Chota Imambara

26°52′26″N 80°54′16″E / 26.873784°N 80.904409°E / 26.873784; 80.904409

Chota Imambara, Lucknow
Tomb of Princess Asiya Begum, Daughter of King Mohammad Ali Shah Bahadur (3rd King of Awadh). Taj Mahal replica. It was also made for pushing the body of muhhamad Ali shah and his mom.
Treasury or opposite building.
Chota Imambara in Lucknow.
Jawab opposite the tomb of Princess Asiya Begum in the Husainabad Imambara complex (1862)
Husainabad Mosque.

Chota Imambara, also known as Chhota Imambara, or Imambara Hussainabad Mubarak is a monument located in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It took 54 years to build. Built as an imambara, or a congregation hall for Shia Muslims, by Muhammad Ali Shah, the Nawab of Awadh in 1838,[1] it was to serve as a mausoleum for himself and his mother, who is buried beside him.[2]

The significance of Panjetan, the holy five, is emphasized with five main doorways. This Imambara consists of two halls and a Shehnasheen (a platform where the Zarih of Imam Husain is kept.) Zarih is the replica of that protective grill or structure which is kept on the grave of Imam Husain at Karbala, Iraq. The large green and white bordered hall of Azakhana is richly decorated with chandeliers and a good number of crystal glass lamp-stands. In fact, it was for this profuse decoration that the Imambara was referred by European visitors and writers as The Palace of Lights. The exterior is very beautifully decorated with Quranic verses in Islamic calligraphy .

  1. ^ Tornos India – About Us – Nawabs of Avadh Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Singh2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).