MUGHAL GARDENS

INTRODUCTION
• Mughal gardens are a
group of gardens built by
the Mughals in the
Islamic style of
architecture.
• This style was influenced
by Persian Gardens and
Timurid gardens.
• Significant use of
Rectilinear Layouts are
made within the walled
enclosures.
 SALIENT FEATURES

• Pools,
• Fountains
• Canals inside the gardens.
 HISTORY
• The founder of the
Mughal empire, Babur
described his favourite
type of garden as a
CHARBAGH.

This word developed a new meaning in

India, because as Babur explains,
India lacked the fast-flowing streams
required for the Central Asian
Charbagh.
 HISTORY

• The Agra garden, now known as the Ram Bagh, is

thought to have been the first Charbagh.
• India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have a number of
Mughal gardens which differ from their Central Asian
predecessors with respect to 'the highly disciplined
geometry'.
 CLASSIFICATION
Mughal Gardens are generally divided into 4
sections –
• Rectangular Pearl garden
• Long Butterfly garden
• Circular garden
• Terraced garden
 VARIOUS MUGHAL GARDENS
• Afghanistan
– Bagh-e Babur(Kabul)
• •India
– Humayun's Tomb-Delhi (Nizamuddin)
– Taj Mahal-Agra
– Ram Bagh-Agra
– Mehtab Bagh-Agra
– Shalimar Gardens (Kashmir)-Kashmir
– Safdarjung's Tomb
– Yadvindra Gardens-Pinjore
– Khusro Bagh, Allahabad
 VARIOUS MUGHAL GARDENS
• Pakistan
– Chauburji(The Gate to the Mughal Gardens)
– Lahore Fort
– Shahdara Bagh
– Shalimar Gardens (Lahore)
– Hazuri Bagh
RAMBAGH GARDEN, AGRA
 RAMBAGH GARDEN, AGRA
• The Ram Bagh is the oldest
Mughal Garden in India,
• Built by the Mughal Emperor
Babur in 1528 A.D.
• Planned following the char
bagh pattern
• Four main divisions
crisscrossed by paths and
waterways.
• Located about five
kilometers northeast of the
Taj Mahal.
 RAMBAGH GARDEN, AGRA
• Water represented life
• The garden is a Paradise
garden or Char bagh, where
pathways and canals divide
the garden to represent the
Islamic ideal of paradise, an
abundant garden through
which rivers flow.
• The Ram Bagh provides an
example of a variant of the
char bagh in which water
cascades down three
terraces in a sequence of
cascades.
AT HUMAYUN’S TOMB
 MUGHAL GARDEN AT HUMAYUN’S
TOMB
• Humayun's Tomb was
the first garden tomb
made in India.
• The garden is divided
into 36 squares by a grid
of water channels and
paths.
• These channels of water
also facilitates the
formation of Charbagh at
Humayun’s Tomb.
MUGHAL GARDEN AT HUMAYUN’S
TOMB
• The laying down of
the gardens in the
Persian style was
introduced by Babur
and continued till
the period of Shah
Jahan
 Meeting point of all the channel

Single rectangular bagh

Fountain at the central axis

 Scarce Vegetation with
the help of Palm Trees

• While the main tomb took over eight years to build, it was also placed in
centre of a 30-acre (120,000 m2) Char Bagh Garden which was the first of
its kind in the South Asia in such a scale.
• The highly geometrical and enclosed Paradise Garden is divided into four
squares by paved walkways (khiyabans) and two bisecting central water
channels, reflecting the four rivers that flow in jannat, the Islamic concept
of paradise.
• The central water channels appear to be disappearing beneath the tomb
structure and reappearing on the other side in a straight line, suggesting
the Quranic verse, which talks of rivers flowing beneath the 'Garden of
Paradise'.
GARDENS OF THE TAJ
 CHAR BAGH
• The complex is set around a large 300-meter
square char bagh, a Mughal garden.
• The garden uses raised pathways that divide
each of the four quarters of the garden into 16
sunken parterres or flowerbeds.
A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and
gateway, with a reflecting pool on North-South axis reflects the image of the Taj Mahal.
Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.
• Most Mughal char
baghs are rectangular
with a tomb or
pavilion in the center.
• The Taj Mahal garden
is unusual in that the
main element, the
tomb, instead is
located at the end of
the garden.
• Early accounts of the garden
describe its profusion of
vegetation, including roses,
daffodils, and fruit trees in
abundance.
• As the Mughal Empire
declined, the tending of the
garden declined as well.
• When the British took over
the management of Taj
Mahal, they changed the
landscaping to resemble
that of lawns of London.
MAHTAB BAGH
 MAHTAB BAGH
• It is situated on the sandy bank of Yamuna River just
opposite the Taj Mahal mausoleum.
• The name Mahtab Bagh means 'Moon Lit Garden' and
the same is testified by the beautiful reflection of Taj
Mahal in the pool at night in Mahtab Bagh.
• The place has a history of its own. It is believed that
the great emperor Shah Jahan who built Taj Mahal for
his queen wanted an identical one for himself at
Mahtab Bagh.
• However the archaeological findings have proved the
existence of garden complex.
MAHTAB BAGH
• This place was once a
heavenly garden with
shaded pavilions, fountain
jets, fragrant flowers and
fantastic pools.
• The garden has been
renovated by the
Archaeological Survey
according to the original
plan.
• The place has been
enriched with vegetation
and at present more than
40 species of plants bloom
in the garden.
• The garden has been built
in a typical Char bagh
fashion.
 OTHER MUGHAL GARDENS IN INDIA
• Rashtrapati Bhawan

• Shalimar Bagh
THANK YOU

By: Harkaran Ahluwalia

Koshal Verma
Palaash Roy