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Aurangzeb Tomb

Tomb of Aurangzeb, Aurangabad Overview

Situated in Khuldabad village, about 25 kilometres away from Aurangabad lies the Tomb of Aurangzeb, the grave of the sixth and the last Mughal Emperor, Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad, famously known as Aurangzeb. Unlike several grand tombs built in the memory of Mughal Emperors, the Aurangzeb Tomb is an unmarked grave at the Dargah of his spiritual guru, Sheikh Zainuddin. It is said that it was Aurangzeb's wish to be buried near the dargah. This is a quaint historical site which is visited by people who are keen to explore the history of the grave.

It was the dying wish of Aurangzeb to be buried at Khuldabad. It is believed that he commissioned his own grave by knitting caps and copying the Quran during his last days. The Tomb of Aurangzeb is a simple grave with no ceiling and nothing that denotes the grandeur of an emperor. A British Statesman, Lord Curzon, tidied the place with marble as a mark of respect for the Emperor. It is always covered with a plain white sheet of fabric and sometimes, visitors offer flowers to him.

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History of Aurangzeb's Tomb

In the late 1600s, after the Mughal Empire expanded its reign to South India till Golconda, a downfall had begun due to continuous wars and battles that lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of human lives and an insane amount of money. The expenses, that also included wasteful indulgences, drove the Mughal Empire to bankruptcy. At the end of his life, the emperor went through a period of introspection and guilt, and as per his instructions, a simple funeral and his burial were carried out at Khuldabad where he has purchased the burial ground. It is said that the entire expense did not cross INR 15/- at that time.

After the funeral, Aurangzeb was given the title of Khuld-Makan which means the one whose abode is an eternity. A wooden porch with Persian inscriptions was erected all around the tomb over a platform. But, because of its simplicity, the tomb was sort of left unmarked. Around the mid-1700s, a British Statesman, Lord Curzon, discovered the tomb and built a white marble encasing and flooring around it. The simple yet elegant structure that we get to see today, is an open-air tomb with a domed portico, open ceiling and screens of marble with Jali work. A large piece of marble with inscriptions that contain Aurangzeb’s complete name with his title can also be seen in one corner around the tomb.

Tomb of Aurangzeb Reviews

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Flying Bird

on Tomb of Aurangzeb 2 years ago
Marvelous place, reflects Mughal Culture rich in Fantastic Paintings revealing the stories of that time without any speech or language, which is a unique identity of Mughal Dynasty.

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