MONUMENTS

Sudhir Kumar Mishra on Sher Shah's Mausoleum in Sasaram

Sher Shah himself laid the foundation of his tomb in AD 1539 and it was completed three months after his death by his son... Islam Shah Suri, in 1545. This magnificent mausoleum is one of the finest specimens of Pathan architecture in India. Its dome rises more than 100 feet high from the floor of the octagonal chamber and is the second highest in India. Sober style, artistic setting in a tank and elegant kiosks grouped around the grand dome to relieve the severity of the composition are the unique features of the tomb.

Located about a half-kilometer off the Grand Trunk Road, the great mausoleum is situated in the middle of a large excavated tank. The original dimensions of the lake were about 1200 feet x 950 feet, now reduced to 100 feet x 800 feet. The main mausoleum is of two storeys. The lower or larger platform is a square measuring 243 feet. The sides of the upper terrace face the cardinal points correctly and are 216 feet long, 212 feet wide and 22 feet high. The height from the water level of the tank is about 30 feet. Its parapet walls have octagonal domes chambers at the four corners, two small projecting pillared balconies on each of its four sides and a doorway in the cast which is the only approach to the tomb.

The actual mausoleum lies in the middle of the upper storey on a low octagonal plinth 135 feet wide and 1.5 feet high. The octagonal chamber is 71'5" wide, surrounded by a 10-foot-wide verandah. The verandah has 24 small domes each supported on four arches. The verandah roof is a pillared cupola decorated with glazed white tiles.

The walls of the tomb chamber are 16 feet thick with three lofty arches on each of the eight sides. They rise 22 feet high about the verandah and support the dome.

The main dome is surrounded by eight pillared cupolas in the corners of the chamber walls. Buchanan describes a similar cupola which was on the summit of the central dome when he visited the place in 1812 or so. But, Cunninghan pulled it down in 1882 when the restoration work of the building was in progress and replaced it with the present pinnacle.

The great dome has a diameter of about 80 feet at the base, the top of its final being about 120 feet above its plinth and 150 feet above the water levels of the tank. It is said to be the biggest dome in India.

The interior of the tomb is well ventilated and lighted by large windows in the top of the walls, fitted with stone jail fretwork in varying patterns. Sher Shah's grave lies in the centre of the chamber on a low plinth.

The grave is surrounded by 24 other graves. The jambs and spandrels of the arch of the mihrab on the western wall were once profusely adorned with verses from the Quran with glazed tiles of various color arranged in geometrical patterns, with floral carvings in stone enclosed in enamel borders. However, much of this decoration has already vanished. Similar tile work is also seen on the interior of the dome, the walls and on the cupolas on the outside.

The idea of building a tomb in the middle of a tank is a unique example of Sher Shah's creativity.

The tomb has often been neglected. Originally it was approached from the north over a bridge of arches, which had crumbled by the time of Buchanan's visit in 1812. It was then accessible by a raft made of eastern pots which was constructed only when a stranger visited the place.

The bridge was in ruins even in 1880-81, when William Hodges made a visit. In 1882 the tomb was repaired and the present causeway was built in place of the old bridge by the British government during the viceroyalty.

Even today, the condition of the tomb is little better. The monument has begun to crumble at several places. Local men use the tank for bathing and washing. It is worship...In 1979, the local administration allowed the used as a garbage dump and idols are immersed here after immersion of the idols in the lake for that year only because all the other ponds in the town had dried up. Since then, it has become the practice. Local men cannot be stopped from using the tank because there is an acute water crisis in the town.

 (This writer has not mentioned the construction of a temple complex on the eastern bank of the tank - Editor)

 (Source: The Pioneer, 4 August, 1996)