Where Stones Speak: Historical Trails in Mehrauli, the First City of Delhi

I

The

Origin

of Delhi

Yogmaya temple

The Origin of Delhi

Three things make a city — Dariya, Baadal, Haakim

Kohsaro’n pe barf jab se pighli

Dariya tevar badal rahe hain

Since ice melted on the mountains

Rivers have changed their moods time and again

(Akhtar Hoshiyarpuri)

A layman would wonder why were the rulers, or the people of Delhi so capricious? Instead of wasting so much time, money and effort in building new cities, why didn’t they just reinforce and expand the old city to meet the growing needs of the next generation? The answer to that lies in an old Hindi saying, which roughly translated means, to build a city three things are needed: dariya, baadal aur haakim (a river, rain-bearing clouds and a ruler who is willing and able). Unless these three things are in place, no city can flourish.

But if one observed Delhi on an old map, here’s what one would see: to the east of this plain flowed the River Yamuna and to the west, the ridge, forming a triangle with the apex towards the north where the river met the ridge. The base was a line of low, broken hills, jutting from the ridge almost eastwards all the way to the river.

The Yamuna also flowed much closer to Old Delhi than it does now. The first four cities of Delhi were built in the rocky terrain and it is possible that tributaries of the Yamuna may have fed their daily needs for water. Firozabad, the fifth city was the first city to actually be established on the Yamuna and other cities followed suit. Today however, the River Yamuna flows at a distance from all of these as it has changed course over the years.

The original founder of Delhi probably chose the rocky Aravalli hills in Mehrauli as his headquarters, for the strategic and military advantages it offered. It was one of the reasons why Qutbuddin Aibak and some of his successors continued to live in the Lal Kot / Qila Rai Pithaura area for some years till Kaikobad moved to Kilokhari. Thus it was necessity rather than caprice on part of the rulers, which required the shifting of Delhi to either stay near the water source to accommodate a growing population, or to build a strong defence.

This led to Delhi being built several times over—as many as fourteen— till 1947 but the popular notion—and perhaps even a romantic one—states seven times as only that many cities are still extant. The eighth city, the last one, was designed and built by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Some of the cities are:

1. Khandavprastha / Indraprastha

This falls in the Purana Qila area built by the Pandavas in 1450 BC. But this city is still partly mythological, as no conclusive proof has been found of its existence in this particular area. In a trial excavation done in 1954-55, B.B. Lal had found shards of pottery that was in use in 1000 BC and known as painted grey ware (PGW) but these were not in sufficient quantity or found at a level that could sound convincing. The ASI again excavated this area in early 2014, but they closed it after failing to find any conclusive proof prior to fourth century AD.

2. Dhillu / Dhillika / Dilli

According to popular legends, this city was built in honour of King Dhilu / Delu in the year 50 BC.

3. Lal Kot and Qila Rai Pithaura

Stretching from Lado Sarai to Mehrauli, this is the first city for which there exists proper documentation. Founded by Raja Anangpal Tomar in 736 AD, this area was later expanded and renamed Qila Rai Pithaura after its famous ruler Raja Prithviraj Chauhan (1169–1191 AD).

4. Kilokhari / Kilughari / Qasr-e-Muizzi

In 1288, Sultan Kaikobad (1246–1266 AD), grandson of Sultan Balban, built this city near the present-day Maharani Bagh. Kai-Kubád gave up residing in the city, and, quitting the Red Palace, he built a splendid palace, and laid out a beautiful garden at Kílu-garhí, on the banks of the Jumna.¹ Later on, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji (1290–1296)—he didn’t entirely trust the people of Old Delhi—also shifted here and ordered his own nobles and people in high offices to build their houses in Kilokhari. The merchants too were ordered to shift and build new markets. This was given the name of ‘Shahr-e-Nau’ (New City).

5. Siri or Dar-ul-Khilafat (Seat of the Caliph)

Sultan Alauddin Khilji (1296–1316 AD) built this city between 1297 and 1307 AD to defend his kingdom against the Mongol invasions. Initially this was called lashkar (military camp) and Mehrauli was shahr but later it became the Dar-ul-Khilafat or capital. Its present day location includes Shahpur Jat, Hauz Khas, Siri Fort and Green Park. However, the main residence for Sultan Alauddin Khilji apparently remained the shahr or Qila Rai Pithaura / Mehrauli. According to legend, the name ‘Siri’ was given because heads (sir in Urdu) of 8,000 defeated Mongols were embedded in several places—some say foundations, while some say the city walls!

Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

6. Tughlaqabad

Built by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1321–1325 AD) in 1321 AD, it is believed that Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya cursed this city because work had to be stopped on his baoli (stepwell), as the Sultan ordered that the entire workforce be taken away to build his new fort instead. The legend goes that the saint had said, ‘Ya rahe ujar, yaa basse gujjar.’ May it remain desolate and unoccupied, or inhabited only by herdsmen. Ironically the only structure to remain in pristine condition is the tomb of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq as can be seen in the photograph below.

Aap apna Ghubaar thay hum tau

Yaad thay, yaadgaar thay hum tau

We were our own clouds of dust

We were memories, we were memorials too

(Juan Eliya)

7. Jahanpanah

This city was built by Sultan Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325–1351 AD) between 1326-27 AD in the empty area near Mehrauli, Siri and Tughlaqabad. His intention was to enclose the area from Qutub Delhi to Siri within its walls, giving it the name ‘Jahanpanah’, the refuge of the world. It was abandoned when Sultan Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq ordered the shifting of the capital along with its inhabitants to Daulatabad.

8. Firozabad

Now known as Firoz Shah Kotla, this city was built by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388 AD) in 1354 to the east of the existing city on the banks of the Yamuna. It extended from the ridge to the north and a point near Hauz Khas to the south and included certain areas which are now part of present-day Old Delhi, namely Turkman Gate, Bhojala Pahari and Bulbuli Khana (where Sultan Raziya’s grave is located).² Today however, this is limited to the area of Firoz Shah Kotla. The Kotla, or citadel, also contains the famous pillar of Ashoka known as Ashoka’s laat which Sultan Firoz Shah brought from Tobra near present-day-Ambala.

9. Khizrabad

Sultan Khizr Khan (1414–1421 AD) built this on the banks of the Yamuna (near modern New Friends colony) in 1415. He was the founder of the Saiyyed Dynasty.

10. Mubarakabad

This city lies near Delhi’s South Extension region and was built by Sultan Mubarak Shah (1421–1434 AD). Though there is still an area called Kotla Mubarakpur, no traces of the fort or the old city remain.

11. Dinpanah (Refuge of the Faithful)

Badshah Humayun (1531–1540 AD and again 1555-1556 AD) established this in 1534, when he decided to set up Delhi as his capital. He was however ousted by Sultan Sher Shah Suri. It included the area around Purana Qila and extended till Humayun’s Tomb.

12. Shergarh

Dilli Sher Shahi was the name given by Sultan Sher Shah Suri to his seat of government after he defeated Emperor Humayun. He renamed the area marked as Dinpanah to Shergarh and expanded it. It extended from Purana Qila to Firoz Shah Kotla.

Ashoka’s Laat: When the pillar was brought to the palace, a building construction commenced for its reception, near the Jámi’ Masjid, and the most skilful architects and workmen were employed.³

13. Shahjahanabad

This magnificent walled city was built by Badshah Shah Jahan in 1639 AD on the banks of the Yamuna and which is referred to as Purani Dilli or Old Delhi today.

14. Lutyens Delhi

Conceived and developed by the British between 1912 and 1931 and named after its architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, this area is now known as New Delhi.

The oldest of these documented cities was Lal Kot / Qila Rai Pithaura. This makes Mehrauli the real Old Delhi and not Shahjahanabad which is popularly referred to as Old Delhi today. In fact, when Shah Jahan built Shahjahanabad he built the city’s gates and named them after the areas they led to viz. Lahori Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Kabuli Gate. There was—in fact, there still is—one gate called Delhi Gate which was the odd one out, and that’s when you realize that the ‘Delhi’ here refers to the old city of Mehrauli, not Shahjahanabad. The nineteenth and twentieth century historians refer to Shahjahanabad as Modern Delhi.

Today however, except for the Qutub Complex, Mehrauli is mostly forgotten and its dargahs (shrines), tombs, havelis (mansions) and mosques lie in ruins along with the stories that they hide in their stones.

A Brief History of Delhi in Ancient Times

Hazrat e Dehli kanf e adl o daad

Jannat e adan ast ke abaad baad

Hazrat e Dehli is an emblem of justice and charity

A garden of heaven flourishes and will remain forever

(Amir Khusrau)

According to Hindu tradition, the first of the ‘seven’ cities of Delhi is the city of Indraprastha, which is described in the epic Mahabharata as being situated in these very plains. According to legend, Raja Indra filled both his hands and distributed pearls; so the name Indraprastha came about: (‘prastha’ means forty-eight double handfuls).⁴

There is a story that Raja Yudhishtir deserted this city and headed for the Himalayas because one day he found a fly in his food when the dish covers were removed. He felt that if a tiny creature could be so impertinent as to ruin the food of a ruler, it was a sign that his days of glory had departed, and at once he abandoned the city, to live and die in the Himalayas.

There is a popular theory that Purana Qila is the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha whose foundation dates back to 1450 BC. Excavations were conducted by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1955 and again from 1969–1973. In 1954-55, excavations conducted by B.B. Lal, a few shards of painted grey ware and northern black painted ware pottery were found, each dating back to 1000 BC, the period of the Mahabharata. But these could not provide proof with reasonable certainty. The cycle was therefore repeated. According to the ASI website, ‘Between 1969-70 and 1972-73, [the ASI] conducted large-scale excavations here revealing remains of eight periods, though neither the PGW nor anything associated with it was found.’⁵

The excavations do show that there was a continuous cultural sequence from the Mauryan to the Mughal period with the Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput and Sultanate periods falling in between.

In 2014, the ASI conducted excavations again to find conclusive proof but the work was stopped few months later due to lack of any findings prior to fourth century AD. Till the last century, a village called Inderpat existed inside the Purana Qila. This was evacuated and relocated by the ASI. There is a lot of debate on how Indraprastha or Inderpat became Delhi. Some historians say that in 50 BC, a