In the bustling, overcrowded complex of the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi’s south lies a neglected tomb of a princess, the eldest daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, Begum Jahanara. Few are aware, fewer care. People from different walks of life and social strata come here to pay obeisance to the 14th century Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya, the patron saint of Delhi who greatly influenced the princess.
Amidst the daily hustle-bustle, the woman who was the most powerful during her time, continues to sleep peacefully in her tiny marble enclosure — uncared and forgotten. The place, at any given time or day, is teeming with people, many of whom invade her little sanctum to catch a nap or pray. The area is littered and unkempt. An almirah stands in a corner, a testimony to serious trespassing.
Some kilometres away to the north of her tomb, in Walled City, is the country’s oldest and busiest market, Chandni Chowk. Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the market was designed by Begum Jahanara. A canal ran down the length of the square-shaped market and it has been said that on moonlit nights, the water shimmered, thus giving it the name ‘Chandni (silvery) Chowk (square)’.
Today, there is no canal, and catching a glimpse of a full moon must be a feat for the inhabitants amidst a sea of humanity, unregulated traffic and dilapidated buildings.
At the height of Mughal power, when Shah Jahan shifted base to Delhi and built the city of Shahjahanabad, his favourite daughter came to play an important role. Immediately after the emperor’s beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth, he turned to his eldest daughter, then 17, to take responsibility of her younger siblings. He even gave her half of Mumtaz’s property, which at that time was valued at Rs 10 million. Her annual stipend was fixed at Rs 1 million. She also got custody of the royal seal. In addition, she was given the right to revenue from the port of Surat, making her the wealthiest woman of her time.
Historical records tell us that Begum Jahanara was a happy mix of beauty and brains. Like her father, she was artistic and pursued poetry, painting and writing. Her vast knowledge in Persian and Arabic earned her the title of a scholar. She was also attracted to Sufism and called herself a ‘fakeera’. She and her brother Dara Shikoh were initiated into the Qadiriyya sect of Sufism, and her mentor was Mullah Shah Badakhshi. She is even credited with writing Mu’nis al-Arwah, the biography of the founder of the Chishtiya sect of Sufism, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
After the death of her father, she retained her position — surprising, given that her brother Aurangzeb executed Dara Shikoh and even imprisoned his own daughter. Aurangzeb perhaps respected her for her wisdom and familiarity with running the administration. In fact, he trusted her more than his other sisters, Roshanara and Gauharara, and appointed her the first lady of the court with an annual income of Rs 1.7 million. He even allowed her to design and commission her own mausoleum.
Jahanara never married but accounts from the day reveal that she had a string of lovers. And many accounts have suggested that she was an alcoholic. Yet, she lived a royal life without facing any kind of trouble from Aurangzeb or any other noble.
Several travellers to the Mughal courts noted in detail about her. French traveller François Bernier wrote: “Jahanara, the eldest daughter of Shah Jahan, was very handsome, of lively parts and passionately loved by her father. Shah Jahan reposed immense confidence in his favourite child. She watched over his safety and no dish was permitted upon the royal table which had not been prepared under her observation.”
When she died in 1681, she was buried in the same complex as the sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. She didn’t want a roof over her tomb because she identified herself with the poor, not the royalty. A marble slab stands near her grave and the epitaph on it in Persian reads:
He is the living, the sustaining,
Let no one cover my grave except
with greenery
For this very grass suffices as a tomb
cover for the poor
The annihilated fakeera Lady Jahanara
Disciple of the lords of Chishti
Daughter of Shah Jahan the Warrior.
May God illuminate his proof.
Indeed, her wish has been more than fulfilled.