Khuldabad Road

Khuldabad is a city and a Taluka of Aurangabad district. Initially it was known as Rauza meaning garden of paradise. It is known as the Valley of Saints, or the Abode of Eternity, because in the 14th century, several Sufi saints chose to reside here. The dargah of Zar Zari Zar Baksh, Shaikh Burhan ud-din Gharib Chisti & Shaikh Zain-ud-din Shirazi along with the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his trusted general Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I the first Nizam of Hyderabad are located in this town.

It has “Bhadra Maruti” Temple. People come from Aurangabad and nearby places by walk for offering puja on Hanuman Jayanti and on Saturdays in Marathi calendar month “Shravan”.Nearby is the Valley of the Saints, which is purported to contain the graves of 1500 Sufi saints.

The place has not only religious importance due to the location of tombs of some sufi saints, but has also historical importance. It is here that Emperor Aurangazeb, the last of the great Mughals lies interred. Aurangzeb, was described in official writings by the posthumous title of Khuld-makan (‘He whose abode is in eternity’). Here are also buried Azam Shah, Aurangzeb’s son, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of the Hyderabad dynasty, his second son Nasir Jang, Nizare Shah, king of Ahemadnagar, Tana Shah, last of the Golkonda kings and a host of minor celebrities.

The place contains from 15 to 20 doersed tombs and about 1400 plain sepulchre. Khuldabad was once an important and prosperous town. The gardens which surround many of these tombs are overgrown with bushes.

Aurangzeb tomb is in the south-east angle of this courtyard. Facing it is a long low building similar to the one in the outer quadrangle, and in the north end is a small room containing the pall and decorations of the tomb. The grave lies immediately to the right of the entrance and is remarkably simple, in keeping with Aurangzeb’s own wishes. The grave lies in the middle of a stone platform, raised about half a foot from the floor.

Aurangzeb funded his resting place by knitting caps and copying the Qu’ran, during the last years of his life, works which he sold anonymously in the market place. Unlike the other great Mughal rulers, Aurangzeb’s tomb is not marked with a large mausoleum instead he was interred in an open air grave in accordance with his Islamic principles.The gateway and domed porch were added in 1760. The floor is of marble, A neat railing of perforated marble is on three sides, and the wall of Burhan-ud-din’s dargah forms the fourth side. It was erected by the Nizam at the request of Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India (who was shocked by the simplicity of the tomb) in the year 1911. On ceremonial occasions Aurangzeb’s grave is draped with richly embroidered cloth but ordinarily it is covered by a white sheet. Close by on the right, are the tombs of Azam Shah, his wife and daughter.

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