A structural splendor that amazed Mughal Emperor Shahjahan

 
Mughal Emperor Shahjahan's active involvement in the design and production of Mughal architecture had far exceeded that of any other Mughal emperor. Themes initially established in the buildings of his predecessors were finely honed and reached maturity under Shah Jahan. For instance, the long-standing notion that imperial Mughal mausoleum were symbols of paradise was manifest most precisely and imposingly in the Taj Mahal. More than any other ruler, Shah Jahan had sought to use architecture to project the emperor's formal and 'semi-divine' character. He did so, in part, by adapting motifs found in western art and indigenous Indian architecture, such as the baluster column and baldachin covering, giving them a unique imperial context. The 'charged' meaning of these motifs, however, is only found in Shah Jahan's reign, for they are seen on the earliest non-imperial structures of his successor's reign. He had built many more mosques than did his predecessors and used this building type to project his official image as the 'upholder of Islam'. This is indeed a trend which had accelerated under Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan's son and successor. Mughal architecture during Shah Jahan was one over-the-top and beyond personified endeavour, which was so very much unprecedented, that no other earthly creations could indeed stand neck to neck under any circumstances. So much so was Shah Jahan's Mughal architectural impression upon the then Indian society, that the edifices' enormity, magnanimity, massiveness or flamboyance, that every structure loomed over from atop a hill.

Shah Jahan's precise Mughal architectural style is deeply rooted in the buildings of his predecessors. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal marks a return to Humayun's Timurid tomb-type and indeed the interest in elaborate Timurid vaulting types is heightened in Shah Jahan's reign. Trabeated pavilions, as seen in earlier Mughal reigns, grace Shah Jahan's palaces, hunting estates and gardens. Under Shah Jahan's rule, however, there is an emphasis unprecedented in Mughal architecture on the structure's graceful lines and a harmonious balance among all the parts. Shah Jahan's personal involvement in architecture and city planning appears to have motivated others, especially the high-ranking women of his court, to build. While the emperor had provided palace buildings and forts, these women and the nobility had acquired responsibility for embellishing the cities. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in his de novo city, Shahjahanabad, where mosques, gardens, markets, serais and mansions were provided by the aristocracy. This emperor was so much a man with intelligence par excellence, that Mughal architecture during Shah Jahan endeavouring to reach the peak, had in fact achieved the peak, irrespective of hostilities.

Although Mughal architecture during Shah Jahan is incredibly epitomized and personified for love and affection for the construction of the Taj Mahal - included in the prestigious list of the New Seven Wonders of the World, yet, the other architectural masterpieces are not exactly overshadowed by the former. Shah Jahan was the greatest patron of Mughal architecture. The astronomical sums that were utilized for expenditure on his tombs, palaces, hunting pavilions, pleasure gardens and entire planned cities, is extraordinary even judging by modern standards! Just as the literary and painted image of Shah Jahan became increasingly ceremonial and formal, so did his architecture. The bulk of Mughal architecture under Shah Jahan was meant to serve as an imperial setting, which had taken on a specific air of formality, unprecedented in earlier Mughal structures. The meticulous utilization of white marble inlaid with stones, accentuated and marked during the later portion of Jahangir's reign, characterizes much of Shah Jahan's architectural production. His buildings appear increasingly refined, establishing a style that became an Indian 'classic'.