“Muslim art and architecture is an inspiration all over the world, with its immaculate precision and beauty. And it may be a possibility that when creating Taj Mahal, the designers very artfully used Vastu Shastra. This is only a supposition and is not intended to hurt any sentiment…”
Taj Mahal is not just one of the Seven Wonders of the World but also a great example of influences Persian and Hindu architecture had on one another. It is believed that Taj may have been built in agreement with vastu norms, making it sturdier and helping it stand the test of time. To the North of this great monument runs Yamuna (a river) and it flows from the West to East. This is excellent according to Vastu.
Also, if you’ve ever seen Taj Mahal you will find that its architecture has strong traces of Vastu Shastra. The width of the monument equals its height. In fact, if you use a measuring tape, you’ll see that the building’s width and length are precisely the same as its height. Consciously or unconsciously, the designer did follow the most basic Vaastu principles.
The biggest possibility of Taj Mahal being built on Vastu norms is the fact that Jahangir’s and Shah Jahan’s mothers were Hindus. In case of Shah Jahan, his mother was the daughter of Raja Uday Singh (from Marwar) and Jahangir’s mother was from the royal family of Amber. Both these areas, Amber and Marwar, are known to be greatly influenced by Vaastu Shastra.
Vastu experts also believe that Taj Mahal never brought bad luck to Shah Jahan (as thought by many people); instead it was the black marble monument he tried to create across the river to Taj which was the reason for his imprisonment and downfall. This monument could never get completed because its location carried a curse from the Vaastu viewpoint. To its South ran Yamuna, and the land sloping towards south from a building brings in disasters.
Another feature that is an example of Vaastu’s influence on the TAJ MAHAL is the fact that the monument has three basic shapes –an octagon, a square, and a circle. The four guest-rooms in Taj are octagonal at certain places. The floor of the monument is a square. However, the dome is a circle. These shapes represent the Holy Trinity.