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Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (From Sanskrit: Tejo Mahalay, "The Great Abode of
1
Tej"), Teja (Jats' name of Shiva is Tejaji) + Mahalay (mansion) is a Temple
Palace of Lord Shiva located in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal is the finest
example of Hindu architecture.
 The Taj Mahal (Tejo Mahalay)

Known as one of the Seven Wonders of the world, this magnificent seven
storied temple mansion comprises of majestic garden, interior water
well, 400 to 500 rooms, 22 apartments, archaded
verendahs,terraces, multi stored towers, underground
passage, guest rooms, stables, music house, drum
chamber, cowsheds, and guard rooms — that necessarily form part of a
palace. On the pinnacle of the dome is the Trishul (the trident), red lotus at
apex of the entrance, typical Vedic style corridors and the sacred, esoteric
letter "AUM" carved on the exterior of the wall of the sanctum sanctorum
now occupied by the cenotaphs were of Hindu architecture, built by Hindu
craftsmen, with Hindu design. Its marblework is similar to the Amber
palace at Jaipur built some six hundred years earlier by Raja Man Singh I in
1592 and completed by Sawai Jai Singh I.

During the Mongul rule, this Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah
Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. Shah Jahan then remodeled
the palace into his wife's memorial. In his own court
chronicle, Badshahnama (on page 403, Vol. 1), Shah Jahan states that a
grand mansion of unique splendor, capped with a dome, (imaarat-e-
alishan wagumbaze) in Agra was taken from the Jaipur Maharaja
Jaisingh for Mumtaz's burial. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur is said to retain in
his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for the surrender of the Taj
building.

Historical Account
The Agra city, in which the Taj Mahal is located, is an ancient center
of Shiva worship. Its orthodox residents have through ages continued the
tradition of worshiping at five Shiva shrines before taking the last meal every
night especially during the month of Shravan.

Fold
Table of Contents
Historical Account
The seizure from the Maharaja of Jaipur
Disfiguring and Tampering by Shah Jahan
Hindu Architecture
The Tejo Mahalaya inscription
European Visitor's and pre-Shahjahan's Accounts
Fabrication of History
Hidden, locked and sealed chambers
Inconsistencies as outlined by P.N.Oak
The name Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal is not a Tomb
Hindu Significance
Patches
Taj Mahal: The True Story
Pictures
The True Architectural Origin of Taj Mahal
Taj builders used Harappan measurement units

During the last few centuries the residents of Agra had to be content with
worshiping at only four prominent Shiva temples
viz., Balkeshwar, Prithvinath, Manakameshwar and Rajarajeshwar. They had
lost track of the fifth Shiva deity which their forefathers worshiped.
Apparently the fifth was Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar i.e., The
Lord Great God of Agra, The Deity of the King of Cobras, consecrated in the
Tejo Mahalay (Taj Mahal).

The famous Hindu treatise on architecture titled Vishwakarma

Vastushastra mentions the 'Tej-Linga' amongst theShivalingas i.e., the
stone emblems of Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity. Such a Tej Linga was
consecrated in the Taj Mahal, hence the term Taj Mahal alias Tejo Mahalay.
The other name of the emblem was Agreswar Mahadev and it is important
to note that from the word Agreswar, the name of the city of Agra has been
derived.

A locality in, nearly 4 km away from Taj Mahal, is called Bateswar and in
1900 A.D., General Cuningham, the thenDirector of the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI), conducted an excavation at Bateswar and discovered
an edict, now known as the Munj Bateswar Edict and kept at the Lucknow
Museum. The epigraph contains 34 verses written inSanskrit, out of which
25th, 26th and 34th verses are important in the present context. An English
translation of the above verses reads:

“He built a marble temple which is the abode of Lord Vishnu and the King
bows down to touch His feet” (25).

“The King has built another marble temple which has been dedicated to the
Lord Who has the moon as His ornament on His forehead” (26).

“Today, the 5th day of the bright half in the month of Ashwin, the Sunday, in
the year 1212 of the Vikram Samvat, the edict is being laid” (34).

Mr. D. J. Kale, a well known archaeologist, has mentioned the said Munj
Bateswar Edict in his celebrated work Epigraphica India. On page 124 of
the said book, Mr. Kale writes,

“The sais Munj Bateswar Edict was laid by King Paramardidev of the
Chandratreya dynasty on Sukla Panchami in the month of Ashwin, in the
year 1212 Vikram Samvat (or A.D. 1156). … King Paramardidev built two
magnificent temples with white marble, one for Lords Vishnu and the other
for Lord Shiva and they were desecrated later on by the Muslim invaders.
Perhaps a farsighted man took the edict to a safer place at Bateswar abd
buries it beneath the ground”.

Perhaps, after the said desecration, the temples were no longer used as
religious places and due to this reason Abdul Hamid Lahori mentioned them
as palaces, not as temples.
According to the renowned historian Mr. R. C. Majumdar, the other name of
the Chandratreya or Chandel King Paramardidev was Paramal and their
kingdsom was known as Bundelkhand, a.k.a. Jejakabhukti2.

Today, there are two marble palaces in Agra, one is the Mausoleum
of Idmat-ud-Daula, the father of Noorjahan and the other is Taj Mahal, and
it is evident from theMunj Bateswar edict that, once upon a time, one of
them was the temple of Lord Vishnu and the other was a temple of Lord
Shiva. Experts believe that it is the temple of Vishnu that has been made the
mausoleum of Idmat-ud-Daula, and the temple of Shiva has been converted
into the mausoleum of the queen Arjumand Banu. A few evidences in favour
of this conclusion are given below.

The seizure from the Maharaja of Jaipur

The Muslims started their rule over India in 712 A.D. with the invasion
of Mohammed Qasem. During their rule they looted and destroyed hundreds
of thousands of Hindu temples. Aurangzeb himself destroyed 10,000 Hindu
temples during his reign! Some of the larger temples were converted into
mosques or other Islamic structures.Ram Janmbhoomi (at Ayodhya)
and Mathura Krishna Temple (at Mathura) are just two examples. The most
evident of such structures is Taj Mahal.
The Badshahnama — Documentary evidence from Mogul records
showing clearly how the Taj was acquired from Raja Mansingh
 Aurangzeb's Letter: Aurangzeb writing to his father Shahjahan within
years of completion as to extensive repairs required to the Taj.

An English translation of the contents from line 21 of page 402 to line 41 on

page 403 of Badshahnama is given below.

“Friday, 15th Jamadiulawal, the sacred dead body of the traveller to the
kingdom of holiness Hazrat Mumtazul Zamani, who was temporarily
buried, was brought, accompanied by Prince Mohammad Shah, Suja
bahadur, Wazir Khan and Satiunnesa Khanam, who knew the pemperament
of the deceased intimately and was well versed in view of that Queen of the
Queens used to hold, was brought to the capital Akbarabad (Agra) and an
order was issued that very day coins be distributed among the beggers and
fakirs. The site covered with a majestic garden, to ther south of the great city
(of Agra) and amidst which the building known as the palace of Raja Man
Singh, at present owned by Raja Jai asingh, grandson of Man Singh, was
selected for the burial of the Queen, whose abode is in heaven. Although
Raja Jai Singh valued it greatly as his ancestral heritage and property, yet he
agreed to part with it gratis for Emperor Shahjahan, still out of sheer
scrupulousness and religious sanctity, he (Jai Singh) was granted
Sharifabad in exchange of that grand palace (Ali Manzil). After the arrival of
the deadbody in that great city (of Agra), next year that illustrious body of
the Queen was laid to rest and the officials of the capital, according to royal
order, hid the body of that pious lady from the eyes of the world and the
palace so majestic (imarat-e-alishan) and capped with a dome (wa gumbaje)
was turned into a sky-high lofty mausoleum”.

Aurangzeb's letter to his father, emperor Shah Jahan, is recorded in at least

three chronicles titled Aadaab-e-Alamgiri, Yadgarnama, and
the Muruqqa-i-Akbarabadi (edited by Said Ahmed, Agra, 1931, page 43,
footnote 2). In that letter Aurangzeb records in 1652 A.D itself that
the several buildings in the fancied burial place of Mumtaz were
seven storeyed and were so old that they were all leaking, while the
dome had developed a crack on the northern side. Aurangzeb,
therefore, ordered immediate repairs to the buildings at his own expense
while recommending to the emperor that more elaborate repairs be carried
out later. This is the proof that during Shah Jahan's reign itself that
the Taj complex was so old as to need immediate repairs.

Shah Jahan then remodeled the palace into his wife's memorial. The use of
captured temples and mansions as a burial place for dead courtiers and
royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example,
Hamayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such
mansions. Many rooms in the Taj Mahal have remained sealed since Shah
Jahan's time, and are still inaccessible to the public.

The Rajasthan State archives at Bikaner preserve three other firmans

addressed by Shah Jahan to the Jaipur's ruler Jaising ordering the latter to
supply marble (for Mumtaz's grave and koranic grafts) from his Makranna
quarris, and stone cutters. Jaisingh was apparently so enraged at the blatant
seizure of the Tajmahal that he refused to oblige Shah Jahan by providing
marble for grafting koranic engravings and fake centotaphs for further
desecration of the Tajmahal. Jaising looked at Shah Jahan's demand for
marble and stone cutters, as an insult added to injury. Therefore, he refused
to send any marble and instead detained the stone cutters in his protective
custody.

The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur retains in his secret personal ‘KapadDwara’

collection two orders from Shahjahan dated Dec 18, 1633 (bearing modern
nos. R.176 and 177) requestioning the Taj building complex. That was so
blatant a usurpation that the then ruler of Jaipur was ashamed to make the
document public.

Bernier, a contemporary French visitor has noted that non-muslim's were

barred entry into the basement (at the time when Shah Jahan requisitioned
Mansingh's palace) which contained a dazzling light. Obviously, he reffered to
the silver doors, gold railing, the gem studded lattice and strings of pearl
hanging over Shiva's idol. Shah Jahan comandeered the building to grab all
the wealth, making Mumtaz's death a convineant pretext.

Disfiguring and Tampering by Shah Jahan

Far from the building of the Taj, Shah Jahan disfigured it with black koranic
lettering and heavily robbed it of its Sanskrit inscription, several idols and
two huge stone elephants extending their trunks in a welcome arch over the
gateway where visitors these days buy entry tickets.

Tavernier, a French jeweller has recorded in his travel memoirs that Shah
Jahan purposely buried Mumtaz near the Taz-i-Makan (i.e.,"The Taj
building") where foreigners used to come as they do even today so that the
world may admire. He also adds that the cost of the scaffold-ing was more
than that of the entire work. The work that Shah Jahan commissioned in the
Tejomahalaya Shiva temple was plundering at the costly fixtures inside it,
uprooting the Shiva idols, planting the centotaphs in their place on two
stories, inscribing the koran along the arches and walling up six of the seven
stories of the Taj. It was this plunder, desecrating and plunderring of the
rooms which took 22 years.

A clue to the tampering by Shahjahan is found on pages 216-217, vol. 4, of

Archealogiical Survey of India Reports (published 1874) stating that a "great
square black balistic pillar which, with the base and capital of
another pillar….now in the grounds of Agra,…it is well known, once
stood in the garden of Taj Mahal".
An Englishman, Thomas Twinning, records (pg. 191 of his book "Travels in
India - A Hundred Years ago") that in November 1794

"I arrived at the high walls which enclose the Taje-Mahal and its
circumjacent buildings. I here got out of the palanquine and … mounted a
short flight of steps leading to a beautiful portal which formed the centre of
this side of the "Court of the Elephants" as the great area was called."

The Taj Mahal is scrawled over with 14 chapters of the Koran but nowhere is
there even the slightest or the remotest allusion in that Islamic overwriting
to Shah Jahan's authorship of the Taj. Had Shah Jahan been the builder he
would have said so in so many words before beginning to quote Koran.

That Shah Jahan, far from building the marble Taj, only disfigured it with
black lettering is mentioned by the inscriber Amanat Khan Shirazi himself in
an inscription on the building. A close scrutiny of the Koranic lettering reveals
that they are grafts patched up with bits of variegated stone on an ancient
Shiva temple.

Hindu Architecture
The arrangement of the domes, the lotus canopy, the trident pinnacle, the
numerous rooms in the building, the direction of the mansion and its triple
domes, the "Gow-shala", the "Nagar-khanas," and the surviving Hindu
symbolism indicate that it was originally built as a temple complex.

Well known Western authorities on architecture like E. B. Havell, Mrs.

Kenoyer and Sir W. W. Hunterhave gone on record to say that the Taj
Mahal is built in the Hindu temple style. Havell points out the ground plan of
the ancient Hindu Chandi Seva Temple in Java is identical with that of the
Taj.
These arches along the eastern side of the plinth are an
indication of the row upon row of rooms total 1089 that
lie hidden inside the marble plinth.

Dome: A central dome with cupolas at its four corners is a universal feature
of Hindu temples.

Pillars: The four marble pillars at the plinth corners are of the Hindu style.
They are used as lamp towers during night and watch towers during the day.
Such towers serve to demarcate the holy precincts. Hindu wedding altars and
the altar set up for God Satyanarayan worship have pillars raised at the four
corners. The Taj Mahal has towers, but no minarets. Hindu towers always
start from the floor level, but moghul minarets rise from the shoulder of
buildings.

Octagonal shape: The octagonal shape of the Taj Mahal has a special Hindu
significance because Hindus alone have special names for the eight
directions, and celestial guards assigned to them. The ground plan consists
of an octagonal central domed chamber with an inverted lotus crown,
surrounded by four small domed chambers. This is the traditional form of
Hindu architecture found in the Shilpa shastra (science of architecture). The
pinnacle points to the heaven while the foundation signifies to the nether
world. Hindu forts, cities, palaces and temples generally have an octagonal
layout or some octagonal features so that together with the pinnacle and the
foundation they cover all the ten directions in which the king or God holds
sway, according to Hindu belief.

Trident pinncle: The Tajmahal has a trident pinncle over the dome. A full
scale of the trident pinnacle is inlaid in the red stone courtyard to the east of
the Taj. The central shaft of the trident depicts a "Kalash" (sacred pot)
holding two bent mango leaves and a coconut. This is a sacred Hindu motif.
Identical pinnacles have been seen over Hindu and Buddhist temples in the
Himalayan region. Tridents are also depicted against a red lotus background
at the apex of the stately marble arched entrances on all four sides of the
Taj. People fondly but mistakenly believed all these centuries that the Taj
pinnacle depicts a Islamic crescent and star was a lighting conductor installed
by the British rulers in India. Contrarily, the pinnacle is a marvel of Hindu
metallurgy since the pinnacle made of non-rusting alloy, is also perhaps a
lightning deflector. That the pinnacle of the replica is drawn in the eastern
courtyard is significant because the east is of special importance to the
Hindus, as the direction in which the sun rises. The pinnacle on the dome has
the word ‘Allah’ on it after capture. The pinnacle figure on the ground does
not have the word Allah.

Gardens: Description of the gardens around the Taj of Shah Jahan's time
mention Ketaki, Jai, Jui, Champa, Maulashree, Harshringar and Bel. All these
are plants whose flowers or leaves are used in the worship of Hindu deities.
Bel leaves are exclusively used in Lord Shiva's worship. A graveyard is
planted only with shady trees because the idea of using fruit and flower from
plants in a cemetary is abhorrent to human conscience. The presence of Bel
and other flower plants in the Taj garden is proof of its having been a Shiva
temple before seizure by Shah Jahan.

Yamuna river: Hindu temples are often built on river banks and sea
beaches. The Taj is one such built on the bank of the Yamuna river — an
ideal location for a Shiva temple. When the Taj Mahal was built, it is claimed
that the river Yamuna was half a mile away from the structure, but that the
river was diverted to flow alongside the Taj Mahal. The truth of the matter is
that the moghul regime lacked any civil engineering skill. Hindu palaces,
however, always used to be built alongside the river. Behind the Taj Mahal is
a well built and paved river bank (known as a Ghat), used by Hindu royalty
for the purpose of bathing. The gateways opening to the rear were later
closed.

Resemblance of a Palace: There is an underground passage leading from

the Taj Mahal to the Agra Fort, indicating its origin as a palace. And there are
defensive hillocks (to prevent catapults being launched) as well as a moat to
the rear.

Ganesa Torana: On the main gateway, the entire border at waist-height is

decorated with what is called the "Ganesa Torana" (the elephant trunk and
the crown can be clearly identified). In the southern entrance to the outer
precincts of the Taj Complex (i.e., the Taj Gunj gate facing the main
gateway), above the door arch, there is a small arched recess. It is
customary in Hindu Forts (for example, the Nagardhan Fort, Nagpur) to place
an idol of Lord Ganesa in a similar recess above the main entrance. Could it
be that the recess above the Taj entrance also contained a similar idol, which
was subsequently removed by the iconoclastic invaders?

The Tejo Mahalaya inscription

Sanskrit inscription (known as the Bateshwar inscription) it is currently
preserved in the Lucknow museum. It refers to the raising of a "Crystal
white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord Shiva once enshrined in it
decided never to return to Mount Kailas—his usual abode". This
inscription was found within a radius of about 36 miles from the Taj Mahal.
The inscription is dated 1155 A.D. and was removed from the Taj Mahal
garden at Shah Jahan's orders. Historians and Archaeologists have blundered
in terming the inscription the "Bateshwar inscription" when the record
doesn't say that it was found by Bateshwar. It ought, in fact, to be called
"The Tejo Mahalaya inscription" because it was originally installed in the
Taj garden before it was uprooted and cast away at Shah Jahan's command.
From this it is clear that the Taj Mahal was built at least 500 years before
Shah Jahan.

European Visitor's and pre-Shahjahan's

Accounts
Vincent Smith records in his book titled "Akbar the Great Moghul" that
"Babur's turbulent life came to an end in his garden palace in Agra in 1630".
That palace was none other than the Taj Mahal. Babur's daughter Gulbadan
Begum in her chronicle titled ‘Humayun Nama’ refers to the Taj as the Mystic
House. Babur himself refers to the Taj in his memoirs as the palace captured
by Ibrahim Lodi containing a central octagonal chamber and having pillars on
the four sides. All these historical references allude to the Taj 100 years
before Shahjahan.

Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra recorded in 1632 (within only a year
of Mumtaz's death) that ‘the places of note in and around Agra, included Taj-
e-Mahal’s tomb, gardens and bazaars'.He, therefore, confirms that that the
Tajmahal had been a noteworthy building even before Shahjahan.

De Laet, a Dutch official has listed Mansingh's palace about a mile from Agra
fort, as an outstanding building of pre-shahjahan's time. Shahjahan's court
chronicle, the Badshahnama records, Mumtaz's burial in the same Mansingh's
palace.

Bernier, a contemporary French visitor has noted that non muslim's were
barred entry into the basement (at the time when Shahjahan requisitioned
Mansingh's palace) which contained a dazzling light. Obviously, he reffered to
the silver doors, gold railing, the gem studded lattice and strings of pearl
hanging over Shiva's idol. Shahjahan comandeered the building to grab all
the wealth, making Mumtaz's death a convineant pretext.

Johan Albert Mandelslo, who describes life in agra in 1638 (only 7 years
after mumtaz's death) in detail (in his ‘Voyages and Travels to West-Indies’,
published by John Starkey and John Basset, London), makes no mention of
the Tajmahal being under constuction though it is commonly erringly
asserted or assumed that the Taj was being built from 1631 to 1653.

Fabrication of History
Probably there is none who has not been duped at least once in a life time.
But can the whole world be duped? This may seem impossible. But in the
matter of Indian history the world has been duped in many respects for
hundreds of years and still continues to be duped.
The world famous Taj Mahal in Agra is a glaring instance. For all the time,
money and energy that people the world over spend in visiting the Taj Mahal
they are dished out a concoction. Contrary to what visitors are made to
believe the Taj Mahal is not an Islamic mausoleum but an ancient Shiva
temple known as Tejo Mahalaya which the 5th generation Mogul emperor
Shah Jahan commandeered from the then Maharaja of Jaipur. Therefore the
Taj Mahal must be viewed as a temple-palace complex and not as a tomb.

The famous historian Shri P.N. Oak has proven that Taj Mahal is actually
Tejo Mahalaya — a shiv temple-palace. His work was published in 1965 in
the book, Taj Mahal - The True Story. However, we have not heard much
about it because it was banned by the corrupt and power crazed Congress
government of Bharat who did not want to alienate their precious vote bank
—the Muslims.

Stories of Shah Jahan's exclusive infatuation for Mumtaz's are concoctions.

They have no basis in history nor has any book ever written on their fancied
love affairs. Those stories have been invented as an afterthought to make
Shah Jahan's authorship of the Taj look plausible. Historical evidence
indicates that the Taj Mahal was already ancient at the time of Shah Jahan.
And the discussion upon the architecture leads to the conclusion that the
general layout of the Taj Complex resembles a Shiva temple.

Presently an attempt is being made to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Taj

Mahal as the present distorted Indian history bestows the credit of building
the edifice to Emperor Shah Jahan and claims that he completed the task of
building Taj Mahal in 16**. But according to the Munj Bateswar Edict, the
age of the building is 848 years and hence the said effort of celebrating
350th anniversary of the 848 year old Taj Mahal would be totally nonsensical
and extremely ridiculous. At the same time, the Muslims of this country are
demanding to declare the same as a Wakf Property and hand the building
over to them. So, before taking any decision regarding the building, it is
highly necessary for the Central Government in Delhi to undertake elaborate
archaeological and scientific tests to ascertain the true antiquity of Taj Mahal.

Hidden, locked and sealed chambers

The Taj is a seven storied building. Prince Aurangzeb also mentions this in
his letter to Shahjahan. The marble edifice comprises four stories including
the lone, tall circular hall inside the top, and the lone chamber in the
basement. In between are two floors each containing 12 to 15 palatial
rooms. Below the marble plinth reaching down to the river at the rear are
two more stories in red stone. They may be seen from the river bank. The
seventh storey must be below the ground (river) level since every ancient
Hindu building had a subterranian storey.

Immediately bellow the marble plinth on the river flank are 22 rooms in red
stone with their ventilators all walled up by Shahjahan. Those rooms, made
uninhibitably by Shahjahan, are kept locked by Archealogy Department of
India. The lay visitor is kept in the dark about them. Those 22 rooms still
bear ancient Hindu paint on their walls and ceilings. On their side is a nearly
33 feet long corridor. There are two door frames one at either end ofthe
corridor. But those doors are intriguingly sealed with brick and lime.

Apparently those doorways originally sealed by Shahjahan have been since

unsealed and again walled up several times. In 1934 a resident of Delhi took
a peep inside from an opening in the upper part of the doorway. To his
dismay he saw huge hall inside. It contained many statues huddled around a
central beheaded image of Lord Shiva. It could be that, in there, are Sanskrit
inscriptions too. All the seven stories of the Tajmahal need to be unsealed
and scoured to ascertain what evidence they may be hiding in the form of
Hindu images, Sanskrit inscriptions, scriptures, coins and utensils.

Apart from Hindu images hidden in the sealed stories it is also learnt that
Hindu images are also stored in the massive walls of the Taj. Between 1959
and 1962 when Mr. S.R. Rao was the Archealogical Superintendent in Agra,
he happened to notice a deep and wide crack in the wall of the central
octagonal chamber of the Taj. When a part of the wall was dismantled to
study the crack out popped two or three marble images. The matter was
hushed up and the images were reburied where they had been embedded at
Shahjahan's behest. Confirmation of this has been obtained from several
sources. Its walls and sealed chambers still hide in Hindu idols that were
consecrated in it before Shahjahan's seizure of the Taj.

Inconsistencies as outlined by P.N.Oak

The name Taj Mahal
The term Tajmahal itself never occurs in any mogul court paper or chronicle
even in Aurangzeb's time. The attempt to explain it away as Taj-i-mahal is
therefore, ridiculous. The ending "Mahal"is never muslim because in none of
the muslim countries around the world from Afghanistan to Algeria is there a
building known as "Mahal". The unusual explanation of the term Tajmahal
derives from Mumtaz Mahal, who is buried in it, is illogical in at least two
respects viz., firstly her name was never Mumtaj Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-
Zamani and secondly one cannot omit the first three letters "Mum" from a
woman's name to derive the remainder as the name of the building. Since
the lady's name was Mumtaz (ending with 'Z') the name of the building
derived from her should have been Taz Mahal, if at all, and not Taj (spelled
with a 'J').

Since the term Taj Mahal does not occur in mogul courts it is absurd to
search for any mogul explanation for it. Both its components namely, 'Taj'
and' Mahal' are of Sanskrit origin. Moreover, if the Taj is believed to be a
burial place, how can the term Mahal, i.e., mansion apply to it?

Several European visitors of Shahjahan's time allude to the building as Taj-e-

Mahal is almost the correct tradition, age old Sanskrit name Tej-o-Mahalaya,
signifying a Shiva temple. Contrarily Shahjahan and Aurangzeb scrupulously
avoid using the Sanskrit term and call it just a holy grave.

Taj Mahal is not a Tomb

The tomb should be understood to signify NOT A BUILDING but only the
grave or centotaph inside it. This would help people to realize that all dead
muslim courtiers and royalty including Humayun, Akbar, Mumtaz, Etmad-ud-
Daula and Safdarjang have been buried in capture Hindu mansions and
temples.

No Muslim mausoleum has the facility for circumvolution, but Taj Mahal
privides this facility. It indicates that in the pre-Muslim era, devotees used to
avail this facility to move round the emblem of Lord Shiva. Tavernier, a
French traveller of that time, wrote in his annals that a bazaar used to be
held within the Taj complex and it is solely a Hindu tradition to hold bazaars
and fairs within a temple complex, which is totally unusual for a Muslim
mausoleum.
The two buildings which face the marble Taj from the east and west are
identical in design, size and shape and yet the eastern building is explained
away by Islamic tradition, as a community hall while the western building is
claimed to be a mosque. How could buildings meant for radically different
purposes be identical? This proves that the western building was put to use
as a mosque after seizure of the Taj property by Shahjahan. Curiously
enough the building being explained away as a mosque has no minaret. They
form a pair af reception pavilions of the Tejomahalaya temple palace.

A few yards away from the same flank is the Nakkar Khana alias DrumHouse
which is a intolerable incongruity for Islam. The proximity of the Drum House
indicates that the western annex was not originally a mosque. Contrarily a
drum house is a neccesity in a Hindu temple or palace because Hindu
chores,in the morning and evening, begin to the sweet strains of music.

The embossed patterns on the marble exterior of the centotaph chamber wall
are foilage of the conch shell design and the Hindu letter "OM". The
octagonally laid marble lattices inside the centotaph chamber depict pink
lotuses on their top railing. The Lotus, the conch and the OM are the sacred
motifs associated with the Hindu deities and temples.

Between the so-called mosque and the drum house is a multistoried

octagonal well with a flight of stairs reaching down to the water level. This is
a traditional treasury well in Hindu temple palaces. Treasure chests used to
be kept in the lower apartments while treasury personnel had their offices in
the upper chambers. The circular stairs made it difficult for intruders to reach
down to the treasury or to escape with it undetected or unpursued. In case
the premises had to be surrendered to a besieging enemy the treasure could
be pushed into the well to remain hidden from the conquerer and remain
safe for salvaging if the place was reconquered. Such an elaborate
multistoried well is superflous for a mere mausoleum. Such a grand, gigantic
well is unneccesary for a tomb.

Hindu Significance
The spot occupied by Mumtaz's centotaph was formerly occupied by the
Hindu Teja Linga a lithic representation of Lord Shiva. Around it are five
perambulatory passages. Perambulation could be done around the marble
lattice or through the spacious marble chambers surrounding the centotaph
chamber, and in the open over the marble platform. It is also customary for
the Hindus to have apertures along the perambulatory passage, overlooking
the deity. Such apertures exist in the perambulatories in the Tajmahal.

The sanctom sanctorum in the Taj has silver doors and gold railings as Hindu
temples have. It also had nets of pearl and gems stuffed in the marble
lattices. It was the lure of this wealth which made Shahjahan commandeer
the Taj from a helpless vassal Jaisingh, the then ruler of Jaipur.

Peter Mundy, a Englishman records (in 1632, within a year of Mumtaz's

death) having seen a gem studded gold railing around her tomb. Had the Taj
been under construction for 22 years, a costly gold railing would not have
been noticed by Peter mundy within a year of Mumtaz's death. Such costl
fixtures are installed in a building only after it is ready for use. This indicates
that Mumtaz's centotaph was grafted in place of the Shivalinga in the centre
of the gold railings. Subsequently the gold railings, silver doors, nets of
pearls, gem fillings etc. were all carried away to Shahjahan's treasury. The
seizure of the Taj thus constituted an act of highhanded Moghul robery
causing a big row between Shahjahan and Jaisingh.

Above Mumtaz's centotaph hangs a chain by which now hangs a lamp. Before
capture by Shahjahan the chain used to hold a water pitcher from which
water used to drip on the Shivalinga.

Patches
In the marble flooring around Mumtaz's centotaph may be seen tiny mosaic
patches. Those patches indicate the spots where the support for the gold
railings were embedded in the floor. They indicate a rectangular fencing.

Taj Mahal: The True Story

In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, P.N.Oak says the Taj Mahal is not
Queen Mumtaz Mahal's tomb but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord
Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya). In the course of his research, Oak
discovered that Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then
Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh.
Oak's inquiries begin with the name Taj Mahal…. He says this term does not
occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles, even after Shah Jahan's
time. The term "Mahal" has never been used for a building in any of the
Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria. "The unusual explanation that
the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal is illogical in at least two
respects.

Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani, he

writes. "Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters 'Mum' from a
woman's name to derive the remainder as the name for the building." Taj
Mahal, he claims, is a corrupt version of Tejo-Mahalaya, or the Shiva's
Palace. ..Oak also says the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy
tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy
archaeologists. Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates
the love story.

Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting the Taj Mahal predates
Shah Jahan's era, and was a temple palace dedicated to Shiva worshipped by
the Rajputs of Agra city. For example, Professor Marvin Miller of New York
took a few samples from the riverside doorway of the Taj. Carbon dating
tests revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European
traveler Johan Al! Bert Man delslo, who visited
Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of
the city in his memoirs. But he makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being
built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of
Mumtaz's death, also suggest the Taj was a noteworthy building long well
before Shah Jahan's time.

Oak points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies that

support the belief of the Taj Mahal being a typical Hindu temple rather than a
mausoleum…. Many rooms in the Taj Mahal have remained sealed since Shah
Jahan's time, and are still not accessible to the public. Oak asserts they
contain a headless statue of Shiva and other objects commonly used for
worship rituals in Hindu temples. Fearing political backlash, Indira Gandhi's
government tried to have Oak's book withdrawn from the bookstores, and
threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition with dire consequences.
Pictures

Rear view of the Taj & 22 apartments

The interior water well

A marble apartment on ground floor

The Music House

Typical Vedic style corridors

The True Architectural Origin of Taj Mahal
What is the true architectural origin of this famous site? Marvin Mills is a
professional architect who has taught the history and theory of architecture
at a number of American universities.

Taj builders used Harappan measurement

units
Designers of the 17th century Taj Mahal, employed the same unit of
measurement used by the Harappan civilization of 2000 BC, according to a
new study reported in the latest issue of Current Science.

The study by R. Balasubramaniam of the Indian Institute of

Technology, Kanpur, has for the first time shown that the unit of length
called angulam — mentioned inKautilya’s treatise Arthasastra dated 300 BC
— was used without a break by Indian builders for over 3,900 years until the
British imposed their units in the 18th century.

An ancient unit of length called angulam, mentioned in Kautilya’s treatise

Arthasastra dated 300 BC, has been used as the unit of measurement right
from the Harappan times till the pre-modern era when the Taj Mahal was
built (Photo: Renu Manish Sinha)

The ancient angulam has been found to be equal to 1.763 modern

centimetres, according to Balasubramaniam, a professor of materials and
metallurgical engineering. He has carried out dimensional analysis of some of
India ’s historical structures, built during different times, to identify the
measuring units used in their engineering plans.He says he was surprised
that angulam and its multiples vitasti (12 angulams) and dhanus (108
angulams) have been used as the unit of measurement right from the
Harappan times till the pre-modern era when the Taj was built.

Balasubramaniam, who last year studied the dimensions of the 1,600-year-

old Delhi Iron Pillar at the Qutub Minar complex, found that angulam and its
multiple dhanus were used as the basic units of length in its design. For
example, the total height of the pillar is exactly 4 dhanus, adds
Balasubramaniam. And now in a paper published in Current Science,
Balasubramaniam has shown that the modular plan of the Taj Mahal complex
is based on use of grids of sides measuring 60 and 90 vitasti.

He says the study has established that the design and architecture of the Taj
is based on traditional Indian units codified in Arthasastra and that "there is
nothing foreign" in its design.

"The fact that the unit of angulam of 1.763 cm could match very well the
dimensions of historical monuments establishes the continuity of India’s
engineering tradition through the ages for as long as 3,900 years," says
Balasubramaniam in his paper. "With the new knowledge we can analyse all
the important ancient structures in India ," he says, and hopes the findings
"will open a new chapter in the study of metrology (science of
measurements)". But how did the angulam tradition remain unbroken for
so long? As quoted in the website of Nature India , Balasubramaniam
believes the workers from the Harappan days were perhaps using some kind
of scale "that was handed over through generations".

source: by K. S. Jayaraman, Taj builders used Harappan measurement

units, [tribuneindia.com The Sunday Tribune] — Spectrum, Sunday,
September 6, 2009

References
Footnotes
1. The people who dominate the Agra region are Jats. The Jat special issue
of The Illustrated Weekly of India (June 28,1971) mentions that the Jats
have the Teja Mandirs i.e., Teja Temples. This is because Teja-Linga is
among the several names of the Shiva Lingas.
2. History & Culture of Indian People, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Vol-5, p-122
Bibliography
1. Taj Mahal: Was it a Vedic Temple?, The Photographic Evidence, A
Presentation Assembled by Stephen Knapp, Available at www.stephen-
knapp.com.
2. Taj Mahal - A hindu temple vandalised by Moguls
3. TAJ MAHAL -- A Temple Converted Into A Mausoleum, by Dr Radhasyam
Brahmachari, M. Tech, Ph.D.
Links
• The True Story of the Taj Mahal, By P. N. Oak
• The Question of the Taj Mahal, by P. S. Bhat and A. L. Athawale
(from the Itihas Patrika, Vol. 5, pp 98-111, 1985)
• An Architect Looks at the Taj Mahal Legend, by Professor Marvin H.
Mills, Pratt Institute, New York
• Was the Taj Mahal a Vedic Temple? The Photographic Evidence, This
presents photographs (listed below in two collections) that show the
Vedic influence found in such buildings as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort,
and other structures in India.
• 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, 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.
Backlinks
• Aurangzeb's Letter
• Badshahnama
• Hindutva
• History
• Namaste
• Taj Mahal: Hidden Rooms
• Taj Mahal: It is Time to tell the Truth
• The Taj Mahal is Tejomahalay
Page Map

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