Hin: आगरा āgara
‘Gateway to the Forest’ [Agrabana, Akbarabad] – City/District, Uttar Pradesh
Skt: agra, ‘front’, ‘beginning’; and vana, ‘forest’, ‘wood’
According to Epic and Puranic authorities, ancient Agravana was surrounded by forest and was long associated with Vaishnavism, Krishna, Chaitanya and Vrindavan.
Sikandar Lodī founded the modern city here in the 16thC as the capital of the Delhi Sultanate.
As Akbarabād, Agra was also the capital of the Mughal Empire under Akbar, Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān.
Shāh Jahān presented Agra with its greatest gift: a mausoleum to commemorate his beloved Mumtaz known as the Taj Mahal. It cost $1bn in today’s money and took 20,000 artisans over twenty years to complete (1632-1653). It features a marble dome in the centre flanked by a quartet of 40m minarets.
Agra is a major tourist cente and attracts nearly 10m visitors every year.
Taj Mahal (Agra) Yann ed. Jim Carter
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