Standing majestically on the banks of River Yamuna in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal is synonymous to love and romance. Taj Mahal, "the epitome of love", is "a monument of myriad beauty. The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words.

The thoughts that come into the mind of any visitor while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just its phenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with whom, they say, he fell in love at the first sight. Ironically, the very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance, also leaves visitors spellbound and perpetually enthralled.

Foreign visitors are mesmerised by what they see, forgetting that a large part of the complex is locked up. Indian visitors can see similarities of this architecture with some other monuments in India, and understand their symbolism. However, they are hushed up out of the complex.

The period, purpose and ownership of the Taj has been contested for a long time. Contrary to the popular belief, we are now going to put forth certain facts, which will prove that the Taj Mahal was NOT built by Shah Jahan, but it was built hundreds of years before him, as a Hindu palace. It was ursped by Shah Jahan, and later used as a burial site for one of his many consorts, Arjumand Banu Begum, also known as Mumtaz Mahal.

Shri. P. N. Oak, who unveiled the TEJOMAHALAY, a Hindu palace, which was sadly mistaken for the past 350 years as Taj Mahal, dared to confront the lobby of politicians and historians, and propounded this theory way back in 1965. He was threatened with dire consequences, but he pursued the cause, and got his work published from the Oxford Press. He had served in the Azad Hind Fauj the Indian National Army under Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. At the end of the war, on return to India, Shri. P. N. Oak took up Journalism as a profession. He has made some far reaching discoveries in history regarding the so-called INDO SARACENIC architecture in India-all of which are complete with proofs for every statement made.

In the last fifty years, much has changed. The political scenario is now much different in India and in the world. After the landmark judgement on the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh, India), there is a renewed interest in India's glorious past. Technology is helping to put the jig-saw pieces together. We, at Udgaar Publications firmly believe, that there is an unprecedented need to tell this truth to the whole world. This discovery will be much greater than that of the great mosque in Istanbul, that it was previously a church! Here is our humble attempt at course correction of history. We are sure that it will be well received and applauded by readers globally.

Udgaar Publications considers it an honour to bring forth this work of Shri. P. N. Oak in a concise form, with the sole aim of letting it reach the masses worldwide.

These are excerpts from the prefaces written by Shri P. N. Oak for various different publications, for various different editions. We wish to put forth the history in the original words of Shri. P. N. Oak.

The serene beauty, majesty and grandeur of the Taj Mahal have made it known all over the world. But what is not so well known is the true story of its origin, that its magnificence stems from its having originated as a palace.

It is a pity that the Taj Mahal is believed to have originated as a sombre tomb in the 17th century, when it was perhaps built in the 14th century to serve as a palace.

Popular nostalgia for legendary love has helped fan the flame of Shahjahan's mystical attachment to Mumtaz into a raging fire, enveloping the Taj in the dazzle of leaping flames and blinding smoke of imaginary accounts, discouraging any cool, dispassionate research about its origin.

The utter incompatibility and inconsistency of the loose bits of information mouthed and written about the Taj Mahal, clanking to a crescendo of jarring notes in my subconscious mind, impelled me to attempt sorting them out from a tangled mass and piecing them together to find out whether they made a coherent and plausible account.

To my amazement it led me to an unexpected conclusion, namely, that far from originating as a mediaeval tomb, the Taj was built by a powerful Rajput king as his palace in pre-Muslim times. The conclusions reached in this book might unsettle some important portions of mediaeval history as currently taught and presented. But since all education is a relentless search for the Truth, it is hoped that all readers, whether lay admirers of the Taj, prying scholars or researchers, archaeological officials or teachers of history, will neither shy away nor be scared in facing the truth about the Taj.

We are going to prove in the following pages that the Taj Mahal -meaning "the Very Crown Among Residences" - is an ancient Hindu building and not a Muslim tomb.

author, PN. Oak having made some far reaching discoveries in history, was the founder president of the Institute for Rewriting World History. His findings were that in pre-Christian times Vedic culture and Sanskrit language held full sway throughout the world.

PN. Oak was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family in which his father talked to him only in Sanskrit, mother only in English, relations in Marathi and town folk in Hindi. That gave him fluency in these four languages from childhood.

After obtaining his B.A. degree from Agra University and completing M.A., LLB, courses of the Bombay University, Oak worked for a year as tutor in English at the Fergusson College, Pune and later having joined the army was posted to Singapore at the age of 24, where he was a co-worker of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

After the end of World War II, Oak hitch-hiked from Singapore to Calcutta across the border jungles of several countries.

From 1947 to 1974 his profession was mainly journalism; around 1959, Oak developed a curious new insight into history which led him to some stunning discoveries as a result of his absorbing hobby of visiting historic sites. He then founded (June 14, 1964) the institute for Rewriting Indian History and wrote several books (listed elsewhere in this volume).

Oak was keen to find a world Vedic Heritage University to educate the world in the primordial Vedic unity of all humanity.

Mr. P. N. Oak, who unveiled the TEJOMAHALAY, a Hindu palace, which was sadly mistaken for the past 350 years as Taj Mahal, "the epitome of love", and synonymous to love and romance, dared to confront the lobby of politicians and historians, and propounded this theory way back in 1965.

He has made some far-reaching discoveries in history regarding the so called INDO SARACENIC architecture in India - all of which are complete with proofs for every statement made.

In the last fifty years, much has changed. The political scenario is now much different in India and in the world. After the landmark judgement on the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh, India), there is a renewed interest in India's glorious past. We, at Udgaar firmly believe, that there is an unprecedented need to tell this truth to the whole world.

Here is our humble attempt at course correction of history. We are sure that it will be well received and applauded by readers globally.

Udgaar considers it an honour to bring forth this work of Mr. P. N. Oak in a concise form, with the sole aim of letting it reach the masses worldwide.