Ibadat Khana

Ibadat Khana, Fatehpur Sikri is one of the most prominent places that visitors all around the world visit. Ibadat Khana is famous amongst the people majorly because of its high historical importance. If you know Mughal Emperor Akbar or have heard about it (who does not or who have not, respectively), you might also know that he is regarded as one of the great historians. Ibadat Khan is also known as the House of Worship. Ibadat Khana, Fatehpur Sikri was erected long back in the year 1575 AD with the motive to assemble spiritual leaders of different religions under one roof in order to share the respective religious teachings. Most of the discussions were made on Thursday evenings.

History:

As far as the history of Ibadat Khana, Fatehpur Sikri is talked about was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar was an amazing believer of Salim Chisti who happens to be the best Sufi philosopher of that era. Amongst what all he did during his time, Akbar was known for his immense knowledge about almost everything as well as his magic which was believed to be next to impossible. In fact, he was a such a huge believer of Salim Chisti that he acknowledged the credit of all his victories to him. So much so, he also credited the birth of his son was also credited to the Sufi Saint. He was then inclined to dig more about Islamic religion as well as other ones.

Then to fulfil his purpose, he went on to establish a place in 1575 which he termed as Ibadat Khana. It is at this place, the intellect and learned scholars would come along and hold discussions. Soon the place turned out to be one-stop place for discussions and arguments and also acquired immense popularity. People who used to gather here held the discussions and debates with all the enthusiasm. Akbar has always been a curious person and was attracted to different sorts of metaphysical kind of questions. And if you think that’s all, then you are miserably wrong for he also made his own religion by the name of Din-i-Ilahi, which was done in order to bring together the best of the practices of all the religions.

Architecture:

As far as the architecture of Ibadat Khana is talked about, it is made up of amazing red sandstone that is structured inside the Fatehpur Sikri. Whenever travellers visit Agra, Fatehpur Sikri is one of the must mentioned places right on that region. There is no denying the fact that Ibadat Khana has a unique and impressive architecture that makes it stand out of world. It is touted as one of the most spectacular places located inside the premises of the tourist hotspot. Ibadat Khana comprises of a single carved column standing in the middle, which also has a platform, which is believed to be the place where the emperor used to be seated. Right from there, we can see four paths that go into separate directions on the four corners of the place, which happens to be the advisors seat. This particular part of the Ibadat Khana has a significance attached to it which says that Akbar was open to all sorts of notions from all corners before zeroing down on any of the final decision.

Having said that; there have been a number of controversies as well as discussions on the location of Ibadat Khana. Historians and scholars such as Percy Brown and VA Smith believed that there was a single pillar room inside Fatehpur Sikri. On the other hand, there are some historians like Saeed Ahmed Muraravi said that Ibadat Khana to was mound between Jodha Bai’s Mahal and the main mosque. Moreover, there have been a number of other buildings too that have been identified as Ibadat Khana. So much so that at one point, even Abdarkhana, Girls’ Madrasa, Lotus Pillar and the quadrangle that connects to Daulat Khana were also named as Ibadat Khana.

Interesting Facts:

For the ones who don’t know the origin of the Ibadat Khana went through a lot of controversy. The Ibadat Khana was constructed at a place where religious ideas could be discussed. It is also to be mentioned here that Ibadat Khana is fulsomely appreciated by the famous poet named, Lord Alfred Tennyson in his poem by the tittle, Akbar's Dream.

Nearby Attractions:

Fatehpur Sikri is one of the most famous tourist attractions in India and the ones who are travelling to this region can also explore other structures namely, Nubat Khana, Mariam-uz-Zamani, Ibadat Khana, Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai's Palace, Tomb of Akbar the Great, Badshahi Darwaza, Taj Mahal and Birbal's Palace amongst many others.