The Hidden Hindu 2

by Akshat Gupta

‘There is more information if you’re still curious,’ Parimal whispered. ‘The Tejo Mahalaya claim is supported by a Sanskrit inscription known as the Bateshwar inscription, which is currently preserved at the Lucknow Museum. It refers to the establishment of a “crystal white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord Shiva, once enshrined in it, decided never to return to Mount Kailash—his usual abode”. This inscription was found within a radius of about 36 miles from the Taj Mahal and is dated back to 1155 AD. Due to this evidence, the possibility arose that the Taj Mahal might have been built at least 500 years before Shah Jahan took credit for it. Moreover, Shah Jahan’s own court chronicle, the Badshahnama, admitted that a grand mansion of unique splendour, capped with a dome, was taken from the Jaipur Maharaja Jai Singh for Mumtaz’s burial.’