The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.s1.21.4

v3.c30.s1.21.4

but they are wholly subordinate to the structural unity of the fabric, and might, indeed, be stripped away without greatly impairing its majesty³. Like many of its predecessors at Delhi, the *masjid* is raised on a lofty plinth, fronted at ground level with ranges of arcaded chambers. From east to west it measures 288 feet, from north to south some 20 feet less, but projecting from the middle of the eastern side is an imposing entrance porch with ascending steps which adds another 100 feet and more in this direction, while outside the northern wall are two other entrance porches of smaller dimensions. The interior court—a square of 162 feet—is bounded on all four sides by eleven arched bays, each identical in form with its neighbour and each surmounted by a similar small dome, but there is this difference between the four sides that while the eastern *dālān* has only two aisles, the northern and southern have three and the prayer chamber on the west five. The prayer chamber, moreover, is further distinguished from the other sides by the presence of three large domes, one in the centre covering the principal mihrāb and *mimbar*, and one over each of the royal galleries which occupy the rear corners. Compared with Ahmad Shāh's Great Mosque at Ahmadābād, with which it was contemporary, the *Jāmi‘ Masjid* of Māndū is lacking in poetry and creative inspiration. It is too cold and formal and calculated to take rank among the really great architectural creations of India.