Samadhi of Ranjit Singh

 

Construction of the building was started by his son, Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by his youngest son, Duleep Singh in 1848.^{[citation needed]}

The funerary urns were removed from the marble pavilion and were replaced by a simple slab around 1999.^{[citation needed]} This was done as part of the preparations for the Khalsa Tricentenary and the visit of Sikh dignitaries from India. It has been kept well by Pakistani government. The Samadhi was damaged by an earthquake in 2005 but was repaired soon.^{[citation needed]}

 

The building combines elements of Sikh, Hindu, and Islamic architecture.^[1] Portions of the building are believed to have been plundered from the adjacent Lahore Fort.^[2]

The building has gilded fluted domes and cupolas, and an ornate balustrade around the upper portion of the building. The front of the doorway has images of Ganesh, Devi and Brahma that are cut from red sandstone. The dome is decorated with Nāga (serpent) hood designs - the product of Hindu craftsmen that worked on the project.^[3] The wooden panels on the ceiling are decorated with stained glass work, while the walls are richly decorated with floral designs. The ceilings are decorated with glass mosaic work.

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. Surrounding him, in smaller urns, are the ashes of four Hindu sati queens and seven concubines.^[4]

 

Two small monuments to the west of the main building commemorate Maharaja Ranjit Singh's son Maharaja Kharak Singh and grandson Nau Nihal Singh, along with their wives. The building is located adjacent to Gurdwara Dera Sahib, the place where martyrdom of Guru Arjun took place.

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  Samadhi of Ranjit Singh in 2015
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  The Samadhi of Emperor Ranjit Singh in 1880s.
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  A view of the Samadhi.
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  Samadhi Ranjit Singh
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samadhi of Ranjit Singh.

• A photo of the tomb Archived 2005-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
• An older photo of the samadhi
• The Latest News on the Heritage of the Punjab

31°35′21″N 74°18′41″E / 31.5893°N 74.3113°E / 31.5893; 74.3113