[jyotirmoy]

Right from the days of Jahangir frequent uprisings in Deccan required one of the Mughal badshas or princes to be stationed in Deccan. When Jahangir was the badsha Shajahan was stationed there and during Shajahan’s rule Aurangzeb looked after Deccan. Burhanpur situated close to the state of Maharashtra was a strategic location from where the Mughals led their campaigns against Deccan. The Mughal fort in Burhanpur was located on the bank of river Tapti.
One spring day Shajahan who had ascended the throne of Delhi barely two years ago left Delhi for Burhanpur along with his beloved Mumtaz who was pregnant. In fact she had been pregnant every year and this was her 14th.

On a hot June day Shajahan was shattered by the death of Mumtaz while delivering the baby. So profound was his grief that his hair turned white.  Among the polygamous households and specially the royal households such attachment was really very rare. Shajahan ordered for construction of the grandest memorial to be built in Mumtaz’s honour. He also wished the monument to be built on the bank of the river Tapti so that the reflection of the monument could be seen in the clear water of the river. Mumtaz was buried in the fort. Every Friday Shajahan came himself to light lamps at the grave.

The engineers found the black soil of Burhanpur not suitable for supporting such a huge structure and bringing the marble all the way from the quarries of Makrana in Rajasthan was also logistically not feasible. So after long deliberations it was decided to build the monument in Agra on the bank of Yamuna.
It is said that Mumtaz’s body was kept embalmed which is disputed by many historians as in India Unani medicine was researched for treatment of diseases and embalming techniques were not practiced as was done in Egypt. However according to Armanul Haq of Jamia university who had published a paper on this a few years back, Mumtaz’s body was preserved in an airtight box with camphor, acacia, sandalwood etc.
After the decision to build the monument in Agra Mumtaz’s body was moved to Agra and was placed in a grave. This was her second burial. Her remains remained in the second grave for a few years and after the Taj was constructed Mumtaz was finally buried for the third time.
While millions visit Taj in Agra, the monuments of Burhanpur lie in ruins, totally neglected by the public and the ASI.