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Shah Jehan's everlasting love for Mumtaz led to the genesis of the Taj Mahal.

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"The world is divided between those who have seen the Taj and those who have not," Former US president Clinton had stated on the eve of his India tour. Indeed, Taj Mahal, mausoleum of the mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal, is a historic monument and a symbol of eternal love renowned world over for its architectural magnificence and aesthetic beauty.

The origin of the name the "Taj Mahal" is not clear. Court histories from Shah Jehan's reign only call it the rauza (tomb) of Mumtaz Mahal. It is generally believed that "Taj Mahal" is an abbreviated version of her name.

It is among the world's foremost wonders. it is above all a monument to romantic love. Shah Jahan built the Taj to enshrine the body of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ("Elect of the Palace"), who died shortly after giving birth to her fourteenth child, in 1631.

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Visit the Taj
# Friday closed
# Entry fee (6-8 am & 4-7pm) Rs. 100/-
# From 8 am to 4 pm - Rs. 150/-
# Ph: (0562)360898

In 1612, Mumtaz Mahal was married to Shah Jehan (then Prince Khurram), the fifth mughal emperor. Mumtaz remained his inseparable companion on all his military expeditions. She was his comrade, his counsellor, and inspired him to help the poor and the needy. She bore him 14 children, and died in childbed in 1630 (only three years after his accession to the throne) during a military campaign.

Overpowered by grief, Shah Jehan was determined to perpetuate her memory for immortality and decided to build his beloved wife the finest sepulchre ever - a monument of eternal love. It was Shah Jehan's everlasting love for Mumtaz that led to the genesis of the Taj Mahal. After 22 laborious years, and the combined effort of over 20,000 artisans and master craftsmen, the monument was complete in 1648 on the banks on the river Yamuna in Agra, the capital of mughal monarchs.