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North India Travel Guide
Agra
Sikandra Fort
Sikandra Fort
Welcome to Sikandra, a supurb of Agra, only 13 km. from the Agra Fort, the
last resting place of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar was the greatest of
the Mughal emperors and one of the most secular minded royalties of his
time. He was the heir to a long tradition of oriental refinement, a great
patron of the arts, literature, philosophy and science.
A visit
to Akbar's monument opens before one, the completeness of Akbar's
personality as completely as the Taj Mahal does of Mumtaz Mahal's. Akbar's
vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush
garden. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for
it. To construct a tomb in one's lifetime was a Tartary custom which the
Mughals followed religiously. Akbar's son Jahangir completed the
construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613.
APPROACH: One can approach
the monument from the Southern gate only. Ticket counter is located to the
left of this gate.
THE GARDEN: The tomb stands in
the center of a vast garden, which is enclosed by high walls on all sides.
In the middles of each enclosing wall is a monumental gateway. The whole
garden is divided into four equal quarters on the conventional charbhag
plan. Each quarter is separated by a high terrace or raised path with a
narrow shallow water channel running at the center. Each terrace has in the
center, a tank with fountains.
GATEWAY: Although
there is only one entrance in use today there exist four red sandstone gates
which lead to the mausoleum complex. The decoration on the gateways is
strikingly bold, with large mosaic patterns set into it. The gateway's four
minarets rising from the corners are particularly striking. Built of red
sandstone, the minarets are inlaid with white marble polygonal patterns; the
pleasing Proportions & Profuse surface ornamentation makes the gateways
very impressive. These gateways reflect a curious hybrid of different styles
of architecture-Hindu, Muslim Christian and a patent mixture of Akbar's
typical style.
MAUSOLEUM: A broad paved causeway
lead to the tomb, which has five storeys and is in the shape of a truncated
pyramid. The main tomb has a unique square design which is unparalleled by
all other Mughal buildings,
GROUND FLOOR The
ground floor has spacious cloisters on all four sides except in the middle
of the southern side. The cloisters are divided into numerous bays by
massive piers & arches. Each bay measures 22 feet square. The centre of
the southern side is occupied by a vestibule, which has been ornamented very
profusely with exquisite carvings, artistic paintings & inlay work in
geometric and floral designs. An inclined and descending passage leads from
this vestibule to the mortuary chamber. The tombstone of Akbar is placed in
the centre of this room. Geometrical designs achieved by the mosaics of
glazed tiles or of colored stones, predominate the tomb. The mosaic work is
generally in the tass eleated style, that is, square or rectangular pieces
of colored stones were assembled and arranged together to form patterns.
Semi-precious stones were inlaid into a hollowed depression in the white
marble slab by Emperor Jahangir later on . Akbar's daughters Shakrul Nisha
Begum and Aram Bano are also entombed on this floor.
SECOND
STOREY: The second storey has an arcaded verandah on each side
which is composed of 23 bays. The use of an ornamental arch and square
pillar has brought about unique composition.
THIRD AND
FOURTH STOREYS: These storeys are smaller in size than the one
below it. They have an identical arrangement of arches supported on pilllars
and chhatris attached on the exterior to each façade.
FIFTH STOREY: The fifth storey is entirely in white marble as
against the lower storeys which are finished in red sandstone.
ITMAD-UD-DAULA Itmad-ud-Daula is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas Beg,
a Persian who had obtained service in Akbar's court. The tomb set a starting
precedent as the first Mughal building to be face with white inlaid marble
and contrasting stones. Unlike the Taj it is small, intimate and, since it
is less frequented, has a gentle serenity.
ABOUT MIRZA
GHIYAS BEG: Mirza Ghiyas Beg was the son of Khawaja Muhammad
Sharif who was the wazir (Prime Minister) of Khurasan and then of Yazd under
the Safawid Emperors of Persia. After the death of his father, Mirza Ghiyas
came to India and was introduced to Akbar who enrolled him in the imperial
service. Mirza was an able man and rose high by the sheer dint of his merit.
On Jahangir's succession in 1605 he became Wazir and received the title of
Itmad-ud-Daula (Pillar of Government). Jahangir fell in love with his
daughter Mehrunnissa, better known as Nurjahan, and married her in 1611. It
was Nur Jahan who built the tomb for her father in 1628 AD, 6 years after
his death.
ENTRANCE A sandstone pathway leads to
the main tomb which stands on a low platform (4m high and 45m square). The
tomb is in the centre of a Charbagh, the four-quartered garden, measuring
540 ft and enclosed on all sides by high walls.
THE GARDEN
SETTING False gateways, which may be appropriately called
water-pavilions, have been constructed in the centre of the north and south
sides. The west side has in its middles a multi- storeyed and multi-roomed
pavilion. It overhangs the river impressively and is so open and abundantly
airy that it could have served the purpose of a pleasure-pavilion during the
lifetime of Itmad-ud-Daula . These subsidiary structures magnificently flank
the central edifice on all sides. The shallow water-channels, which
originally took water from two overhead tanks situated on the riverside, run
on all sides of the garden and around the mausoleum. Sunk in the middles of
the raised, stone-paved pathways and associated with regularly set lotus
ponds and cascades, the channels divide the charbagh into four equal
quarters, stretching from the middle of each side to the centre of the
plinth of the main mausoleum.
THE MAIN TOMB: The main gateway, and also the side pavilions,
are constructed of red sandstone, with inlaid designs in white marble. The
main tomb is of white marble but it stands on a plinth of red sandstone,
having in the centre, of each side opposite the central arch, a tank with a
fountain. The tomb is square in plan, with octagonal towers attached to the
corners. The towers attain a circular form above the terrace and are
surmounted by circular chhatris. Each façade of the tomb is composed
of three arches, the central one providing the entrance, the other two on
the sides being closed with beautiful trellis screens. Each side is
protected above by a chhjja and a perforated balustrade. The jalies have
been carved very delicately and appear more to be made of ivory rather than
of white marble. The tomb has inscriptional designs in abundance. More than
seventy six Quranic verses in the Hiuluth script have been artistically
carved on white marble panels which are distributed all over the building.
THE INTERIOR OF THE TOMB: The interior is composed
of a central mortuary hall housing the cenotaphs of Nur Jahan's mother Asmat
Begum and father Itmad-ud-Daula, four oblong rooms on the sides and four
square chambers on the corners-all interconnected through common doorways.
The corner rooms contain tombstones of some near relations of Nur Jahan
including that of her daughter Ladli Begum from her first husband Sher
Afghan. Marble screens of geometric lattice work permit soft lightning of
the inner chamber. Engraved on the walls of the chamber is the recurring
theme of a wine flask with snakes as handles. The main chamber which
contains the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula and his wife, is richly decorated with
mosaics and semi-precious stones inlaid in white marble.
AGRA PLACES TO SEE
Agra Home
Taj Mahal
Agra Fort
Sikandra
Fort
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