tar-dāmanī pe shaiḳh hamārī na jā.iyo dāman nichoḌ deñ to farishte vazū kareñ -Khwaja Meer Dard
Narrative
Tughlaq rulers have been well associated with civil architecture; however, one of the finest examples of Tughlaq dams is Satpula, built under the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. It is located on the south-eastern wall of Jahanpannah and eight hundred meters east of Khirki masjid. The dam has 11 spans out of which 7 are principle spans. These seven principle spans of Satpula are sluices or sliding gates that regulated the flow of water in a rain-filled artificial lake that is located within the city walls. There are two towers with an octagonal chamber at both the ends of the dam. These towers were probably occupied by the maintenance crew and guards recruited for the protection of the dam. The entire structure is locally referred as a madrassa, probably because the towers were once used as a school. According to the popular narrative, Nasiruddin Chiragh-e-Roshan Dehlvi is said to have conducted bathing rituals at Satpula, as a result of which, the water was diffused with healing properties.
Architecture
Tughlaq rulers have been well associated with civil architecture; however, one of the finest examples of tughlaq dams is Satpula, built under the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. It is located on the south-eastern wall of Jahanpannah and eight hundred meters east of Khirki masjid. The dam has 11 spans out of which 7 are principle spans. These seven principle spans of Satpula are sluices or sliding gates that regulated the flow of water in a rain-filled artificial lake that is located within the city walls. Once, the bridge was damaged by floods and therefore a wall, constructed out of rubble, has been built as a band to its south. There are two towers with an octagonal chamber at both the ends of the dam. These towers have an arched opening on the northern side and the rest 7 sides of the tower have arched recesses that have holes which may have been used as arrow slits for protecting the building. These towers were probably occupied by the maintenance crew and guards recruited for the protection of the dam. The entire structure is locally referred as a madrassa, probably because the towers were once used as a school.
References
a. Welch, Anthony and Crane, Howard. “The Tughlaqs: Master Builders of the Delhi Sultanate”. 1983 b. “Monuments of Delhi: Lasting Splendour of the Great Mughals and Others. Volume III Mehrauli Zail.”1997.