Qutb Minar
The Qutb complex or Qutub (Hindi: क़ुतुब), is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The best-known structure in the complex is the Qutb Minar, built to honour the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. Its foundation was laid by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of the Mamluk dynasty. The Minar was added upon by his successor Iltutmish , and much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Sultan of Delhi from the Tughlaq dynasty in 1368 AD. The Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque (Dome of Islam), later corrupted into Quwwat-ul Islam, stands next to the Qutb Minar. It was built on the ruins of Lal Kot Fort (built by Anangpal, the Tomara ruler, in 739 CE) and Qila-Rai-Pithora (the Chauhan emperor Prithviraj Chauhan's city), whom Ghori's Afghan armies had earlier defeated and killed in the Second Battle of Tarain.
Qutb Minar And the Iron Pillar
These were the basis things that we knew about this structure, but it was basically a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is another monument which was shell-cased, desecrated, manipulated and renamed to suit personal/religious agendas. Stones dislodged from the so-called Qutub Minar have Hindu images on one side with Arabic lettering on the other. Those stones have now been removed to the Museum. They clearly show that Muslim invaders used to remove the stone- dressing of Hindu buildings, turn the stones inside out to hide the image facial and inscribe Arabic lettering on the new frontage.
In Arabic “Qutub” literally means ‘axis’, ‘pivot’ or ‘pole’. Qutb can refer to celestial movements and used as an astronomical term or a spiritual symbol. So the term ‘Qutub Minar’ signifies an astronomical Tower. That was how it was described to Sultan and later referred to in court correspondence. In course of time the name of Sultan Qutubuddin came to be unwittingly associated with the Qutub Tower leading to the misleading assertion that Qutubuddin built the Qutub Minar.
The tower is but a part of the surrounding structures. It is not that while the temples around are earlier Hindu buildings there was sufficient space left in between for Qutubuddin to come and build a tower. Its very ornate style proves that it is a Hindu tower. Mosque minarets have plane surfaces. Those who contend that the tower was meant to call the Muslim residents to prayer have perhaps never tried to go to the top and try to shout to the people below. Had they done so they would have found out for themselves that no one on the ground can hear them from that height. Such absurd claims have been made to justify Muslim authorship of earlier Hindu buildings.
Another important consideration is that the entrance to the tower faces north and not the west as is enjoined by Islamic theology and practice.
At either side of the entrance is the stone lotus flower emblem which also proves that it was a Hindu building. The stone flowers are a very important sign of the Hindu author- ship of mediaeval buildings. Muslims never use such flowers on the buildings they construct.
The frieze Patterns on the tower show signs of tampering, ending abruptly or in a medley of incongruent lines. The Arabic lettering is interspersed with Hindu motifs like lotus buds hanging limp. Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan, a staunch Muslim and a scholar, has admitted that the tower is a Hindu building.
If one were to hoover in an aeroplane over the top of the tower the various galleries sliding into each other from top to bottom appear like a 24-petal lotus in full bloom. The figure 24 being a multiple of 8 is sacred in Vedic tradition. Even the brick red colour of the tower is sacred to the Hindus.
The Hindu title of the tower was Vishnu Dhwaj (i.e. Vishnu's standard) alias Vishnu Stambh alias Dhruv Stambh (i.e., a polar pillar) obviously connoting an astronomical observation tower. The Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script on the non-rusting iron pillar close by proclaims that the lofty standard of Vishnu was raised on the hillock named Vishnupad Giri. That description indicates that a statue of the reclining Vishnu initiating the creation was consecrated in the central shrine there which was ravaged by Mohammad Ghori and his henchman Qutubuddin. The pillar was raised at the command is an ancient Hindu king who had made great conquests in the East and the West.
The tower had seven storeys representing the week of those only five exist now. The sixth was dismantled, hauled down and re-erected on the lawns close by.
The seventh storey had actually a statue of the four-faced Brahma holding the Vedas at the beginning of creation. Above Brahma was a white marble canopy with gold bell patterns laid in it. The top three stories were in mle. They were ravaged by iconoclastic Muslims who detested the Brahma statue. The Muslim raiders also destroyed the reclining Vishnu image at the bottom.
The iron pillar was the Garud Dhwaj alias Garud Stambh, i.e., the sentinel post of the Vishnu temple.
On one side was an elliptical enclave formed by 27 Nakshatra (constellation) temples. A gigantic red-stone, ornate gateway led to the sacred enclave known as Nakshatralaya. There- fore gateway is traditionally known as Alaya-Dwar.
The arched gateway of the adjoining so-called Quwat-ul-Islam mosque is in no way different from the ornate archways of temples in Gujarat. The frieze patterns on this building too. The frieze patterns on this building too show signs of tampering proving that Muslim conquerors transposed stones at random to ease their conscience in readying earlier temples for use as mosques.
The tower girth is made up of exactly 24 folds, arcs and triangles alternating. This shows that the figure 24 had social prominence and significance in the premises. The apertures for letting in light are 27. Considered along with the 27 constellation pavilions mentioned earlier it leaves no doubt that the tower too was an astronomical observation pole.
Iron strips have been used to keep the huge boulders fastened together in the construction of the tower. Similar strips have been used in the stone walls of Agra Fort. In my book Taj mahal was a Rajput Palace. It is apparent that the use of iron strips to keep together stones in huge buildings was a Hindu device. That device used in the so- called Qutub Minar in Delhi another proof of its having been a pre-Muslim Hindu tower. If a 24-petal lotus is pulled up from its centre it will form a tower of that pattern. Lotus pattern is never Muslim.
Images
1.
Defaced Hindu Motif
2.
3.
Remains of the Temple Pillers
References
1. Kutub Minar: Its Origin by P.N Oak
2. Dhruva Stambha by Prof M.S Bhatnagar
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