Dara Shukoh, also known as Dara Shikoh (Persian: دارا شكوه‎‎; M 20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659 Julian/9 September 1659 Gregorian) was the eldest son and the heir-apparent of the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. His name ″دارا شكوه″ in Persian means "as magnificent as Dara, a diminutive of Darius". He was favoured as a successor by his father, Shah Jahan, and his elder sister, Princess Jahanara Begum, but was defeated and later killed by his younger brother, Prince Muhiuddin (later, the Emperor Aurangzeb), in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.

The course of the history of the Indian subcontinent, had Dara Shukoh prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.

Dara Shukoh was born Taragarh fort Ajmer on 28 October 1615, the eldest son of Prince Shahab ud-din Muhammad Khurram (Shah Jahan) and his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shukoh means grandeur, glory or splendour. When he was 12, his grandfather, Emperor Jahangir, died, and his father succeeded as emperor. Dara's siblings included his elder sister Jahanara Begum and their youngers siblings Shah Shuja, Roshanara Begum, Aurangzeb, Murad Bakhsh, and Gauhara Begum. Aurangzeb became the sixth Mughal Emperor.

On 1 February 1633, Dara Shukoh married his first cousin, Nadira Banu Begum, the daughter of his paternal uncle Sultan Parvez Mirza. By all accounts, it was an extremely happy and successful marriage. Both Dara Shukoh and Nadira were devoted to each other, so much so that Dara Shukoh never contracted any other marriage after marrying Nadira. The couple had eight children, of whom two sons and two daughters survived to adulthood.

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