Arjumand Bano Begum, the beloved of Shah Jahan who fondly gave her the title ‘Mumtaz Mahal’ which means ‘Jewel in the Crown’. Though she was among the three wives of Shah Jahan but she was special because she was Mumtaz Mahal. She married Shah Jahan at the age of 14 and dedicated her life to him. Their relationship grew strong and their love became deep as both of them proved to be inseparable companions of each other.

Today, her name: Mumtaz Mahal stands distinguished among other names and it is because of Shah Jahan’s eternal gift to his beloved: the Taj Mahal. Anybody in the world who has heard about Taj Mahal will know Mumtaz Mahal as the beauty for whom the Taj was made.

It has to be believed that she was extremely beautiful. Shah Jahan fell in love with her at first sight and then their bond was strengthened into marriage. He also bestowed upon her the highest honor of the land Mehr Uzaz: the royal Seal. History supports the fact that while the other two wives of Shah Jahan were equally important in name to the kingdom, Mumtaz Mahal was important to the life of Shah Jahan. She was his inseparable companion. She accompanied him to all his journeys even in his meditations, military outings, hunting and other important decision making procedures of the kingdom. She was a loving wife and a perfect confidante to Shah Jahan which is why she made her unattainable place in his heart and life. She was selfless and compassionate which is depicted in the poems of that period.

In 1631, while giving birth to their fourteenth child, she died. Her loss made Shah Jahan inconsolable. His immense love for her was torn into tears for whose repair he decided to build a memorable structure in the memory of his beloved wife. He spent around 22 years to build the Taj Mahal and after it was constructed, he declared that after his death he should be buried alongside his beloved wife. Her love for him is transparent in the construction of Taj Mahal. Today, Taj Mahal is a monument of pride for India but more than that it has succeeded in narrating the ordinary love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal in an extraordinary manner.