The Taj Mahal at Agra stands on the bank of which river?

The Taj Mahal at Agra stands on the southern (right) bank of the Yamuna river.

Why the river mattered:

• Shah Jahan chose a site on the riverbank, which gave the monument a beautiful setting, with the river and the open sky behind it.
• The river provided water for the gardens and the construction work.
• Unlike earlier Mughal tombs (such as Humayun's Tomb), where the tomb stood in the centre of the garden, the Taj Mahal's tomb was placed at the end of the garden, on a terrace overlooking the river.

The riverfront garden plan:

• NCERT explains that the Mughals developed the riverfront garden at Agra, in which the main building was placed at the edge of the river and the garden lay behind it.
• Shah Jahan adapted this plan in the Taj Mahal.
• Agra had many such riverfront gardens and residences of nobles along the Yamuna.

The Mehtab Bagh:

• On the opposite (northern) bank of the Yamuna lies the Mehtab Bagh ("Moonlight Garden"), from where the Taj Mahal can be viewed across the river.
• According to a popular legend, Shah Jahan planned to build a "Black Taj" for himself on the opposite bank, but there is no reliable evidence for this.
• Excavations at Mehtab Bagh have shown that it was a garden aligned with the Taj Mahal.

The Yamuna and the Taj today:

• Pollution and the low flow of the Yamuna are concerns for the monument, as the river helps keep the foundations stable.
• The Taj's foundations are believed to rest on wells and wooden structures that need moisture.

About the Yamuna:

• It rises at the Yamunotri glacier in Uttarakhand.
• It flows through Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, past Delhi, Mathura and Agra.
• It joins the Ganga at Prayagraj (Allahabad), at the Triveni Sangam.
• Its main tributaries include the Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken.

Other cities on the Yamuna:

Delhi (with the Red Fort on its old bank), Mathura, Vrindavan, Agra and Etawah.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Ganga, Chambal and Gomti do not flow past the Taj Mahal.