Now the question arises as to why would he disturb and remove a body well laid to rest and have it carried to Agra 600 miles away? Why could he not raise a monument in her memory where she was already buried? And if the Taj took years to build according to tradition why was the body carried to Agra within six months of the death what was the hurry?
To find an answer to this we must go, through the documents of Shah Jahan’s time.
J. B. Tavernier a French Merchant who visited India in the 17th century has noted in his book ‘Travels in India’ (originally in French). His travel account is mainly devoted to commerce. He was in India sometime between 1641 and 1668 Mumtaz had died sometime between 1629 and 1632 Tavernier arrived in India nearly 11 year after Mumtaz’s demise.
This is what Tavernier has recorded “Of all the tombs which sees at Agra that of the wife of Shah Jahan is the most splendid. He purposely made it near the Tasimacan where all foreigners come, so that the whole world should see and admire".
The word Tasimacan is Taz-i-Makan i.e. royal residence which is synonymus with Taj Mahal Shah Jahan’s object in burying Mumtaz there was precisely to cash in on the sculptural grandeur of that place. This clearly implies that at the time of burial Taj M-i-makan existed and was already a centre of tourist attraction.
The Badshahnama
Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori was a courtier who wrote the Badshanama as an official chronicle at emperor Shah Jahan’s own command (in Persian). The Badshahnama by Abdul Hamid Lahori is a history of the first twenty years of the reign of Shah Jahan. (The Persian texts in its original form is published by the Asiatic society of Bengal in two volumes in Bibliotheca Indica series / on page 403 of vol I of that Badshahnama Abdul Hamid Lahori records that the body of Mumtaz was removed from Burhanpur and a grand mansion of unique splendor capped with a dome (‘Immar-E-Alishan wa Gumbaze’) taken from the Jaipur Maharja Jaising (Pesh Azeim Manzil-e-Rajah Mansing Bood wadaree waqt ba Raja Jaising) for the burial of Arjumand Banu Begum, alias Mumtaz ul Zamani (not Mumtaz Mahal as encyclopedia Britannica mentions) and that the building was then known as Raja Mansing's Palace. In exchange of that (Ali Manzil) grand palace, he (Jaisingh) was granted a piece of government land. After the arrival of the dead body in that-great city (Agra) on 15th Jama due Saniya next year that illustrious body of the heavenly queen was laid to rest. The officials of the capital according to royal orders of the day under the sky high lofty mausoleum hid (the body of) that pious lady from the eyes of the world, and this palace (Imarat-e-Alishan) so majestic and capped with a dome so lofty that in its stature (it) is a memorial to the courage of sky dimension of Sahib Qarani SANI (the king) and in strength so mighty. In his resolution so firms the foundation was laid and geometricians with forsight and architects of talent incurred an expenditure of Rs. 40 lakhs on this building.
‘Badshanama’ clearly asserts that Jaising was given land in exchange of Mansingh’s garden palace. But unfortunately we have historians and scholars who interpret the above document and say that… A spacious tract of land, south of Agra city, was chosen for the burial place and purchased from its owner Raja Jaisingh the grandson of Mansingh.
The plague displayed by ASI (archaeological survey of India) does not quote any authority for its claim moreover when Shaha Jahan himself does not claim the authorship of the Taj why should anybody else want to do so?
Numerous historians have therefore assumed baselessly that Shah Jahan obtained on open plot of land in exchange for another. Why should Shah Jahan exchange one plot of land for another it would be justifiable if the plot or land (where Mumtaz lay buried) in Burhanpur was exchanged for another. If he really did so was why would he not mention the location of the plot given to Jaising more over the Badshahnama clearly asserts that it was Jaising who was given land while Shah Jahan got Mansing's garden palace in exchange.
One of the above passages says that emperor engaged geometricians and architects for the project. Geometricians and architects were needed to plan the digging of the grave in the center of the basement chamber and raise a cenotaph exactly over it in the centre of the octagonal throne room on the ground floor and in the basement of the commandeered grand edifies. They were also needed to guide the removal of some marble stones, have Koranic extracts engraved on them in lettering of various sizes, (depending on the height at which they were to be fixed) and to put them in position.
The statement foundation was laid in line 40 is also self explanatory. Since a corpse in always interred in a pit filling up the ditch over the body is “laying the foundation of the grave”.
About the sum of four million rupees (Rs. 40 lakhs) that the Badshahnama tells us was expended on the building the explanation is simple the amount could be spent on digging and filling up grave in the basement, raising a cenotaph in the ground floor central octagonal chamber, covering them with costly mosaic of stones to match and merge with the palace flooring , barricading hundreds of rooms, ventilators, staircases, balconies, doorways and corridors in the seven storied marble palace and engraving the Koran along the frames of the four entrances to the edifice. The engraving necessitated raising a huge scaffolding to the towering height of the seven storied edifice around its massive girth and its many lofty gateways and arches. Such mosaic flooring and Koranic engravings also necessitated the removal of the stone-pitching of the existing palace at places and replacing it. Now stones had also to be ordered to replace those chipped off or broke in this tampering and tinkering. Hiring of highly paid artisans, ordering of stone from great distances and raising of a costly scaffolding accounts for the expenditure mentioned by Badshanama we wonder on what authority later writers have placed the cost of the so called construction of the Taj Mahal at any where up to Rs. 90 17 million, 9 crores and 17 lakhs when Shah Jahan own court chronicler Mullah Abdul Hamid Lahori places it at only 40 lakhs (4 million Rs.)
It is sometimes argued that it is quite possible that Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal after demolishing Raja Mansingh’s palace. But why should Shah Jahan do that when he possessed vast lands of his own? And after demolishing why should he built it in accordance with Hindus architecture and not inscribe anywhere in the whole building complex that he (Shah Jahan) built it in the memory of Mumtaz his beloved wife?
The answer is obvious all the evidence only points to the fact that Shah Jahan occupied Raja Mansingh’s Palace and converted it with minor superficial changes like inscribing the Koran and build the cenotaphs to give it a resemblance of a tomb. In the process he also looted the precious stones and metals, sealed several rooms and removed as many original Hindu idols, motifs and inscriptions as he easily could.
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