Written by: Moiz Abdul Majid
Posted on: January 29, 2020 | 
| 中文
Dara Shikoh and Nadira Begum
Near the Shrine of Mian Mir, one of Lahore’s famous Sufi saints, is a tomb that is barely mentioned by the histories of Lahore. This tomb belongs to the Mughal princess Nadira Banu Begum who was the wife of the ill-fated Mughal prince, Dara Shikoh. Nadira Banu Begum was born in 1618 and was the grand daughter of Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jehangir. After the death of her parents she was raised in Agra, where she developed a taste for art and literature, something she would have in common with her future husband.
The story goes that in 1631 when Mumtaz Mehal passed away, Shah Jehan was consumed with grief, and completely withdrew from court life. His daughter, Jehanara Begum arranged her brother Dara’s marriage with Nadira Begum in 1633, to put an end to his mourning. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and circumstance, with paintings of the celebrations still surviving of the event.
Dara Shikoh and Nadira Begum's Wedding (photo credits to the Brooklyn Museum)
Dara fell deeply in love with his wife, and never married again. It is said that even Jehanara Begum was vey close to Nadira Begum, by virtue of Nadira Begum’s bond with Dara. Both of them were patrons of the arts, culture and were devout followers of Mian Mir. Dara had been warned by Mian Mir that waging war against Aurangzeb would have consequences for him, but Dara ignored the warning.
DaraShikoh (right) with Mian Mir (in white)
The war that followed led to Dara’s defeat. While escaping to Iran with his wife and children, Nadira Begum succumbed to dysentery near the Bolan Pass. Another version of the story is that she committed suicide by drinking poison, but scholars have rejected this as a myth. Her last wish was to be buried in Hindustan, and a heartbroken Dara not thinking of the consequences, sent her body to Lahore with a few of his most trusted soldiers. Some time after this, Dara was also caught and executed by his brother Aurangzeb.
Nadira Begum was laid to rest in Lahore near the shrine of her spiritual teacher. According to some historians, her tomb’s and Mian Mir’s tomb’s construction had started during Dara’s life, but was completed during Aurangzeb reign.
Nadira Begum's Tomb From Inside (photo credits to the writer)
Located in Dharampura, between the Walled City and Cantonment, the Tomb of Nadira Banu Begum sits on top of a platform in the middle of a vast ground. The ground was once said to be a pond during Mughal times, but sadly it was dismantled during the British era. Many of the bricks were used in the construction of the cantonment during the Raj.
That being said, the tomb’s structure is quite different from most other famous Mughal tombs in Pakistan. Usually a Mughal tomb is surrounded by a Charbagh (a garden that represents the gardens of heaven), but Nadira Begum’s final resting place sits on top of a platform in the middle of a manmade lake. Joined to the land by a causeway, the tomb might have looked like it was floating on water, when there was a pond around it.
Her tomb is constructed in the form of a two storied “baradari” (twelve-door pavilion), with arched gateways on either side of the tomb. Once covered in glazed tiles and precious stones, it now has a featureless façade which is testimony to the plunder it has seen through history. It was first desecrated under the regime of Ranjit Singh, who took away precious stones that were once a part of the building’s façade. Today, the building’s insides are covered with graffiti of various kinds.
Nadira Begum's Cenotaph (photo credits to the writer)
Although the monument was declared a protected site in 1956, not much has been done to protect it. The only thing preserved is the marble cenotaph of the princess, which has Quranic scripture carved on it in Nastaliq script. The actual grave though is in the basement of the tomb, but the entrance was sealed sometime during the British Raj.
Children Playing Cricket Outside the Tomb (photo credits to the author)
Today, the grounds around the tomb are used as a park, where cricket matches take place on the weekend. A famous cricketer allegedly proposed to destroying the tomb and constructing a proper cricket ground there, but that never happened. Instead, the tomb of the tragic princess sits in its precarious position, waiting to be restored to its former glory.
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