Of the two mosques at Delhi and at Ajmir, the first named is the earlier, having been begun some seven or eight years before the other, and is also very much the larger.[493] It is, besides, associated with the Kutub Minar, and some of the most beautiful tombs of the age, which altogether make up a group with which nothing at Ajmir can compare. The situation, too, of the Delhi ruins is singularly beautiful, for they stand on the gentle slope of a hill, overlooking a plain that had once apparently been a lake, but which afterwards became the site of three successive capitals of the East. In front are the ruins of Tugluckabad, the gigantic fort of an old Pathan chief; and further north the plain is still covered with the ruins of Old Delhi, the capital of the later Pathans and earlier Moguls. Beyond that, at the distance of nine or ten miles, are seen the towers of Shahjehanabad, the modern capital, and till recently the seat of the nominal monarchy of the Great Mogul. Still further north are situated the civil stations and cantonments of the British rulers of the country. It is a fortunate circumstance that the British station was not, as at Agra, placed in the midst of the ruins, since it is to this that we owe their preservation. But for the distance, marble columns would doubtless have been taken for all purposes for which they might have been available, with a total disregard to their beauty, and the interest of the ruins thereby annihilated. Even as it is, the buildings belonging to the celebrated Shahlimar gardens, which were the only buildings of importance in the neighbourhood of the English station, have disappeared; but these are of slight importance as compared with the ruins further south.
The general arrangement of the principal ruins will be understood from the plan ([Woodcut No. 277]), which was taken with great care, though the scale to which it has been necessary to reduce it prevents all its peculiarities from being seen. To understand it, it is necessary to bear in mind that all the pillars are of Hindu, and all the walls of Mahomedan, architecture.
277. Plan of Ruins in Old Delhi. (From a Plan by the Author.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
It is a little difficult to determine to what extent the pillars now stand as originally arranged by the Hindus, or how far they have been taken down and re-arranged by the conquerors. Even supposing them to be undisturbed, it is quite evident that the enclosing walls were erected by the Moslems, since all the stringcourses are covered with ornaments in their style, and all the openings possess pointed arches, which the Hindus never used. On the whole the probability seems to be that the entire structure was re-arranged in the form we now see it by the Mahomedans. The celebrated mosque at Canouge is undoubtedly a Jaina temple, re-arranged on a plan precisely similar to that of the mosque of Amrou at Old Cairo (Woodcut No. 921, vol. ii.). The roof and domes are all of Jaina architecture, so that no trace of the Moorish style is to be seen internally; but the exterior is as purely of Mahomedan architecture. There is another mosque at Dhar, near Mandu, of more modern date, and, without doubt, a re-arrangement of a Jaina temple. Another, in the fort at Jaunpore, as well as many other mosques at Ahmedabad and elsewhere, all show the same system of taking down and re-arranging the materials on a different plan. If, therefore, the pillars at the Kutub were in situ, the case would be exceptional;[494] but I cannot, nevertheless, help suspecting that the two-storeyed pavilions in the angles, and those behind the screen may be as originally erected, and some of the others may be so also; but to this we will return when speaking of the Ajmir mosque, where the Jaina pillars are almost certainly as first arranged. It is quite certain, however, that some of the pillars at the Kutub are made up of dissimilar fragments, and were placed where they now stand by the builders of the mosque. The only question—and it is not a very important one—is, how many were so treated? It may, however, be necessary to explain that there could be no difficulty in taking down and rebuilding these erections, because the joints of the pillars are all fitted with the precision that Hindu patience alone could give. Each compartment of the roof is composed of nine stones—four architraves, four angular and one central slab (as explained in diagram No. 114, p. 214), all so exactly fitted, and so independent of cement, as easily to be taken down and put up again. The same is true of the domes, all which being honestly and fairly fitted, would suffer no damage from the process of removal and re-erection.
The section ([Woodcut No. 278]) of one half of the principal colonnade (the one facing the great series of arches) will explain its form better than words can do. It is so purely Jaina, that it should, perhaps, have been mentioned in speaking of that style; but as forming a part of the earliest mosque in India, it is more appropriately introduced in this place. The pillars are of the same order as those used on Mount Abu ([Woodcut No. 130]), except that those at Delhi are much richer and more elaborate. Most of them probably belong to the 11th or 12th century, and are among the few specimens to be found in India that seem to be overloaded with ornament. There is not one inch of plain surface from the capital to the base, except the pillars behind the screen and some others which may belong to older buildings. Still the ornament is so sharp and so cleverly executed, and the effect, in their present state of decay and ruin so picturesque, that it is very difficult to find fault with what is so beautiful. In some instances the figures that were on the shafts of the pillars have been cut off, as offensive to Mahomedan strictness with regard to idolatrous images; but on the roof and less seen parts, the cross-legged figures of the Jaina saints, and other emblems of that religion, may still be detected.
278. Section of part of East Colonnade at the Kutub, Old Delhi. Scale 25 ft. to 1 in.