A monument of beauty, learning and tragedy

Death calls out to each person in a different way. To Humayun, it was, literally, a call from the Almighty himself. 

Hearing the call of the muezzin for the evening namaaz, emanating from the nearby Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque, Humayun rushed down his library-cum-astronomical observatory Sher Mandal. 

 

He slipped, fell headlong down the steep stairs and died within three days of receiving the fatal wounds. 

That is how the second emperor in the line of the illustrious Mughal empire - Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun – met his end.

Sher Mandal – the garden pavilion located south of Purana Qila (home to Humayun those days) – however, stands in all its glorious beauty and historical significance till date.

If you have seen a good number of Mughal monuments before – with their typical red sandstone structure and pointed arches – you’ll easily be able to tell that Sher Mandal is different. 

 

Visibly, it was built with a measure of taste and elegance. 

The double-storeyed octagonal structure, though made of sandstone, is punctuated with strips of marble. 

The pointed arches on the upper floor are enhanced by an outline of marble inlay work and Islamic star symbols on both sides. 

The ‘stellar’ marble work on the foot of the pillars, inside of the arches and ceiling of 

the domes also commands attention.

Lending a Rajput feel to the Mughal piece of architecture are the ornamental eaves (chhajja) running along the edge of the roof and the beautiful canopy (chhattri) – the crowning glory of Sher Mandal. 

While the niches on the lower floor are closed, except for one, those on the upper floor are connected around a central chamber to form a breezy verandah.

Historians dispute over who could have commissioned Sher Mandal originally. 

Some accounts say Humayun ordered it on the highest point of the fort complex as an observatory-cum-library, and that construction was stopped for 15 years following his defeat and ouster at the hands of Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. 

Some other references attribute it to Suri himself, who had a good sense of architecture and administration, and built the garden pavilion as the fort’s new owner in 1541 AD. 

The latter seems to be a more credible explanation as the structure still carries the Afghan king’s name – Sher Mandal.   

What is certain is that Humayun, after he regained the throne, became so fond of ‘Sher Mandal’ that he would spend a major part of his day here. 

Only the second astronomical observatory in Delhi (the first being Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s 14th century facility in Pir Ghaib), Humayun spent many nights here gazing at the stars. 

His valuable manuscripts were stocked here, evidence of which can still be seen in traces of stone-shelving inside. 

Poetic seminars with participation from the most learned men were held here, and this is where Mir Sayyid Ali taught drawing to both son and father - Akbar and Humayun.

On January 24, 1556, Humayun fell from its stairs to his death, Akbar eventually moved his Capital to Agra and Sher Mandal of Purana Qila lost its royal sheen. 

For all the times and tragedy it has seen, though, Sher Mandal stands as a testimony to history.