It can be seen at once that the Indian builder has acquired a perfect mastery of the elements of design introduced by the ritual of Islam and put his own stamp upon them; for there is hardly any direct imitation of foreign models, but a skilful and harmonious adaptation of Hindu tradition to Muhammadan structural requirements. The dome, like all "Pathān domes, is crowned by the Indian lotus-and-vase symbol. The crenellated parapet is the lotus-leaf pattern which is seen in the gateway of the Kailāsa temple at Ellora. Lotus flowers fill the spandrils of the arches, and the lotus-bud ornamentation of the soffits is also derived from the traditional symbolism of Hindu and Buddhist shrines. The bracketed cornice is another characteristic Indian feature. The arched openings are beautifully spaced and proportioned, not placed in Persian fashion at the back of a semi-cylindrical niche, but, probably with the idea of saving space within the līwān, slightly set back within the larger ornamental arches.
Shēr Shah's tomb, finely placed in the centre of an artificial lake (Pl. XLII, a) is one of the noblest of Indian monuments. The terrace in which it is built, reached by a bridge which is now broken, is 300 feet square, and the dome of the sanctuary is the second largest in India, being 71 feet in diameter, or 13 feet more than the dome of the Tāj Mahall. Like all Muhammadan tombs in India, it is very characteristic of the man for whom it was built. The Musalman monarch usually took the keenest interest in the designing of his own mausoleum, and his court builders were no less keen to follow his wishes in giving it a personal note. Shēr Shah was a strict Sunni, a stern disciplinarian, and an able but iron-handed ruler, who in his short reign of five years
