The Mysterious Iron Pillar of Delhi, India

The Iron Pillar at sunset: Image via Wikipedia

In Delhi there stands in the courtyard of the Quwwatul Mosque an iron pillar that dated from the 4th century. According to tradition, anyone who can encircle the column with their arms, with their back towards the pillar, will have their wish granted. On the pillar is an inscription that says it was erected in honour of the god Vishnu by a King Chandra. “He who, having the name of Chandra, carried a beauty of countenance like (the beauty of) the full moon, having in faith fixed his mind upon (the God) Vishnu, (had) this lofty standard of the divine Vishnu set up on the hill (called) Vishnupada.” It is not known where its original setting of Vishnupada was or which king it was. It is believed that it was King Chandragupta who reigned from AD 373 – 413, although some scientists believe the pillar dates from 912 BC. The choice of Chandragupta is based on the name and the style of script which dates to the Gupta kingdom and the devotion of the Gupta dynasty to the god Vishnu. Of course, it is always good to remember that the inscription could have been added at a later date. It is possible that Vishnupada is Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh, where the Guptas had an astronomical centre.  It is also thought that it was brought to Delhi by Anangpal, the Chandravanshi king who founded Delhi in AD 763, and stood as part of a Jain temple complex and Anabgpal’ s Lal Kot Fort. The complex was destroyed by Qutb-ud-din Aybak and reused in the 1192 construction of the Qutub Minar and the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque.

Inscription on the Iron Pillar: Image via Wikipedia

Translation of the inscription on the Iron Pillar: Image via Wikipedia

The pillar is 98% wrought iron and has barely rusted in 1600 years. It is 7.3 metres tall and weighs 6.5 tonnes. It is tapered with a base diameter of 48 centimetres at the base and 29 centimetres at the top. It was manufactured using forged welding. It appears to be corrosion resistant, which is next to impossible for the time in which it was made. The pillar has a thin layer of “misawite”, a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, say the metallurgists at Kanpur IIT. The “misawite” formed within three years of the pillar being raised and has been growing imperceptibly since then. It has been surmised that the protective film was formed due to the high levels of phosphorous in the iron, which is the result of the iron making practices of India at that time. Charcoal was used in the forging of pig iron, the precursor to steel, rather than limestone, which removes phosphorous. It has also been proposed that the humidity levels of Delhi have limited corrosion as it stays below 70% for much of the year.

Other iron pillars are in Dhar and Mandu in Madhya Pradesh, on Mount Abu in Rajasthan and on Kodachadri Hill in the southern state of Karnataka. Dhar was part of the Gupta kingdom and its pillar, is in the courtyard of Lat Masjid, the Pillar Mosque. Now in pieces, it originally stood 13 metres high and may have been raised in the 11th century. The Karnataka pillar’s scientific analysis shows evidence of charcoal in its creation. This pillar is associated with the Mother Goddess worshipped in the area. Evidently, the ancient peoples of India were very advanced in metallurgy and what they produced deserves more study.

Iron Pillar of Delhi in the courtyard of the Quawwt Mosque: Image via Wikipedia

For  further information: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_ironpillar.htm

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_rv/t_rv_agraw_delhi.htm

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jun10/articles13.htm

See also: http://scienceray.com/philosophy-of-science/the-mystery-of-mistpouffers/

http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/india/the-battle-for-ayodhya/

http://socyberty.com/history/the-secret-truth-of-indias-witch-hunts/

http://authspot.com/poetry/5000-millennia/