The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.92.4

v4.c23.s4.92.4

The other tombs of the Sūrī group, five in number, all in the Shāhābād district, are of the same general type, but each one has some distinguishing feature, such as the specially designed gateway of Aliwāl Khān’s, the architect, or the entrance to the enclosure of Hasan Khān’s, while the others show variations in the composition of their façades. Excellent though they all are, none of them approaches the solemn grandeur of Sher Shāh’s last resting-place, which takes first rank in magnificence of conception. Its pyramidal mass, the silhouette of which seen at sunset is something to be remembered, the sense of finely adjusted bulk, the proportions of its diminishing stages, the harmonious transitions from square to octagon and octagon to circle, the simplicity, breadth and scale of its parts, all combine to produce an effect of great beauty. India boasts of several mausoleums of more than ordinary splendour; the Tāj at Āgra in some of its aspects is unrivalled; over Muhammad ‘Ādil Shāh’s remains at Bījāpur spreads a dome of stupendous proportions, but Sher Shāh’s island tomb at Sasarām, grey and brooding, is perhaps the most impressive of them all.