JAMA MASJID

 

 It seems correct to assume that this mosque was converted from a Hindu temple under the sovereignity of the Hindu kingdom. The same is true for the great walls and fort. This is evident troughout the structure of the mosque, which extends far from north to south. Also Hindu elements can be clearly seen in the bases and the tops of the numerous pillars, and the inside on the ceiling. Viewing the room through the pillars, especially, one may feel that he is in a Hindu temple. The mosque has a prayer room extending far from north to south. In the upper part of the centre of the room are corblled arches, which are often seen in buildings from the Delhi Tugluq period. In either side of the prayer room, square walls with an arch-shaped openings have been built.

 This mosque has a gate with an arch-shaped entrance, having a square plan and a dome at the centre of the east side of the front yard. This gate is assumed to have been added after the building was converted from Hindu temple to mosque. Inside the mihrab at the centre of the west side of the central prayer room, there was an icon of a Hindu goddess, suggesting that this building, which was converted from a Hindu temple to a mosque under the Muslim control is again used as a Hindu temple today. This building seems to symbolize the history of Deogiri and Daulatabad. The founding date of this mosque is assumed to be 1318. It is a precious example of early Muslim architecture in Deccan.

 

 

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