Why an umbrella
The royal parasol: for more than two thousand years, Indian art has shown kings, gods and the Buddha under a parasol, the chhatra, as a sign of rank and protection.
At court: a ruler's parasol was carried over him in procession, and taking up the royal parasol in battle meant taking up the king's place.
- Root word
- Chhatra, the royal parasol
- Symbol of
- Sovereignty, honour and protection
- Plural in English
- Chhatris
- Related form
- Deval, a temple-like cenotaph
- In stone: a chhatri gives that same honour to a building or to the memory of a person, a permanent shade over them.
- Shared with the Mughals: domed kiosks crown Mughal tombs and palaces too. Rajput and Mughal builders borrowed freely from each other, and the chhatri belongs to both.
- A word you will hear often: guides use chhatri for both the roof kiosks and the cenotaphs. Context tells you which they mean.
How to read a chhatri
The platform
- What it is: a raised stone base, sometimes a single step, sometimes many, lifting the memorial above the ground.
- What it tells you: the higher and larger the platform, the greater the person remembered.
The pillars
- What they are: slender columns carrying the dome, from four for a small memorial to many more for the grandest.
- Look closely: the capitals and brackets are often carved as lotus buds, bells or small elephants.
The dome
- What it is: the umbrella itself, usually a smooth hemisphere topped by a small finial, a kalash.
- Variations: some domes are ribbed, some painted inside, and larger cenotaphs have smaller domes clustered around a central one.
The eave
- What it is: a deep stone ledge, the chhajja, running round the edge of the dome.
- Why: it throws shade and sheds rain, and gives the chhatri its sharp line against the sky.
The memorial stone
- What it is: a carved, inscribed slab inside many memorial chhatris recording the person remembered.
- What to look for: a man on horseback for a ruler or warrior, and smaller figures beside him for the women of his household. Our guides can read the inscriptions.
Chhatris as memorials
A cenotaph, not a tomb: Hindu custom is cremation. A chhatri stands over the cremation site, or in memory of someone cremated elsewhere.
Royal grounds: each Rajput house had its own cremation ground near the capital, and over centuries these filled with memorials, row on row.
- Built by sons: most were raised by the next ruler in honour of his father, which is why they record a dynasty generation by generation.
- Queens and princes too: queens, princes and favoured nobles were remembered, each memorial sized to their rank.
- Not only kings: merchants, ministers and village heroes were given chhatris or memorial stones too. You will see small ones in fields across Rajasthan.
- Still in use: some royal families still cremate their dead at the old grounds, so treat them as you would a cemetery or a temple.
A harder memory: sati
What sati was: the practice of a widow dying on her husband's pyre. It was never universal, but in some Rajput royal households it was honoured.
In the stone: many memorial slabs show the women who died with a ruler beside his figure. Guides at Mandore and Bada Bagh will point them out.
- The handprints: at Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, small handprints beside a gate were left by queens on their way to a king's pyre. Families still touch them with reverence.
- The law: sati was outlawed in British India in 1829, and the princely states banned it during the nineteenth century. It remains a crime in India.
- Our view: these memorials record real women and real grief. We visit them with respect and never as curiosities.
Hero stones and village memorials
On the road to Osian once, our driver stopped without a word, walked to a small stone under a khejri tree, touched it and came back. A man from his village had died there defending the cattle, generations ago. Nobody remembered the year. Everybody remembered the name.
What they are: carved memorial stones set up where a man died defending his village, his cattle or his people, often showing a figure on horseback.
- Where you see them: at the edge of villages, beside wells and temples, and under old trees along the roads of Marwar and Mewar.
- Folk deities: some local heroes became gods in their own right. Pabuji and Ramdevji are worshipped across western Rajasthan, and their stories are sung by village bards.
- The sung memory: the hereditary bards and Manganiyar musicians sang the names of their patrons' ancestors at weddings and births. Our page on the Manganiyar singers explains the tradition.
- The painted scroll: the epic of Pabuji is still told by travelling bhopas in front of a long painted cloth, the phad. Read about the bhopa and the phad.
Chhatris as crowns for buildings
On fort walls: small chhatris on bastions and gates gave the guards shade and the skyline its rhythm.
On palace roofs: at Amber Fort and the City Palace of Jaipur, domed kiosks mark the corners of terraces and the most important rooms.
- On Hawa Mahal: the top of Hawa Mahal is crowned with small domed kiosks, part of what makes its outline so recognisable.
- On havelis: merchants added chhatris to their roofs as a mark of status and a place to sit in the evening. Our journal on what a haveli is explains the house below.
- On colonial buildings: British architects borrowed the chhatri for the Indo-Saracenic style, at the Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur and on the domes of New Delhi.
- On rooftops today: you will still see concrete chhatris on new hotels and homes. The form is that deeply loved.
Chhatris in painting, craft and daily life
In miniature painting: Rajput court painters drew palaces crowned with chhatris, and kings seated beneath them. Our page on miniature painting shows where to see the best.
In marble and stone craft: carvers in Rajasthan still make small chhatris for temples, gardens and homes. Our marble craft page explains the workshops.
- In temples: many small shrines are built as a chhatri sheltering a god, a saint's footprints or a sacred stone.
- In the language: the Hindi phrase chhatrachhaya, the shade of the parasol, still means protection, as when a family speaks of living under an elder's care.
- In new buildings: hotels, homes and shops across Rajasthan add a chhatri to the roof. It is the quickest way to say this building belongs here.
Where to see the finest chhatris
Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer
The story: in the early sixteenth century Maharawal Jait Singh II built a dam here, and his son Lunkaran laid out a garden and raised the first chhatri to his father.
- What you see: rows of yellow sandstone cenotaphs of the Bhati rulers on a bare ridge, ending with an unfinished one for Maharawal Jawahar Singh, who ruled until 1949.
- When: the last hour before sunset, when the stone turns from gold to orange.
Vyas Chhatri, Jaisalmer
- What it is: a cluster of chhatris on the ridge just north of the fort, named after the sage Vyasa.
- Why go: it looks straight across at the walls, so it is the place to watch the fort turn gold and its lights come on.
Gaitore, Jaipur
What it is: the cremation ground of the Kachwaha rulers of Jaipur, in a narrow valley below Nahargarh.
- What to see: carved marble and sandstone cenotaphs, the finest raised for Sawai Jai Singh II, founder of the city.
- Why we love it: few visitors come, and in the morning you may have it to yourself.
Mandore, Jodhpur
- What it is: the old Rathore capital, nine kilometres north of Jodhpur, and their royal cremation ground for more than three centuries.
- What is different: here the memorials are devals, temple-like cenotaphs in red sandstone with spires, rather than open pavilions. The largest is Maharaja Ajit Singh's.
Jaswant Thada, Jodhpur
- What it is: a white marble cenotaph built between 1899 and 1906 by Maharaja Sardar Singh for his father, Jaswant Singh II.
- Why go: the marble is so thin it glows in low sun, and it is still the family's cremation ground.
Chaurasi Khambon ki Chhatri, Bundi
- The story: built in 1683 by Rao Raja Anirudh Singh in memory of Deva, his foster brother, the son of his wet nurse.
- What to see: a double-storeyed pavilion on eighty-four carved pillars, with a Shiva lingam at its heart. Eighty-four is a sacred number in Hindu belief.
Moosi Maharani ki Chhatri, Alwar
- The story: built in 1815 by Maharaja Vinay Singh for his father Bakhtawar Singh and Moosi, a consort who died on his pyre.
- What to see: red sandstone below, white marble above, reflected in the stepped Sagar tank behind the City Palace.
The chhatris on the Betwa, Orchha
- What they are: about fourteen great cenotaphs of the Bundela kings at Kanchan Ghat, with tall temple-like spires above the river.
- Why go: at dusk vultures come home to roost on the domes. Orchha is one of the few places they still breed in numbers.
More cenotaph grounds worth the detour
Ahar, Udaipur: the Maharanas of Mewar are remembered in a large cenotaph ground at Ahar, on the eastern side of Udaipur. It is calm, and few tour groups come.
Devi Kund Sagar, Bikaner: the royal cenotaphs of the Bikaner rulers stand around a tank outside the city, some with painted ceilings. Our Bikaner guide has more.
- Gadisar Lake, Jaisalmer: small chhatris rise from the water and line the ghats of the old reservoir. See our Gadisar Lake guide.
- Ramgarh, Shekhawati: merchant families raised painted chhatris here, their domes covered inside with frescoes. Our painted havelis page explains the art.
- Village memorials: on any drive through Marwar or Mewar, watch for small chhatris and memorial stones under khejri trees. Each marks a local hero, and many still receive flowers.
How to visit a cenotaph ground
Go late or early: the low sun lights the domes from the side, the shadows between the pillars grow long, and the stone glows.
Take a guide: most grounds have few labels. A guide who can read the inscriptions turns stones into people.
- Best hour
- The last hour before sunset, or early morning
- Allow
- About an hour at each ground
- Dress
- Covered shoulders and knees
- Shoes
- Off where others take theirs off
- Best months
- October to March
- Mind your step: platforms are high and edges unguarded. Watch children and take care at dusk.
- Do not climb on the domes: it damages the stone and offends the families who still come here.
- Keep your voice low: some grounds are still used for cremations. If a funeral is taking place, leave quietly.
- Photography: usually fine outside, but ask before photographing anyone praying at a memorial.
- Watch for monkeys: at Mandore and Orchha langurs sit on the domes. Keep food out of sight.
What most visitors miss
The painted ceilings: step inside a larger chhatri and look up. Many domes are painted with flowers, gods or patterns.
The order of the rows: follow the rows in sequence and you are walking through a dynasty, generation by generation.
- The water: many royal cenotaphs stand beside a tank or a river. Water and memory belong together in Rajasthan.
- The unfinished memorials: at Bada Bagh the last chhatri was never completed, because the princely order ended. It is the full stop at the end of a story.
- The local visitors: village women leaving a coconut, a family touching a stone. These grounds are not only history.
A perfect chhatri evening in Jaisalmer
Four o'clock: Amar Sagar and Lodurva
- Why: an old lake palace and the Jain temples of the former capital, both a short drive west of town, set the mood.
- Pace: an hour, slowly.
Five o'clock: Bada Bagh
- Why: arrive about an hour before sunset and walk up through the rows as the light turns.
- Don't miss: the old dam and garden below, which explain why the memorials are here at all.
Sunset: stay on the ridge
- Why: watch the sky change behind the domes after the sun has gone. It is the quietest moment of the day.
- On request: we can arrange for Manganiyar musicians to play, always within the rules of the site.
After dark: Vyas Chhatri and the fort
- Why: drive back past Vyas Chhatri as the lights come on along the walls of Jaisalmer Fort.
- Then: dinner on a rooftop in town, or on to a camp in the dunes.
Where chhatris fit in your journey
In the desert: Bada Bagh and Vyas Chhatri on our desert triangle journey, with a camp in the dunes to follow.
In Jodhpur: Mandore in the afternoon and Jaswant Thada at sunset, then dinner below the fort.
- In Jaipur: Gaitore in the morning on the way up to Nahargarh. Our Jaipur itinerary shows how.
- In Bundi: the Chaurasi Khambon ki Chhatri on the way to the stepwells and the palace.
- For photographers: our photography journey is timed around the light at these grounds.
Who will love the chhatris
Photographers: domes, pillars and long shadows in golden light are among the most rewarding subjects in the state.
History lovers: walking a dynasty in stone, generation by generation, is a history lesson no museum can match.
- Couples: a sunset on the steps of a chhatri, with nobody else there, is one of our favourite quiet hours to arrange.
- Families: children like the space and the monkeys, but watch the high platforms.
- Who might not: if ruins and memorials feel sad rather than beautiful to you, see one ground and spend the other evenings on lakes and rooftops.