Masjid Moth (Mosque of Moth), Delhi

Masjid Moth, one of the jewels of the Lodhi dynasty, is situated just behind the posh colony of New Delhi South Extension. Today this mosque is surrounded by the congested bylanes and the hustling population of this quartier of Delhi. Once inside, one feels in quite heaven, away from the noise of small shops mixed with dust of the streets.

Masjid Moth was constructed by Sikandar Lodhi in 1488. A big well was also constructed near to this mosque. This mosque is a nice example of the buildings of Lodhi period and the model for the mosque in the Old Fort of Shershah Suri and the Jamali Masjid in the Qutab. Main Gate of the Mosque and the arch in the Hindu style are very beautiful. Its platform is 6 feet ( ~2 mtrs ) high and length and width are 130 feet ( 39 mtrs ) and 30 ( 9 mts ) resp. Height of the top of the dome from the platform is 60 feet ( 18 mtrs). It has five main doors incuding two more doors with stairs.

Redstone alongwith white marble is used to construct this mosque. At the base, there are five arched rooms in one line. Around them, there is a small wall. The entry to this mosque is from the room in the east. The main part of the mosque is a rectangular hall with an arched entry gate. A similar arched gate is made to each of the five rooms. The verses of Quran are calligraphied on the top of the gate on the white marble. Greeen, red, black and yellow colours are used to decorate the inside and the outside of the gate. But the time has faded the beauty of these colours.

The prayer room is divided in five parts. There are three similar shaped domes in the center, right and left of this room. A mixture of stone and mud is used to make these domes which are decorated with a very attractive floral motif. Blue tiles are used very artistically to decorate the octagonal kiosks (chattris) in the frontside of the mosque.

There is a legend for the name of this mosque. Once Sikandar Lodhi gave some grains of moth (one kind of lentils) to his Prime Minister to keep. He seeded these grains in this area which gave a nice crop. He then used this money to finance the construction of this Mosque. As these were the grains of moth which were seeded on this land, the mosque took the name "Masjid Moth".