Samadhi Architecture in Potohar, Punjab (Pakistan) Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro 1 Abstract Potohar is a land of myths, romance and chivalry. Many tribes ruled Potohar region of the Punjab leaving behind their footprints in the form of monuments which are testimony to their political roles each tribe played in different period of history ranging from Hindu Shahi to indigenous tribes of Ghakhars and Janjuas. There are many villages in Potohar where there are monuments of these tribes who held sway in much of the present Potohar, Apart from these local tribes, many non-local tribes and religious groups also ruled Potohar. This included Ghorids, Ghaznavids, Mughals, Sikhs and British. The present paper deals with samadhis of Hindus and Sikhs which are believed to have been erected during the Sikh and British period in Potohar. Keywords: Potohar, Samadhi architecture, Pakistan. Introduction There are many samadhis in Potohar region of the Punjab. However, the famous ones are located at Dera Bakhshian, two samadhis in Gulyana in Gujar Khan, and a Samadhi on the Bagh Saradarn road in Rawalpindi and Than Singh Samadhi at Kot Fateh Khan. Sikh samadhis mainly depict ten gurus, figures of Hindu gods particularly Vishnu and his avatars Ram and Krishna, court scenes and glimpses of colonial rural Punjab. A Hindu Samadhi depicts Hindu gods and goddess, and scenes from epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Potohari samadhis assume two forms, square and octagonal. Square samadhis are located at Karnali, Dera Bakhshian, Gulyana, Kot Fateh Khan, Qutbal and octagonal Samadhis at Bagh Sardaran,Rawalpindi and Kot Fateh Khan. All of these samadhis are adorned with paintings. Some of these are also decorated with glazed titles. The distinctive features of Potohari samadhis are ribbed domes and the high neck drums which are not found in other samadhis in Punjab. Other distinctive features of these samadhis are tanks where the yatris used to take bath during the time of annual fair. The rich Hindu, Jain and Sikh of Potohar lavishly spent on the construction of these samadhis. Samadhi of Baba Mohan Das at Karnali Karnali is a picturesque village situated 10 km west of Gulyana. It can also be reached by Sukho town. The village is famous for ancient mound, Mughal period graves, historical water tanks and a samadhi of Hindu ascetic. The Mughal graves are located in Lalyal village which is at 1 The Writer is an anthropologist and head of department of Development studies at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad, Pakistan Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design, ( ISSN 2231-4822), Vol. 6, No. 2, 2016 URL of the Issue: www.chitrolekha.com/v6n2 Available at www.chitrolekha.com/V6/n2/01_Samadhi_Architecture_Potohar.pdf Kolkata, India. © AesthetixMS