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Articles: Arts and Culture | Tajmahal a Vedic temple?
- Prof. venkata ramanamurty mallajosyula
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ADDITIONAL ONLINE ARTICLES :
'The Question of the Taj Mahal' (Itihas Patrika, vol 5, pp. 98-111, 1985) by P. S. Bhat and A. L. Athavale is a profound and thoroughly researched and well balanced paper on the Taj Mahal controversy. This paper goes well with the photographs listed below. It uncovers the reasons for the rumors and assumptions of why it is said that Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, and presents all the inconsistencies of why that theory doesn't hold up. It also covers such things as the descriptions found in the old Agra court papers on the Taj, descriptions and measurements of the building in the old records, Aurangzeb's letter of the much needed repairs even in 1632 which is unlikely for a new building, records that reveal Shah Jahan acquired marble but was it enough for really building the Taj or merely for inlay work and decorative coverings, the observations of European travelers at the time, the actual age of the Taj, how the architecture is definitely of Indian Hindu orientation and could very well have been designed as a Shiva temple, the issue of the arch and the dome, how the invader Timurlung (1398) took back thousands of prisoner craftsmen to build his capital at Samarkhand and where the dome could have been incorporated into Islamic architecture, how it was not Shah Jahan's religious tolerance that could have been a reason for Hindu elements in the design of the Taj, how the direction of the mosque does not point toward Mecca as most mosques do, the real purpose of the minarets at the Taj, the Hindu symbolism recognized in the Taj which would not have been allowed if it was truly Muslim built, and even as late as 1910 the Encyclopaedia Britannica included the statement by Fergusson that the building was previously a palace before becoming a tomb for Shah Jahan, and more. A most interesting paper.
'An Architect Looks at the Taj Mahal Legend' by Marvin Mills, is a great review of the information available on the Taj Mahal and raises some very interesting questions that make it obvious that the Taj could not have been built the way or during the time that history presents, which makes it more like a fable than accurate history. This suggests a construction date of 1359 AD, about 300 years before Shah Jahan.
The True Story of the Taj Mahal. This article by P.N.Oak (from Pune, India) provides an overview of his research and lists his 109 proofs of how the Taj Mahal was a pre-existing Hindu temple palace, built not by Shah Jahan but originally at least 500 years earlier in 1155 AD by Raja Paramardi Dev as a Vedic temple. Mr. P.N.Oak is another who has done much research into this topic, and such a study is hardly complete without considering his findings. The evidence he presents here is a most interesting read, whether you agree with it all or not, or care for some of the anger in his sentiment. Mr. Oak has presented his own conclusions in his books, most notably Taj Mahal--The True Story (ISBN: 0-9611614-4-2).
The Letter of Aurangzeb ordering repairs on the old Taj Mahal in the year just before it is said to have been completed.
The Badshahnama is the history written by the Emperor's own chronicler. This page shows how Aurangzeb had acquired the Taj from the previous owner, Jai Singh, grandson of Raja Mansingh, after selecting this site for the burial of Queen Mumtaz.
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