Ashrafi Mahal Mandav - Historical landmark in Mandav - Dhar, India

In Mandu Just opposite to Jami Masjid, There is Asharfi Mahal and Vijay Stambh. There is a Mahmud Khilji's Tomb inside the Asharfi Mahal. Very much open place with no Ticket. The Tower of Victory in Mandu has a twin in Chittor garh. Mahmud Khalji built this one to commemorate his victory over Raja Kumbha of Mewar. The Vijaya Stambha in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, was constructed by the Mewar king, Rana Kumbha, to commemorate his victory over the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat led by Mahmud Khilji. So there! The one in Mandu is right opposite the Jami Masjid. It was once (reportedly 7 storeys high) and even Emperor Jahangir saw it fit to mention it in his memoirs. Now it is a stabilized column of rubble just about 10 m high.According to MP Tourism the construction of Ashrafi Mahal had 2 distinct phases. It had begun during the early years of Mahmud Khilji's reign, when a Madarsa was built in conjunction with the adjacent Jami Masjid. The Madarsa had a spacious quadrangle enclosed on all four sides by small rooms for students. At the four corners of the quadrangle were towers. Ashrafi Mahal is interesting. According to the Guide Empress Nurjahan was given one Ashrafi for every stair she climbed....she later gave all those gold coins or Ashrafis to charity! Others say it was Ghiassuddin Khalji's incentive to his Queens so that they regularly climbed the stairs and lost weight (no gyms those days). The Madarsa is in ruins. Interestingly, Mahmud Khilji's tomb, Hoshang Shah's tomb, and Jami Masjid are in one straight line. Good planning! This place is Mandu-central and crowded. Small stalls and accompanying litter/noise. Good for a photo-op but that is about it! Check My YouTube Channel For Vlog - BPS Chauhan VLOGS

Ashrafi mahal is in Mandav which is an ancient fort city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It's surrounded by stone walls dotted with darwazas (gateways). It's also known for its Indian and Afghan architectural heritage. Landmark buildings include Hoshang Shah's Tomb, a domed marble mausoleum, and the vast Jami Masjid mosque, with courtyards framed by colonnades which are right in front of the Ashrafi Mahal. This was actually used as a Madrasa (School). Most of the sections are now in Ruins and only few sections are in good condition. It also hosts a Victory Tower which is now completely damaged and in Ruins. Who actually made this tower is a matter of debate and not confirmed yet. Overall worth a stopover as it's very close to other important group of monuments around.

I have paraphrased the information given at the Mandu Tourism, Wikipedia, AKS, an architect's web page and ASI websites and added my thoughts about Ashrafi Mahal at Mandu. This has been done with the aim of not only giving historical information but also making it more interesting to read. (I hope ) Right across Jama Masjid one sees a grand staircase with very wide stone steps. Steps so wide that it takes 2-3 steps to clear that one broad stone step. There are corridors with arched rooms on both sides of this grand staircase. At the top of this grand staircase is a beautifully constructed pavilion. Behind this Pavilion is one huge square-shaped courtyard surrounded by ruins of what at one time must have been rooms and mighty towers. This huge monument is called Ashrafi Mahal. Ashrafi Mahal started as a Sanskrit University around 1024 during the reign of Raja Bhoj of Dhar. It was a residential university. Students lived in the rooms on the ground floor and attended the classrooms on the first floor after climbing the grand staircase. When Hoshang Shah ascended the throne of Mandu he converted this edifice in a Madrasa attached to a mosque. From the ruins found today archeologists and historians believe, the Madrasa- Mosque complex was planned as a great square with open spaces enclosed all around by a number of small rooms for students. All four corners of the great square were round towers. Of these four towers, two have been totally wiped from existence. Huge in size and tall in height ruined remains of the remaining two round towers bear mute testimony as to how grand these four towers must have looked at the height of its heyday. Mahmud shah came to power after Hoshang Shah. He ordered a great tomb to be built for himself. Hoshang Shah's madrasa was chosen to build the tomb. The design of the madrasa, therefore, was changed and the courtyard was turned into a tomb. The dome of this tomb is made with black, yellow, and white marble. Historians believe that the tomb was a square hall of 65 feet topped with a huge dome. When completed his monument was grander than the Jami Masjid and Hoshang Shah's tomb. Experts are of the opinion that the tomb was constructed in a hurry, without proper planning, and by unskilled workers. This soon resulted in it getting delipidated and eventually being lost in time without much trace. As per documented information, it was a Sanskrit University, a Madrasa, and a Tomb. There is no mention of any Ashrafi or mahal anywhere. Maybe the following legend narrated to us by our guide explains the name: - The favourite concubine who was dark for whom camphor was added to Kapur Talav where she took and took bath to become fair was also quite plump. The king used to place one Ashrafi on each step. The consort could claim the Ashrafi as her own if she cleared each step in ONE STRIDE. Steps were very wide and one had to do something like hop-skip and jump to collect the Ashrafi and also clear the step in one stride. It was a very strenuous exercise to be repeated at every step every day. As per the narration by the guide, both, the Kapur Talav and the Ashrafies had desired effect, and the dark and plump consort turned as beautiful as a nymph :-), hence the name as Ashrafi Mahal. There are times when what the guide tells you is much more interesting than the dry information given by internet sources, though it may be far from the facts.

Ashrafi Mahal Mandu Dhar * Its foundation was Laid by hoshang Shah gauri. He was the second ruler of gauri Dynasty which ruled in malwa. * its construction was completed by Mahmud khilji I. He was the ruler of khilji Dynasty which ruled in malwa.

Located right in front of jama masjid and it used to be a madarsa back then in history.

Other than Khilji's history, It's an auspicious place for group of people who believes and practices 'Shuttari/Shattari's beliefs which is part of Sufism. Founder of 'Silsila-E-Shattariya 'HH Sirajuddin Sayyid Shah Abdullah Shattar Mast Hasani Husaini ' is being buried at this place.

This is exactly opposite Jami Masjid. The condition is like most other monuments in Mandu, it has seen better days but good that history has been preserved. No ticket required has panoramic views due to the height.

Won't recommend to anyone it's nothing, so bad even ASI won't maintain it. There's literally nothing not even worth clicking pictures. To summarise it don't go it's waste.