Tun lokacin da aka gina shi, ginin ya kasance tushen abin sha'awa wanda ya wuce al'adu da yanayin ƙasa, kuma haka ne amsoshin sirri da na motsin rai sun ci gaba da yin la'akari da kimantawa na abin tunawa. Wani labari mai tsawo ya nuna cewa Shah Jahan ya shirya wani kabari da za a gina shi a cikin baƙar fata marmara a matsayin Taj Mahal a fadin kogin Yamuna. Wannan ra'ayin ya samo asali ne daga rubuce-rubuce na Jean-Biste Tavernier, wani matafiyi na Turai wanda ya ziyarci Agra a 1665. An ba da shawarar cewa dansa Aurangzeb ya kifar da Shah Jahan kafin a iya gina shi.
John Rosselli