Bibi Ka Maqbara

Bibi Ka Maqbara
Taj Mahal of Deccan
Location	Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Maharashtra, India
Coordinates	19.90151°N 75.320195°E / 19.90151; 75.320195
Founder	Azam Shah (Son of Aurangzeb)
Built	1668 (356 years ago) (1668)
Built for	Dilras Banu Begum
Architect	Ata-ullah, Hanspat Rai
Architectural style(s)	Mughal architecture
Location in Maharashtra, India Show map of Maharashtra Bibi Ka Maqbara (India) Show map of India

The Bibi Ka Maqbara (English: "Tomb of the Lady"^[1][2]) is a tomb located in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son prince Azam Shah in the memory of his loving mother Dilras Banu Begum (posthumously known as Rabia-ul-Durrani).^[3][4][5] It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal and that is why it is also called the Taj of the Deccan.^[6] Aurangzeb was not much interested in architecture though he had commissioned the small, but elegant, Moti Masjid at Delhi. Bibi Ka Maqbara is the second largest structure that Aurangzeb has built, the largest being the Badshahi Mosque.^[7]

The comparison to the Taj Mahal has often obscured its very own considerable charm.^[8] Due to the strong resemblance, it is also called the Dakkhani Taj (Taj of the Deccan).^[9] Bibi Ka Maqbara is the "principal monument" of Aurangabad and its historic city.^[10][11] An inscription found on the main entrance door mentions that this mausoleum was designed and erected by Ata-ullah, an architect and Hanspat Rai, an engineer respectively.^[9] Ata-ullah was the son of Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.^[12] Aurangzeb's son, Muhammad Azam Shah was in later years put in charge of overseeing the repair-work of the mausoleum by Shah Jahan.

History

The tomb in the 1880s

Dilras Banu Begum was born a princess of the prominent Safavid dynasty of Iran (Persia)^[13] and was the daughter of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi (titled Shahnawaz Khan),^[14] who was the viceroy of Gujarat.^[15] She married Prince Muhi-ud-din (later known as Aurangzeb upon his accession) on 8 May 1637 in Agra.^[16] Dilras was his first wife and chief consort, as well as his favourite.^{[17][18][19][20]} They had five children — Zeb-un-Nissa, Zinat-un-Nissa, Zubdat-un-Nissa, Muhammad Azam Shah and Sultan Muhammad Akbar.

After giving birth to her fifth child, Muhammad Akbar, Dilras Banu Begum possibly suffered from puerperal fever, due to complications caused by the delivery and died a month after the birth of her son on 8 October 1657. Upon her death, Aurangzeb's pain was extreme and their eldest son, Azam Shah, was so grieved that he had a nervous breakdown.^[21] It became Dilras' eldest daughter, Princess Zeb-un-Nissa's responsibility to take charge of her newborn brother.^[14] Zeb-un-Nissa doted on her brother a lot, and at the same time, Aurangzeb greatly indulged his motherless son and the prince soon became his best-loved son.^[22]

In 1660, Aurangzeb commissioned a mausoleum at Aurangabad to act as Dilras' final resting place, known as Bibi Ka Maqbara ("Tomb of the Lady"). Here, Dilras was buried under the posthumous title of 'Rabia-ud-Daurani' ("Rabia of the Age"). In the following years, her tomb was repaired by her son Azam Shah under Aurangzeb's orders. Bibi Ka Maqbara was the largest structure that Aurangzeb had to his credit and bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Dilras' mother-in-law, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, who herself died in childbirth. Aurangzeb, himself, is buried a few kilometers away from her mausoleum in Khuldabad.

Construction

Bibi Ka Maqbara is believed to have been built between 1668 and 1669 C.E. According to the "Tarikh Namah" of Ghulam Mustafa, the cost of construction of the mausoleum was Rs. 668,203-7 (rupees six lakh, sixty-eight thousand, two hundred three and seven annas) – Aurangzeb allocated only Rs. 700,000 for its construction.^[23] An inscription found on the main entrance door mentions that this mausoleum was designed and erected by Ata-ullah, an architect and Hanspat Rai, an engineer respectively. The marble for this mausoleum was brought from mines near Jaipur. According to Tavernier, around three hundred carts laden with marble, drawn by at least 12 oxen, were seen by him during his journey from Surat to Golconda. The mausoleum was intended to rival the Taj Mahal, but the decline in architecture and proportions of the structure (both due to the severe budgetary constraints imposed by Aurangzeb) had resulted in a different and particular monument with its own significant beauty.^[9]

Features

• Mughal architecture
• 
  Jali work on the mosque
• 
  Arches inside the tomb
• 
  The view of tomb in clear skies
• 
  Designs on the interior of the dome
• 
  Floral designs on marble, as seen on the tomb's interior walls
• 
  Side view of the mosque in the Mausoleum complex
• 
  Night view of the Minaret near the tomb
• 
  Aerial view of the tomb.

The mausoleum is laid out in a charbagh formal garden. It stands at the center of a huge enclosure measuring approximately 458 m. N-S X 275 m. E-W. Baradaris or pillared pavilions are located at the center of the north, east, and western parts of the enclosure wall. The high enclosure wall is crenelated with pointed arched recesses and bastions at regular intervals. The recesses are divided by pilasters, crowned with small minarets. The mausoleum is built on a high square platform with four minarets at its corners, which is approached by a flight of steps from the three sides. A mosque is found to the west of the main structure, a later addition by the Nizam of Hyderabad, resulting in the closure of the west entrance.

Entry to the mausoleum is through a main entrance gate on its south, which has foliage designs on brass plate on wood covering from the exterior. After passing through the entrance a small tank is provided and a low-profile screen wall leads to the main structure. The screened pathway has a series of fountains at its center.

The mausoleum is encased with marble up to the dado level. Above the dado level, it is constructed of basaltic trap up to the base of the dome; the latter is again built of marble. A fine plaster covers the basaltic trap and given a fine polished finish and adorned with fine stucco decorations. The mortal remains of Rabia Daurani are placed below the ground level surrounded by an octagonal jali pierced marble screen with exquisite designs, which can be approached by a descending flight of steps. The roof of this chamber that corresponds to the ground level of the mausoleum is pierced by an octagonal opening and given a low barricaded marble screen. This makes the tomb viewable from the ground level through this octagonal opening. The mausoleum is crowned by a dome pierced with trellis works and accompanying panels decorated with flower designs.^[9] The structure is in the form of a hexagon, its angles ornamented with minarets.^[24]

Gallery

• 
  The tomb at dusk
• 
  The tomb in fog
• 
  The Cenotaph of Dilras Banu Begum
• 
  Floral patterns on marble, in the interiors of the tomb
• 
  Motif Bibi Ka Maqbara Aurangabad India - panoramio
• 
  Column detailing design
• 
  Decorative artwork on the Door
• 
  Tomb from inside
• 
  Restoration of the tomb underway
• 
  The tomb with geese in the garden pool

References

1. Lach, Donald F.; Kley, Edwin J. Van (1998). Asia in the Making of Europe : Volume III, the Century of Advance (Pbk. ed.). University of Chicago Press. p. 738. ISBN 9780226467672.
2. Rupani, Bob (2018). India's 100 best destinations. ISBN 9788192526201. OCLC 1027216185.
3. Lach, Donald F.; Kley, Edwin J. Van (1998). Asia in the Making of Europe : Volume III, the Century of Advance (Pbk. ed.). University of Chicago Press. p. 738. ISBN 9780226467672.
4. Eraly, Abraham (2008). The Mughal world: India's tainted paradise. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 376.
5. "The Taj of Deccan". Deccan Herald. 19 February 2011.
6. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 174.
7. Eraly, Abraham (2008). The Mughal world: India's tainted paradise. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 376.
8. Gascoigne, Bamber; Gascoigne, Christina (1971). The Great Moghuls. Cape. p. 229.
9. "World Heritage Sites. Bibi-Ka-Maqbar". Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
10. Koch, Ebba (1997). King of the World: The Padshahnama. Azimuth. p. 104.
11. "Bibi Ka Maqbara". Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
12. text; Sahai, photogr. Surendra (2004). Indian architecture : Islamic period : 1192-1857 (1. publ. ed.). New Delhi: Prakash Books. p. 150. ISBN 9788172340575.
13. Yust, Walter (1954). Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 2. p. 694.
14. Faruqui, Munis D. (2012). The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719. Cambridge University Press. pp. 72, 90. ISBN 978-1139536752.
15. Annie Krieger-Krynicki (2005). Captive princess: Zebunissa, daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. Oxford University Press. p. 1.
16. Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1979). A short history of Aurangzib, 1618-1707. Orient Longman. p. 409.
17. Eraly, Abraham (2007). The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age. Penguin Books India. p. 147.
18. Chandra, Satish (2002). Parties and politics at the Mughal Court, 1707-1740. Oxford University Press. p. 50.
19. Koch, Ebba (1997). King of the world: the Padshahnama. Azimuth Ed. p. 104.
20. Nath, Renuka (1990). Notable Mughal and Hindu women in the 16th and 17th centuries A.D. New Delhi: Inter-India Publ. p. 148.
21. Hamid, Annie Krieger Krynicki ; translated from French by Enjum (2005). Captive princess : Zebunissa, daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. Karachi: Oxford University Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780195798371.
22. Eraly, Abraham (2000). Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals. Penguin Books India. p. 424.
23. Maharashtra (India). Gazetteers Dept (1977). Maharashtra State gazetteers. Director of Govt. Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. p. 951. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
24. Qureshi Dulari, "Tourism Potential in Aurangabad", p.50

Sources

• Asher, Catherine Blanshard. Architecture of Mughal India, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26728-1.

External links

• Government of India's Press Information Bureau: Bibi Ka Maqbara
• Archaeological Survey of India: Bibi Ka Maqbara