Gurjari Mahal

The Gurjari Mahal was built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq for his beloved Gujri Rani, a native of Hisar with whom he fell in love during the course of one of his hunting expeditions. The palace imbibes characteristic features of Tughlaq architecture such as massive tapering walls thickly plastered in lime and narrow openings. Open stairs lead to the baradari (pavilion) of the palace, which stands on a high plinth and has underground chambers. The baradari is a square structure having three developed arches on each side. All entrances (except one) are provided with stone doorframes. The roof has nine bays, each carrying hemispherical dome decorated with paneling work in lime plaster. The exterior walls above the arched openings are provided with beautifully carved red sandstone brackets.

Gurjari, the mistress of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, was a local resident of Hisar and belonged to a pastoral community. When Firoz asked her to accompany him to the throne at Delhi, she refused. So instead, he built a palace for her in Hisar and built his own palace complex around it.[citation needed]Gurjari Mahal is the name of the palace built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq for his mistress Gurjari. The palace is located outside the fort complex to the east and was built as an outlying portion of it. Between the Gurjari Mahal and the main fort complex there was once an Islamic garden, which now marks the location of modern-day Jindal park, which flies a 207 ft (63 m) high Flag of IndiaStructures. Palace Only a small portion of the Gurjari Mahal palace main building remains. The palace is built on a rectangular platform and can be approached using a ramp that leads to the upper level. The building has been declared a Centrally Protected Monument by the Archaeological Survey of India.[8] To the north, there were once gardens, but they no longer exist and modern houses took their place. The palace is closed to the public. The palace was built using rubble and mortar. Baradari. The most visible part of what still remains of the palace is the baradari on the upper level, so named for the twelve doorways, three on each side. It was used for social gatherings. Four pillars inside the chamber support the roof. Underground Hammam Three underground apartments are located below the platform. One of them is a tank and is believed to have served as a hammam. Graves On the upper level are a total of nine graves. Five are sarcophagi on an open-air platform nearly three feet higher, and two are sarcophagi on a separate nearby open-air lower platform (less than 1 foot (0.30 metres) from the bottom). The last two are brick shrines inside a brick structure that no longer has a roof. All of them date back to the 17th or 18th century Mughal empire era . Secondary Apartment On the upper level, there is a small secondary apartment in the corner of the structure