[jyotirmoy]

Every time I go to the film festivals which are held at Siri fort Audi I pass through the fourth capital city, Jahanpanah, the city of the mad sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. I had been thinking of writing about it. This one of those forgotten relics that remains neglected and unknown.

After the death of Giyasuddin Tughlak the huge citadel of Tughlakabad was abandoned as Baba Nizamuddin had predicted after cursing the sultan. The capital shifted towards Siri near the Begumpuri mosque about which I wrote in my last post. This became the fourth capital and was called Adilabad.
The fort of Adilabad contained a grand palace of a thousand pillars and splendid halls within its periphery.
Later, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq went on to enclose the area lying between Siri , a fortress built by Ala-ud-din Khilji , Tughlaqabad and the Qutab complex. This enclosed city came to be known as Jahanpanah.
Ibn Batuta, the 14th century Moorish traveler and chronicler of Mohammed-bin Tughlaq, recorded the splendour of the hazar sutun palace (thousand pillared hall), where Muhammad-bin Tughlaq sat under a wooden canopy for public audience.
This is what he wrote:
“ The sultan's palace at Dihli is called Dar Sara and contains many gates. At the first gate there are posted a number of men in charge of it, and beside it sit buglers, trumpeters and pipe players. When any amir or person of note arrives they sound their instruments and say during this fanfare "so and so has come…" – the same also takes place at the second and third gates. Outside thefirst gate are platforms on which sit the Jalladun (floggers)…between the first and second gatesthere is a large vestibule with platforms … on which sit troops whose turn of duty it is to guard the gates. At the second gate also are seated the porters… between the second and third gates there is a large platform on which the principal naqib (judge) sits; in front of him there is a gold mace, which he holds in his hand the other naqibs stand before him… “
Beyond this is the second gate what Ibn Batuta calls the 'Hazar Ustan', which means in Persian 'a thousand pillars'. This was an immense hall of Public Audience in which people used to sit waiting for their sultan.
This grand palace has since been destroyed and the whole structural complex of the citadel reduced to unidentifiable ruins. Amongst these ruins is a small octagonal structure atop a set of oblong rooms, the Bijai Mandal. Ibn Batuta also has written extensively about it.  The Bijai Mandal is really an intriguing edifice, as it is neither a palace nor a tower and the purpose of building it still remains a mystery. From the looks of it seems to be an observation post of considerable strategic importance.  On a leveled platform in front of these rooms one can see holes on paved stones in regular lines. These holes secured the wooden pillars in place and are now the only indications of the existence of the magnificent structure here. Ruins of some residential structures that once formed part of the royal apartments are also there to the east of this mound. The rooms are now mere skeletons but on the floor one would not fail to notice two big holes, which might had led to the royal vaults or the treasury.  You climb up the tower and it should be done very carefully – you will see how the intimidating silhouette of the Begumpuri masjid jostles with the comparatively unimaginative and crowded south Delhi localities.
One fine day this mad paranoid sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq ordered every citizen to pack up head to Devagiri in the Deccan or get killed by the troops. Compelling the entire population including the sick, old and children to move on foot. More than sixty percent of the population died in the heat and malnutrition during the torturous walk. A few years later he again ordered them back to Delhi. But the splendor and the soul of the city had been killed

[Haylo]

jyotirmoy, on Sep 17 2008, 09:31 AM, said:

The Bijai Mandal is really an intriguing edifice, as it is neither a palace nor a tower and the purpose of building it still remains a mystery.

Intriguing indeed!

Thank you for bringing alive yet one more of the myriad of relics of the past that makes Delhi such a fascinating city.

[jyotirmoy]

Thank you, waiting for you to return to Delhi and exploring some of these places