Panch mahal means 'Palace of 5 storeys'. Also known as "Badgir", which means windcatcher/tower, this is an extraordinary structure, entirely columnar, consisting of four storeys of decreasing size disposed asymmetrically upon a ground floor, which contains 84 columns. It may not be coincidence that this number is regarded as highly auspicious by the Hindus.
Sources:
Rizvi, Saiyid AA and JA Vincent Flynn. 1975. Fatehpur Sikri, Taraporevala.
Asher, Catherine. 1992. The New Cambridge History of India: Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 65.
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