The revered Sufi, Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti, who died in Ajmer in 1236, was buried in a small brick tomb that is today engulfed by a large marble complex known as the Dargah, reached via the bazaars winding north off Station Road and west from Delhi Gate. Founded in the thirteenth century by Sultan Iltutmish of the slave dynasty, and completed under the sixteenth-century Moghul emperor Humayun, the Dargah contains structures erected by many Muslim rulers. But it was under the imperial patronage of the three great Moghuls - Shah Jahan, Jahangir and, most crucially, Akbar, who visited the shrine on numerous occasions and even walked here twice from Agra - that this became the most important Muslim shrine in India.

Entering the Dargah via the mightly blue-and-white Buland Darwaza gateway, donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad, you're likely to be stopped by stern-looking young men in tall black hats saying they are "official guides". In fact, they are khadims, hereditary priests descended from a disciple of Khwaja Sahib called Khwaja Fakhrudin, and who operate in much the same way as Hindu pujaris , leading pilgrims through rituals in the sacred precinct in exchange for donations. Despite their assurances to the contrary, their services are not compulsory, although you may wish to employ one to point out the features of religious and historical significance inside.

The first of these are the two immense cauldrons, known as degs , resting on raised platforms to the right of the gateway. Continuing the tradition of giving succour to the needy that was so important to the saint, arriving pilgrims throw money into them, which is later shared among the poor.
 

The two pots are also the focus of an extraordinary ritual during the Urs mela, in which a huge gruel is cooked from rice, sugar, coconut, barley, almonds and lentils, paid for by wealthy patrons. When it is ready, a mad scramble begins as the devout, dressed in heat-protective plastic bags, dive head first into the bubbling degs to fill their buckets with the porridge, regarded by the faithful as tabarruk (equivalent of the Hindu prasad , or Christian "consecrated"). The best place from which to view this spectacle is the platform above the main entrance archway, which you can usually gain a place on by slipping a tip to one of the khadims. more...

Ajmer | Travel info | Moving on from Ajmer | Restaurants | Khwaja muin-ud-din chishti |
Attractions | Islamic monuments | Khwaja-ud-din Chishti Dargah

COME2RAJASTHAN.COM © 2006