Mughal gardens were built in the Persian style of architecture and followed a char bagh layout of being divided into four quarters by pathways. Important Mughal rulers like Babur, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and others built several gardens throughout India, incorporating elements like water pools, fountains, and canals. Shah Jahan's era marked the peak of Mughal garden design, exemplified by the Taj Mahal gardens. Mughal gardens featured symmetrical planning, architectural structures, and water elements designed with symbolic meanings.

1. MUGHAL GARDENS
A group of gardens built by the Mughals in the
Persian style of architecture.

2. Humayun, his son, does
not seem to have had
much time for building.
The founder of
the Mughal empire,
BABUR , described
his favourite type of
garden as
a CHARBAGH.
(dividing the
garden into four
equal quarters)
Akbar built several
gardens first in
Delhi, then in Agra,
Akbar’s new capital.
Jahangir's son, SHAH
JAHAN, marks the
apex of Mughal
garden architecture
and floral design.
He is famous for the
construction of
Akbar’s
the Taj Mahal and
heir, JAHANGIR, did
the Red Fort which
not build as much, but
contains the Mahtab
he helped to lay out
bagh.
the famous Shalimar
garden and was
known for his great
love for flowers.

3. These tended to be
riverfront gardens rather
than the fortress
gardens that his
predecessors built.
Building riverfront rather
than fortress gardens
influenced later Mughal
garden architecture
considerably.

4. 1. Significant use of
rectilinear layouts
are made within the
walled enclosures.
2. Typical features
include
pools, fountains
and canals inside
the gardens.

5. 3. Had handsome walls and great gateways
More like forts than gardens
City was pleasantly adorned
4. Most important feature of Mughal garden is Char Bagh planning.

6. 5. Mughals
were obsessed
with symbol
and
incorporated it
into their
gardens in
many ways.

7. 6. Include trees of various
sorts, some to provide
shade merely, and others
to produce fruits;
flowers, colorful and sweetsmelling;
grass, usually growing wild
under the trees;
birds to fill the garden with
song; the whole cooled by
a pleasant breeze.

8. 7. The garden
might include a
raised hillock at
the center,
reminiscent of the
mountain at the
center of the
universe in
cosmological
descriptions, and
often surmounted
by a pavilion or
palace.

9. •
•
•
Universally planned
in the midst of a
CHAR BAGH
founded with
architectural
elements such as
STONE
PATHWAYS,
CANALS, LILY
POND, LOTUSTANKS, STAIRS ,
CASCADES and
WATERFALLS.
Example :
Humayun’s Tomb

10. • Gardens along with such water devices as tanks, canals,
cascades and fountains.
• Illustrated by a large no. of paintings of this period

11. Example : Garden around a fort at Agra

12. • Gardens were laid down independently on a plain surface on char bagh plan ,
enclosed on all sides by a PARKOTA ( RAMPATS )with a main gateway in the south
and with some ornamental gateways on other sides.
• Divided in four equal parts by four CANALS running from central platform with
stone or or brick paved causeways on both sides ,having tanks ,and cascades
sometimes.
• Perfectly unified homogeneous composition.
• Pleasure pavilion was originally built on the central later sometimes replaced by a
tomb of the owner of the garden.

13. PLAN – TAJ MAHAL

14. • laid out with all the basic elements of the plain garden in several terraces
• had a central canal in the middle, descending from one terrace to the
other, through broad fish scaled cascades and relay-tanks
• each terrace generally having its own independent CHAR BAGH plan.

15. SHALIMAR BAGH
• Includes all the
features of a
mughal garden
• Has 3 terraces
• The 2nd terrace
garden along the
axial canal slightly
broader, has two
shallow terraces.

16. • The carved stone
bases and a fine
platform surrounded
by fountains are still
seen
• Shalimar Bagh is
well known for chini
khanas, or arched
niches, behind garden
waterfalls.
• The garden is
considered to be very
beautiful during the
autumn and spring
seasons due to the
colour change in
leaves of the famed
Chinar trees.

17. Rashtrapati Bhawan has all the features of a Mughal Garden