Taj Mahal Legends and Myths

In Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, which was a major influence on the Taj Mahal design, Aurangzeb's grandparents were buried in a similar irregular manner. Aurangazeb was a religious man, and Islam discourages all kinds of pretension. That is why they do not use coffins but rather bury their dead in a white covering. Shah Jahan's building itself was thus a waste of money according to Aurangazeb's view. Thus he just buried his father next to his mother's tomb without much ado.

Apparently innumerable stories describe, horrific details, deaths, tortures that Shah Jahan inflicted on various craftsmen associated with the tomb. Perhaps the most common story prevailing is that Shah Jahan is that after the completion of the work, Shah Jahan had the artisan's hands cut off so that they would never build a monument in greater splendor

An ancient belief is that a similar tomb complex was originally supposed to be built on the other side of the river, in black marble instead of white. The story hints that his son Aurangzeb overthrew Shah Jahan before the black version could be built. Ruins of dark marble found across the river are the incomplete bases of this "Black Taj".

Scholars dispute this theory. They made on observation that the other major Mughal tombs were sited in gardens that form a cross, with the tomb at the connection of the vertical and horizontal pieces. The Taj Mahal gardens form a 'T', with the tomb at the center of the crosspiece. Further, the marble in the ruins opposite the Taj Mahal, while murky from discoloration, were originally white. Scholars have called these ruins the Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden".

Scholars now believe that the reflection of the Taj Mahal in this pool is in fact what was meant when people referred to the 'black taj'.

Shah Jahan's tomb is balanceed from center, as it was added after his death. Aurangzeb had Shah Jahan's tomb and monument placed in the Taj Mahal rather than building him a separate mausoleum such as other emperors had. He thus destroyed the symmetry of the Taj Mahal design. The Black Taj legend suggests that Aurangzeb's decision was made from nastiness or stinginess.