After covering the tombs of Islam Khan Suri and Hasan Khan Suri it’s time for me to write about the most famous landmark of Sasaram that is the tomb of Sher Shah Suri the founder and the most powerful ruler of the Sur empire. Unfortunately, the height of power that Sher Shah Suri had acquired could not be sustained by the next generations, and even more unfortunate was the death of Sher Shah Suri which was a result of a freak accident.
Death Of Sher Shah Suri
The untimely death of Sher Shah Suri perhaps forever changed the history of India and the map of India as well. It was Sher Shah who had driven out the Mughals and it was after his death that they came back and became the emperor of the land which stretched till the arrival of East India Company and then finally to a free India that we now see.
His death was perhaps more to do with his quest to conquer more and more kingdoms in order to expand the footprints of the Sur empire. It all started with the Battle of Kalinjar.
Kirat Singh was the ruler of Kalinjar and at the center of it was its massive Kalinjar Fort. A fort so massive and well-built that it was compared to the wall of Alexander by Alexander Cunningham. The fortification was strong enough to resist the massive forces of Sher Shah for several months.
The year was 1544 and Sher Shah had laid a siege to the fort of Kalinjar but it was impenetrable. Six months had passed and yet the outer fortifications could not be penetrated. The idea was to build a high towering platform and mount guns on top of the tower so that it could go over the walls.
Sher Shah himself was on the tower when the charge was ordered. It is believed that one of the cannon balls hit the outer wall and rebounded into the tower where Sher Shah was positioned. This led to the explosion of the stored gunpowder in the tower and instantly Sher Shah was charred from the fire ultimately resulting in his death on the 22nd of May 1545.
Tomb Of Sher Shah Suri
The mortal remains of Sher Shah Suri were taken back to Sasaram and was buried at the tomb located very near his father’s last resting place. The construction of the building that houses his grave was started during his lifetime and was completed a couple of months after his death on the 16th of August 1545.
The design of the tomb is similar to that of his father’s tomb which is octagonal in shape. However, his tomb was built in a much more grandeur size and scale. The architect of the tomb was Mir Mohammad Aliwal Khan.
The tomb however was far from being perfect, the square plinth on which the tomb was being built was not straight as per the geographical compass N-E-S-W. The plinth was off by around eight degrees. This was however corrected when building the actual tomb structure when it was straightened out. This anomaly can still be visible if you open Google Maps and search for this monument, you can clearly see the plinth and the actual tomb not aligned properly.
The problem started with the surrounding artificial lake which was dug with the original miscalculation and the base plinth was built keeping in alignment with the lake. Being an Islamic structure, it was important for the main building to have proper direction pointing to the West the side in which the Mihrab would be built. So, the builders had to do the final correction during the construction of the tomb.
The original plan was to have the tomb surrounded by water on all sides without any connection to the mainland. On the Northern side, there would be a guard house from where boats would be used to bring mourners to the actual tomb. The steps on the plinth are indicative of this. However, later a causeway was added connecting to the guard house. The original causeway was much higher but that was destroyed over time and was rebuilt by the British during restoration.
The monument was constructed out of sandstone which was brought from Chunar (famous for its quarries). The face of the tomb that we now see was far from what it would have looked when it was fitted with colorful tiles giving its outer face a much gorgeous look.
What To See At Tomb Of Sher Shah Suri
Once you enter the monument site you will pass through the Guard House houses a single grave. Once you cross that you will see the actual tomb of Sher Shah Suri located at the center of an artificial lake. The tomb at the center is connected to the land with a causeway.
The main octagonal red sandstone building stands on a rectangular platform and needs to be reached by a flight of stairs which will take you to the upper floor housing the tomb. On the four corners of the platform, there are four domed structures (chattris). The main octagonal-shaped tomb has three arched doorways on each of the sides. The main building at the center housing the graves has openings on all sides except the western side which for obvious reasons was reserved for the mihrab for praying. All the entrances are now blocked with iron gates and the only gate that remains open to enter the main tomb is the gate facing the causeway.
How To Visit the Tomb Of Sher Shah Suri
This monument is a protected monument under ASI (Archeological Survey of India) and is a ticketed monument. The rules of photography are not clearly defined and this leads to a lot of confusion. If you are using a mobile phone then no charges are required however, if you are using a DSLR/Mirrorless and any camera that they deem fit as somewhat big then you have to pay charges for photography. Another crazy rule is they prevent you from carrying additional lenses that they think will be used for professional photography.
This monument is the most recognized monument of this city so can be easily reached by a car/e-rickshaw. There are lots of lanes around this monument where you can park your vehicles.
Location Of Tomb Of Sher Shah Suri On Map
Resources
University of Washington Library
Indian Architecture (Islamic Period) by Percy Brown
Archeological Survey of India
Sher Shah and His Successors by A. L. Srivastava
Outlook India
ART UK
Other Blogs On Bihar
Tomb of Hasan Khan Suri
Tomb Of Islam Shah Suri
Daud Khan Fort – Aurangabad
Rohtasgarh Fort – Sasaram
Kumhrar Excavation Heritage Park
Places To Visit Around Bodhgaya
Golghar – Patna
Barabar Caves – Day Trip
Dungeshwari – Mahakala Cave Bodhgaya
I traveled to Sasaram as a part of Wiki Loves Monuments documenting the various historical places in the state of Bihar.