Bibi Ka Maqbara

Azam Shah built this in the 1660s for his mother Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of Aurangzeb, and he modelled it directly on the Taj Mahal, which his grandfather had built for his grandmother a generation earlier. The budget was a fraction of the original, and the compromise is visible: marble clads the lower parts of the mausoleum, the dome and the immediate surrounds, while the upper structure is plastered stone finished to resemble it. The proportions are taller and narrower. It stands in a charbagh garden with minarets at the corners and the Deccan hills behind, and it is often called the Taj of the Deccan.

History

Dilras Banu Begum, a Safavid princess and the first wife of Aurangzeb, whom she married on 8 May 1637 in Agra, died on 8 October 1657, a month after the birth of her fifth child. In 1660 a mausoleum was commissioned for her at Aurangabad, and it is believed to have been built in 1668-1669 by the architect Ataullah Rashidi, whose name is inscribed on the main door; Aurangzeb allowed only Rs. 700,000 for it, and it cost Rs. 668,203 (Wikipedia, Bibi Ka Maqbara).

What's there

• The marble lower storey - stone cladding where the eye falls first.
• The plastered upper structure - finished to imitate marble above.
• The charbagh - the four-part garden with water channels.
• The Deccan setting - hills behind rather than a river.

When to go

October to March; Aurangabad summers are severe. Late afternoon light suits the marble. The site is far less crowded than the Taj Mahal at any hour.

Things to know

Comparisons to the Taj Mahal set expectations the building cannot meet; it is smaller and visibly cheaper in execution. The garden is modest. A visit takes under two hours.

Nearby

Daulatabad lies west; Ellora and Ajanta are northwest.

Key facts