SIKANDRA

The Mausoleum of Akbar

Located four kilometers (about __ miles) northwest of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the little city takes its name from Sikander Lodi, the sultan of Delhi, who reigned from 1483 to 1517, that is, until a few years before the Mogul conquest.

Sikandra may be reached from Agra by local busses that leave from the bus station at Agra Fort (RS 3), or by rickshaw (about 100 rupees for a round-trip ticket, including an hour’s wait at the mausoleum). Taxis are an alternative means of transport, and those for Sikandra may be found in front of the Cinema Bagwan of Agra (RS 3).

Between Sikandra and Agra there are some tombs and two "Kos minars," or historic milestones.

The tomb of Akbar is in the center of a beautiful park with deer.

The lane leading up to the mausoleum is home to "langur" monkeys and some macaques (a rare occurrence because the two species usually avoid each other) waiting for food from the visitors.

The entrance ticket costs the enormous sum of five dollars (or the equivalent in rupees) because of a decision taken in 2000 by the Indian government to make foreign visitors pay, depending on the importance of the monument, from two to ten dollars, about 100 times more than Indians pay.

Akbar, the third and greatest of the Mogul emperors, personally began the construction of his tomb about three years before his death. It is a fantasy-inspired pyramid and terrace in marble and soapstone that mixes Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Christian motifs and styles, following the religious syncretism called Deen Ilah, which he developed.

At the age of __, and after __ years of reigning, Akbar died of amebiasis on the 15^th of October, 1605.

Wrapped in a simple sheet, he was buried the same day he died, according to Islamic custom.

When Akbar was entombed at Sikandra, the great stone monument was not finished, yet. His son and Mogul emperor, Selim, who later assumed the name Jehangir ("world conqueror"), made repeated changes in the project, "in order to give to my father a last residence worthy of him, and that will last for an eternity." This goal was achieved: the tomb of the emperor is still intact, and has not suffered the ravages of time.

Because the Moguls loved gardens, the tomb of Akbar is surrounded by them. These grounds are worthy of the tomb’s grandeur: they are made up of a gigantic square measuring two by two kilometers, marked by a cross formed by the ample waterways, long dry.

Like the tomb of Humayun at Delhi, the tomb of Akbar is an interesting monument to study for the gradual evolution of design that reached its culmination in the Taj Mahal.

In the gardens of the mausoleum there also is the Baradi mansion, constructed by Sikander Lodi.

The imposing southern door is the most impressive part of the complex. With three-story minarets on each corner, it was constructed of red soapstone, and was decorated with abstract motifs in white marble. Four gigantic pavilions are located at the midpoints on the enclosing walls. For two centuries, every morning trumpet blasts and the roll of drums honored the deceased.

Visiting the funerary monument is like climbing a little mountain with steep stairs and ample terraces.

Needing to come every year, the Moguls erected numerous pavilions on each platform, "for the amusement of the women."

Upon reaching the third of these floors, one arrives in a courtyard of marble so white that it is astounding.

Of marble is also the colossal block of the actual tomb of the emperor on which is sculpted the ninety-nine names of Allah.

Contrary to Islamic custom, it is oriented to the east.

The body of Akbar rests in a tall dark vaulted niche, forty meters (about ____ feet) below ground level, under a simple marble block covered—without interruption since his burial—in fresh flowers. Both Hindus and Muslims venerate him as a saintly emperor who, "in the fundamental principle of every emperor," recommended:

If someone asks you for forgiveness, accept his excuses."

Bibliography

Behr, Hans-Georg. I Mogul. Milan: Garzanti, 1985