Gauhar Ara Begum

Gauhar Ara Begum (Persian: گوہر آرا بیگم, lit. 'Adorned in Gems'; 17 June 1631 – c. 1706) was a Mughal princess and the fourteenth and youngest child of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal.^[1]

Gauhar Ara Begum
Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire
Born	17 June 1631 Burhanpur, Mughal Empire
Died	1706 (aged 74–75) Delhi, Mughal Empire
House	Timurid
Father	Shah Jahan
Mother	Mumtaz Mahal
Religion	Sunni Islam

Her mother died giving birth to her in 1631. Gauhar Ara, however, survived the childbirth and lived for another three quarters of a century. Little is known about her and whether she was involved in the war of succession for her father's throne.

Gauhar Ara died in 1706, aged about 75.

Life

Born on 17 June 1631, the day her mother Mumtaz Mahal died, Gauhar Ara Begum appears to have kept a fairly low profile throughout the reigns of her father and brother.^[2] Evidence vaguely indicates that she may have supported her fourth brother Murad Bakhsh's bid for the throne during the War of Succession. Were this to be true, this role was unlikely to have been particularly active since, unlike her father and sister Jahanara, she was not imprisoned afterwards by her victorious brother Aurangzeb.^[3]

Following her father's downfall, she involved herself in the organising of the marriages of her relatives. When Sipihr Shikoh, son of her eldest brother Dara married Aurangzeb's daughter Zubdat-un-Nissa in 1673, Gauhar Ara and her maternal cousin Hamida Banu Begum arranged the wedding ceremony. She had taken a greater role in 1672 with the marriage of Dara's granddaughter Salima Banu Begum (whom Gauhar Ara had adopted and raised) and Aurangzeb's fourth son Prince Muhammad Akbar. She took the place of the bride's mother, with the wedding being described as a gala event: "On both sides of the road from the Delhi gate to the mansion of the Begum (i.e. Gauhar Ara) wooden structures were set up for illumination."^[2]

Death

Gauhar Ara Begum died in Shahjahanabad in 1706. Aurangzeb, who was stationed in the Deccan at the time, was stricken by the death. He was reported to have continuously repeated "Of all the children of Shah Jahan, she and I alone were left."^[2]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Gauhar Ara Begum

8. Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Mughal Emperor[4] 4. Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir, Mughal Emperor[5] 9. Mariam-uz-Zamani[4] 2. Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Mughal Emperor[6] 10. Udai Singh, Raja of Marwar[7] 5. Jagat Gosain[5] 11. Manrang Devi of Gwalior[7] 1. Gauhar Ara Begum 12. I'timad-ud-Daulah[8] 6. Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan[9] 13. Asmat Begam[10] 3. Mumtaz Mahal[6] 14. Ghias ud-din ‘Ali Asaf Khan[11] 7. Diwanji Begum[9]

In popular culture

• Gauhar Ara Begum is a principal character in Ruchir Gupta's novel Mistress of the Throne (2014).

References

1. Tillotson, Giles (2010). Taj Mahal. Profile Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84765-247-8.
2. Sarker, Kobita (2007). Shah Jahan and his paradise on earth: the story of Shah Jahan's creations in Agra and Shahjahanabad in the golden days of the Mughals. K.P. Bagchi & Co. p. 191. ISBN 978-81-7074-300-2.
3. Waldemar Hansen (1986). The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 394. ISBN 978-81-208-0225-4.
4. Mehta (1984, p. 374)
5. Mehta, Jaswant Lal (1984). Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 418. ISBN 978-81-207-1015-3.
6. Sarker (2007, p. 187)
7. Bhargava, Visheshwar Sarup (1966). Marwar and the Mughal Emperors (A. D. 1526–1748). Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 58. ISBN 9788121504003.
8. Parihar, Subhash (1999). Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture. Abhinav Publications. p. 149. ISBN 978-81-7017-381-6.
9. Thackeray, Frank W.; Findling, John E. (2012). Events That Formed the Modern World: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror [5 volumes]: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror. ABC-CLIO. p. 254. ISBN 978-1-59884-902-8.
10. Shujauddin, Mohammad; Shujauddin, Razia (1967). The Life and Times of Noor Jahan. Caravan Book House. p. 1.
11. Ahmad, Moin-ud-din (1924). The Taj and Its Environments: With 8 Illus. from Photos., 1 Map, and 4 Plans. R. G. Bansal. p. 101.