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Khas Mahal

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Khas Mahal

The Khas-Mahal (‘private house’) consists of three parts. The set of three rooms facing the Diwan-i-Khas is called the Tasbih-Khana (‘chamber for telling beads’) and was used for private worship by the emperor. The three rooms behind it are known as Khwabgah (‘sleeping chamber’). To its south a long hall with its painted walls and ceiling and a perforated screen on west is known either as Tosh-Khana (‘robe chamber’) or Baithak (‘sitting room’). There exists a beautiful marble screen at the northern end of these rooms carved with a ‘Scale of Justice’ suspended over a crescent surrounded with stars and clouds.

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General view of the palaces: from left: Diwan-i-Khas, Tasbih-Khana, and the Rang Mahal, Red Fort

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Depiction of “Scale of Justice” on a marble panel in between the Tasbih Khana and Tosh Khana, right above the Nahr-i-Bihisht, Red Fort

Below this and other palaces were organised animal fights, such as between lions and elephants, which could be viewed by the emperor and royal ladies from these palaces.

There is an inscription over the southern arch of the Khwabgah, from which we learn that the building was begun in 1048 A.H. (1639) and completed in 1058 A.H. (1648) at a cost of fifty lakh of rupees, which probably refers to the expenditure incurred on all the palaces.

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