Human Interest: Taj Mahal Secret: Shah Jahan had buried Mumtaz Mahal’s dead body in Burhanpur

You must have heard a lot of stories about Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.  While giving birth to her fourteenth child, Mumtaz Mahal had died in Burhanpur. For six months she was buried here and later Shah Jahan took her body t Agra, where she was buried in Taj Mahal.

Actually, there is a secret behind why Taj Mahal was built in Agra, which people don't know about.

Today we will tell the secret behind construction of Taj Mahal.


If the soil in Burhanpur did not have termites, today, Taj Mahal would have been built on the bank of Tapti River instead of Yamuna in Agra.

Due to the threat of termites in the soil of Burhanpur , emperor Shah Jahan chose the banks of Yamuna. 

In Agra, the sand - ballast was dug out and the bais was made from rosewood and teak and finally Taj’s magnificent foundation stone was laid.

However, Taj Mahal has failed to become geographically and technically Mumtaz Begum’s death place. This is why the town of Burhanpur recently celebrated her 383rd death anniversary.

On June 7, 1631, Mumtaz breathed her last in Burhanpur’s royal palace.

Six months after the burial of Mumtaz in Ahukhana, Shah Jahan dug her body out and brought it to Agra.

The Central Archaeological Department and the State Archaeological Park are gaining popularity even today considering Mumtaz’s real grave to be in Ahukhana.

Central Archaeological Department has been spending millions to save Ahukhana.

With the mud pack therapy i.e. after applying the paste of multani mitti  on the dead body of Mumtaz, it was buried in Burhanpur for 6 months and 9 days. Because of two places of Mumtaz’s burial, Burhanpur has always remained in limelight.

Tapti State Archaeology Department believes that the body was placed near the edge of Janabad in Ahukhana. 

If the soil of Burhanpur would not have been affected by termites, Taj Mahal would have never taken shape.