Hiran Minar | The Tower Built for a Blackbuck

Blackbuck (Kala Hiran)

The story of the Emperor Jahangir's pet blackbuck:

During Jahangir’s reign from 1605 to 1627, the area around Sheikhupura served as a royal hunting reserve. Sheikhupura itself gets its name from the Emperor Jahangir's nickname, Sheikhu. It was formerly known as Jahangirabad.

Hiran Minar, a Mughal-era landmark, lies about nine kilometres west of Sheikhupura city. Standing about 30 meters tall, it was built in 1606 by the Mughal emperor Jahangir to honour his favourite pet blackbuck, Mansraj.

It so happened that the Emperor Jahangir spotted a blackbuck in the area. Shooting at the blackbuck, he accidentally fatally shot Mansraj.

Grief weighed heavily on the emperor’s heart. He ordered that the deer be buried where it fell. To honour the memory of his lost companion, Jahangir commissioned the construction of Hiran Minar.

The minaret rises from the landscape like a silent elegy. Following Mansraj’s death, Jahangir even turned the hunting ground into a protected sanctuary where hunting was forbidden.

Hiran Minar is not only an architectural marvel but as a symbol of the bond that can exist between humans and animals, a bond that even an emperor could not escape.

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Hiran Minar

A short note on the architecture of Hiran Minar:

Hiran Minar forms part of a larger complex that includes the minaret itself and an elegant, octagonal two-storeyed pavilion known as the Daulat Khana, also known as the Baradari.

However, unlike traditional baradaris, this structure has only eight openings — one on each side of the octagon. The Daulat Khana sits at the centre of a large rectangular water tank, which was added in 1620, while the pavilion itself was built in 1607.

A bridge connects the minaret to the Daulat Khana, which served as a royal retreat. Inside, the ground floor leads from four main entrances to smaller square rooms, which then open into the central king’s chamber.

Surrounding this chamber are eight additional rooms — four square and smaller, and four larger and octagonal. Each room connects both to the king’s chamber and to neighbouring rooms, creating a thoughtful and balanced design.

The water tank around the Daulat Khana includes small pavilions with pyramid-shaped roofs and brick ramps along its edges. These ramps once made it easier for wildlife to reach the water. Ingenious channels and catchment basins helped keep the tank filled and the water level steady.