64 THE GARDENS OF THE TAJ 



of the fourfold plot, replacing the almost in- 

 variable central mausoleum ; and the actual 

 tomb of the Lady Arjumand Banu stands 

 on the great platform at the end of the gardens, 

 overlooking the shining reaches of the river 

 Jumna. 



What inspired Shah Jahan to change the 

 traditional order of the design ? Was it the 

 natural beauty of the site on the river cliff ? 

 Did he build this tribute to his adored wife there, 

 because from his balconies in the palace fort he 

 could watch the sunrise and the sunset flush its 

 marble into rosy life ? Maybe some Hindu 

 influence, inherited from his Rajput mother un- 

 consciously, led him to raise the tomb on the 

 banks of the Jumna, placing the tank for the 

 lotus lilies of the Lord Vishnu in the centre of 

 the garden ; or perhaps it is a proof of the story 

 which maintains that the Taj as we know it is 

 but half of the plan, and that the great Emperor 

 meant to complete his masterpiece with another 

 tomb for himself across the river, joining Taj 

 to Taj by a bridge of black marble — Holy Jumna 

 itself the centre of the scheme. 



Bernier gives an account of the gardens as 

 he saw them in about 1660. Looking over the 



