A palace built not for power—but for love 💔 The Taj Mahal is more than just a world wonder; it’s a breathtaking tribute to a woman who captured an emperor’s heart. After losing his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan poured his grief into stone, creating a masterpiece that still stuns the world 400 years later. A love story carved in marble… or something more? Full story in this article 👇
The Taj Mahal is one of India’s most famous landmarks and a wonder of the world. We found out who this beautiful palace was really built for.
The Taj Mahal isn’t just a palace—it’s a mausoleum, a tomb where the wife of Shah Jahan, the powerful ruler of the Mughal Empire, has been resting for almost 400 years.
Shah Jahan met Arjumand, a beautiful girl, when he was 15 and she was 14. He fell in love with her right away. She was the niece of his father’s last and favorite wife. However, they didn’t marry until five years after that.
Even though Shah Jahan had other wives in his harem, he loved only Arjumand. She got the name Mumtaz Mahal from his father, which means “jewel of the palace.”
Mumtaz wasn’t just beautiful—she was kind, smart, and well-educated. She knew Arabic and Persian, helped artists and the poor, and even wrote poetry. Shah Jahan gave her a rich life with a palace, gardens, and a yearly allowance of one million rupees.
Mumtaz loved her husband deeply and followed him on his military campaigns, even while she was pregnant. During their 19-year marriage, she gave birth to 14 children, though tragically, many did not survive.
In 1631, Mumtaz died giving birth to another child, before she turned 40. Shah Jahan was devastated. He didn’t eat for eight days, stayed alone for a year, and declared two years of national mourning. No celebrations were allowed during that time.
Before she died, Mumtaz asked him to promise two things: never to remarry and to build something beautiful in her memory. Shah Jahan began building the Taj Mahal in 1632, situated along the Yamuna River, close to the capital.
The project was valued at 32 million rupees—a massive sum for that era. It required 20,000 workers, vast amounts of marble transported by elephants, and nearly two decades to finish. The main building was finished in 12 years, and the gardens and fountains were added later.
The Taj Mahal serves as a lasting symbol of love, capturing the deep devotion Shah Jahan felt for Mumtaz. Although he lived over 30 years after her passing, the final eight years of his life were spent in prison, locked away by his own son—one of Mumtaz’s children.
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