The well-sculptured grave is made of marble. The tomb was built by Ghias-ud-din, Emperor of Delhi, in the memory of Bo-Ali-Qualander Shah, a famous Muslim savant and sage, who influenced the thinking of his age and was very widely respected by all communities. One can see a mosque and a reservoir with fountains built by Emperor Alamgir.
As the legend goes, he was responsible for rescuing a Brahmin girl from the clutches of a Raja in a pitched battle. The tomb is situated towards the extreme south of the tow
nother place that bears a connection with the great epic Mahabharata, this is the place where it is believed that Pitamaha Bhishma lay watching the famous battle after Arjun, created a bed of arrows for him.
There is a legend attached to this water tank. It says that, when Bhishma lay on his bed of arrows, he felt thirsty and asked for water. To fulfil his desire, Arjuna immediately shot an arrow into the ground and let loose a stream of gushing water. This is how the Bhishma Kund is believed to come into existence.
The principal mosque of the city was said to have been built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1630. It was converted into a Gurudwara by demolishing its minarets, hoisting the Nishan Sahib (Sikh flag) over it and installing Guru Granth Sahib inside it. The domes and mehrab remained intact. It was given the name Gurdwara Mastgarh.
It is supposed that entire range of Tirthas assembles here on the day of Amavasya and as per the legends, if a man performs Shradhs at the time of solar eclipse and takes bath in this tank, he acquires the fruit of 1000 Ashwamedh sacrifices.
At the time of solar eclipse, pilgrims gather at this holy spot. Interestingly visitors to this place can know about their ancestors from the Purohits or locally known as Pandas, who for ages have been the record keepers of the pilgrims coming from various parts of the country.
Sikh Gurus too have visited this holy place from time to time.
The museum has six galleries, three each in two blocks. On display are stone sculptures, bronze castings, leaf etchings, miniature paintings, clay pottery and terracotta artifacts. An extension of this museum is the Multimedia Mahabharata and Gita Gallery set up by Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
An archaeological site museum, a first-of-its-kind in Haryana, has been set up here to enlighten people about the history of Thanesar, which was revealed by archaeological excavations carried out here by the Archaeological Survey of India. Many varied interesting things have been unearthed from the mound, such as stone and terracotta sculptures, coins, ornaments, ritualistic objects, etc. An exhibition at the museum displays these finding.
The core idea behind establishing Panipat Museum was to spread information and create awareness about archaeology, history, art and crafts of Haryana. Here one will have an opportunity to see antiquities, inscriptions, sculptures, arms and armours, pottery, old and valuable documents, jewellery, art and craft objects, which are on display in the museum. It also provides a rare chance to witness bravery of valiant and patriotic warriors who sacrificed their lives at Panipat battle through some write-ups, photographs and trans-slides.
These miniatures are from Baburnama and Akbarnama. These have been obtained from important places like National Museum of New Delhi, The British Library and Victoria and Albert Museum of London. Importantly, most of the traditional artifacts and other items are procured from various districts of Haryana.
