Bøker av Prof R Nath

This is an anthology of my twenty-one research paper which was originally published in 1976 and is long out-of-print. While they deal with obscure or little known aspects of Mughal Architecture, they also define various phases of the growth and development of this art from Babur to Shah Jehan (1526 to 1658 A.D.) . They elucidate the builder's personality and, at the same time, provide an appraisal of the tastes and beliefs of the contemporary people. The historical fact is that the stamp of an age and its trends and currents are writ large on its architecture and if the language of the stone is deciphered, architecture can be a veritable source of History, in many respects much more important than contemporary and later contemporary historical chronicles, literary sources and travelogue. It can speak unadulterated truth of the PAST.This volume affords study of this art which ultimately developed to the status of a National style, and the various inspirations which went into its making. Without Vastu - texts of their own, the Mughals were able to build such wonderful (adbhut) buildings as the Taj Mahal, the like of which could not be produced in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran or in any other Islamic country. This shows the extent to which the indigenous art - traditions of the country participated in the formative process.Mughal Architecture is a vast subject and a life-time is not enough to cover the whole of it. Present volume is just a modest instalment by way of introduction of its few aspects. Much yet remains to be done.The work has been adequately illustrated by text figures (drawings) and plates. Chapters:1. Bagh-i-Gul Afshan of Babur at Agra2. Diwan -i-Khas of Fatehpur Sikri3. Account of a Mughal Stepwell and a Well house4. Mysteries of Phansighar at Agra Fort5. Mughal Hammam and the Ghusal-Khana6. Depiction of Fabulous Animals at Delhi Gate Agra Fort7. Personality of Akbar as revealed in the Inscriptions at Fatehpur Sikriand Agra8. Mayura Mandapa of Akbar in the Agra Fort9. Depiction of Tantric symbol in Mughal Architecture10. Minaret versus the Dhvaja-Stambha11. Plan of Akbar's Tomb Agra and a proposed Dome over it12. Inlay specimens at Akbar's Tomb Sikandara13. Mausoleum of Mariam Zamani at Agra14. Depiction of Animate Motifs at Tomb of Itimad ud Daulah Agra15. Augustin of Bordeaux and his relations with Mughal Court16. Tomb Firoz Khan Agra17. Glass Mosaic Decoration and Shish Mahal Agra Fort18. Incised Painting in Mughal Architecture19. Moti Masjid of Red Fort Delhi20. Curved-Roof and Bent-Cornice style of the Mughals21. Concept of beauty in Mughal Architecture (with special reference tothe Aesthetics of the Taj Mahal)

This is a study of the 'Idea' as much as the 'Form' of the Jaina Kirttistambha of Chittorgadh which is not only an exquisite work of art and a unique architectural relic, but also the monumental symbol of an ancient thought.Chapters:1. Architecture of the Jaina Kirttistambha2. Epigraphical Data3. Sopana Paddhati & Architectural Derivation4. Meaning & SymbolismAppendices:1. Epigraphs: Text and Translations2. Sanskrit Texts, Commentaries & Translations3. Tables on Ancient Pillars and Structures

This is the second volume of 4-volume series History of Mughal Architecture. It deals with the Personality Architecture of the Classical Age of Akbar, e.g. his buildings of Agra Fort and Fatehpur SikriChapters:01. The Making of Akbar's Personality and Thought- Ibadat-Khanah, Mahzar, Allopanisad, Din-i-Ilahi, Tarikh-i-Ilahi, Sun-worship, Tuladan02. Agra Fort and Its Palatial Mansions- Darul-Khilafat, City Drainage, Fort, Delhi Darwazah, Akbar Darwazah, Bengali Mahal03. Water Supply system of Agra Fort - Supply from Babur's Baoli, Khizri Dawazah Water Works, Well House of the Bengali Mahal04. Fatehpur Sikri: Town Planning, Drainage and water supply - The Sacred Complex, Royal Complex, Public Court05. The Sacred Complex (Sahn-i-Ibadat) of Fatehpur Sikri - Stone Cutter's Mosque, Jami Masjid and Buland Darwazah, Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti06. Rang Mahal and the Royal Complex (Sahn-i-Khass) - Rang Mahal and Raniwas (Harem) Mahal-i-Ilahi, Shahi Bazar, Mina Bazar07. The Public Court (Sahn-i-Rayyat) and Miscellaneous buildings of Fatehpur Sikri - Khwabgah, Panch Mahal, Chaupar Court, Diwan-i- Am, Faizi's House, Caravan Sarai, Hiran Minar08. Ekastambha-Prasada, Ibadat-Khanah and Diwan-i-Khass - Its Architecture and Symbolism, Akbar's belief in sun worship09. Architectural Miscellany of Akbar - Jal Mahal, Kos Minar, Lahore Fort, Attock Fort, Nasim Bagh, Taragadh and Ajmer, Jaunpur10. Hammam establishment of the Mughals - Hammam-i-Shahi, Hammams of Fatehpur Sikri, Stucco Ornamentation of Hammams11. Epilogue: An Estimate of Akbar's Style

Two basic requirements of this study are almost formidable. Firstly, one has to be extremely careful about his sources and authorities, and he must refrain, altogether, from making unauthorized and unwarranted comments, subjectively. I have tried to quote my sources and authorities side by side, within brackets, and I have seen that no statement is made without due authentication. As far as possible, statements are supported by the Quran (quoted from 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali's classical translation) and Hadith (al-Bukhari and al-Muslim). Conclusion made at the end of each chapter is entirely based on these sources and authorities, and there is nothing speculative or argumentative. Secondly, one has to be extremely sympathetic and, unless he is sympathetic with the subject, he may not justify his comments. A negative and hostile view would spoil the academic merit of a work such as this. An interpretation in the given Context is, therefore, absolutely necessary, in each case. From the modern point of view, there are irreconcilable paradoxes in Islam, for the simple reason that, by Divine command or otherwise, it has remained a complete stasis and has, doctrinally, refused to change in accordance with TIME and SPACE (Desa-Kala). History of mankind has shown that a civilization which stagnated, either gradually died out, or was reduced to anarchy or barbarism. Only dynamism, that quality of a civilization which accepts CHANGE in accordance with the changed conditions in Time and Space, keeps it living, going and developing. It is, in fact, this which has created almost insuperable predicaments of the Indian Musalman. This work is a HISTORICAL CRITIQUE of these predicaments. Islam has to be dynamic to keep pace with the changing times and the progress of the mankind, to adapt to modern conditions and give up such abominable practices as purdah, polygamy, triple-talaq and jihad, which are all misnomers in the modern world. This is, essentially, a CIVILIZATIONAL CRISIS, and Indian Islam has to emancipate itself from its Arabian medievalism. With three generations family relations with the Muslims and, specifically, my close friendship with Ayaz, I saw Islam in practice for a life-time. Theoretically too, I had to read its classical literature in connection with my study of Indo-Muslim Architecture (Sultanate and MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE of India), covering a time-span of nearly half-a-century and, more particularly, when I taught 'Islamic Civilization' to the post- graduate students at the University of Rajasthan Jaipur, for a decade. This also enabled me to write two books on the study of Islam in India, viz. 1.Architecture & Site of the Baburi Masjid of Ayodhya (A Historical Critique) (Jaipur 1991); and 2.Mosque Architecture (From Medina to Hindustan) (622-1654 A.D.) (Jaipur 1994) I was, thus, fairly well acquainted with the theory and practice of Islam in India, and this is my credential to write this book on one of the most sensitive subjects of history. I am not a 'Mulla', 'Maulana', or a member of the elite 'Ulema class, which is why I have the advantage of a bird's eye view of the subjectProf R Nath

This is study of the INLAY art as it developed in Mughal Architecture, from Humayun to Shah Jehan (c. AD 1535-1658) indigenously, and independent of any extraneous inspiration or influence, landmark examples whereof have been cited with illustrations (64 b&w and 16 colour plates). It is wrong to brand it: pietra-dura or pietre-dure which misnomer was pasted upon it by nineteenth and early twentieth century colonial historians who suffered by a sense of inherent superiority of European culture and art, and who could not believe that the Indian people, whom Macaulay fondly called 'semi-savage' could develop such a fine and exquisite art as this, which even the classical Greeks and the Romans, who also worked in marbles, could not do!

This work studies Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior and the Tomar monuments (viz. palaces, gates, tanks etc) which have survived in the Gwalior Fort. Though it had a very short time span of 40 years (1486-1526), it was a potential precursor to the versatile and prolific architectural style of the Imperial Mughals of India. Chapters: (1).Historical Background: Mahārānā Kumbhā of Mewar (1433-68) -10-13(2).Rājā Mānsingh Tomar of Gwalior (1486-1516) -14-16(3).'Paurs' (Gates) and Tanks of Gwalior Fort -17-21(4).'Chaurāsī Khambhā' (the Hall of 84 Pillars), Gwalior Fort -22-26(5).'Vikram Mahal' and 'Kīrtti-Mandir', Gwalior Fort-27-32(6).'MĀN-MANDIR' and the 'Hāthyā-Paur' (the Elephant Gate), -33-59 Gwalior Fort (7).'Hindola-Paur' and 'Gūjarī-Mahal' Complex, Gwalior Fort -60-67(8).Characteristic Features of Rājā Mansingh Tomar's Style -68-71References --72-75Appendix - A, B, C & D -76-82Plates -83-116