Lodi Gardens
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Template:Infobox park Lodi Gardens is a city park situated in New Delhi. Spread over Template:Convert,<ref name="asi">Template:Cite news</ref> it contains Muhammad Shah's tomb, the tomb of Sikandar Lodi, the Shisha Gumbad and the Bara Gumbad.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These monuments date from the late Delhi Sultanate, during the Sayyid dynasty (Template:Reign) and Lodi dynasty (Template:Reign). At this time, the Delhi Sultanate's territory included parts of present-day North India and the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As there is little architecture dating to the Sayyid and the Lodi periods still standing, Lodi Gardens is an important archaeological site, and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).<ref name="asi" /> The gardens are situated between Khan Market and Safdarjung's Tomb on Lodi Road and are a popular spot for morning walks for Delhiites.
ArchitectureEdit
In the middle of the gardens is the Bara Gumbad (Template:Literal translation), consisting of a large rubble-construct dome and is not a tomb<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed but was constructed as a gateway to either the attached three domed Template:Transliteration (mosque) or a large walled enclosure. Both the Bara Gumbad and the mosque were built in 1494 during the reign of Sikander Lodi, there is also a residence surrounding a central courtyard, where the remains of a water tank can be seen. Opposite the Bara Gumbad is the Shish Gumbad (Template:Literal translation, for the glazed tiles used in its construction), which contains graves whose occupants are not clearly identifiable – either an unknown family of Sikandar Lodi's court or Bahlul Lodi.<ref>Simon Digby, The Tomb of Buhlul Lodi, The Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1975, pp. 550–61.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed
To the north of the garden are the remains of a stream which may once have run as far as the Yamuna River, and by its side is the tomb of Sikandar Lodi. This structure still has the battlements enclosing it. Visible from Sikander's tomb is the Template:Transliteration (Template:Gloss) Bridge, one of the few monuments in Delhi that was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar.<ref name="sai">SAIL to make Lodi Garden ‘stainless' The Times of India, Saurabh Sinha, TNN 14 August 2005.</ref> The bridge contains seven arches, with the central one being the largest.
The tomb of Muhammad Shah, the last of the Sayyid dynasty rulers, is the earliest of the tombs in the garden, having been built in 1444 by Muhammad Shah's successor Ala-ud-din Alam Shah. The tomb is octagonal in shape, and is a good example of the inclusion of features from Hindu architecture into Indo-Islamic buildings. Numerous Hindu-style Template:Transliteration surround the central dome, each of them capped by a lotus finial with a decorative band around the base. Sloping buttresses at the corners are each topped with an ornamental Template:Transliteration (Template:Literal translation), and a Template:Transliteration overhangs the numerous arches which open onto a veranda.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The main tomb is supported by a 16-sided base. It is of a flattened type and the surrounding chhatris make it appear diminutive compared to its substantially larger base. The later tomb of Sikandar Lodi seems to have been copied from this Sayyid tomb.<ref>Bhalla, A.S. Royal Tombs of India: 13th to 18th Century</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Shisha Gumbad at Lodhi Garden, New Delhi.jpg
- Bada Gumbad, a three domed masjid (mosque), Lodhi Gardens, Delhi.jpg
Three-domed mosque adjacent to Bara Gumbad
- Athpula (eight piered) Bridge in Lodi gardens.JPG
Eight-piered bridge
- Lake at Lodhi Gardens.jpg
A goose stands beside the lake at Lodi Gardens
- Walled enclosure of the Sikander Lodi's Tomb.jpg
Walled enclosure of Sikander Lodi's tomb
- Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad.jpg
Shish Gumbad in front and Bara Gumbad with mosque at back
- Tomb of Mohammad Shah.jpg
Tomb of Muhammad Shah, known as Mubarak Khan-Ka-Gumbaz
- Tomb of Sikandar Lodi (1 of 1).jpg
Tomb of Sikandar Lodi, built 1494
- Lodi Garden Mosque, a heritage building in the Lodi Garden 04.jpg
A mosque with the four walls of an enclosed garden behind
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Sunday at the Lodi Gardens, by Vinay Dharwadker. Published by Viking, 1994.
- Lalkot to Lodi Gardens: (Delhi of Sultans), by Ranjit Sinha. Published by South Asia Books, 1996. Template:ISBN