Purana Qila in Delhi : Qila-i-Kuhna-Mosque has Hindu architect and Hindu Symbols

The Qila-i-Kuhna-Mosque, built by Sher Shah Sur inside the Purana-Qal'a, which served as the Chapel Royal, marks a step forward from the Moth-ki-Masjid. It is, on one hand, anticipatory of the mosque-design as it was to take shape in the early Mughal period, and, on the other, emphasizes the ornate phase of Sher Shah's architecture, as distinct from the plain treatment noticed in the tombs raised by him. Its rectangular prayer-hall at the western end of a courtyard with a shallow tank in the middle, which was originally provided with a fountain, is entered through five openings with pointed arches inclining towards the four-centred form.

The central arch, fringed with lotus-cusps, is framed within decorative bands containing inscriptions and geometrical designs, with thin turrets on the corners. The entrance arch on a recessed plane is likewise treated, with an arched window supported on brackets between the larger arch and the entrance. The flanking arches are also ornamented, but not to the same extent as the central one. Below the merloned parapet runs a chhajja supported on brackets. The inner west wall of the hall is also divided into five arched recesses, which are richly decorated with white and black marble set in geometrical patterns and framed within inscribed bands. The design of the mihrab is unique, obtained by the sinking of one recess within another, which multiplies the scope for ornamentation. On the northern and southern j sides, above the side-entrances are oriel windows, which admit light into the narrow gallery on the second storey running all round the mosque. At the two rear comers are semi-octagonal three-storeyed towers, with openings on the sides.

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