.
38. As one climbs down the stairs to the basement chamber
in the Taj, believed to house the real grave of Mumta2
one may take a close look at the walls on either side of
the first landing. The walls are finished with marble
slabs of dissimilar sizes. That indicates that ramps or
stairs branching off at the first landing, to go down to
the other chambers in the basement have been sealed off
by Shahjahan haphazardly with dissimilar slabs which
came handy.
39. Apart from these stairs there are many others which
have been sealed by Shahjahan. As one climbs up from
the red stone courtyard to the marble plinth one may
notice a square marble slab in front. Stamping one's feet
on it one gets a hollow sound. Thumping on the
surrounding slabs does not produce a hollow sound.
Apparently the square slab hides a man-size entrance to
a staircase leading to hidden chambers in the marble
basement. Another steep staircase sealed by Shahjahan
was discovered when a stone slab on the terrace beyond
the so-called mosque and octagonal well, was removed
for investigation when a chance thumping produced a
hollow sound there. This indicates the extent of Shah-
jahan's tampering with the Taj and that there is much
more to see and discover in the Taj, than meets the eye.
40. The Taj Mahal having originated as a temple palace it
has several dry, scavenging type toilets which lie un-
known to the lay visitor, locked and barred. Had it been
an Islamic mausoleum it should not have had toilets.
41. Between the so-called mosque and the drum house is a
multi-storied octagonal well with a flight of stairs
reaching down to the water level. This is the traditional
treasury well in Hindu temple palaces. Treasure chests
used to be kept in the lower apartments while treasury
personnel had their offices in the upper chambers. The
circular stairs made it difficult for intruders to reach
down to the treasure or to escape with it undetected or
unpursued. In case the premises had to be surrendered to
a besieging enemy the treasure could be pushed into the
well to remain hidden from the conqueror and remain
safe for salvaging if the place was reconquered. Such an
elaborate multi-storied well is superfluous for a mere
mausoleum.
42. Tavernier, a French merchant who happened to visit India
during Shahjahan's reign has noted in his memoirs that
Shahjahan "purposely" buried Mumtaz at the "the Taj-i-
Macan", (i.e. the Taj Mahal) so that the wood may
admire the burial spot because even foreigners used to
flock to see the Taj Mahal in Tavernier's time as they do
now. Those who are misled to believe that the Taj Sahel
finds no mention before Mumtaz's death, may note
Tavernier's reference. |
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