Khania Dighi (Rajbibi) Masjid

Khania Dighi Mosque (also called Rajbibi Masjid), is located on the western bank of Khania Dighi, which is about a quarter mile away from the high mud wall of the ancient city of Gaur on the north and the Balia Dighi on the west in Nawabganj district. The building is now in a good state after thorough repairs undertaken by the Directorate of Archaeology, Bangladesh.

Built mainly of bricks, the mosque consists of a square prayer chamber, 29 ft a side, and a verandah of 29 ft by 9 ft 6 ins in the east. The prayer chamber is roofed over by a large hemispherical dome, while the verandah is covered by three small domes. The large dome of the prayer chamber is carried on half-domed squinches on the corners and blocked arches on the four cardinal sides and the pendentives in between the arches. The three small domes of the verandah are built on pendentives. Much of the original ornamentation is still preserved on the qibla wall inside. The ornately carved pillars which carry the mihrab arches depict the conventional hanging motif and include other designs. The spandrels of the mihrab arches are enriched with full-blown rosettes, while their rectangular frames are very nicely ornamented with vine scrolls. The pendentives in between the blocked arches and squinches are marked with big tiered-rosettes. Inside the circular base of the dome there is a moulded cornice band, the upper border of which is decorated with qangura merlons and the upper with a chequered design. The outer facade of the four walls are marked by two rows of boldly projected rectangular panels that give the impression of windows, a decorative device very popularly practised in the Sultanate monuments of Bengal such as the Choto Sona Mosque

The mosque is not dated by any inscription although there is an epigraph over the central mihrab containing only verses from the Quran. But on stylistic ground it has been assigned to the later Ilyash Shahi period, say around 1480 AD.

Ref: www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/K_0206.HTM