HERITAGE BYTES: VIEWING THE TAJ: Some Uncommon Frames (Part 2)

WAS THE TAJ MAHAL DESIGNED ON THE IDEA OF PARADISE?

The Taj is thought to represent one of the houses in the gardens of paradise; it formed an earthy replica. Quranic descriptions, the eternal garden is imagined as a place with flowing waters, shade trees, exquisite fruits etc. The flower and plant motifs used in Taj Mahal’s surface ornamentation invested the monument with a paradisiacal quality. In the earlier Islamic monuments, typical geometric patterns dominated, whereas in the case of the Taj, such motifs were relegated to floors and jalis (screens). The metaphor of gardens and plants also had an imperial symbolism—it represented not only Shah Jahan and his good governance but also his court and his family. Besides, it served as an instrument of propaganda for his chroniclers, who portrayed him as an “erect cypress of the garden of the caliphate”.

Rear side of the Taj Complex as seen from Yamuna river

around sunset ( courtesy Aakash Chakrabarty)

Vases filled with plants (or overflowing plants) were not only important in Muslim cultures but also pointed to the ancient Indian symbol of prosperity and well-being—the purna ghata (vase of plenty). This idea of paradise also got reflected in the layout of the char bagh (fourfold garden) with running water as well as in the Quranic verses (calligraphed in black marble and inlaid in white marble) inscribed on three of the four major buildings—the mausoleum, the great gate and the mosque. The Taj displays the largest inscriptional programme in the Islamic world. It has 25 Quranic inscriptions, of which 14 are complete suras (chapters). In one way or another, all inscriptions deal with the day of judgment, divine mercy and paradise for the faithful. The verses on the Darwaza-i-Rauza (Entrance Gateway) directly identify the Taj with paradise.

The tombs of Humayun, Akbar, Itmad-ud-Daulah and Jahangir subscribed to the classic pattern of the tomb being placed at the centre of the char bagh. The Taj made an important improvisation to this scheme—the mausoleum, located on the riverfront, was placed at one end of the fourfold garden. This gave a sense of depth to the first view of the mausoleum from the gateway. But it also had an underlying political symbolism. It is argued that the placement of the char bagh at the head of the mausoleum was done to fit in a cosmological diagram where the Taj represented the “Throne of God”. Seen in this frame, the mausoleum also reflected the perfection and authority of the Mughal leadership. The “Garden of Paradise” therefore also formed the location of the “Throne of God” on the Day of the Judgment.


- Dr. Shashank Shekhar Sinha