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The 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 Dalip Singh in 1848. The tomb is a splendid example of Sikh architecture, with gilded fluted domes and cupolas and an ornate balustrade round the top. The marble inside was taken from various Moghul monuments in Lahore. 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. 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.
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.
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