dinesh.kataria
December 22nd, 2005, 03:34 PM
I dont how correct is this ... but somewhere down inside i feel its true !! I support such investigation !! What do u guys have to say about this ? May be someone can post a better view ...
The Truth behind Taj Mahal
"The Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal
built the Taj Mahal. It was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000
artisans brought to India from all over the world! . Many people believe
Ustad Isa of Iran designed it." This is what your guide probably told
you if you ever visited the Taj Mahal. This is the same story I read in
my history book as a student
NOW READ THIS.......
No one has ever challenged it except Prof. P. N. Oak, who believes the
whole world has been duped. In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, Oak
says the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz'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 the Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. In his own court
chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai SIngh for Mumtaz's burial. The
ex-Maharaja of Jaipur still retains in his secret collection two orders
from Shah Jahan for surrendering the Taj building. Using captured
temples and mansions, as a burial place ! for dead courtiers and royalty
was a common practice among Muslim rulers.
For example, Humayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried
in such mansions. Oak's inquiries began with the name of Taj Mahal. He
says the term "Mahal" has never been used for a building in any Muslim
countries from Afghanisthan to Algeria. "The unusual explanation that the
term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal was illogical in atleast 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 Lord 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 dedicated to Shiva,
worshipped by Rajputs of Agra city. For example, Prof. 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 Albert Mandelslo,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 well
before Shah Jahan's time.
Prof. 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 inaccessible to the public.
Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Lord Shiva and other
objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples. Fearing
political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Prof. Oak's
book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher
of the first edition dire consequences.
There is only one way to discredit or validate Oak's research.
The current government should open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal
under U.N. supervision, and let international experts investigate.
The Truth behind Taj Mahal
"The Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal
built the Taj Mahal. It was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000
artisans brought to India from all over the world! . Many people believe
Ustad Isa of Iran designed it." This is what your guide probably told
you if you ever visited the Taj Mahal. This is the same story I read in
my history book as a student
NOW READ THIS.......
No one has ever challenged it except Prof. P. N. Oak, who believes the
whole world has been duped. In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, Oak
says the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz'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 the Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. In his own court
chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai SIngh for Mumtaz's burial. The
ex-Maharaja of Jaipur still retains in his secret collection two orders
from Shah Jahan for surrendering the Taj building. Using captured
temples and mansions, as a burial place ! for dead courtiers and royalty
was a common practice among Muslim rulers.
For example, Humayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried
in such mansions. Oak's inquiries began with the name of Taj Mahal. He
says the term "Mahal" has never been used for a building in any Muslim
countries from Afghanisthan to Algeria. "The unusual explanation that the
term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal was illogical in atleast 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 Lord 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 dedicated to Shiva,
worshipped by Rajputs of Agra city. For example, Prof. 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 Albert Mandelslo,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 well
before Shah Jahan's time.
Prof. 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 inaccessible to the public.
Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Lord Shiva and other
objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples. Fearing
political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Prof. Oak's
book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher
of the first edition dire consequences.
There is only one way to discredit or validate Oak's research.
The current government should open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal
under U.N. supervision, and let international experts investigate.