Begu Hajjam's Mosque, Patna

Begu Hajjam's Mosque, Patna

This has the honour of being the oldest mosque in Patna, which pre-dates the reigns of Mughals. Interestingly, the mosque is named after its reinnovator and not the builder. It is situated in the Khawaja Kalan Ghat Road of Patna City. The mosque was built by one Khan Muazzam Nazir Khan during the reign of Alauddin Shah Sultan of Gaur (Bengal) in the year 1509-10 A.D. (A.H. 916). Subsequently, in the year 1645 A.D. (A.H. 1056), it was reinnovated by one Begu Hajjam. The distinctive features of the mosque is its glazed tiles as was popular in Gaur those days. The doorway with fine carvings is another important feature of the mosque. An inscription affixed in the mosque records details of its construction.

The present temple does not seem to be of any great antiquity. The images inside the temple, if Buchanan is to be believed, were installed by Man Singh, the famous general of Mughal emperor Akbar. The temple, however, houses a host of intact and severed Brahmanical images, including, Ganesh, Vishnu and Surya. Beyond the temple, but within its precincts, lie in open fragments of door jumbs/lintels and yet other set of images, Of these, an impressive, but broken sun-image is the most conspicuous. It is very likely that some early medieval temple was built here sometime in 9th-11th Century A.D. and these fragmentary stray sculptural/structural relics are only its ruins. Probably, these were reinstalled in a new temple, built during the 16th-17th century by Man Singh. But authentic information on this count is woefully wanting.