Samadhi of Ranjit Singh

The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Located in Lahore, Pakistan, near the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, the mausoleum was begun by his son Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by Duleep Singh in 1848.

The Samadhi

The tomb exmeplifies Sikh architecture, it is gilded fluted domes and cupolas and an ornate balustrade round the top. Ranjit Singh's ashes are contained in a marble urn in the shape of a lotus, sheltered under a marble pavilion inlaid with pietra dura, in the centre of the tomb. Other tiny urns contain the ashes of his four wives and seven concubines who threw themselves on his funeral pyre.

Other monuments

Two small monuments to the west of the main mausoleum commemorate Ranjit Singh's son Kharak Singh and grandson Nau Nihal Singh, and their wives.

Recent News

These urns were removed from the marble pavilion and were replaced by a simple slab around 1999. This desecration of the mausoleum was part of the preparations for the Khalsa Tricentenary and the visit of Sikh dignitaries from India. The Samadhi was damaged by the earthquake in October 2005.

In May 2006, following concerns about the state of the samadhi, the Indian Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and expressed her concerns [ [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C05%5C26%5Cstory_26-5-2006_pg13_7 Indians worried about Ranjeet Singh’s samadhi - Daily Times Pakistan] ] .

ee also

*List of mausolea

References

External links

* [http://www.web.virginia.edu/asianarc/public/lahore/badshahi04.jpgA photo of the tomb]
* [http://www.harappa.com/hawkshaw/41.html An older photo of the samadhi]
* [http://www.punjabheritage.org The Latest News on the Heritage of the Punjab]