Place · musician's tomb · India
Tansen Samadhi, Gwalior
Also known as Gwalior, Miyan Tansen, Tansen Samadhi, Tansen Samadhi — Gwalior
The samadhi of Tansen (c.1500-1589) at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh — the tomb of the greatest Mughal court musician under Akbar, buried within the dargah complex of his Sufi master Ghous Muhammad (died 1562). Mian Tansen (born Ramtanu Pandey) was one of Akbar's Navaratna (nine jewels) and the originator of the Hindustani classical music ragas Mian ki Todi, Mian ki Malhar, Mian ki Sarang, and the Darbari Kanada raga. Tansen converted to Islam under Ghous Muhammad's influence; after his death he was buried at his master's feet in the Hazira Rauza. The adjacent tamarind tree at Tansen's samadhi is said to confer musical ability on those who chew its leaves — a tradition respected by Hindustani musicians who make pilgrimage here. The annual Tansen Sangeet Samaroh festival each December draws major Hindustani musicians to Gwalior. ASI protection since 1917.
- Function
- Burial and funerary
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 26.216, 78.177
Connections (2)
- Samadhi atTansen
He asked to be buried in the enclosure of Muhammad Ghaus's dargah at Gwalior, beside the Sufi who had taught him, and the two tombs stand together. Singers chewed leaves from the tamarind in the compound for generations in the belief that it improved the voice; the tree has been stripped almost bare and is now fenced.
- Site withinGwalior
Tansen Samadhi, Gwalior sits inside Gwalior and forms one piece of its layered sacred, royal or civic landscape. The city carries this entry as one of the sites that make its urban fabric legible — a shrine, monument, institution or craft tradition specifically anchored at this location — and the city's broader history reads better when the stop is seen in its context rather than in isolation. The surrounding streets, markets and other heritage ensembles around it belong to the same single city.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Gwalior”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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