The Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra, a city of great importance located 176 km as the crow flies from New Delhi, the capital. It has 1.7 million inhabitants nowadays. In Agra, the Taj Mahal is in the east, in the richest areas of the city at the time of its construction. It is on the banks of the Yamuna River, 3Kms from the city center and its main train station. Contrary to what one might think the Taj Mahal is bordering the city, ie its main gate is along an urban avenue beyond which the city extends. This monument has this in common with the pyramids of the Giza plateau in Egypt, which are also on the border of Cairo.
The GPS coordinates of the Taj Mahal are exactly 27 ° 10'30.05 "North and 78 ° 2'31.76" East. If you have Google Earth software, then click on this link or open it by double-clicking it, once downloaded: It will tell you the exact location of the mausoleum: Google Earth links.
The site was not chosen at random, it met several criteria. First of all it lies to the east of the city of Agra. At the time of Shah Jahan, in the seventeenth century, this whole area was made up of Mughal gardens, residences of high dignitaries and various palaces. When we know that gardens correspond to a divine concept in Islam, we understood that this environment was rather favorable to the establishment of a tomb of empress. Then the banks of the Yamuna were interesting because this river is a tributary of the Ganges, but in the Hindu religion, the Ganges is the purifying river, the one where the ashes of the deceased are poured out to purify their souls. To locate an Imperial tomb on the banks of the Yamuna means to adhere to the idea that the waters of the river will pass into the Ganga and purify the soul of the Empress. Since Shah Jahan was a Muslim, paying attention to this allowed him to put forward his quest for understanding with respect to the Hindu population he ruled over.
On this map the Taj Mahal is just south of the river just after the big bend it makes east of downtown. It is recognized by its whiteness and its regular cross just drawn, just below.
Who owned the land on which the Taj Mahal was built?
It's a curious question, but it deserves an answer. Above all, it is important to know that as an emperor, Shah Jahan lacked land, he could have used one of the many lands he had, but after studying them he decided that none corresponded to what he was really searching. He decided to buy it from Raja Jai Singh, who came from Ajmer, Rajasthan. This character had this land on the edge of the Yamuna and sold it to the emperor (Has he had a choice?) In exchange for four havellis (houses) in the city of Agra. This is the columnist Abdul Hamid Lahauri who teaches us, he said in his book "Padshahnamah". We also find the trace of this transaction in the royal decrees of the time.
