Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/373

CHAP. X. AURANGZIB, OR 'ALAMGIR, 321 This, however, is far from being the case. He did, indeed, as mentioned above, pull down the temple of Vi.rve.yvar, at Benares, in order to erect a mosque, whose tall and graceful minarets still form one of the most prominent features in every view of the city. After the shrine of Siva at Benares, the great temple of Ke^ava Deva or Krishna at Mathura was the most sacred in Hindustan. It had been erected, or rebuilt, by the famous Bir-Singh Bundela during the reign of Jahangir at a cost of thirty-three lakhs of rupees ; 1 and immediately after the destruc- tion of the Vi.yve.rvar temple in 1669, "his religious Majesty" ordered this also to be levelled to the ground and a vast mosque, about 170 ft. in length, to be erected on the platform. 2 It was not, however, from any love of architectural magni- ficence that this was done, but to insult his Hindu subjects and mark the triumph of Islam over Hinduism. The mosques themselves are of no great magnificence, but, except that at Lahor, none more important was erected, so far as I know, during his reign. The Jami' or Badshahi mosque at Lahor, which is entered from the west side of the Hazuri Bagh (Woodcut No. 430), was erected in 1674 from the proceeds of the estates of his eldest brother Dara Shikoh, whom he had put to death in 1659. The gateway from the Hazuri Bagh, raised on a lofty platform set on arches, is an imposing structure of red sandstone and marble. In a chamber above this archway are preserved certain " relics " of Muhammad and his family. The mosque itself, erected under the supervision of Fidai Khan Koka, the emperor's foster- brother, is a building of considerable merit and the latest specimen of the Mughal architectural style. It has three domes of white marble and very pleasing form, and in this and the general arrangements of the facade it is almost a copy of the Jami' Masjid at Delhi, but the marble ornamentation of the great central arch and the front arcade is very inferior in detail 3 ; and the minarets, instead of terminating the facade, are quite plain octagonal towers, placed at the corners of the court about 175 yards apart. They are, as usual, of three storeys, but their cupolas had to be removed after an earthquake in 1840. Few things can show how steadily and rapidly the decline of taste had set in than the fact that when that monarch was 1 It was described in some detail by Tavernier, who saw it in 1650. Ball's translation of Tavernier's 'Travels,' vol. ii. pp. 24off. Bernier also mentions it 663. 'Travels' (ed. 1891), p. 284. in Elliot's ' History of India,' vol. vn. p. 184. The idol an image of Krishna had just been removed by Rajasimha Rana of Udaypur, and is now at Nathdwara. 3 'Transactions Royal Institute of British Architects,' N. Sen vol. v. p. 66 ; G. Le Bon, ' Les Monuments de 1'Inde,' p. 220 and fig. 358. This mosque was used by the Sikhs as a magazine, but was restored to the Muhammadans in 1856. VOL. II. X