Qutub-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki, born in 1173 A.D. in Iran, was an Islamic Dervish, the spiritual successor of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, had his original name as Bakhtiyar and was one of the most famous sufi saints of the world. He was at the height of his popularity during the reign of Iltutmish. The Qutub Minar was named after him. The saint was fed with 'kak' or cake from heaven and thus he took the name 'kaki'.
Popularly known as Qutub Sahib, this was the oldest and one of the most revered sufi shrines of Delhi and has been regarded as a magnet for the devout, the learned and the powerful for centuries. The saint preached values of universal brotherhood and made sufiism an important movement during his lifetime which attracted followers of all spheres. Nearly all the rulers and emperors who ruled Delhi, the mighty, famed and the powerful from Alauddin Khilji, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Sher Shah Suri and Aurangzeb to Bahadur Shah Zafar sought the blessing of this simple holy man with humility and held him in the highest esteem.
Such an exalted divine was he that his mentor Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti had decreed that anyone coming to seek his blessings must pay homage to Qutub Sahib first. This practice is still maintained as the pilgrims from haj even now make it a point to visit the final resting place of this illustrious saint to pay respect and those who attend the annual urs festival at Ajmer visit this dargah first on their way - even after 800 years of his passing away.
A few weeks before his death, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin was returning home after the Id prayer when he stayed at a place on the way and told his companions: "I feel the smell of love coming out of this place." The owner of the land was summoned immediately and it was purchased. This is the same place where the great saint was buried and where his illustrious Dargah stands upto this day. Even after the passing away of this saint, the dargah remains a place of pure faith for his followers. Many nobles and royals lie buried in the vicinity of his final resting place. The faquirs and mureeds who throng this place now have wondrous tales about the life of this great saint. No one believes he is dead. They believe he is just wrapped a veil around himself and is visible to God and the blessed ones.
The ardent faithful still believe that the city of Delhi is protected by this saint and as long as his mazaar remains, no harm can come to Delhi as he showers blessings on this city everyday, which became his home.
Hidden in the mystic alleys of Mehrauli village stands the 5000 year old historic Yogmaya temple - a temple dedicated to Goddess Yogmaya, sister of Lord Krishna. Many legends are associated with this place of worship. One says that it was originally built by the pandavas of the Mahabharata epic. Mehrauli was also known as yoginipura after this temple, according to 12th century Jain scriptures.
According to another legend, Yogmaya was the sister of Lord Krishna born to his foster mother Yashoda. When the cruel king Kansa tried to kill her, she flew away and predicted that the child who would eventually kill him is born already. She then established a home for herself here at the Aravallis.
Another local legend also says Krishna and Arjun came to pray here during the Mahabharata war after Abhimanyu (Arjun's son) was killed by Jayadrath. Arjun took a vow that he would kill the slayer of his son by next evening. But the following day the Kauravas continued to keep him away from Arjun to protect him from his wrath. Arjun and Krishna came to this temple to pray at such a time to ask for blessing from the Goddess. With her magical powers or 'maya' she created an illusionary eclipse that gave Arjuna the opportunity to kill Jayadrath.
The temple that we see today was constructed in the 19th century during the Mughal rule with support from Lala Sethmal. People living around this temple now are actually taking care of this place of worship. It is said that all these people come from one common ancestor hundreds of years ago and are still carrying on with the traditions and customs of the ancient times, voluntarily and amicably with unflagging devotion even today.
Popularly known as Bhul bhulaiya, the tomb of Adham Khan and his mother Maham Anga, constructed in 1951 by emperor Akbar, lies at the entrance of Mehrauli village.
Adham Khan was a general in the army of the Mughal emperor Akbar and the son of his wet nurse Maham Anga, a very influential and powerful woman of her times. When Akbar's favoured general Atgah Khan became the Prime Minister in the imperial courts, Maham Anga was angered. Adham Khan could not bear to see his mother unhappy and in a fit of jealousy and anger, murdered him. Emperor Akbar punished him instantly by throwing him down the 40 feet high ramparts of the Agra Fort not once but twice as he was found to be alive after the first fall. Soon after, his mother also died of grief. Akbar sent the bodies of Adham Khan and Maham Anga to Delhi with full honor and respect and built this tomb where he buried the mother next to her son.
The chamber is octagonal in shape with a dome in the architectural style of the Lodi dynasty, whom the Mughals considered as traitors, ironically. The tomb lies on a raised platform and is surrounded by a corridor that has three semi circular openings on each side. Since visitors used to often lose their way through these passages hence this tomb is locally known as 'bhul bhulaiya' or maze.
And this is not all. This tomb has seen a lot more.
A British Officer named Blake converted this tomb into his private residence and removed the graves in order to make way for his dining space. Even after his death it was being used as a Rest House for the British. Later it was converted into a post office and then to a police station. Finally Lord Curzon took initiative to restore the monument, and ordered to vacate it. He restored the grave of Adham Khan back to the original position. The mother's grave however could not be restored as nobody could identify what could have been the exact resting place of this powerful woman who died grieving for her son.
It is considered bad for women to visit this tomb. This is because of the curse of queen Rupmati whose lover Baz Bhahdur was killed by Adham Khan during his invasion of Mandu. Roopmati also died soon, cursing Adham Khan saying that no woman would ever visit the tomb of the man who was responsible for the death of two lovers. To this day it is considered an ill omen for women to visit this tomb as it is supposed to mar conjugal happiness.
Today this historic place is a home for homeless beggars, jobless people and stray dogs, carefully masquerading the turbulent history of bloodshed, murder, jealousy and intrigue of times gone by.
Just as you cross the Mehrauli Bus Terminus, you turn left inside a narrow nondescript lane leading to Gandhak ki Baoli, nearly hidden among clusters of buildings, shops and dhabas.
Baolis were stores of water for people of yore, when there was no system of modern water supply through pipes. Gandhak ki Baoli or the well of sulfur is all of five stories deep and has a circular wall at its southern end.
Legend says that one day emperor Iltutmish (responsible for completion of the Qutub Minar) visited the sufi saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki to pay his obeisance and found him in a disheveled state. On asking why he has not bathed, the saint replied that he could not because he needs a place to do so. On hearing this, Iltutmish immediately ordered for the construction of a well and thus it was completed in record time.
The well got its name because of the smell of sulfur in its water and was believed to have medicinal properties. Until some years back divers used to jump from its top stories to retrieve coins which the devotees threw into the water. Today the water is nearly non existent and is not even usable.
