Question

A “hasht bihisht” is a ____________
a. A tall gateway
b. A central towering dome
c. A central hall surrounded by eight rooms
d. A ceremonial hall of audience

Answer 1

Hint:
The term was used in Persian literature as a metaphorical representation and was later used in a poem by Mughal poet Amir Khusrow
Examples of Hasht bihisht design in India can be found in Todar Mal's Baradari at Fatehpur Sikri and Humayun's Tomb.


Complete step by step solution:

What?

In architecture, the hasht-bihisht, literally meaning 'eight heavens' in Persian, is a style of floor plan consisting of a central hall surrounded by eight rooms, the first known example of which dates back to the time of the Persian Timurid Empire in Iranian architecture.
The term was used in Persian literature as a metaphorical representation and
was later used in a poem by Mughal poet Amir Khusrow, who provided the most intelligible literary reconstruction of the model in his adaptation of the Iranian epic of the Sasanian emperor Bahram V, as well as in other works by Ottoman poets Sehi Bey and Idris Bitlisi.

Where & When in India?

In the architecture of the Persianate Mughal Empire, hasht-bihisht was the favoured plan for gardens and pavilions, as well as for mausoleums (seen as a funerary type of a pavilion).
They were built as square or rectangular buildings divided into nine parts, with a central domed chamber surrounded by eight elements.
Later, the evolution of the hasht-bihisht divided the square at 45-degree angles to create a more radial plane, which also includes chamfered corners
Examples of which can be found in Todar Mal's Baradari at Fatehpur Sikri and Humayun's Tomb.


Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note:
While the trace of an older Sasanian equivalent is assumed, the early-recognized use of the hasht-bihisht plan is traced back to the now non-existent two-storey pavilion called Tarab-khana, which was built under the reign of the Persian Timurid Empire in Herat, a prominent mediaeval town of Khorasan.