GOVERI\ll\/IEI\iT OF iP^DIA H B Central Archaeological Library Archaeological Survey of India JANPATH, NEW DELHI. Accession No. c. K '7^' ' 3 3 'I Call No. GI'^ f HISTORY OF MHGIIAL ARci n ri-:cTTRr: ISBN 0-3^1-02650-X First Published in India 1982 © R Nath All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any former by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publishers JacViet & inside design; Yashodamohan Colour Plates Printed byD. K. Fine Arts Press, New Delhi Publishers Shakti Malik Abhinav Publications E-37, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-1 10016 Printers Hans Raj Gupta & Sons Anand Parbat New Delhi-110005 A B H i N A V abhiNQv pubLicoiioNs PubtiC AlioNS HISTORY Ol' MUGHAL VOL.l R NATH fibril ' -•.% hwit -~ <T»rt»:i3a TO BABUR The King and the Prince of Gardens whose advent in India marks the dawn of one of the most glorious epochs of Indian History; The Poet and the Aesthete who possessed an extraordinary aesthetic outlook of life which in due course became one of the distinctive characteristics of Mughal Culture; and The Dervish: “Darvishan-ra agar neh az khwaishanem; Lek az dil-o-jan mautqid aishanem; Dur-ast makoi shahi az dervaisti; Shahim vali bandah darvaishanem.” Babur Preface This is first volume of the A-wolume series: HISTORY OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE. It aspires to make a stylistic study of the monu- ments (mosques, tombs, gardens, palaces and other buildings) of Babur and Humayun and also includes those which were built at Delhi during the first two decades of Akbar’s reign but did not belong to his style (a list of principal buildings included in the study is given). Thus chronologically, it covers the period from a.h. 933, 1526 to 978 /a. d. 1570. With a view to assess the degree and extent of indebtedness of Mughal Architecture to pre-Mughal legacy, particularly in the context of the Medapata-Gopadri-Agra connections, and to trace and fill in the gaps of the evolutionary process, a detailed historical background dealing with the Tomara monuments of Gwalior has been given. This would help to understand the process of its growth and development and identify the link between these buildings and the soil on which they stand. All contemporary and near-contemporary sources in Persian, Sanskrit and Hindi have been examined, travelogue and memoirs tapped and the concerned epigraphs quoted for authentication of the data as best as it could be possible. It is a pity that there is not even a single architectural text in Arabic or Persian. That such a grand ‘practice’ could not have been possible without a well-tried theory (.sastra) can hardly be doubted. An effort has been made to identify and write down a Theory of this Art, at the initial stages of its development, as it were. Precisely, this is an humble attempt to study the aesthetic expression in stone of all the three basic constituents of an art-history, viz. the Land, the People and the Age, in a grand co-relationship. List of Abbrevations contains titles of Sanskrit and Persian texts on which the study is based, and it is also bibliographical, as such a separate Bibliography has not been given. The text is illustrated by 4 maps, 55 figures of plans, sections and elevations and 169 plates, a list whereof is given. viii History of Mughal Architecture However, this is not the last word on the subject and this is not the end. But I am confident that this is certainly the beginning of this study. The scheme of the series is simple, i.e.: Vol. 1. Study of the style during its Formative Period: the buildings of Babur and Humayun and those built in continuation in the same tradition; Vol. 11. The Age of Personality Architecture, when Akbar’s personality determined the form and fabric of the style, his buildings at Agra and Fatehpur Sikri; Vol. III. The Age of Colour and Design: the buildings of the tran- sitional phase of the reign of Jehangir; and Vol. IV. The Age of Architectural Aestheticism: the buildings of the golden age of Shah Jehan, including the Moti Masjid and the Taj Mahal. Much, however, depends on how God disposes these ambitious proposals. I express my thanks to Janab ‘Faiyaz’ Gwaliari Sahib, Janab Agha Muhammad Afzal Sahib, my friend Mr T.R. Suyal (A.S.I.) and my former pupil Brijendra Roy; and to my wife Savitri, daughters Veena, Neelima and Sandhya and son Ajay Nath. I also thank Mr Shakti Malik (M/S Abhinav Publications, New Delhi) for publishing it so impressively. Jaipur R. Nath -JO Contents .2 Preface vii List of Abbreviations xiii List of Diacriticals (Persian and Sanskrit) xvii List of Principal Buildings included in the Study xix List of Illustrations (Maps, Figures and Plates) xxi O CHAPTER 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1-76 rC (a) Maharana Kumbha of Mewar (1433-68) 3 (b) Indian Vastu-text on the Construction of Mosque (Rehamana-Prasada) 6 (c) Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior and 'y\ his Monuments (1486-1516) 10 ‘j'- (i) Chaurasi-Khambha 16 <o' (ii) Vikram-Mahal and the Kirtti-Mandir 20 (iii) Man-Mandir and the Hathiya-Paur 25 (iv) Hindola-Paur and the Gujari-Mahal Complex 51 cv (v) Characteristic Features of V> Raja Mansingh Tomar’s Style 58 '-0 n A (d) An Estimate of the Pre-Mughal Legacy 61 References 63 Sri-Rehamana-Prasada Laksanaiii (Vrksarnava Text for the Construction of Mosque) 68 Great Contemporaries of Raja J J> Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior (1486-1516) 70 c X History of Mughal Architecture C. Inscriptions of Raja Mansingh Tomar in the Gwalior Fort 71 D. Babur’s Inscription dated v.s. 1586 (a.d. 1 529) in the Portal of the Chaurasi-Khambha, Gwalior Fort 74 E. Narayandas’s Account of the Building of Man-Mandir (Chhitai-Charit Text) 75 II. BABUR'S INNOVATIONS (1526-30) 77-126 (a) Origanization of the Environment 78 (b) Bagh-i-Gul Afshan at Agra 90 (c) The ‘Cold-Bath’ Establishment 94 (d) Bagh-i-Nilofar at Dholpur 95 (e) Assessment of his Style 100 (f) Bagh-i-Zar Afshan and Chauburj: Babur’s Tomb at Agra 109 References 120 Appendix F. Extract from Babur’s Letter written from Etawah on 10 February 1529 to Khwaja Kalan at Kabul 126 III. ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS OF HU MAYUN (1530-40, 1555) 127-186 (a) Humayun: A Grand Genius of Peace 127 (b) Humayun's Din-Panah, Old Fort, Delhi 131 (c) Sher-Mandal, Old Fort, Delhi 150 (d) Qal’a-i-Kuhna Masjid, Old Fort, Delhi 160 References 175 Appendix G. Table Showing Signs of the Zodiac and the Planets 181 H. On the Astronomical Observatories 183 IV. SEPULCHRES OF THE GRAND NECROPOLIS OF DELHI (1530-70) 187-216 (a) Gumbad Atagah Khan (1566-67) 190 (b) The Lal-Gumbad (c. 1570) 193 Contents XI (c) Gumbad-Afsarwala (1566-67) 196 (d) Nila-Gumbad (c. 1560) 197 (e) Subz-Burj (c. 1560) and the Bulbous Dome 198 References 210 Appendix I. Table Showing Architectural Details of the Tombs of the Grand Necropolis, Delhi 215 V. TOMB OF SHEIKH MUHAMMAD GHAUTH AT GWALIOR (c. 1565) 217-229 References 226 Appendix J. Badaoni’s Account of Sheikh Muhammad Ghauth 228 VI. TRMUKHI MOSQUES OF DELHI (1530-70) 230-241 (a) Trmukhi Mosques of Sikandar Lodi’s Reign 231 (b) Afsarwali-Masjid (c. 1530) 234 (c) ‘Isa Khan’s Masj id (1547-48) 235 (d) Khair’ul Manazil (1561-62) 237 References 239 Appendix K. Translations of the Inscriptions 240 VII. TOMB OF HUMAYUN AT DELHI 242-274 (c. 1560-70) (a) The Prelude 242 (b) The Builders 244 (c) The Sources 248 (d) The Garden and the Water-Devices 254 (e) The Design 259 (f ) The Plan 262 (g) The Superstructure 265 References 268 Appendix L. Visnudharmottara-Purdna Text on Vyoman-Rupa 272 M. Visnudharmottara-Purdna Text on Aiduka-Rupa 273 xii History of Mughal Architecture N. Apardjitaprchchhd Text on ‘Meru’ and Khandameru’ Chhandas 274 VIII. EPILOGUE 276-293 References 291 Index 293 List of Abbreviations Ain Ain-i-Akhan of Sheikh Abul Fadl, Vol. I (tr. H. Blochmann) (New Delhi, 1965), Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett) (Calcutta, 1891), Vol. Ill (tr. H.S. Jarrett) (Calcutta, 1894) AN Akbar-Ndmah of Sheikh Abul Fadl (tr. H. Beveridge). Vols. I-III (Delhi, 1972-73) Annals Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona AP Apardjitaprchchhd of Bhuvanadevacharya (ed. P.K. Mankad, Gaekwad Oriental Series No. 115, Baroda) AR Asiatic Review ASI Al Ancient India of the Archaeological Survey of India ASl AR Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Reports (Marshall Series, 1902-3 onwards) ASI Cun. Archaeological Survey of India, Cunningham Series Reports, Vols. I-XXIII (1862-84) ASI Mem. Archaeological Survey of India, Memoirs (Nos. 1-73) ASI NIS Archaeological Survey of India, New Imperial Series, Vols. I-LIII BN Bdbur-Ndmah of Babur (2 vols in one) (tr. A.S. Beveridge) (New Delhi, 1970) Briggs Tdrikh-i-Ferishtah or Gulshan-i-Ibrdlnml of Ferishtah (tr. John Briggs: Rise of Mahomedan Power in India, Vols. 1-IV, Calcutta, 1966-71) CC Chhitai-Charit of Narayandas (ed. H.N. Dwivedi and Agarchand Nahta, Gwalior, 1960) E&D Elliot & Dowson’s History of India as told by its own historians, Vols. I-VIII (Kitab Mahal, Allahabad, 1969) El Epigraphia Indica of A.S.I. xiv History of Mughal Architecture EIAPS Epigraphia Indica {Arabic & Persian Supplement) (ed.