Mughal gardens architecture

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 inIndia, because as Babur explains,India lacked the fast-flowing streams required for the Central AsianCharbagh.

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 withthe 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 TajMahal, 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 TajMahal 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 baghfashion.

OTHER MUGHAL GARDENS IN INDIA• Rashtrapati Bhawan

• Shalimar Bagh

THANK YOU

By: Harkaran Ahluwalia

Koshal Verma

Palaash Roy