Agra and Taj Mahal

 Shri Nathji came to Agra in April 1947, at the request of Jagdish and his friend Rajjan. Shri Nathji. At Agra, Shri Nathji, Mateshwari, Pran Nath, Priya Nath and their entourage consisting of Jagdish, Rajjan, Gani Lal and Shyam Lal visited the Taj Mahal. It was a grand sight, seeing the Incarnation of Love - Shri Nathji - standing before a monument of Love. The Taj Mahal lit up with a beauty it had never had before. Shri Nathji’s divine light lent a grandeur to the monument which it did not possess on its own. Many tourists who came to the Taj Mahal that day found themselves fascinated by the presence of Shri Nathji there. They were attracted to him without knowing who he was.

Agra the former capital of Hindustan, is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. With a population of 1,686,976 (2010 est.), it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh.

The city finds mention in the epic Mahābhārata where it was called Agrevaṇa, or 'the border of the forest. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, a Sikarwar Rajput king (circa 1475), whose fort, Badalgarh, stood on or near the site of the present Fort. Sultan Sikandar Lodī was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in the year 1506. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1556 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the city came under the influence of Marathas, before falling into the hands of the British Raj in 1803. In 1835 when the Presidency of Agra was established by the British, the city became the seat of government. Today Agra is a important city for tourists. There are about 7,000 small scale industrial units. Agra city is known for leather goods, carpets, handicrafts, Zari Zardozi, Marvel and stone carving and inlay work.

Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the world, and one of three World Heritage Sites in Agra. Completed in 1653, the Tāj Mahal was built by the Mughal king Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtāz Mahal. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630–1652) of labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustād 'Īsā, the Tāj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna River.