Discover the Mysteries of the Taj Mahal, One of India’s Most Intriguing Monuments

Key Points

• The Taj Mahal features optical illusions that play upon perspective; it even appears to grow smaller as you approach it from the main gate.

• The placement of Shah Jahan's cenotaph actually isn't perfectly symmetrical, slightly throwing off the building's legendary architectural balance.

• Tarnished by time and air pollution, the Taj Mahal's marble has sometimes been restored using a special mud mixture.

For first-time visitors to India, it's almost impossible to skip a visit to the incredible Taj Mahal. The mausoleum in Agra is India's most famous monument, and a sublime shrine to eternal love. Built between 1632 and 1648 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the site was dedicated to Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth. But despite its iconic stature, much of its history is still shrouded in mystery.

Here are a few things about the marble-clad marvel you might not have known.

Optical illusions can be spotted everywhere.

The architects and craftsmen of the Taj Mahal were masters of proportions and tricks of the eye. When you first approach the main gate that frames it, for example, the monument appears incredibly close and large. But as you get closer, it appears to shrink—exactly the opposite of what you'd expect. And although the minarets surrounding the tomb look perfectly upright, the towers actually lean outward, which serves both form and function. In addition to providing aesthetic balance, the pillars would simply crumble away from the main crypt if a disaster, like an earthquake, were to occur.

The most famous myth is probably false.

According to a popular legend, Shah Jahan wanted desperately for the mausoleum to be an exquisite masterpiece without an equal. To ensure no one could recreate the Taj Mahal's beauty, Shah Jahan supposedly severed the hands and gouged the eyes of the artisans and craftsmen who were involved in its creation. Despite the prevalence of this gruesome tale, historians have found no solid evidence to support the story—though it does heighten the drama of the romantic tragedy.

Both of the cenotaphs are empty.

Inside the Taj Mahal, the cenotaphs honoring Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are enclosed in an eight-sided chamber ornamented with pietra dura (an inlay with semi-precious stones) and a marble lattice screen. But the gorgeous monuments are just for show; their actual graves are set in a quiet chamber below, at garden level.

It's (almost) perfectly symmetrical.

The Taj Mahal is the pinnacle of Mughal architecture, constructed with impeccable symmetry according to the doctrines of the period's style. Minarets flank the domed tomb, and a central pool reflects the main building. The gardens—an earthly representation of paradise—are divided into quadrants, and twin red sandstone buildings (an east-facing mosque and a west-facing guesthouse) give the mausoleum complex a balanced harmony. There is, however, one exception. Shah Jahan's cenotaph is peculiarly positioned west of the central axis, throwing off the equilibrium. The odd placement has led many to believe he never meant to be buried there at all.

The Taj gets regular facials.

Age and pollution have taken a toll on the Taj Mahal's gleaming white marble façade, which has turned brownish-yellow under the sooty conditions. Occasionally, the monument is given a spa day. Specifically, a mudpack facial called multani mitti . This traditional recipe used by Indian women to restore radiance is applied, and then washed off with brushes, after which the Taj's blemishes vanish, and its glow returns.

It changes color throughout the day.

One of the allures of the Taj Mahal is its constantly changing hue. From dawn to dusk, the sun transforms the mausoleum. It may seem pearly gray and pale pink at sunrise, dazzling white at high noon, and an orange-bronze when the sun sets. In the evenings, the Taj can appear translucent blue. Special tickets are even sold for full moon and nighttime viewings.

A second, black-marble Taj Mahal was being planned.

Remember the haphazard placement of Shah Jahan's cenotaph? Local lore says that Shah Jahan wanted to construct a shadow image across the Yamuna River—an identical but opposite Taj Mahal hewn from black marble—where he would be entombed. It was said that construction came to a halt after Shah Jahan was deposed by his son (ironically, a child of Mumtaz Mahal) and imprisoned. Some historians have dismissed this story as folklore, too.

It was as much of a symbol of power as it was of love.

Accounts have shown that, as a leader, Shah Jahan was more ruthless than romantic. For all its associations with devotion and ardor, the Taj was also a source of propaganda. The complex's ordered symmetry symbolizes absolute power—the perfection of Mughal leadership. And its grand scale and extravagance (crystal, lapis lazuli, makrana marble, turquoise) only brought glory to Shah Jahan's reign.

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