Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.www.flickr.com |
Grave of Murshid Quli Khan lying beneath the stairs of the Masjid.www.indiamike.com |
Murshid Quli Khan, Nawab of Bengal. builder of Katra Masjid.commons.wikimedia.org |
Katra Masjid,Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.en.wikipedia.org |
The important feature about this mosque cum madarsa is the entire mosque has no pillar support and the entire weight of the building is supported by a raised platform below the mosque and a series of several arches. The mosque, made of bricks, is built on the lines of the Kaabah and is surrounded by double storied domed cells which are meant for 700-odd Quranic scholars to read the Quran. There is a large hall for prayer.
. |
Katra Masjid,Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.www.flickr.co |
In 1780 AD, William Hodges (October 1744 – March 1797), an English painter, a traveler and a member of James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, wrote that 700 Quran readers lived there in the mosque. Hodges in his book Select Views of India describes it as "a grand seminary of Musalman learning, adorned by a mosque which rises high above all the surrounding buildings.
The total area is 19.5 acres and can accommodate 2000 faithfuls for Namaz. The 2000 squared mats marked on the floor are meant for each devotee to say his prayer comfortably. The rectangular mosque has a dimension 45.5m X 7.32m and is divided into five bays, each with an arched entrance. There are six arched doorways. A stone paved pathway leads to the central door of the mosque. The central arch is the is the most prominent one as it has a slender turret.
Katra Masjid,Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.en.wikipedia.org |
Nawob Murshid Quli Khan was interned here after his death in 1725 under these stairs that form the entrance from the east. The reason, why his body was buried right below the entrance step instead of inside this spacious mosque is, the Nawob wanted his body buried that way so that he could bear the foot prints and feel the touch and grace of so many noble souls, climbing the flight of steps of this place of veneration. This way he would wash off sins committed in his past life. This shows the Nawob's noble heart, humility and his readiness to make amends for his past misdeeds. Not many rulers of pelf and and power would come down to such a level of humbleness and and repent. On the slab atop his tomb, it is written in Arabic "Muhammad, the Arabian, the glory of both worlds. Dust be on the head of him who is not the dust of his portal".
This masjid is located in the north eastern side of the city of Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katra_Masjid:
https://www.ixigo.com/katra-masjid-murshidabad-india-ne-1031019