Mumtaz Mahal or Arjumand Banu
was the woman in whose memory the Taj Mahal was built. Perhaps,
there is no better and grand monument built in the history of human
civilization dedicated to love. Arjumand Banu was daughter of
Asaf
Khan and when she married Shahjahan at the age of 14 years, imperial
city of Agra was already agog with the stories of her beauty. She
was third wife of Prince Khurram or Shahjahan and the principle
one throughout their life. She became Mumtaz Mahal in 1612 after
her marriage and remained an inseparable companion of her husband
till her death. As a symbol of her faith and love she bore Shahjahan
14 children and died during the birth of last child. For the love
and affection she showed to her husband, Mumtaz Mahal received highest
honor of the land - the royal seal - Mehr Uzaz from Shahjahan, the
emperor. According to the legends, stories of her virtue spread
all over the Mughal Empire.
The emperor
and his pregnant empress moved towards Maharashtra or Deccan in the
year 1630 to suppress the Lodi Empire that was gaining strength at
that time. This was going to be the last journey that Mumtaz Mahal
ever took. She breathed her last after delivering their 14th child
(a daughter) in the city of Burhanpur on June 17, 1631. It is said
that Mumtaz Mahal on her deathbed asked Shahjahan to create a symbol
of their love for posterity and her loyal husband accepted it
immediately. Though many historians are not agree with this story
saying that it was the grief-stricken emperor himself who decided to
built the most memorable symbol of love in the world.
It
took her husband 22 years and most of his royal treasury to built a
monument befitting the memory of his beloved wife. In the name of
Mumtaz Mahal stands the most beautiful building in the universe,
that monument of love, purity and unparalleled beauty called the Taj
Mahal.