A Symbol Of Love

One of the most epic displays of love in the history of mankind is the majestic Taj Mahal in Agra, India. It serves as an example of what was a story of real love. This is the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.

At the age of 17, Emperor Shah Jahan fell in love with a young 14 year old beauty, whom he later married and had 14 children with. Arjumand Banu Begum was a mild woman who influenced her powerful husband quietly from behind the scenes with her kindness and intelligence. In a time when women were considered subservient to men, this powerful ruler often turned to the woman he trusted and relied on more than any other for guidance. Her beauty and worthy character inspired her husband to give her the title of Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace).

During the Shah’s reign, peace ruled the land, and he only used his military to defend against attacks on his people. The ruled knew the influence of his beloved and favored wife, and they loved her for it. Mumtaz Mahal was reputed to be a woman who championed the poor and down-trodden, who was not able to turn her back on someone in need, and who especially stood by widows and children. When her husband was briefly in exile or travelled, she never left his side. While he was required to marry other women for political reasons, official evidence indicated that he did not allow those women to rival Mumtaz, or that he had any relationship with them other then giving them the title of first and second wife. He married them while betrothed to Mumtaz to fulfill his royal obligations, then married his third and favorite wife when she was 19, beginning their 19 year love story. He was a powerful man who could have had any woman, at any time, yet their marriage was reported to be one of utter devotion, intimacy, and deep affection, with no competition. He always had his favorite wife by his side.

Mumtaz Mahal passed away at the age of 38 while giving birth to their 14th child. She was with him during all of her pregnancies, and the Shah was devastated to lose her and wept bitterly. While she lived, he built a perfect dwelling for her, a castle of white marble with carvings in the walls that created a look of lace on the floor when the light passed through. Carved above extravagant columns in gold were the words

If there is Heaven on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.

In Mumtaz, the Shah found perfection, not only for her beauty but for her compassionate nature and loving devotion. A poet wrote of their love story:

He preferred in his heart
The least ringlet that curled
Down her exquisite neck
To the throne of the world

For her death, he wanted a tombstone to be laid on her grave that would serve as love’s perfect crown. He had 20,000 laborers work seventeen years to create the Taj Mahal for the woman he believed to be perfect in every way. The white marble mausoleum is her final resting place, the ultimate symbol of love from a devoted husband to the wife that gave his life meaning. The Taj Mahal is considered to be possibly the most beautiful architectural accomplishment in the world, as well as a World Wonder, and is the ultimate symbol of what a woman of great character and a kind heart can inspire in a man.