CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIFS IN MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE: A CASE STUDY OF FATEHPUR SIKRI

Abstract

Architecture reflects the spirit of an age; it is an expression of the aesthetics of that time. With the coming of the Mohammedans, a remarkable change in architectural style and art forms was seen in India. By the end of the 16th century, the Mughal rulers firmly established themselves and began to construct mosques, forts, and palaces as visible symbols of their splendour. The Mughal Dynasty is a line of Muslim emperors who reined over India from 1526 to 1707 before they were eclipsed by the Marathas. The first Mughal emperor, Babur, was a descendant of the Turkish conqueror Timur; he invaded India from Afghanistan and founded the Mughal Empire on the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate. The Mughal rulers were largely tolerant and refused to be led by the Ulema and that was the reason for the cultural eclecticism of that time. The Mughals went against rigid religious rules and openly accepted the fusion of arts. They seemed to have believed in Hindu astrology, divination, magic, and Tantra. This helped in bringing cultural harmony in art and architecture. The remarkable flowering of art and architecture under their rule happened partly because the empire provided a secure framework within which artistic genius could flourish and because it commanded unparallel wealth and resources in Indian history. The Mughal rulers were extraordinary patrons of art with a fine cultural outlook. They not only constructed beautiful monuments, but made use of different kind of motifs on them which played an important role in providing aesthetic beauty to the monuments. We can see this especially at Fatehpur Sikri. The present work is an analytical study of Motifs in Mughal monuments with emphasis on Fatehpur Sikri. The architecture of Fatehpur Sikri reflects the fusion of different religious attitudes. The Mughals did not begin afresh but gave the medieval architecture of India a new orientation and outlook. Whereas earlier Hindu architecture iii relied chiefly on sculpture and carving for ornamentation, the Mughals, because oftheir love for colour and decoration, adopted new method of embellishment. Over time, the decorative technique used in Mughal architecture also saw a transition. These decorative patterns make aprofound impact because of the unique application of the various designs. The changing motifs mirror the changes in social conditions and aesthetics. Although the Muslim rule in India generally brought much destruction to Indian wealth, art, crafts and temples, it was mitigated somewhat by the remarkable monuments constructed by the Mughals, and the noveltyof the motifs chosenin their decorations. In the red sandstone monuments of Fatehpur Sikri, Jehangir-Mahal and the other buildings ofAkbar in Agra Fort and the tomb ofAkbar at Sikandara (Agra), some ancient Hindu motifs are depicted with their symbolism in view but more with an eye to their auspicious character and as architectural ornaments. The motifs were engraved with the traditional skill and sometimes occupy prominent spaces in the surface decoration. The tomb ofItmad-ud-Daulah and a few other buildings ofthe reign ofJehangir have symbolic as well as purely ornamental motifs. The designs are mainly geometrical and naturalistic and stylised. Shahjahan's age is remarkable for the evolution of typically Mughal motifs. Hindu symbols like the purna-kalasa on the one hand and Islamic designs like the stalactite on the other were conventionalized and used as artistic expedients. Similarly, naturalistic and stylised floral motifs were formalized and employed universally in his buildings as typically Mughal designs—in a wide variety of methods, e.g., carving, jali, inlay, painting and stucco. This is how designs and motifs, indigenous, evolved in Mughal art. In the age of Jehangir, the naturalistic floral motifs consisted largely of the influence of Iranian motifs such as the cypress. Likewise, geometric designs, calligraphic art, the arabesque and smoother themes of ornamentation are characteristically Islamic. IV t * This aspect of the art of Mughals, thus, reveals some interesting phenomena. It tends towards the stylisation of natural flora. Imitation of nature with arealistic approach appeals to their taste, but they were also inclined towards stylisation. This tendency also demonstrates the creativity of Mughal art and its capacity to make its own inventions in accordance with its necessities and artistic standards. There is also the creeper-motif which is sometimes associated with the makara, but which is used mostly in the form of spirals and scrolls on pillars, nook-shafts and panels on walls, particularly in their borders and sometimes on vaults. This seems to have derived its inspiration from indigenous sources. Want of symmetry of plan, poverty of articulation, insufficiency of plastic decoration, and an incongruous mingling of wood and stone are some points which the Mughal rulers found in Indian architecture and this led Mughal rulers to shift their view to a new concept of architecture. The architects, in fact, bestowed the whole of their attention on the decoration of surfaces; and down to the last day the Mughal craftsmen always displayed a greater ability in designing the most complicated ornaments and geometrical figures. The grandly recessed portals of Indo-Muhammadan buildings seen in Fatehpur Sikri never seem out of harmony with structural intentions; they areso finely proportioned and perfectly adjusted to the whole buildings as never to disturb the balance of the architectural design with their colossal dimensions. Theimpact of Islam is not only seen in the aesthetic impression, but symbols and icons also passed into these works through the hands of the indigenous builders because Fatehpur Sikri contain many art motifs like chakra, Padma, Srivatsa, Puma-Kalasa, Svastika and Gavaksa which the Hindus had employed symbolically in their religious shrines for two millenniums. The motifs depicted in Fatehpur Sikri can be divided in to the category of floral, fauna, auspicious, geometrical and calligraphy motifs, and through these motifs a unity and continuity in the art of India, is maintained from the earliesttimestill the beginning of the modern age. The monuments of Fatehpur Sikri appear to place great emphasison surface. As the surfaces are given depth through the use of patterns in two dimensions, so the resulting volumes are given a further dimension by the use of illusion. This illusion was created by the play of light and shade, perspectives and the high and low relief carving of the motifs. The study of the motifs analyses that the motifs reflected the ethnic and cultural taste of the Mughal era. In addition the motifs reflected the personal preference of the ruler, which further reflected the psychology of the rulers. In Fatehpur Sikri the application of the Hindu auspicious motifs clearly reflects superstitious personality of the ruler. It also denotes that by engraving such kinds of motifs, Akbar tried to bring political stability to his region. The motifs also reflected a sense of security and safety because of depiction of some fortunate motifs like the Puma Kalasha and the Swastik. They acted as a visual communicator. Finally, the motifs of the Mughal monuments were depicted in a balanced manner which added delicacy, rhythm, and harmony and all together reflected the aesthetic unity of the monuments.