The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is a 19th-century building in Lahore, Pakistan that houses the funerary urns of the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is located adjacent the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, as well as the Gurdwara Dera Sahib, which marks the spot where the fifth guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev, died. Its construction was started by his son and successor, Maharaja Kharak Singh, after the ruler's death in 1839, and completed nine years later. It overlooks the Hazuri Bagh, built by Ranjit Singh, to its south.
The Samadhi was built next to Badshahi Mosque and Gurdwara Dera Sahib.
The shrine was built at the northeast corner of the Badshahi Mosque.
The samadhi combines Hindu, Islamic, and Sikh motifs.
The Gurdwara Dera Sahib is adjacent to the samadhi, and commemorates the spot where Guru Arjan Dev Ji died.
Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the "Maharaja of Punjab". His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.
Painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from the Tazkirat al-Umara, written for James Skinner, ca.1830
Image: Handprint signature and Gurmukhi script seal of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was illiterate in the official Perso Arabic script of his empire
Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan.
Ranjit Singh as a young boy, detail from a late 18th century painting of a diplomatic meeting between Sikh Misls
