Samadhis

Rich Heritage of Pious Land of Delhi with Samadhis worth Visiting

Landscape of Delhi has undoubtedly been one of the favoured tourism destinations in India. It is presently the capital city of the country and has been an epicentre of various historical feats and facts. Delhi has always been chosen by kings of India as a power centre, especially during the Mughal rule, while the British rule in India virtually had Delhi as the most active city in the country. After the official declaration of this city as the capital of independent India, there has been much development in the city and it has widened hugely to be now popularly called as National Capital Region or NCR.

Tombs and Samadhis in Delhi to Respect Leaders and Famous Personalities

While the historic monuments have been the centrepiece of Delhi tourism, there are some tombs and samadhis in the city, which have special place among the tourists from India as well as outside. These samadhis are considered to be sacred places, akin to temples of gods and goddesses and are visited by many tourists with the sense of remembrance and fondness. Although samadhis and tombs are basically meant as sites for the cremation or last rites of prominent personalities like kings, relatives, or the Indian leaders, the city of Delhi has abundance of both these kinds of structures. While tombs have some extravagant constructions done on the remains, samadhis are the places where famous personalities had their last rites performed.

Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, was one of the most revered leaders of India, who has been virtually heralded as the spearhead of Indian freedom struggle. The place where his last rites were actually performed is named as Rajghat, which has now been converted into a black stone shaped square structure, surrounded by lush green gardens. On this Samadhi is inscripted the famous words by Gandhi, when he died, “Hey Ram” and marigold flowers are adorning the stone Samadhi. Near the structure is a museum with artefacts related to Gandhi, while a few other famous Indian leaders also have their crematoriums nearby.

Shanti Van is another well known Samadhi of Late Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This Samadhi is also visited by tourists coming to Rajghat, as it is located close by.

Vijay Ghat commemorates Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was also one of the prominent leaders during Indian freedom struggle and went on to become the second prime minister of India.

In between the locations of Rajghat and Shanti Van is the Shakti Sthal, named because of the Samadhi of Indira Gandhi, who was considered to be the most influential and powerful female leader of India, post independence. Shakti Sthal has the tomb of Indira Gandhi in grey red stone.

Veerbhumi is the cremation place for Late Rajiv Gandhi, who was one of the upcoming leaders of modern India, but unfortunately, he was assassinated at a very young age. This Samadhi was created in his honour and is also quite close to Rajghat.

Similarly to these samadhis in Delhi, there are many others like Kishanghat, Samta Sthal, Amar Jyoti, which have been the resting places of many prominent leaders of India. Although these are more modern, the concept of commemorating the departed was started during the Mughal era in Delhi, during which period, a number of tombs had been constructed, few of which are still considered as architectural beauties. Places like Humayun’s Tomb, Nizamuddin Shrine and Safdarjung Tomb are also worth mentioning among the important locations in Delhi.