MUGHAL

GARDENS

What are Mughal

Gardens?
Mughal Gardens are a group of garden designs
which originate from the Islamic Mughal Empire.
The style was influenced by Persian Gardens
and Timurid gardens. Significant use is made of
recrtilinear layouts within walled enclosures.
Typical features include pools, fountains and
canals.

Origin
The origins of the Mughal garden, as of other
geometrical gardens in the Islamic tradition, may be
traced back to forms evolved for the careful
husbanding of water resources and the productive
use of land, embodied in the cultural landscape of
ancient Persia.
Enclosed baghs or orchards and other horticultural
plots were irrigated by narrow runnels flowing from
one to the other, with water brought with great
difficulty and extraordinary engineering skill, from
the mountains to the dry plain, by underground and
surface canals.

 Though these formal or paradise gardens are

commonly associated with Islamic symbolism they are also referred to as "Islamic" gardens the origin of this distinctive form is
acknowledged by scholars to lie in a time even
more remote.

Features of Mughal
Gardens

The arrangement of the Mughal garden is

deceptively simple and suggests an abstract
representation of these forms and processes.
An orthogonal grid of paths divide the space,
four-fold or otherwise; the plots in between are
lush with the foliage of freely growing orchard
trees, the whole interlaced with a network of
water-channels punctuated by pools and
cascades.

 The garden is territorially defined and contained

in a walled enclosure, accessible only through
symmetrically arranged gates.
Often, one side of the enclosure, usually
opposite the main entry gate, opens to a view of
the landscape outside.
There are, of course, significant departures,
depending on function and usage: the spatial
concept in the Tomb gardens of the plains is
distinct from that of the pleasure gardens.
The Tomb garden is almost always perfectly
square; more often than not, the pleasure
gardens have a linear axiality.

Themes & Connections

The essential theme common to all these
gardens is the balancing and combination of
certain dualities within the same space - for
instance, utility and ornamentation, productive
and aesthetic values, a rigid framework overlaid
with unrestrained organic growth, enclosure and
prospect, movement and stillness.
Current research lays emphasis on the close link
between Mughal gardens and agriculture, that
the gardens though usually interpreted in
aesthetic terms as symbolic of paradise, had as
their basis a vitally significant productive
dimension.

 The thematic connections within the broad range of

gardens categorised as "Islamic" are three-fold:
the presence of flowing water as an absolute
necessity,
the strategic sitting of the garden at a place with
convenient access to a water source and thus
already geographically identifiable and
the use of a grid - plotted internal spaces for many
functions - for ceremony, recreation and sensory
stimulation as well as horticultural production.
At the heart of the design is the idea that the bagh
should be alive with the continuous flow of water,
whose primary purpose is to irrigate the garden
and maintain its health.

 The means through which this is accomplished

is the supreme achievement of the Mughal
garden. the garden contains a wide array of
water-related elements and structures to provide
a considerable aesthetic dimension to this
ordinary task, by enhancing and modulating in
many subtle ways the movement, appearance
and sound of water.
Familiar examples include, for instance, falls
negotiating large differences in level, from one
terrace to the next in thick sheets, their sound
recalling the soothing rumble of waterfalls in
nature.
Or, in another interesting technique, inclined
stone cascades engraved with patterns to create
a white sheet of foaming water (the chadar),
especially effective when viewed by moonlight.

 Gravity-fed fountain jets, integrated into the

carefully engineered system of channels and
ponds complete the picture.
In the best examples, the entire ensemble is
imbued with a delicacy of concept and elegantly
precise execution, whose overall effect when
everything was "functioning" can only be
imagined as poetic.

Tomb
Gardens

Humayun
Tomb

Garden Description
Humayun's Tomb garden sits near the bank of
the Yamuna river in Delhi.
His father, Babur, is credited with having
introduced the Persian Chahar Bagh to India.
Humayun's garden is a geometrically perfect
example of the genre but differs from Babur's
gardens in having a building at its centre.
This makes the garden into a setting for a
building, rather than a place to be enjoyed from
a pavilion.
The garden symbolises the emperor's place in
paradise.

 It was not the first example of the type, but it is

the oldest to in good condition.
The garden is divided into 36 squares by a grid
of water channels and paths.
Humayun's mausoleum, in red sandstone and
white marble, stands a the centrepoint of the
grid.
The Aga Khan Trust funded a restoration project
and in 2003 water was again flowing in the
fountains and water channels.
Humayun's tomb is surrounded by gardens
intersected by watercourses

 Humayun's tomb with a very well chosen rich

red gravel used for the paths.
A delightful fountain, water flowing in the stoneedged channels and planting rising from below
the walkway to above the walkway, as it should.
A chadar (water sheet) cascading into a pool.

Fountains & Water

Channels

Tomb complex of Ali Isa Khan

Niazi beside Humayun's Tomb

Taj
Mahal

Garden Description
Sir Banister Fletcher put it well in his History of
Architecture: 'The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal
at Agra stands in a formally laid-out walled
garden entered through a pavilion on the main
axis.
The tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen
reflected in the central canal, is entirely
sheathed in marble, but the mosque and
counter-mosque on the transverse axis are built
in red sandstone.
The four minarets, set symmetrically about the
tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of
the dominant, slightly bulbous dome.

 The mosques, built only to balance the

composition are set sufficiently far away to do no
more than frame the mausoleum.
In essence, the whole riverside platform is a
mosque courtyard with a tomb at its centre.
The great entrance gate with its domed central
chamber, set at the end of the long watercourse,
would in any other setting be monumental in its
own right.'
It is the most perfect chahar bagh plan in
existence. Edward Lear wrote: This perfect and
most lovely building infinitely surpassed all I had
expected, principally on account of its size, and
its colour.

 It is quite impossible to imagine a more beautiful

or wonderful sight.
The great centre of the picture being ever the
vast glittering ivory-white Taj Mahal, and the
accompaniment and contrast of the dark green
of the cypresses, with the rich yellow green trees
of all sorts.

As they are seen

today, the gardens at
the Taj Mahal are only
a tenth as large and
glorious as they were
in the days of Shah
Jahan. Designed
primarily as gardens
of Paradise, fruit trees
were planted to
provide a prolific
harvest from within
the walls, which
contributed towards
the upkeep of the Taj
Mahal.

 The first Mughal

Emperor and
connoisseur of
gardens, Babar, once
described the mango
tree, symbol of life
and fertility, as the
best fruit to grow in
Hindustan and it is
likely that they once
grew here.

 During the British Raj,

Lord Curzon initiated the
restoration of the Taj
Mahal after it had fallen
into disrepair and made
renovations to the lawns
and surroundings.
Growing parallel to the edges of the central
water channel is a line of cypress trees. These
trees are an ancient symbol of immortality and
eternity often seen in Persian art and literature.
They grew in Mughal gardens and it may have
been that they grew more abundantly in the
original garden at the Taj Mahal.

Palace
Gardens

Red Fort in Delhi

Garden Description
The area north of the Moti Masjid is occupied by
a garden, called the Hayat-Bakhsh-bagh (lifebestowing garden), divided into squares on the
pattern of Mughal gardens with causeways and
channels between them.
It finds mention in the contemporary accounts,
although its present layout is new.
At the north-eastern corner of the garden is a
tower, called Shah-Burj, now dome less, which
suffered much during the Mutiny.
A similar tower known as Asad-Burj stands on
the south-eastern corner of the fort.

 The water for feeding the Nahr-i-Bihisht was

apparently lifted up to the Shah-Burj from the
river and then carried by channels to the various
palaces.
The present pavilion adjoining the tower on the
south was perhaps built during Aurangzebs
reign.
In the centre of the north wall is a marble
cascade sloping into a scalloped basin.
The Red Fort, which protects a palace, is the
largest survival of Shahjahanabad.
Most of the rest has been re-built and is now
called Old Delhi.

 The area was planned under the supervision of

Shah Jahan as an integrated fortress and
palace, much as the palaces of Sargon and
Sennasherib, and the Alhambra, had been.
The fortified outer wall, from which the modern
name derives, was made of red standstone and
many of the palace buildings within the wall are
of white marble.
The chief designer, Amad Lahwri, also designed
the Taj Mahal building and garden.
Shahjahanabad can be viewed as a Paradise
Garden converted into a city plan.
It has a series of great courts with colonnades,
arcades, gateways and numerous buildings.

 The pavilions for the emperor and the zanana

are on terraces along a canal by the former river
bank. Kanbo wrote that 'it is a garden of perfect
freshness and pleasantness, so that the whole
paradisical ground from one end to the other
because of its lush vegetation has outshone the
green sky, and its sight is presented to the eyes
of the beholder as the highest paradise'.
Though connected by a canal the riverfront
gardens had individual names: the Bagh-e
Hayar Bakhsh, the Imtiyaz, the Bagh-e Angur
and the Jahanara.
The Bagh-e Hayar Bakhsh (Life Bestowing
Garden) was the largest of these gardens and
much of it survives.

 It had a waterfront terrace and a very large char

bagh with water channels.
The palace buildings had cypress-like columns
and were themselves conceived as symbolic
gardens.
They had water channels and floral decoration.
The Red Fort was a symbol of Shah Jahan lush,
floral and fruitful reign: he lived in a paradise
garden and created a paradise on earth. 'If there
is a paradise on earth, this is it'. Few of the
water features are operational and the planting
has been badly neglected.

Rambagh

Garden Description
The Rambagh Gardens in Agra, a beautiful
Mughal pleasure Garden, are located 3 Km from
the Tomb of Itimad ud Daulah and 500 m from the
Chini Ka Rauza.
The Mughal Emperors of India, were very
influenced by their Persian background.
In Persia, the pleasure garden is an important part
of the landscape of every city.
The Mughal emperors introduced the same
concept in India.

 In Islam, the garden is considered a representation of

Paradise, a word derived from pairidesa, which means
land of fairies.
Devout Muslims should not only aspire to reach
paradise but should strive to create its likeness on
earth.
Therefore the Mughal Emperors laid out many
beautiful gardens to create a paradise within their
kingdoms.
The Rambagh Gardens in Agra or the Bagh-i-Gul
Afshan as they are also known, were created by the
founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur.
Nur Jahan, the Mughal Empress and wife of Jahangir
made further additions to the Rambagh Gardens.

 The garden is laid out in the charbagh pattern,

with four main divisions made by paths and
waterways.
Water is an important part of the Mughal
gardens, since water is considered the source of
life.
Water from the Yamuna River, flows over 3
terraces in a series of cascades.
Stairs on either side of the water channels,
fountains, an island platform and two pavilions
on either side of the main water channel, are
added attractions of the Rambagh Gardens
Agra,
It is believed that Babur was buried briefly in the
Rambagh Gardens before being entombed in
his grand mausoleum at Kabul.

Encampme
nt Gardens

Shalamar Bagh in
Kashmir

Garden Description
The Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar, Jammu
and Kashmir, India during the summer
The Shalimar Gardens are the largest of the
three Mughal gardens built by the Mughal
emperor Jahangir, in the lake city of Srinagar,
Jammu and Kashmir, India. Jahangir built the
gardens for his beloved and talented wife,
Mehrunissa, titled Nur Jahan. The other two
gardens are Nishat Bagh and Chashma Shahi.
Shalamar is on the shore of Lake Dal in
Kashmir.

The entrance
pavilion at Shalimar
Garden

 The gardens comprise four terraces, containing

a canal supplied with water from the Harwan
reservoir nearby.The top garden, unseen from
below, was reserved for the ladies of the
court.The garden is considered to be very
beautiful during the Autumn and Spring seasons
due to the colour change in leaves and the
blooming of flowers.
The garden was started by the Emperor
Jahangir and his wife, Nur Jahan.
Its name means 'Abode of Love'. Additions were
made by Shah Jahan and, in later ownership
parts of the garden were changed and parts
have decayed.
Originally, the garden was approached from the
lake by a long canal which has been cut by a
road.

 There was a private garden for the emperor and

another for the ladies of the court.
Shah Jahan built a black marble pavilion in the
ladies garden. It has a throne and a waterfall.
The garden plan is a traditional charhar bagh
with the central pavilion in a rectangular pool at
the crossing point of the canals.
The structure planting was of poplars and plane
trees.

Shalamar Bagh in
Lahore

Garden Description
The city of Lahore is often referred to as the City
of Gardens for the reason that many a beautiful
garden of ancient and modern times and
architecture are found all over the city.
Successive Moghul emperors constructed a
number of gardens to add to the beauty of
Lahore - a city they loved the most.
But the most unique and beautifully laid out
garden remains to be the Shalamar gardens
built by none other than Emperor Shah Jehan in
1642 AD, who also built the immortal Taj Mahal
in Agra, India.

 The Shalimar Gardens are located along the

Grand Trunk Road some 5 kilometres northeast
of the Lahore city centre.
The site of Shalimar Gardens originally belonged
to one of the noble family of Lahore, who were
given the title of "Mian" by the Mughal Emperor,
for their services to the Empire.
The land for the gardens was donated by Mian
Muhammad Yusuf, the head of Mian family, to
Emperor Shah Jahan, who in return, granted the
Mian family governance of the Shalimar
Gardens.
The Shalimar Gardens remained under the
custodianship of this family for more than 350
years.

 The project was assigned to Khalilullah Khan, a

noble of Shah Jahan's court.
The Gardens are surrounded by high walls with
watch-towers at its four corners. Originally, the
gardens were spread over seven ascending
terraces, but only three now remain. spread
over an area of about 42 acres.
These terraces are elevated by 4-5 metres
above one another.
The upper terrace is known as "Farah Baksh",
meaning Bestower of Pleasure, the middle
terrace is named "Faiz Baksh" meaning
Bestower of Goodness and the lower terrace is
called "Hayat Baksh" meaning Bestower of life.

 The most novel thing about the gardens is its

irrigation system, which remained a mystery for
a long time.
The designers and planners dug a 161
kilometres long canal, named "Shah Nahar"
meaning Royal (Shah) canal (Naher), brought
from Rajpot (present day Madhpur in India).
The canal intersected the Gardens and
discharged into a large marble basin in the
middle terrace.
The garden was planned by Shah Jahan to mark
the completion of a canal bringing water from
the River Ravi to Lahore.

 It was designed in a opulent manner with

terracing, pavilions, a wide canal, fountains and
a great tank with a marble platform in its midst.
The buildings were removed in the eighteenth
century, to make the Golden Temple at Amritsar,
but reconstructions were made at a later date.
The plan comprises two charhar bagh grids of
canals.

 The garden stood virtually alone upon the

riverbank.
Its three broad terraces stepped majestically
down to the floodplain.
A broad canal led from the river to the garden,
feeding hundreds of fountains, pools, and lushly
irrigated plantings.
The surrounding landscape seemed flat, dry,
and scrubby in comparison.

MADE BY:
ASHOK KUMAR SINGH (7004)
RAJAN GROVER (7015)

Thanking
you.