Photo 1002/14(698)

Genre: Architectural Photography

The tomb known as the Chaurasi Gumbaz, or 'Eighty-four Domes', and said to be the tomb of Lodi Shah Badshah. A. Führer, 'The Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh' (Allahabad, 1891), p. 113: 'The only remarkable building...is the Chaurasi Gumbaz. It is said to be the tomb of Lodi Shah Badshah...The Chaurasi Gumbaz is built of blocks of kankar laid in lime and mortar. All the ornamentation is in stucco with flowered borders and bands. Altogether the style corresponds very closely with that of the Lodi period, and the people may be right in attributing it to a Lodi prince. The building itself is only remarkable for its size, being 125 feet square outside and some 80 feet high, - seven narrow arched openings, divided by thick square piers....No one can explain why the tomb is called Chaurasi Gumbaz, or 'eighty-four domes.' There are only 40 intersecting spaces in the roof after deducting intersections in the middle, which are covered by the main dome. These, with the four corner turrets and the great dome, make only 45 possible domes, so that the name of Chaurasi Gumbaz is decidedly incorrect. The original name may have been Chalisi Gumbaz, or the 'forty domes', which would have been strictly correct, as well as in accordance with a favourable Hindu number.'

Subjects = Archaeological Survey of India Collections; Archaeological Survey of India Collections (Indian Museum Series); Indian architecture; Indian architecture (Islamic); tombs

Location = India; Kalpi; Uttar Pradesh