https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Eklakhi_MausoleumEklakhi Mausoleum - Revision history2026-08-01T01:24:10ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Eklakhi_Mausoleum&diff=116582&oldid=prev>Gowhk8 at 06:27, 20 June 20212021-06-20T06:27:12Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox historic site<br />
| name = Eklakhi Mausoleum<br />
| other_name = '''[[List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal|Monument of National Importance]]'''<br />
| native_name = <br />
| native_language = <br />
| image = File:Eklakhi Mausoleum.jpg<br />
| caption = <br />
| type = Mausoleum<br />
| locmapin = <br />
| coordinates = {{coord|25.1388|88.1543|display=inline,title}} <br />
| etymology = {{₹|100000|1400}} used in its construction<br />
| location = [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]], [[West Bengal]], India<br />
| area = <br />
| built = {{circa|1425}}<br />
| architect = <br />
| architecture = <br />
| governing_body = [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (N-WB-100)<br />
| owner = <br />
}}{{Bengal Sultanate}}<br />
'''Eklakhi Mausoleum''' ({{lang-bn|একলাখী মাজার|Eklakhi Mazar|Mausoleum of One Lakh}}) is a [[mausoleum]] located at [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]] in [[Malda district]], [[West Bengal]], India. It was built around 1425. It houses three tombs, possibly belonging to Sultan [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]], his wife, and son [[Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah]], but the identification is disputed. The structure represents a village hut with a sloping roof and serves as a prototype for the various other buildings constructed during the [[Bengal Sultanate]].<br />
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==History==<br />
The mausoleum was built in the early 15th century ({{circa|1425}}).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It houses three tombs. One tomb is believed to be that of Sultan [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]], the other two of his wife and son [[Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah]]. The orientation and the identification of these tombs is disputed.<ref name="ASI" /> Jalaluddin was a son of [[Raja Ganesha]] and had later converted to Islam. He was the first [[Bengali people|native]] Muslim king of Bengal and the last Sultan of Bengal to rule from [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]].{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=37}}<br />
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According to tradition, the construction of the mausoleum cost one lakh rupees ({{₹|100000|1400}}).{{efn-ua|100 thousand is called one lakh in [[Indian numbering system]].}} The mausoleum received its name "Eklakhi" ({{literal translation|of One Lakh}}) from this amount. The mausoleum is designated as a Monument of National Importance (N-WB-100) by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref name="ASI">{{cite web |title=Eklakhi Mausoleum |url=http://www.asikolkata.in/maldah.aspx |publisher=ASI Kolkata |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref><br />
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==Architecture==<br />
The mausoleum is the earliest surviving square-shaped building with a single dome in Bengal.{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=36}} The brick structure has {{cvt|4|m|adj=on}} thick walls and an octagon-shaped interior, which together minimize the size of [[squinch]]es required.<ref name="ASI"/>{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=36}} The mausoleum has a smoothly curved [[cornice]], [[terracotta]] ornamentation on the walls, and engaged towers at the corners.{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=37}} The cornice supports the hemispherical dome on square squinches.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |author1=Ziyauddin Desai |author-link1=Z. A. Desai |title=Indo-Islamic architecture |date=1970 |publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=9788123024066 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yIPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT43}}</ref><br />
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The mausoleum is {{convert|75|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|25|ft|m}} in height. The diameter of the dome is {{convert|46|ft|m}}. A doorway is present at each of its [[facade]]s. Each doorway has a pointed arch. The interior chamber measures {{convert|47|ft|m}} and has no window.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author1=Percy Brown |author-link1=Percy Brown (art historian) |title=Indian Architecture (The Islamic Period) |date=2013 |publisher=Read Books |isbn=9781447494829 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YCF9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT121}}</ref><br />
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Historian Perween Hasan writes that the architecture may have been inspired by the brick temples in pre-Islamic Bengal. As Jalaluddin was the first native Muslim king of Bengal, he may have built the mausoleum in typical Bengali style, highlighting his roots.{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=37}} The mausoleum's structure represents a [[Thatching|thatched]] hut with a sloping roof forming [[eaves]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Catherine B. Asher |title=Architecture of Mughal India |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521267281 |page=9}}</ref> It is the earliest example of the distinctive Bengali architecture which was popularised during the period of the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and later.{{sfn|Hasan|2007|p=37}}<br />
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==Gallery==<br />
<gallery mode="packed"><br />
File:Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua in Malda district 11.jpg|Terracotta carvings on the walls<br />
File:Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua in Malda district 04.jpg|Octagonal tower strengthening the structure<br />
File:Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua in Malda district 10.jpg|Carvings<br />
File:Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua in Malda district 14.jpg|Decorated gate and walls<br />
</gallery><br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{commons category}}<br />
{{notelist-ua}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|30em}}<br />
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===Bibliography===<br />
*{{citation|last=Hasan|first=Perween|year=2007|title=Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-381-0}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklakhi Mausoleum}}<br />
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Architecture of the Bengal Sultanate]]<br />
[[Category:Mausoleums in India]]<br />
[[Category:Architecture of Bangladesh]]<br />
[[Category:Tombs in India]]<br />
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century]]<br />
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Malda district]]</div>>Gowhk8