Dara Shikoh: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Indian Mughal prince}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}

{{Infobox royalty|name=Dara Shikoh<br />دارا شُکوہ|title=[[Shah]]zada of the [[Mughal Empire]]<br />Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba

|image=Dara Shikoh.jpg

|caption=Miniature portrait of Dara Shikoh

|birth_date={{birth date|1615|03|20|df=y}}<ref name="Jahangirnama461" />

|birth_place=[[Ajmer]], [[Rajputana]], [[Mughal Empire]]

|death_date={{death date and age|1659|08|30|1615|3|20|df=y}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sarkar |first1=Sir Jadunath |title=Sir Jadunath Sarkar birth centenary commemoration volume: English translation of Tarikh-i-dilkasha (Memoirs of Bhimsen relating to Aurangzib's Deccan campaigns). |date=1972 |publisher=Dept. of Archives, Maharashtra |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MM05AQAAIAAJ&q=dara+shukoh+30+august |language=en}}</ref>

|death_place=[[Delhi]], Mughal Empire

|burial_place=[[Humayun’s Tomb]]

|spouse=[[Nadira Banu Begum]]

|issue={{ubl

|full name=Muhammad Dara Shikoh

|house=

|father=[[Shah Jahan]]

|mother=[[Mumtaz Mahal]]

|religion=[[Sunni Islam]]

|image_size=}}

'''Dara Shikoh''' ({{lang-fa|دارا شِکوہ}}), also known as '''Dara Shukoh''', (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659)<ref name="Jahangirnama461" /><ref name="Death date">{{cite book |last1=Awrangābādī |first1=Shāhnavāz Khān |last2=Shāhnavāz |first2=ʻAbd al-Ḥayy ibn |last3=Prashad |first3=Baini |title=The Maāthir-ul-umarā: being biographies of the Muhammādan and Hindu officers of the Timurid sovereigns of India from 1500 to about 1780 A.D. |date=1952 |publisher=Asiatic Society |page=684 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-WGGYjteVEC&q=dara+shukoh+30+august |language=en}}</ref> was the eldest son and [[heir-apparent]] of the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thackeray|first1=Frank W.|last2=Findling|first2=John E. |title=Events that formed the modern world : from the African Renaissance through the War on Terror|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-1-59884-901-1|page=240}}</ref> Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank")<ref name="Title">{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1='Inayat |last2=Begley |first2=Wayne Edison |title=The Shah Jahan nama of 'Inayat Khan: an abridged history of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by his royal librarian : the nineteenth-century manuscript translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, add. 30,777) |date=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=4 |isbn=9780195624892 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_BtAAAAMAAJ&q=padshahzada |language=en}}</ref> and was favoured as a successor by his father and his older sister, Princess [[Jahanara Begum]]. In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan's illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (later, the Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]). He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb's orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/879195/aurangzeb-and-dara-shikohs-fight-for-the-throne-was-entwined-with-the-rivalry-of-their-two-sisters|title=Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh's fight for the throne was entwined with the rivalry of their two sisters|first=Ira|last=Mukhoty|website=Scroll.in}}</ref>

Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox [[Muslim]] as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb; he authored the work ''[[The Confluence of the Two Seas]]'', which argues for the harmony of [[Sufi philosophy]] in Islam and [[Vedanta philosophy]] in Hinduism. A great patron of the arts, he was also more inclined towards philosophy and [[mysticism]] rather than military pursuits. The course of the history of the [[Indian subcontinent]], had Dara Shikoh prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.<ref>"India was at a crossroads in the mid-seventeenth century; it had the potential of moving forward with Dara Shikoh, or of turning back to medievalism with Aurangzeb".{{cite book |title=The Mughal Throne : The Saga of India's Great Emperors |last=Eraly |first=Abraham |year=2004 |publisher=Phoenix |location=London |isbn=0-7538-1758-6 |page=336}}<br />"Poor Dara Shikoh!....thy generous heart and enlightened mind had reigned over this vast empire, and made it, perchance, the garden it deserves to be made". William Sleeman (1844), [https://archive.org/stream/ramblesrecollect02sleeuoft/ramblesrecollect02sleeuoft_djvu.txt E-text of ''Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official''] p.272</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/151421/Dara-Shukoh Dara Shikoh] [[Britannica.com]].</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA194&dq=Dara+Shikoh&as_brr=0#PPA195,M1 Dara Shikoh] ''Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia'', by Josef W. Meri, Jere L Bacharach. Routledge, 2005. {{ISBN|0-415-96690-6}}. ''Page 195-196''.</ref>

Muhammad Dara Shikoh was born on 11 March 1615<ref name=Jahangirnama461>{{cite book |title=The Jahangirnama : memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India |url=https://archive.org/details/jahangirnamamemo00jaha |publisher=Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in association with Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512718-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jahangirnamamemo00jaha/page/461 461]|year=1999 }}</ref> in [[Ajmer]], [[Rajasthan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jl |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |date=1986 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd |isbn=9788120710153 |page=426 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TsMl0vSc0gC&q=dara+shikoh+ajmer+1615&pg=PA426 |language=en}}</ref> He was the first son and third child of Prince Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram and his second wife, [[Mumtaz Mahal]].<ref name="Nath">{{cite book |last1=Nath |first1=Renuka |title=Notable Mughal and Hindu women in the 16th and 17th centuries A.D. |date=1990 |publisher=Inter-India Publications |isbn=9788121002417 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p0BuAAAAMAAJ&q=third+child |language=en}}</ref> The prince was named by his father.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1='Inayat |last2=Begley |first2=Wayne Edison |title=The Shah Jahan nama of 'Inayat Khan: an abridged history of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by his royal librarian : the nineteenth-century manuscript translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, add. 30,777) |date=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=6 |isbn=9780195624892 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_BtAAAAMAAJ&q=dara+shikoh+ajmer+1615 |language=en}}</ref> 'Dara' means owner of wealth or star in [[Persian language|Persian]] while the second part of the prince's name is commonly spelled in two ways: Shikoh (''terror'') or Shukoh (''majesty'' or ''grandeur'').<ref name="Name">{{cite book |last1=Koch |first1=Ebba |title=Dara-Shikoh shooting nilgais: hunt and landscape in Mughal painting |date=1998 |publisher=Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution |page=43 |isbn=9789998272521 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FN3qAAAAMAAJ&q=+transliterating+ |language=en}}</ref> Thus, Dara's full name can be translated as "Of the Terror of Darius" or "Of the Grandeur of Darius", respectively.<ref name="Name" /> Historian [[Ebba Koch]] favours 'Shukoh'.<ref name="Name" />

[[File:Brooklyn Museum - The Nuptials of Dara Shikoh.jpg|thumb|The marriage of Dara Shikoh and Nadira Begum, 1875-90]]

During the life time of his mother Mumtaz Mahal, Dara Shikoh was betrothed to his half-cousin, Princess [[Nadira Banu Begum]], the daughter of his paternal uncle [[Parviz (Mughal prince)|Sultan Parvez Mirza]].<ref name="Sarker80">{{harvtxt|Sarker|2007|p=80}}</ref> He married her on 1 February 1633 at [[Agra]]; midst great celebrations, pomp and grandeur.<ref name="Hansen121" /><ref name="Sarker80" /> By all accounts, Dara and Nadira were devoted to each other and Dara's love for Nadira was so profound that unlike the usual practice of [[polygyny]] prevalent at the time, he never contracted any other marriage.<ref name="Hansen121">{{cite book |last1=Hansen |first1=Waldemar |title=The peacock throne : the drama of Mogul India. |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120802254 |page=121|date=September 1986 }}</ref> The imperial couple had seven children together, with two sons, [[Sulaiman Shikoh]] and [[Sipihr Shikoh]] and a daughter [[Jahanzeb Banu Begum]], surviving to play important roles in future events.<ref name="Hansen121" />

A great patron of the arts, Dara ordered for the compilation of some refined artwork into an album which is now famous by the name of 'Dara Shikhoh Album.'<ref>{{cite book |last1=Koch |first1=Ebba |title=Dara-Shikoh shooting nilgais: hunt and landscape in Mughal painting |date=1998 |publisher=Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution |page=29 |isbn=9789998272521 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FN3qAAAAMAAJ&q=dara+shikoh+album |language=en}}</ref> This album was presented by Dara to his 'dearest intimate friend' Nadira in 1641.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mukhia |first1=Harbans |title=The Mughals of India |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley India Pvt. Limited |isbn=9788126518777 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZYsjlmtSmAC&q=dara+shukoh+nadira&pg=PA124 |language=en}}</ref> Dara had at least two concubines, Gul Safeh (also known as Rana Dil) and [[Udaipuri Mahal]] (a [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] or [[Armenia]]n slave girl).<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cA5uAAAAMAAJ&q=dara+shikoh+rana+dil | title=Captive Princess: Zebunissa, Daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb| isbn=978-0-19-579837-1| last1=Krieger-Krynicki| first1=Annie| year=2005}}</ref> Udaipuri later became a part of Aurangzeb's harem after her master's defeat.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kishori Saran Lal |title=The Mughal harem |publisher=Aditya Prakashan |isbn=9788185179032 |page=30|date=January 1988 }}</ref>

[[File:Dara Shikuh with his army.jpg|thumb|left|Dara Shikoh with his army<ref>{{cite web |url=http://warfare.atspace.eu/Moghul/17thC/Moghul_17thC.htm |title=Dara Shikuh with his army  |work=17th Century Mughals & Marathas |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021235/http://warfare.atspace.eu/Moghul/17thC/Moghul_17thC.htm |archive-date=3 December 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref>]]

After the defeat, Dara Shikoh retreated from Agra to Delhi and thence to Lahore. His next destination was [[Multan]] and then to [[Thatta]] ([[Sindh]]). From Sindh, he crossed the [[Rann of Kachchh]] and reached [[Kathiawar]], where he met Shah Nawaz Khan, the governor of the province of [[Gujarat]] who opened the treasury to Dara Shikoh and helped him to recruit a new army.<ref>Eraly, ''The Mighal Throne : The Saga of India's Great Emperors'', cited above, page 364.</ref> He occupied Surat and advanced towards Ajmer. Foiled in his hopes of persuading the fickle but powerful Rajput feudatory, [[Maharaja Jaswant Singh]] of Marwar, to support his cause, Dara Shikoh decided to make a stand and fight Aurangzeb's relentless pursuers but was once again comprehensively routed in the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer) on 11 March 1659. After this defeat he fled to Sindh and sought refuge under Malik Jiwan (Junaid Khan Barozai), an Afghan chieftain, whose life had on more than one occasion been saved by the Mughal prince from the wrath of [[Shah Jahan]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV--abKg9GEC&q=jiwan+malik&pg=PA378|title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India|first=Waldemar|last=Hansen|date=9 September 1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|via=Google Books|isbn=9788120802254}}</ref><ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/bernier/txt_bernier_dara.html Francois Bernier] Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656–1668.</ref> However, Junaid betrayed Dara Shikoh and turned him (and his second son Sipihr Shikoh) over to Aurangzeb's army on 10 June 1659.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oGHt7Z8o4sC&q=malik+jiwan+bakhtiar+khan&pg=PA99|title=Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656–1668|first=Francois|last=Bernier|date=9 September 1996|publisher=Asian Educational Services|via=Google Books|isbn=9788120611696}}</ref>

Dara Shikoh was brought to Delhi, placed on a filthy elephant and paraded through the streets of the capital in chains.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/828960/bad-muslim-good-muslim-out-with-aurangzeb-in-with-dara-shikoh|title=Bad Muslim, good Muslim: Out with Aurangzeb, in with Dara Shikoh|first=Ipsita|last=Chakravarty|website=Scroll.in}}</ref><ref>"The captive heir to the richest throne in the world, the favourite and pampered son of the most magnificent of the Great Mughals, was now clad in a travel-tainted dress of the coarsest cloth, with a dark dingy-coloured turban, such as only the poorest wear, on his head, and no necklace or jewel adorning his person." {{cite book |title=A Short History of Aurangzib, 1618–1707 |last=Sarkar |first=Jadunath |year=1962|publisher=M. C. Sarkar and Sons |location=Calcutta |page=78}}</ref> Dara Shikoh's fate was decided by the political threat he posed as a prince popular with the common people – a convocation of nobles and clergy, called by Aurangzeb in response to the perceived danger of insurrection in Delhi, declared him a threat to the public peace and an apostate from Islam. He was assassinated by four of Aurangzeb's henchmen in front of his terrified son on the night of 30 August 1659 (9 September Gregorian). After death the remains of Dara Shikoh were buried in an unidentified grave in Humayan's tomb in Delhi.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Peacock Throne : The Drama of Mogul India |last=Hansen |first=Waldemar |year=1986 |publisher=Orient Book Distributors |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-208-0225-4 |pages=375–377}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.61973|title=Maasir-i- Alamgiri (1947)|first=Jadunath|last=Sarkar|date=9 September 1947|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> On 26 February 2020 the government of India through [[Archaeological Survey of India]] decided to find the burial spot of Dara Shikoh from the 140 graves in 120 chambers inside Humayun's Tomb. It is considered a difficult task as none of the graves are identified or have inscriptions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/believed-to-be-inside-humayuns-tomb-dara-shikohs-burial-site-set-to-make-experts-panel-walk-in-dark-2510439.html|title=Believed to be Inside Humayun's Tomb, Dara Shikoh's Burial Site Set to Make Experts' Panel 'Walk in Dark'|date=21 February 2020}}</ref>

[[Niccolao Manucci]], the Venetian traveler who worked in the Mughal court, has written down the details of Dara Shikoh's death. According to him, upon Dara's capture, Aurangzeb ordered his men to have his head brought up to him and he inspected it thoroughly to ensure that it was Dara indeed. He then further mutilated the head with his sword three times. After which, he ordered the head to be put in a box and presented to his ailing father, Shah Jahan, with clear instructions to be delivered only when the old King sat for his dinner in his prison. The guards were also instructed to inform Shah Jahan that, ''“King Aurangzeb, your son, sends this plate to let him (Shah Jahan) see that he does not forget him”.'' Shah Jahan instantly became happy (not knowing what was in store in the box) and uttered, ''“ Blessed be God that my son still remembers me”. ''Upon opening the box, Shah Jahan became horrified and fell unconscious''.''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mogul India Or Storia Do Mogor 4 Vols (Vol 1). Set|last=Manucci|first=Niccolao|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Limited|year=1989|isbn=817156058X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208237/page/n476 356]–57|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208237}}</ref>

Dara Shikoh is widely renowned<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110905080509/http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/11/stories/2008111158760200.htm The Hindu] see for example this article in ''The Hindu''.</ref> as an enlightened paragon of the harmonious coexistence of heterodox traditions on the Indian subcontinent. He was an erudite champion of mystical religious speculation and a poetic diviner of syncretic cultural interaction among people of all faiths. This made him a heretic in the eyes of his orthodox younger brother and a suspect eccentric in the view of many of the worldly power brokers swarming around the Mughal throne. Dara Shikoh was a follower of the [[Armenians|Armenian]] [[Sufi]]-[[perennialist]] mystic [[Sarmad Kashani]],<ref>Katz, N. (2000) '' 'The Identity of a Mystic: The Case of Sa'id Sarmad, a Jewish-Yogi-Sufi Courtier of the Mughals'' in: Numen 47: 142–160.</ref> as well as [[Lahore]]'s famous [[Qadiri]] [[Sufi]] saint [[Mian Mir]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC&pg=PA135&dq=Dara+Shikoh&as_brr=0#PPA135,M1 Dara Shikoh] ''The empire of the great Mughals: history, art and culture'', by Annemarie Schimmel, Corinne Attwood, Burzine K. Waghmar. Translated by Corinne Attwood. Published by Reaktion Books, 2004. {{ISBN|1-86189-185-7}}. ''Page 135''.</ref> whom he was introduced to by [[Mullah Shah Badakhshi]] (Mian Mir's spiritual disciple and successor). Mian Mir was so widely respected among all communities that he was invited to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Sikhs.

[[File:Dara Shikoh With Mian Mir And Mulla Shah.jpg|thumb|left|'''Dara Shikoh''' (with [[Mian Mir]] and [[Mullah Shah Badakhshi]]), ca. 1635]]

Dara Shikoh subsequently developed a friendship with the seventh Sikh Guru, [[Guru Har Rai]]. Dara Shikoh devoted much effort towards finding a common mystical language between Islam and [[Hinduism]]. Towards this goal he completed the translation of fifty [[Upanishads]] from their original [[Sanskrit]] into [[Persian language|Persian]] in 1657 so that they could be studied by Muslim scholars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/814923/lahores-iconic-mosque-stood-witness-to-two-historic-moments-where-tolerance-gave-way-to-brutality|title=Lahore's iconic mosque stood witness to two historic moments where tolerance gave way to brutality|first=Haroon|last=Khalid|website=Scroll.in}}</ref><ref>Dr. [[Amartya Sen]] notes in his book ''[[The Argumentative Indian]]'' that it was Dara Shikoh's translation of the Upanishads that attracted [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]], a Western scholar of Indian literature, to the Upanishads, having read them for the first time in a Persian translation by Dara Shikoh.{{cite book |title=The Argumentative Indian |date=2005-10-05 |url=https://archive.org/details/argumentativeind00sena |url-access=registration |last=Sen |first=Amartya|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=9780374105839 }}</ref> His translation is often called ''[[Sirr-i-Akbar]]'' ("The Greatest Mystery"), where he states boldly, in the introduction, his speculative hypothesis that the work referred to in the [[Qur'an]] as the "''Kitab al-maknun''" or the ''hidden book'', is none other than the [[Upanishads]].<ref>[https://mailman.rice.edu/pipermail/sasialit/2002-February/008773.html Gyani Brahma Singh 'Brahma', ''Dara Shikoh – The Prince who turned Sufi'' in The Sikh Review]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"the reference in Al Qur’an to the hidden books – ummaukund-Kitab – was to the Upanishads, because they contain the essence of unity and they are the secrets which had to be kept hidden, the most ancient books."</ref> His most famous work, [[Majma-ul-Bahrain]] ("The Confluence of the Two Seas"), was also devoted to a revelation of the mystical and pluralistic affinities between [[Sufism|Sufic]] and [[Vedanta|Vedantic]] speculation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/prince-of-peace/article7015511.ece|title=Prince of peace|first=Nadeem Naqvisanjeev|last=Arora|newspaper=The Hindu|date=20 March 2015|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> The book was authored as a short treatise in Persian in 1654–55.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/emperor-s-old-clothes/story-myjjDFPaNeS9JoLCrIY7NP.html|title=Emperor's old clothes|date=12 April 2007|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

In 1006 A.H,the prince had commissioned a translation of [[Yoga Vasistha]],after both [[Vasistha]] and [[Rama]] appeared before Dara Shikoh and embraced him in his dream.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLzhj7SmDkYC&pg=PP26|title = Majma'-ul-bahrain: Or, the mingling of the two oceans|year = 1929}}</ref> Translation was undertaken by Nizam al-Din Panipati this translation came to be known as the ''Jug-Basisht'', which has since become popular in [[Persia]] among intellectuals interested in [[Indo-Persian culture]]. The [[Safavid]]-era mystic [[Mir Findiriski]] (d. 1641) commented on selected passages of ''Jug-Basisht''.<ref>Juan R.I. Cole in [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLlcCgAAQBAJ Iran and the surrounding world] by Nikki R. Keddie, Rudolph P. Matthee, 2002, pp. 22–23</ref>

The library established by Dara Shikoh still exists on the grounds of [[Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University]], [[Kashmiri Gate (Delhi)|Kashmiri Gate]], [[Delhi]], and is now run as a museum by [[Archaeological Survey of India]] after being renovated.<ref>[http://delhigovt.nic.in/archeology/showMonu.asp?mId=3 Dara Shikoh's Library, Delhi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411005317/http://delhigovt.nic.in/archeology/showMonu.asp?mId=3 |date=11 April 2009 }} [[Govt.]] of [[Delhi]].</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/Battling-time-Dara-Shikoh%E2%80%99s-Library-cries-out-for-help/article17244376.ece|title=Battling time, Dara Shikoh's Library cries out for help|first=Damini|last=Nath|newspaper=The Hindu|date=8 February 2017|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>

Among the existing paintings from the Dara Shikoh Album, are two facing pages, compiled in the early 1630s just before his marriage, showing two ascetics in yogic postures, probably meant to be a pair of yogis, Vaishnava and Shaiva. these paintings are attributed to the artist Govardhan. The album also contains numerous pictures of Muslim ascetics and divines and the pictures obviously reflects Dara Shikoh's interest in religion and philosophy.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Losty|first1=J P|title=Ascetics and Yogis in Indian Painting: The Mughal and Deccani Tradition|date=July 2016|page=14}}</ref>

Dara Shikoh is also credited with the commissioning of several exquisite, still extant, examples of Mughal architecture – among them the [[Tomb of Nadira Begum|tomb of his wife Nadira Begum]] in Lahore,<ref>[http://mughalgardens.org/html/pic-mian03.html ''Nadira Banu's tomb''] A view of Nadira Banu's tomb</ref> the [[Shrine of Mian Mir]] also in Lahore,<ref>[http://www.lahorebazaar.com/lahore/saints/mian_mir.asp ''Mazar Hazrat Mian Mir''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202060352/http://www.lahorebazaar.com/lahore/saints/mian_mir.asp |date=2 December 2008 }} entertaining description of the monument and its history</ref> the ''Dara Shikoh Library'' in Delhi,<ref>[http://www.delhilive.com/dara-shikoh-library ''Dara Shikoh Library''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121051807/http://www.delhilive.com/dara-shikoh-library |date=21 November 2008 }} description of Dara Shikoh library</ref> the ''Akhun Mullah Shah Mosque'' in Srinagar in Kashmir<ref>{{cite web | title=Ancient Monuments of Kashmir: Plate XII | website= Kashmiri Overseas Association, Inc. | url=http://www.koausa.org/Monuments/PlateXII.jpg | access-date=2019-09-09}}</ref> and the ''Pari Mahal'' garden palace (also in Srinagar in Kashmir).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_w4GEiBHJ-rc/R_oNe0nuZNI/AAAAAAAAQWI/P08iBhPrYts/Pari%2BMahal.jpg&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ilNSh5i-CrNJkoPTkVwoUg&usg=__1Xh7cKOwK4fOEVtIMIFhYIpTlEs=&h=480&w=640&sz=13&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=VwCZInn_IbqXdM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpari%2Bmahal%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG|title=Google Image Result for lh4.ggpht.com/_w4GEiBHJ-rc/R_oNe0nuZNI/AAAAAAAAQWI/P08iBhPrYts/Pari+Mahal.jpg|work=google.co.uk}} {{dead link|date=September 2019|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

* The issues surrounding Dara Shikoh's impeachment and execution are used to explore contradictory interpretations of Islam in a 2008 play, ''[[The Trial of Dara Shikoh]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120223141853/http://www.buxtoninitiative.org/resources/media/the-trial-of-dara-shikoh.pdf '' ‘The Trial of Dara Shikoh’ – A Play in Three Acts''] Text of the play with an Introduction by the author.</ref> written by [[Akbar S. Ahmed]].<ref>Published as Akbar Ahmed: Two Plays. London: Saqi Books, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-86356-435-2}}, [http://www.pakistanlink.com/hussaini/05022008.html ''‘The Trial of Dara Shikoh’ – A Thought-Provoking Play''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815163708/http://www.pakistanlink.com/hussaini/05022008.html |date=15 August 2009 }} A review of the play.</ref>

* [[Bengali language|Bengali]] Writer [[Shyamal Gangapadhyay]] wrote a novel on his life ''Shahjada Dara Shikoh'' which received [[Sahitya Akademi Award|Sahitya Academy Award]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/movie-mogul-maybe/209927|title=Movie Mogul, Maybe|website=outlookindia.com|access-date=March 25, 2018}}</ref>

* "Dara Shikoh" – a poem by poet [[Abhay K]] published in 2014 lamented the fact that there were no streets named after Dara.<ref>[http://www.caravanmagazine.in/poetry/dara-shikoh-and-other-poems Dara Shikoh and other poems] The Caravan, May 1, 2014</ref>

* New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) changed Dalhousie Road's name to Dara Shikoh Road on February 6, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/dalhousie-road-renamed-after-dara-shikoh-why-hindutva-right-wingers-favour-a-mughal-prince/|title=Dalhousie Road renamed after Dara Shikoh: Why Hindutva right wingers favour a Mughal prince|date=7 February 2017}}</ref>

* [[Ranveer Singh]] has been cast as Dara Shikoh in the upcoming [[Karan Johar]] directorial Takht, slated for a 2021 Christmas release.

*[[Lahore]] 1635–1636

*[[Allahabad]] 1645–1647

*[[Malwa]] 1642–1658

*[[Gujrat City|Gujrat]] 1648

*[[Multan]] [[Kabul]] 1652–1656

*[[Bihar]] 1657–1659

|2= 2. [[Shah Jahan|Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Mughal Emperor]]<ref>Kobita Sarker, ''Shah Jahan and his paradise on earth: the story of Shah Jahan's creations in Agra and Shahjahanabad in the golden days of the Mughals'' (2007), p. 187</ref>

|14=14. Ghias ud-din ‘Ali Asaf Khan<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ahmad|first1=Moin-ud-din|title=The Taj and Its Environments: With 8 Illus. from Photos., 1 Map, and 4 Plans|date=1924|publisher=R. G. Bansal|page=101|language=en}}</ref>

**''[[Majma-ul-Bahrain]]'' (''The Mingling of Two Oceans'')<ref>MAJMA' UL BAHARAIN or The Mingling Of Two Oceans, by Prince Muhammad Dara Shikoh, Edited in the Original Persian with English Translation, notes & variants by M.Mahfuz-ul-Haq, published by The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, Bibliotheca Indica Series no. 246, 1st. published 1929. See also [http://indianmuslims.in/dara-shikohs-two-oceans-book-review/ this] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909192744/http://indianmuslims.in/dara-shikohs-two-oceans-book-review/ |date=9 September 2009 }} book review by [[Yoginder Sikand]], indianmuslims.in.</ref>

**''Sirr-e-Akbar'' (''The Great Secret'', his translation of the Upanishads in Persian)<ref>See the section on his [[Dara Shikoh#Intellectual pursuits|Intellectual Pursuits]].</ref>

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