Humayun's Tomb : A glimpse

Nasiruddin Humayun was the successor of Zahirrudin Babur, founder of the Mughal empire in India.He ruled in territories of North India from 1531–1540 and again from 1555–1556. In 1540 he lost the kingdom to Sher Shah Suri. Humayun which means ‘the fortunate one’ proved to be ironical. He was at the receiving end of bad luck. He died at the age of 47. He was descending the staircase of his library at Purana Qila (literally meaning old fort) when his foot was caught in his robe and he tumbled down several steps and hit his temple on a rugged stone edge. 

Humayun’s tomb was commissioned by his wife Haji Begum and was paid by from her own money. It is believed to be designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect especially brought in for this purpose. The date of its construction cannot be ascertained. It is believed that the tomb was built after 9 – 15  years after of Humayun’s death. The thing to note here is that this place wasn’t even the original resting place of the Mughal Emperor. He was initially buried in Purana Qila.

Humayun’s tomb is located in Nizamuddin West, New Delhi. This site was particularly chosen because of its proximity to the  Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah and the river Yamuna. Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya was a revered Sufi saint of the Chishti silsila. It is believed that upon death, the soul of the Sufi saint merges with that of God and hence he’s closer to God upon death than when the saint is alive. No wonder, then, that Humayun, his successive family members, nobles and even poets like Mirza Ghalib expressed a desire to be buried close to the dargah or the resting place of the great Sufi saint. The humble tomb of Jahanara, the eldest daughter of the Mughal king Shah Jahan, also lies in the Nizamuddin basti complex.

The mausoleum is inspired by Turkic-Mughal- Persian styles of architecture. It has adopted the Persian idea of ‘char bagh’ or four gardens and is the first of its kind in India. It is divided into four gardens which are meant to represent paradise from the Islamic concept. The gardens also have water channels running within them which represent the four rivers from heaven which are meant to carry water, honey, milk and wine. The irony here is that the consumption of wine is forbidden in Islam. But when a man reaches heaven, he is allowed to let go of his inhibitions and in a way is rewarded for being good during his tenure on Earth and therefore the reference to wine and alcohol.

The main tomb is octagonal in shape and is built of red sandstone, a material which has been widely used in Indian medieval architecture all throughout. This is the first structure to use red sandstone on such a large scale. The dome has been constructed using marble and the finial that tops it is made of brass and was given a coating of gold when the preservation work was being carried out by the Agha Khan Trust in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India.

”An English merchant, William Finch, who visited the tomb in 1611, describes the rich interior furnishing of the central chamber (in comparison to the sparse look today). He mentioned the presence of rich carpets, and a shamiana, a small tent above the cenotaph, which was covered with a pure white sheet and with copies of the Quran in front along with his sword, turban and shoes.”

The ground floor of the cenotaph has about 150 rooms, most of which house the tombs of later Mughal royal family, important nobles, ministers etc. One of them belongs to Dara Shikho, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan but we are not sure which one. The last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, took refuge here during the rebellion of 1857 when he was overthrown and sent to Rangoon for exile. The thing to note here is that the mausoleum that we enter after climbing a steep flight of stairs is ceremonial and the Emperor peacefully rests below it.

The Humayun's Tomb complex houses many more structures some of which are not related to Humayun at all. I'll be writing another post for them.