Taj Mahal > The Symbol of LOVE

Islamic art in India includes a very good  examples of painting and architecture; the best known example is the Taj Mahal , The Symbol of love  a tomb built for Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of the Mogul emperor, Shah Jehan. Islamic style in India shares many features with the Islamic traditions of Persia, which are discussed elsewhere

While his grandfather Akbar is best known for developing the Mughal empire, It is Shah Jehan who is remembered the sultan who spent his time literally building it. Shah Jehan was a patron of the arts, and a lover of all things big: big mosques, big forts, big gemstones. He commissioned hundreds of paintings and engravings for his palaces, many of which survive to this day.

The most enduring of Shah Jehan's creations were his massive construction projects. Employing a mix of Persian palatial sophistication and local Hindu engineering know-how, Shah Jehan defined the architectural style recognized the world over as 'Mughal.' The Red Fort and the Jama Masjid, both in Delhi, stand out as towering achievements of both civil engineering and art. Yet above all else, we remember Shah Jehan today for the Taj Mahal, the massive white marble mausoleum constructed for his wife Mumtaz Mahal along the bank of the Jamuna River in Agra.

Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth soon after Shah Jehan ascended to the throne. Grief-stricken, Shah Jehan decided to built the Taj Mahal as a tribute and final resting place for her. It took over a decade to build and it nearly bankrupted the empire, but Shah Jehan had his monument for the ages. He continued to spend lavishly, beginning new construction projects and revamping old ones (including the Agra Fort, first built byAkbar two generations earlier). He even commissioned the creation of a brilliant gold throne encased in hundreds of precious gems - the Peacock Throne, a symbol of Mughal royalty until it was stolen and co-opted by the Persians a century later.

But despite his successes as a patron of art and architecture, Shah Jehan was unable to gauge the discontent among his own court. A power struggle among his sons ensued, and eventually, the ruthless princeAurangzeb deposed Shah Jehan in a coup d'etat in 1658. Shah Jehan was imprisoned in the Octagonal Tower of the Agra Fort (a beautiful addition to the fort that he himself had constructed) and would remain there until his death, eight years later, in 1666. He was then buried next to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the Taj Mahal, two kilometers down river from the fort.

Shah Jehan's Architectural Legacy:

Anar Sagar Pavilions, Ajmer
Palaces in Agra Fort, including Anguri Bagh, Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Khas, and Diwan-i-Am, Agra (1627-38)
Taj Mahal, Agra (1631-52)
Black Pavilion (Shalimar Bagh), Srinagar (1630)
Wazir Khan's Mosque, Lahore (1634)
Shalimar Bagh, Lahore (1637)
Shahjehanabad, Delhi (1638-48)
Red Fort and Palace, Delhi (1639-48)
Chini ka Rauza, Agra (c. 1639)
Jama Masjid, Agra (1648)
Jama Masjid, Delhi (1650-6)
Fatehpuri Masjid, Delhi (1650)
Moti Masjid (Agra Fort), Agra (1654)

Palaces in Lahore Fort, including Chati Khwabgah, Diwan-i-Am, and Mussaman Burj, Lahore


As in most traditional cultures India, visual symbols are a powerful means of relaying religious and social ideals, as well as history. Since much of the population was illiterate, visual images developed to serve as an aid to memory for orally transmitted literature and history. This use of visual aids to memory and the transmission of culture is common to all traditional, preliterate cultures. Among the most impressive examples are the intricate carvings that cover the surfaces of Hindu temples. Temple architecture in India tends to be filled with carvings of gods, heroes, and the tales of their lives, all well known to those who are immersed in the cultural traditions. The effect is again one of multiplicity unified by a visual style that reflects and expresses the life and history of India itself.

Buddhism first arose in India in the 6th c. BC as an alternative to Hinduism. It was accepted By King Asoka in the 3rd c. BC, and enjoyed a period of preeminence during the following centuries. Buddhist monuments and shrines are to be found in many parts of India. Among the most important are the stupas. A stupa is a monument which either shelters a sacred relic, or marks the site of an important event in the life of a Buddhist saint. The oldest of the stupas dates to the 3rd century BC, built by King Asoka. Another important Buddhist monument is the shrine of the Ajanta caves, a complex that dates back to 150 AD. However, Buddhism was to have its most lasting impact outside of India; therefore we will discuss the nature of Buddhism elsewhere. Early Buddhist art in India relies on the imagery and aesthetics of earlier Hindu traditions. The poses, gestures, and accompanying figures, plants, and animals seen in representations of Buddha and buddhist saints (bodisatvas) draw on Hindu images. The first use of a halo anywhere in the world to denote a holy figure is purported to have been in an Indian carving of Buddha dating from the first century.