Page 76 - SST Class 07

Jama Masjid Taj Mahal

Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in Agra is built The Taj Mahal reflects the glory of Mughal
entirely of white marble. It has three domes. The architecture. It is often said that the ‘Taj Mahal
Jama Masjid in Delhi is built with alternate strips was designed by giants and finished by jewelers.’
of white and black marble. It is the largest Red Fort In 1639, Shah Jahan laid the founda-
mosque in India. Nearly 25,000 people can offer tion of a new city–Shahjahanbad. He built the
prayers together. Red Fort here. It has numerous beautiful struc-
Shah Jahan is immortal for his most famous tures such as:
creation, the Taj Mahal at Agra. He built it in Diwan-i-Aam—built of red sandstone, this was
memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The monu- the place where the emperor held his public
ment is as tall as a 20-storey skyscraper. Over court
20,000 labourers took nearly 22 years to build it. Diwan-i-Khas—Shah Jahan’s famous Peacock
The chief architects were Ustad Isa Khan Effendi Throne was kept on the marble platform here
of Shiraz and his pupil, Ustad Ahmad Lahori.
Shah Burj—it was used by the emperor for
The Taj is a mix of several architectural style. It is ‘jharokha darshan’.
placed on one side of a huge garden. The entire
structure is of white marble. It has a huge pearl-
shaped dome and four slender minarets. The
tapering minarets tilt away from the main body
of the tomb so that in the event of an earth-
quake, they do not fall on the tomb. Marble
screens, well-proportioned chhattris and pietra-
dura inlay work add to the beauty of the monu-
ments. The interior has the marble cenotaphs of
Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. The cenotaphs
are covered with pietra-dura. Originally, the
Red Fort
cenotaphs were enclosed by a gold railing which
Aurangzeb
was encrusted with pearls, rubies and diamonds.
The gold railing was later replaced by a marble During Aurangzeb’s reign (1658–1707) squared
one. stones and marbles were replaced by brick or
rubble with stucco ornamentation. Srirangapatna

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