The Tomb of Great Mogul King Akbar at Agra in India

The city of Agra in India is famous for Tajmahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There are many other famous historical monuments at Agra over and above this Tajmahal. Such other monuments have got less importance as they have been hidden behind the powerful force of Tajmahal. One such famous historical spot at Agra that is worth visiting for all the tourists is the Tomb of Mogul King Akbar. I was able to visit this historical spot for around half a day during my last visit to Agra in December 2007.

Agra is very well connected by air, trains, and buses from all the major cities of the country like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. One must travel in the world famous Taj express train from Delhi. This train leaves from Delhi at 7 am in the morning and returns back from Agra at around 8 pm in the night. Most of the foreigners prefer to travel to Agra by this luxury train. Agra is situated at the height of around 400 feet from the mean sea level and has a population over one million. We started from our hotel at around 8 am by a taxi and reached the tomb of Akbar at around 8.30 am. This tomb is made up of red stones and is made in four sections. It has four floors in all and the actual grave of the Mogul king Akbar is situated some 50 feet below the ground level. There are stoned steps provided up to the tomb. The entry gate to this great historical monument is through the white marble gate, which is around 150 feet high. There is a beautiful lush green garden all around it, having the various types of water fountains. The token entry fee of Rs.5 (12 cents) is charged from each tourist and is spent towards the maintenance of this monument. This tomb of King Akbar is commonly known as Sikandra in Agra as a memory of great King Sikandar Lodhy of Afghanistan. Mogul King Akbar started to build this structure during his life time in the early sixteenth century. Though, it was completed by his son Jahangir later on. The body of King Akbar was cremated here thereafter.

The entrance gate of the room where the body of great king Akbar was cremated is kept very low in height as all the people entering the room have to bow down their heads as a respect to this great Mogul emperor. One small lamp is lighted here near the grave. This lamp is lighting since last more than 100 years. There are two other graves of the queens of King Akbar near his own grave. The great King Akbar has kept provision here for cremation of his entire family after him. But the subsequent Mogul kings did not prefer to be cremated here in Agra. There are in all 56 pillars provided to support the main structure of the cremation room. The arrangement is such that if you whisper slowly near one of these pillars, the other person standing near the farthest pillar would be able to listen to the whispers made by you. The tourists can climb up to the second floor of this tomb to see this great piece of Mogul architecture. The structure clearly shows the mixture of Hindu and Muslim designs as the great mogul King Akbar was giving equal importance to Hindu religion also, unlike other Mogul rulers. It is suggested to avail the guide services available here in order to view the entire structure thoroughly in minute details. Such guides are approved by the government of India and charge around Rs.50 ($1.25) per visit. You must try to visit this monument before the noon in order to beat the summer heat of Agra. Try to allot at least one and a half hour for the visit to this great monument.

I would strongly suggest all the visitors to Agra to make sure to visit this great monument, which is not much in lime light due to presence of world famous Tajmahal in the same city of Agra. The government of India is actively thinking to start the sound and light show here at the tomb of great Mogul King Akbar so as to give information on life of this great Mogul King to all the tourists.