THE TOMB OF AZIMUNNISA BEGUM | জীবন্ত সমাধি | MURSHIDABAD

Zynda Kabbar ( জীবন্ত সমাধির ) Tomb of Azimunnisa Begum, Murshidabad

Murshid Kuli Khan was the founder and ruler of Murshidabad. Azim un-Nisa Begum was the daughter of Murshid Kuli Khan and wife of the second Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. Azim un-Nisa Begum was laid to rest at Azimnagar, the old city of Murshidabad. It is about 216 km away from Kolkata of India. The mausoleum, also known as ‘Zinda Kabar’ (Live Tomb). It is learned that she was buried here alive. But what was the reason behind it to be such crucial with her; let’s know.
A myth exists, once Azim un-Nisa Begum had felt seriously ill. Hekim (Doctor) prescribed her to take medicine prepared from the liver of a child. Then she started taking that medicine.

The medicine was supplied to her secretly. But the after she getting recovered she couldn’t leave that medicine. That turned into her addiction. As a result, a lot of children were being killed silently during that time. She was the richest and most powerful lady of her area then. So her clerks had not that courage to disobey her. They killed a child every day for grabbing the liver.
Knowing this her husband Nawab Shuja-ud-din accused her of taking innocent lives and buried her alive under the stairs. So that in future how many people come here have to cross over the grave on foot and for the atonement of her sins. For such cruelty, Azim un-Nisa got the name Kalija-Khali, which means ‘Liver Eater.’ It is heard that the relation between Shuja-ud-din and Azimunnisa was not well. That’s why the Nawab didn’t feel hesitate to punish her wife cruelly.

Conversely, another saying that her father Murshid Kuli Khan had found out her cruel attitude through investigation. And then he became annoyed about her daughter and ordered to bury her alive.
But the fact is the date of her death is a controversial issue because of having no documents about this. Opinion’s of Majority is it was 1730 AD.

In 1734 a mosque was built on that area following Mughal architectural pattern. The stair on her tomb was used for the entrance of the mosque. There is an inscriptional slab in the eastern entrance to the mosque. Many similarities are found of it with Katra Masjid’s design. The place is ornate with a well-maintained garden. However the mosque was destroyed by a massive earthquake, and all that now remains only a door of that grand structure. But, watching the ruin you can imagine how beautiful was the total architectural building. There is also controversy who had made it, but according to many it was built earlier by Azim un-Nisa.

In 1985, the Indian Archaeological Department took over the maintenance of this broken mosque.
About 300 years to be, but many things about the death of Azim un-Nisa have remained a mystery. According to many, all these are rumor or folk-tales. However, Azim un-Nisa exists in history as an icon of a brutal woman and with the name ‘Kalija-Khali.’

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