On the very third day of our Jaisalmer Tour, that we had a chance to visit the Golden Royal Cenotaphs of Bada Bagh in Jaisalmer. After spending the first night in Jaisalmer Desert Camp after enjoying various things to do in the great Thar Desert and visiting Kuldhara the haunted village, we have decided to go explore on the outskirts of the city. Located about 6 kilometers away from the city of Jaisalmer, Bada Bagh is the shining cenotaphs of the royal family of Jaisalmer from across several generations.
The name of the place itself depicts the meaning Big Garden. The cenotaphs are located in the middle of the desert which is completely deprived of any vegetation. When these cenotaphs were first constructed, there was a garden that surrounds the place. There is no trace of any garden as of today. In spite of this, it is a peaceful location where golden cenotaphs rise from the golden sand dunes. Every single cenotaph is constructed to commemorate the king or queen who passed away. These cenotaphs are known as Chattris in Hindi.
The tradition of constructing chattris at Bada Bagh was started somewhere around the 17th century and continued till the 20th century. Firstly the cenotaph was of Maharaj Jai Singh II, who was the founder of Jaisalmer and ruled from 1688-1743. He was the founder of Jaisalmer and was well known for his great work for the development of the city. One of his works was to create a water reservoir to solve the water problems of the dry desert territory. Upon his death, his son constructed the cenotaphs at Bada Bagh to commemorate him. Since then, it became a tradition to create cenotaphs for each of the king and queen passed away.
The last cenotaph was that of Maharaja Jawahar Singh, which has remained incomplete. As his son died in the same year when he ascended to the throne and started the construction of the chattri. Somehow due to his sudden death, the construction of the chattri was believed to be bad luck and thus the construction of cenotaphs at Bada Bagh was stopped.
Each chattris was varied in sizes and they are mainly standing in two rows. It looks like the size of the chattri is directly proportional to the power quotient and popularity of the king or queen that they belong to. This means the more powerful the king would be, the bigger his cenotaph will be. Each chattri at Bada Bagh has a stone inscription dated and having the name of the royal persona which it belongs to, but some have description well and some don’t.
Since Bada Bagh in Jaisalmer is located on a small hill at the outskirts of Jaisalmer, it will cover almost 6 km to reach there. The entrance at the cenotaphs is from the bottom of the hill where an entrance fee is applicable. The most prominent way to reach there is by hiring a cab from Jaisalmer for a full day and then combining a visit to Bada Bagh, Kuldhara Village, Khaba Fort, Vyas chattri, Amar Sagar Jain Temple, and other.
Rising up its fame in Jaisalmer Tourism, Bada Bagh is one of the best places to visit in Jaisalmer Sightseeing wherein you can feel relaxed in the tranquil aura. Moreover, don’t miss out the amazing Jaisalmer Desert Safari experience in the city tour as it will make your voyage a memorable one for a lifetime. So, plan your next trip to Jaisalmer and get indulge in the magnificent beauty of the city.
