The Black Taj Mahal : Fact or Myth
admin December 28th, 2007
The black taj was to be built for Shah Jhan himself. But the question is that- where is the black taj, which had been the exact copy of the Taj Mahal, and was to be on the opposite location of the river? The answer lays in the fact that when he was building his Black Taj,
It has been recorded by Tavernier – a French merchant, “Shahjahan began to build his own tomb on the other side of Yamuna but the war with his sons interrupted his plans and Aurangzeb who reigns at present is not disposed to complete it”.
it would have taken the half of the total treasury of the Mughal Empire. The Black marble was only found in Rajasthan that would cost a high burden for the revenue department. Archaeologists have found out the remains of the base of the Black Taj, but, what happened to the upper part? The answer is that it was never built! Aurangzeb had his father imprisoned at the time when the foundations were being laid, as he thought that it was a mere wastage of the money for the construction of the Taj Mahal. He immediately stopped the building of the Taj and order to his men to break it and bury it.
Later the historical guidebooks and gazetteers mention this story almost invariably. The irregular position of the cenotaph of Shahjahan as compared to that of Mumtaz Mahal, which occupies the exact centre of the hall, is said to be proof of this assumption. The Mehtab Burj and the wall adjoining it opposite the Taj Mahal are generally said to be the foundations and remains of the proposed plan.
Many scholars, however, believe that this is a myth and has no relation to truth. The traces, which are identified as the foundations of the second Taj, are actually the enclosing wall of a garden founded by Babur. The irregular position of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph in comparison to Mumtaz Mahal’s, is similar to that at the Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah, and thus should not be of any striking significance. Besides, according to Islamic law, bodies are buried with their faces towards Mecca and legs towards the south, and the husband is placed on the right hand side of his wife. The interpretation that the cenotaph of Shah Jahan was not meant to be placed here appears to be superfluous.