Raved as one fine example of Mughal architecture with a style that brought Persian, Islamic, and Indian architectural elements together into one place and merged them to form the ever wonderful Taj Mahal, it is believed that the monument is one of a kind and that no other monument of the world comes even close to its magnanimity. But there's one myth that completely dismisses the theory of it being Mughal at all. On the contrary, this myth states that Taj Mahal was once a palace built in 4th century AD and belonged to a Rajput king, but was later taken over by Shah Jahan who remodeled it as Taj Mahal. Although there are no evidences to support this myth, it has developed somewhat of a following that believes this to be true. One such believer is Professor P.N. Oak of New Delhi who has even mentioned this, so called, fact in his book on the Taj Mahal.P. N. Oak claimed that timeline of Taj Mahal and other historic structures in the country that are linked to the Mughals go back before Mughals even occupied India and thus, have Hindu origins. However, in the year 2000 the Supreme Court of India dismissed any P. N. Oak's petition that Taj Mahal was built by a Hindu king and even reprimanded him for bringing the action. What caused this theory to come across is unknown but a sect of historians believes that a Rajput palace did exist long before Shah Jahan came into the picture. Also, the fact that Shah Jahan purchased the piece of land where the Taj Mahal stands now, from a Rajput family gives rise to the speculations as to whether the Taj Mahal was built from the scratch or is just a remodeled structure of a Rajputana palace.
