Taj Mahal Architecture
The entrance to the tomb leads you to the central hall, which houses the false
tombs and has four small octagonal halls, grouped around it. The original graves
are located in a crypt, which is directly below the central hall.
The four smaller rooms were originally created for housing the graves of other
members of the royal family. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, in whose honor the Taj
Mahal was built, lies directly below the dome.
The tomb is placed in such a manner that it is in direct alignment with the
main entrance. The tomb of Shahjahan is much larger and is placed next to that
of his beloved queen.
The tombs are decorated with exquisite pietra dura (stone inlay) work. Apart
from unexcelled inlay work the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal is inscribed by 99 different
names of Allah. It is said that the royal graves once laid inside a gem encrusted
gold railing, which was later removed and replaced by an octagonal, all marble
lattice (jali-perforated screen) screen of the most exquisite craftsmanship.
Delicate inlay work can be seen on the surface of the screen. The floral decorations
on the screen are amazing. Some flowers created on the screen are made up of
as many as 64 pieces. The different sections of the screen are carved out of
a single piece of marble. Various sections of the screen are joined together
with gilded fasteners and the entrance is fashioned out of jasper, in the Turkish
style.
Apart from the decorations on the tombs and the intricately carved out marble
screen in the central hall, the outer walls of the Taj are decorated with low
relief marble carving of sheer elegance. But it is the pietra dura or inlay
work on the interior of the Taj as well as on its exteriors that is beyond compare.
Its beauty, intricacy, flowing lines and floral patterns, belie the fact that
all of it had been achieved by the extremely slow and painstaking process involving
the use of the chisel on the hard surface of the marble. There is pietra dura
work everywhere in the Taj-on the tombs, on the cenotaph and on the main edifice.
It is said that as many as 35 different types of precious and semi-precious
stones were used in the inlay work done on the Taj. Turquoise, jade, agate,
coral, lapis lazuli, onyx, bloodstone, carnelian, jasper, garnet and malachite
were used to decorate flowers like lily and honeysuckle. Carnelian and lapis
lazuli were preferred for their color and luminosity. Today much is left to
imagination as much of the inlay work has been stripped of its precious and
semi-precious stones by plunderers down the years.
AGRA - THE CITY OF TAJ MAHAL
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