ABSTRACT
Known as the ‘Old Fort’ of Delhi, Purana Qila, the first Mughal capital city, is situated on the eastern edge of Delhi, along the river Jumna. Humayun, the second Mughal emperor (1530-38 A.D. /1555-56 A.D.) began constructing a walled city and fortress on this site in 1533 A.D. and named it Din-Panah, or ‘Refuge of Religion’. The chosen site was an ancient area known as Indraprastha, associated with the Hindu epic Mahabarata. Through the excavation from the Purana Qila evidences of pieces of the painted grey ware, relics and remains of later periods have been discovered in the Archeological Surveys. However, its occurrence here seems to support the tradition of Purana Qila being the site of Indraparastha, which was the capital of the Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata, originally situated on the bank of the River Jumna (Sharma, 2001).
