DNA EXCLUSIVE: Mughal emperor Aurangzeb wanted his GRAVE to be simple, he instructed his son...

Although a controversy has been triggered over Aurangzeb's tomb amid the demand to remove it from its current place. What is interesting to know is that the Mughal Emperor himself did not want a grand mausoleum over his last resting place. In a letter, written to his second son Muhammad Mu'azzam, a few days before his death, Aurangzeb forbade him in the strictest terms to construct a tomb or spend money from the government exchequer.   
 
Aurangzeb's letter to son Muazzam

Giving clear instructions to his son, the Mughal emperor wrote in his letter, "On behalf of this sinner sunk in iniquity (i.e. myself) cover (with an offering of cloth and capital) the holy tomb of Hasan (on him be peace) because those who are drowned in the ocean of sin have no other protection except seeking refuge with that portal of mercy and forgiveness."

Aurangzeb leaves money for his funeral

A devout Muslim, who used to sew caps and prayer mats to meet his expenses, Aurangzeb never took money from state exchequers for his personal use. He left money and asked his son to use it on his shroud. The sixth Mughal Emperor wrote in the letter, "Four Rupees and two annas, out of the price of the caps sewn by me, are with Aia Bega, the mahaldar. Take the amount and spend it on the shroud of this helpless creature."

Aurangzeb: No funeral on government money

Aurangzeb wanted money to be distributed among the destitutes and beggars after his funeral, but instructed in the most unambiguous terms to not take money from the government fund for this purpose. He wrote, "Three hundred and five Rupees, from the wages of copying the Huran, are in my purse for personal expense. Distribute them to the faqirs on the day of my death."

Instructions for Aurangzeb's burial 

He told his son, "Take the remaining necessaries (of my funeral)/ from the agent of Prince Alijah as he is the nearest heir among my sons, and on him lies the responsibility for the lawful or unlawful practices at my funeral. This helpless person (i.e. Aurangzeb); is not answerable for them, because the dead are in the hands of the survivors."

As he was against any kind of pomp and show and grandeur, Aurangzeb instructed, "Cover the top of the coffin on my bier with the coarse white cloth. Avoid the spreading of a canopy and uncanonical innovations."

Aurangzeb also told his son how he should be laid in the grave. He wrote, "Bury this wanderer in the valley of Deviation from the Right path with his head bare, because every ruined sinner who is conducted bare-headed before the Grand Emperor (i.e. God) is sure to be an object of mercy."

Similarities between tombs of Aurangzeb and Babur

Exclusively talking to DNA, journalist and writer Afsar Ahmed, author of ‘Aurangzeb: Hero or Villain’, said as the Mughal Emperor was a devout Muslim, he wanted his funeral and tomb strictly according to Islamic traditions of simplicity. He said, "Aurangzeb did not want any kind of pomp and show and grandeur in his funeral or tomb. He wanted everything be done in the simplest possible way."

Afsar also said that the Mughal Emperor had made arrangements for his funeral and tomb while still in command. He also instructed to bury him outside the courtyard of Shufi saints in Khuldabad. The writer also points out the similarities between the graves of Aurangzeb and his ancestor Babur. 

Afsar said that both graves are open from the upper side to allow sun rays. Babur was initially buried in Bagh-e-Gulfashan, near Agra, from where his remains were shifted to Afghanistan's Kabul. His grave in Kabul is still open from the upper side like that of Aurangzeb.

This is opposite to  the idea of the Taj Mahal, the grand mausoleum constructed by Shahjehan for his wife, Mumtaz or the Humayun's Tomb, built by his wife.