---
title: "What do Mughal sources say about temple destruction?"  
description: "What do Mughal sources say about temple destruction?"  
author: "Ashutosh Patel"  
published: 2025-09-18  
updated: 2025-09-22  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/115767/what-do-mughal-sources-say-about-temple-destruction  
category: "indian culture"  
tags: ["sanatan-dharma", "indian culture", "temple"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What do Mughal sources say about temple destruction?

## Answers

### Answer by Himanshi Gupta

[Mughal](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/84915/how-mughals-are-shown-in-indian-history-is-a-curse-to-indians-historical-view) [sources](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/44491/how-to-evaluate-credibility-of-internet-sources) like chronicles, farmans (royal orders), and Persian texts give different views about [temple destruction.](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/114751/which-major-hindu-temples-were-destroyed-by-the-mughals) Some of them openly celebrate it, while some are silent. For example, [writers](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/302052/why-can-t-chatgpt-replace-content-writers) of Baburnama and Akbarnama don’t [focus](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/12314/how-to-improve-your-focus-at-work) much on destruction because Akbar was more tolerant.

But during Aurangzeb’s rule, texts like Maasir-i-Alamgiri record temple destruction and give details about which temples were removed and why. Some farmans by Aurangzeb order to demolish certain temples like [Kashi Vishwanath and Mathura temple.](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/84028/gyanvapi-mosque-standing-on-the-ruins-of-vishveshwar-temple)

At the same time, there are also farmans where he gave [protection](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/301143/how-to-wear-knee-braces-for-the-best-protection) to some temples and Brahmins, so it looks mixed. Jahangir’s records talk about controlling temples only when there was rebellion, not always. So Mughal sources show that destruction was not a daily habit but more a political action to show [power](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/43750/5-easy-ways-to-make-improvements-to-your-home-this-year) or punish rebels. Still, the number of times it is mentioned proves that temples were often targeted.\
\
Some sources also say that destroyed [materials](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/301857/how-materials-work-in-space-to-make-them-better-on-earth) were reused in mosques or other buildings. Historians read these Persian texts and [compare](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/1883/compare-datagridview1-and-datagridview2-and-mark-same-values-c-sharp) them with archaeology to find truth. These sources are very important because they were written at the time, even if they are biased to praise the emperor.\


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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/115767/what-do-mughal-sources-say-about-temple-destruction

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