Cost of Construction of Bibi Ka Maqbara Aurangabad

 

Cost of Construction of Bibi Ka Maqbara Aurangabad

The cost of construction of the Maqbara as recorded on the plaque of the ASI is Rs. 6,68,203.7[1] (Rupees Six Lakh Sixty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Three and Seven Anas) according to the “Tawarikh Nama” of Gulam Mustafa. Bashir Ahmed estimated the cost as Rs. 6,65,283[2] which was recorded by Bilgrami in the year 1884 AD. The original Persian record Qila Suba Khujista Buniyad, the Glimpses of the Nizam’s Dominion, and the Aurangabad District Gazetteers state that the cost was Rs. 18 Lakhs.[3] The first figure seems to be correct whereas the figure stated by the last three sources seems to be incorrect. The figure stated by the last three sources seems to be the valuation of the Maqbara done in the last quarter of the 19th century. This also substantiates the argument that the amount of “Meher” was used for the construction of the Maqbara and the remaining amount must have been paid by Dilras Bano Begum, as she was from a very wealthy family in Iran.

Dilras Bano Begum built the Bibi Ka Maqbara Aurangabad
in her life with her own Money

The Maqbara was constructed by Dilras Bano Begum herself with her own money. The cost of the Maqbara as mentioned at the ASI Cultural Notice Board is Rs. 6,68,203.7 which is rather easy to breakdown and calculate as mentioned hereunder;

Income of Dilras Bano Begum

1)    She received her Meher (bridal gift) which was Rs. 4 Lakhs.

2)    She owned costly diamonds and gold ornaments.

3)    She received costly marriage gifts from all her relatives from India as well as from Iran, from nobles and other greater personalities and dignitaries.

4)    She received costly gifts on special occasions such as wedding anniversaries, Navroz, birthdays, etc.

5)    She received costly gifts from Prince Aurangzeb, her relatives, nobles, etc. on the occasions of the birth of her sons Mohammad Akbar and Mohammad Azam.

6)    She received costly gifts at all religious festivals such as Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-uz-Zuha, Shab-e-Meraj, Shab-e-Qadr, etc.

7)    She was allocated the ownership of Begampura and as such the revenue that was generated from the Begampura market, etc. was her revenue. Nawab Bai was similarly allocated the ownership of Baijipura.

8)    She received yearly payment from Prince Aurangzeb (this payment was equally given to both the wives) by Prince Aurangzeb.

If yearly income is multiplied by 22 years then it will be a very huge amount and even after her expenses, her savings were more than Rs. 3 Lakhs in total.

Dilras Banu Begum married Prince Aurangzeb in the year 1637 AD and she died in 1658 AD and as such within the span of 22 years she collected lots of gifts as mentioned above. She was always mindful of her eternal desire to build her memorable tomb which would be a replica of the Taj Mahal at Aurangabad therefore she saved lots of money for its construction. The above sources of income were more than Rs. 3 Lakhs approximately apart from the amount of Rs. 4 Lakhs of her Meher which works out to be more than Rs. 7 Lakhs in all. Hence, it is very clear that the Maqbara was built with the money of Dilras Banu Begum herself.

No royal money was utilized in the construction of the Maqbara. At the time of her death, Dilras Banu Begum took a promise from Prince Aurangzeb as her last will[4] that the remaining work of the Maqbara will be completed by Aurangzeb. No doubt Emperor Aurangzeb did complete the remaining work of the Maqbara, but he ordered the payments to be made to the artisans and the guards[5] from the revenue of the Begampura market. Aurangzeb did not spend a single Rupee for the construction of the Maqbara from the royal treasury

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[1] ASI Cultural Notice Board fixed at the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad.

[2] Bashiruddin A. Dehalvi, “Waqiyat-i-Mamlequat Bijapur” Vol. I. (Urdu), (Agra,  Md. Qadar Ai Khan Soofi, 1915), p.6

[3] Campbell, op. cit., p. 376

[4] Kalimat-e-Tayyibat; Inayatullah Khan Kashmiri p.

[5] Selected documents of Aurangzeb’s Reign., op. cit. p. 237