While the Hindu side is trying to persuade the court to order the opening and surveying of the 22 rooms of the Taj Mahal, there is much talk going on among the general public regarding the mysteries of the monument. It is said that there are more than 700 signs found in the 22 rooms of the Taj Mahal, which confirms that there was previously a temple in the place of the Taj Mahal. Details about most of the secrets about the monument have been mentioned in the book - 'Taj Mahal Tejo Mahalaya Shiv Mandir Hai' written by historian Purushottam Nagesh Oak. Also, several other internet sources provide many proofs about the Taj Mahal being a Hindu Temple. It is the book 'Taj Mahal Tejo Mahalaya Shiv Mandir Hai', based on which Dr Rajneesh Singh had filed a petition in the High Court. In response to the petition, the High Court reprimanded Singh and said that he should not misuse the PIL and first collect proper information about the matter.
What's the point of having two graves of the same person?
If you look at the structure of the Taj Mahal, you will find that there is an underground passage just outside the main structure. The passage is on the floor and is closed by lattice doors. A wooden frame has been placed inside the door so that no one can see through it. If one goes inside the Taj Mahal, one will find another huge underground passage, but that too has been closed with a door. It is said that there are tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz inside the room, due to which it is forbidden to stay, talk or take photographs there.
However, here the question about the need for two different graves of a single person arises. When there is already a grave on the above floor of the structure, then what is the point of having another grave of the same person on the below floors of the structure? Along with this, there's also a question on the claim about the entire palace being made up of marble. It is said that both the upper and lower chambers of the Taj Mahal are made up of marble.
Is there the use of any other stone in the Taj Mahal?
Everyone knows that the Yamuna river flows behind the Taj Mahal. People mostly don't visit the riverside of the monument. By visiting the riverside of the monument, one could easily see that the base of the Taj Mahal is several feet high and isn't made up of marble. Rather, it is made up of red sandstone. There is also an underground passage along the river which is made up of sandstone. Moreover, the structures all around the Taj Mahal and the outer floor of the monument, are all made up of red sandstone.
Apart from this, it is also believed that the basement and other structures of the Taj Mahal complex were built using red sandstone long before the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan only built the dome and made some architectural modifications to the whole complex and the structure.
Was Taj Mahal not built on a vacant land?
The claim is from a book called Padshahanama. The book claims that Shah Jahan did not build the Taj Mahal on vacant land. Rather, there were already several structures around. Shah Jahan bought his ancestral palace from Raja Jai Singh and erected a white marble building. The book Padshahanama was written by the court historians of Shah Jahan.
In 1974, American architect Prof. Marvin H Mills took photographs of several parts of the Taj Mahal during his research on the monument. During his research and survey, mills took out a piece of wood from the underground door behind the Taj Mahal and sent it to America for radiocarbon dating. Investigation and the carbon dating revealed that the wood of the door was 250 years older than the Taj Mahal. When the report was published in the newspaper, the door was immediately replaced with a brick wall by the authorities. Watch the video below for detailed information.
What's the controversy around the Agra Fort?
In the midst of all this, the Agra fort, 2 miles away from the Taj Mahal, has also entered the headlines. An inscription at the fort mentions that its old name was Badalgarh. Some historians believe that this fort was also modified by Akbar. The pieces of evidence for this claim are visible all over the structure. Here too, there is an underground passage which is covered with a lattice door. There are many symbols and design features like the octagonal pillars inside the passage door. Such symbols and design features suggest some authentic connection to Hindu temples and Hindu style of architecture.
Moreover, the local people around the Agra Fort believe that there were temples of gods in the underground area of the Agra Fort. It is for this reason, they believe that Agra fort is actually the Badalgarh temple.