Thread by @themrityu

#Hindu #Funerary Monuments - Chhatri

Chhatri is a memorial chapel built over a #tomb found throughout the region of #Rajasthan, #MadhyaPradesh and #Maharashtra. These memorials commemorate the death of rulers, their consorts, relatives and the elite. 1/🧵

If Samadhis were funerary monuments of saints in #Hindus, Chhatris were #Rajput's choice of the memorial. They made sure that the memory of the chivalry of their ancestors passed on to the next generations. Though, all Chhatris did not necessarily contain the mortal remains. 2/

Chhatri i.e. umbrella, first appeared as a canopy above the tomb in #Islamic #architecture. #Hindu kings transformed the tomb into Chhatri. By the 16th C, Rajput courts had started building Chhatris. It was a place where a noble was cremated, memorialized and later worshipped. 3/

The oldest known Chhatris were erected between 1350 to 1550 in the #cemetery of Thatta (#Sindh) at Makki Hill. It was a #burial place for kings belonging to the Samma dynasty. Bhadresvar Chhatris in #Gujarat too, are older ones and showcase a canopy above a tomb on pillars. 4/

In the 16th C, #Mughals included Chhatris in their mausoleums. These structures had two burial chambers, the upper one with a cenotaph, like Humayun's Tomb in #Delhi or the #TajMahal in #Agra. The Panch Mahal at Fatehpur Sikri is crowned with a domed Chhatri. 5/

By the 17th C, Chhatri had become a symbol of assertion of legitimate political power in #Rajput kingship. But, that was not the case with Rajput women's Chhatris. Later, #Marathas and the #Sikhs too emulated this symbolism successfully in the 18th C. 6/

Chhatris were pillared structures designed as squares, hexagonal or rectangular frames. A vertical memorial slab was raised inside for males, and a foot was engraved for females on the stone. Children's cenotaphs were without a Chhatri. Few had small pavilions too. 7/

Stone slabs inside the Chhatri were placed for paying tributes. Like Devi Kund Sagar Chhatri in #Bikaner, where men are shown on horses and women standing with folded hands. Mostly these men were rulers who died fighting. 8/
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Sometimes, Chhatris for Sati (self-immolation by women) became a place of worship. Moosi Maharani Ki Chhatri is an example of this type of memorial built in the background of #Aravalli hills. The belief is that she became a Sati on her husband's funeral pyre. 9/

Most of the Chhatri precincts are exclusively for males or both genders except the Maharaniyon ki Chhatri complex in #Jaipur. It is probably the only dedicated #crematorium for the #Rajput ladies of the #Kachwaha dynasty. 10/

Another exquisite Chhatri complex near #Jaipur is #Gaitore, the royal #cremation ground of former #Jaipur rulers. More than 250 Chhatris of #Mewar rulers are in the #Ahar area near #Udaipur. These cenotaphs were built over a period of about 350 years. 11/

The cremation ground for the royalty of #Marwar is Jaswant Thada in #Jodhpur. It is also known as The Taj Mahal of #Marwar because of its beautiful architecture. #Mandore near Jodhpur is another place that has the Chhatris of rulers of the state. 12/

Many Chhatris were simply a memorial, not necessarily the funerary monument such as Vyas Chhatri at #Jaisalmer, a monument dedicated to sage Vyas, the author of the epic #Mahabharata. 13/

Later in 18th C, #British architects incorporated the elements of Chhatris and improvised them in the design of the buildings across #India. For ex, Chhatri of Queen #Victoria (designed by Hamo Thornycroft) at #Lucknow. This ornate Chhatri housed a seated statue of the Queen. 14/

Chhatris were also built outside #India. #Britain has two. First, a war memorial in #Brighton, dedicated to the memory of #Indian soldiers who died in #WWI. Another one is in #Bristol's Arnos Vale #cemetery, a memorial of Indian reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who died there. 15/

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