Hidden Secrets of Bibi ka Maqbara- Reflection of the Dignity of Mughal Rulers

 

Hidden Secrets of Bibi ka Maqbara- Reflection of the Dignity of Mughal Rulers

Painting - View of Maqbara from Palace

Huge buildings, forts and imposing towers are not only useful but also conducive to the dignity of the emperor. The wonderful structures which impress the beholders evoke an aesthetic experience, appreciation and finally fear and respect for the government.[1]

Akbar’s constructions at Agra and Fatehpur Sikri bear witness to the above statement of Abul Fazal. When Jahangir saw the tomb of his father at Sikandara (Agra) which was under construction, he did not approve of it.[2] Jahangir exposed his heart in his biography “It did not come up to my idea of which I ought to be, for what would be approved which the wayfarer of the world should point to as one the like of which was not in the populated world.”[3]

The craze to build wonderful buildings reached its climax during the prosperous age of Shah Jahan. His historian Abdul Hamid Lohari[4] noted that Shah Jahan’s love of architecture and his desire to produce extremely beautiful buildings was well reflected in one of his inscriptions in the Diwan-e-Khas of Agra fort which reads, “When his palace adorned the world the face of the earth with it was exalted to heaven.[5]

        

        During the reign of Shah Jahan, Prince Aurangzeb was appointed as the Subedar of the Deccan.[6] The Deccan Suba was far away from the central capital of the Mughals and it was quite difficult to control it. Prince Aurangzeb was sent to the Deccan as the Subedar for the second time in 1652 AD.[7] His father Emperor Shah Jahan built the wonderful building called the Taj at Agra which had captivated the whole world, enhanced his dignity and had created fear and respect for the emperor to great distances.[8]

Dr Shaikh Ramzan

M.A., M.Ed., PhD (History) Researcher

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[1] Nath, op. cit., p. 152
[2] Nath, op. cit., p. 153
[3] Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri, Vol.I (Tr. A. Rogers), London, 1909, P. 152
[4] Badshah Nama, Vol.I (Bib. Indica, Calcutta, 1868), P. 144
[5] Ibid.
[6] Aurangabad District Gazetteers, op. cit., p. 126
[7] Ibid., p. 127

[8] Nath, op. cit., p. 152