Bibi Ka Maqbara | Mausoleum for a Queen

How does a puritan emperor express grief for the death of a queen he holds in awe? Aurangzeb built the largest Mughal structure in the Deccan for Dilras Banu Begum who died in 1657 aged 35 years.

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The mausoleum was completed in 1661. It was an original design by Ata-ullah, the son of the designer of the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother. The execution was by Hanspat Rai, an engineer. The marble used was hauled by oxen from Jaipur.

The entrance to the platform has elegant, embossed brass doors. The arched portal to the tomb has similar doors with geometric patterns. Marble jalis are framed in fine plaster panels. There is no cenotaph, the queens grave lies visible in an octagonal chamber in the depth of the tomb framed by a delicate octagonal jali.

The mausoleum is laid out splendidly on a high platform in the center of a formal Mughal Charbagh. The main entrance has intricate hand-painted tiles on the interior of the dome. The mausoleum is framed against the backdrop of a gap in the Sihayachal hills. Sandstone screens line the walkway from the entrance to the tomb. The enclosing high walls of the garden are topped by crenellations. Prominent buttresses with chhatris mark the corners. Palace pavilions with terraces and pools are located at the midpoints on the sides of the garden. The garden is divided by walkways. The intersections are marked by octagonal platforms.
Bibi Ka Maqbara may have been intended to rival the Taj, but severe budgetary constraints resulted in a monument with its own significant beauty. It is the last in a range of great Mughal mausoleums.

More Maharashtra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rn4hpT3m8c&list=PLNhefwrejMZztbFe4k7egDT9blt1M5ggX
Emperor Aurangzeb's tomb https://youtu.be/GalN224QdNc

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:20 Entrance Gate
1:07 Walkway
1:26 Facade
2:13 Queen's Grave
2:51 Asaf Jahi Mosque
3:11 Mughal Garden
3:49 Outro


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References:
1. Pushkar Sohoni - Aurangabad with Daulatabad, Khuldabad and Ahmadnagar (2015)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibi_Ka_Maqbara
3. http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ellora_bibi.asp
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilras_Banu_Begum