Jaipur Royal Family’s Connection to Lord Rama

The Jaipur Royal Family claims descent from Lord Rama. Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh, the Crown King from June 24, 1970, to December 29, 1971, was considered the 309th descendant of Kush, the son of Ram. His only daughter, Diya Kumari, followed in the footsteps of her grandmother, Queen Gayatri Devi, by entering politics. Today, she serves as a BJP MP from the Rajasamand parliamentary seat.

Diya Kumari’s Claim About the Taj Mahal Land

Recently, Diya Kumari gained media attention after stating that the land on which the Taj Mahal stands once belonged to her family. She made this statement two days after a petition sought the opening of 22 locked rooms in the Taj Mahal’s basement.

She clarified, “I have seen documents in the pothi khana (archive) of my family proving that Shah Jahan liked our land and took it. I am unsure whether he offered compensation or if my family accepted it. However, family legends claim we received nothing for the land.”

Historical Context: The Amer Gharana and Mughal Relations

The Jaipur Royal Family, formerly known as the Amer Gharana, had close ties with the Mughal court. Raja Man Singh of Amer was among Emperor Akbar’s Navratnas. Given this history, it is plausible that Shah Jahan requested the land, and Raja Jai Singh might have willingly donated it.

Despite media misinterpretations, Diya Kumari insists she never claimed ownership of the Taj Mahal. “The media twisted my words. I never said the Taj Mahal belongs to us. I don’t know if a temple or palace existed there earlier. What I can confirm is that the land belonged to our family and was given to Shah Jahan,” she explained.

Mughal-Era Documents Confirming the Claim

Historical records support Diya Kumari’s claim. Translations of Mughal farmans (royal decrees), published in 1989 by historian W.E. Begley and translated by Ziyauddin Desai, confirm that Raja Jai Singh I of Amber once owned the land.

Muhammad Amin Qazwini, a contemporary historian, recorded that Raja Jai Singh donated his haveli (then called Akbarabad Haveli) for constructing the “Illumined Tomb” (Taj Mahal) as a gesture of loyalty. He likely made this donation soon after Mumtaz Mahal’s death in December 1631. Additionally, he supplied the marble for the monument’s construction.

However, a Mughal farman dated December 28, 1633, states that Shah Jahan compensated Raja Jai Singh with other havelis from the crown estate. These included:

• The haveli of Raja Bhagwant Das, brother of Mariam-uz-Zamani (Jodhabai), wife of Akbar and mother of Jahangir.
• The haveli of Raja Madho Singh, ruler of Jaipur from 1728 to 1768.
• A haveli gifted by Rupasi Bairagi to his niece Mariam-uz-Zamani as a wedding gift in 1562.
• The haveli of Prince Chand Singh, whose father, Prince Suraj Singh of Marwar, was the brother of Jahangir’s third queen.

Earlier, Raja Jai Singh also received the haveli of Shahzada Khanam, another crown property, but records do not clarify if this was in exchange for the Akbarabad Haveli.

Other farmans from the same period decree that Raja Jai Singh should exclusively supply marble from his mines for the Taj Mahal’s construction, prohibiting him from selling or lending it elsewhere.

The Origin of the ‘Taj Mahal Was a Temple’ Theory

The theory that the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple emerged in 1965. P.N. Oak, a former official in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, published a book claiming that the Taj Mahal, the Kaaba in Mecca, and even the Vatican were once Hindu temples. He further suggested that the papacy originated from Vedic priesthood.

In 2000, the Supreme Court dismissed Oak’s claims, with Justices S.P. Bharucha and Ruma Pal ruling against him. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reaffirmed in 2017 that there is no evidence to support the Taj Mahal being a Hindu temple.

Although Oak’s book is out of print, digital copies remain accessible. In 1992, architect Marvin Mills proposed carbon dating the monument. While online groups continue to support this cause, experts largely dismiss Oak’s claims. Additionally, thermoluminescence testing, a dating method, can determine when ceramics were fired but cannot confirm whether a temple existed before the Taj Mahal.

Conclusion

Since Diya Kumari’s documents remain inaccessible to the public, verifying her claim is challenging. However, if authentic and from the Mughal era, they support the possibility that Raja Jai Singh I donated his haveli for constructing the Taj Mahal.

Although the court rejected the petition to open the Taj Mahal’s 22 sealed rooms, doing so might have finally resolved the longstanding debate between the Taj Mahal and the Tejo Mahalay theory.