The Shalimar ( meaning ‘abode of love’) Gardens is a Persian garden built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore, Pakistan in 1642. The garden is an adaptation of the formal Persian chahar garden, traditionally uniform in shape, with a water source in its center and four radiating streams that divide the garden into four sections. Like other Mughal gardens, Shalimar adapts the chahar bagh to the mountainous topography by emphasizing the central water channel; the secondary channels are minimized or removed from the design, and the source of water shifts from the center of the garden to its highest point. Thus the central water canal of the garden, Shah Nahar (Royal Canal that was was brought from Rajpot in India, a distance of over 161 kilometers) irrigates the garden and forms its main axis, uniting the three terraces (elevated 13-15 feet above one another) with their regularly placed fountains and chinar (sycamore) tree-lined vistas. Beginning at the top of the garden, the canal runs through each of the pavilions in the garden. At each terrace, the canal flows into a larger pool, highlighting its pavilion. Within the Shalimar garden, each of the three terraces had a different function and level of privacy: a public garden with 153 fountains (first terrace called the Hayat Baksh meaning Bestower of Life), a private garden with 152 fountains, also called the Emperor's Garden (second terrace called Faiz Baksh meaning Bestower of Goodness) and the zenana (harem) garden with 105 fountains (third terrace called Farah Baksh meaning Bestower of Pleasure).
The gardens measure 658 meters north to south and 258 meters east to west. It is a credit to the ingenuity of the Mughal engineers that even today scientists are unable to fathom how the fountains were operated originally.
Buildings of the Gardens
The buildings of the Gardens include:
- Sawan Bhadum pavilions
- Naqar Khana and its buildings
- Khwabgah or Sleeping chambers
- Hammam or Royal bath
- The Aiwan or Grand hall
| - Aramgah or Resting place
- Khawabgah of Begum Sahib or Dream place of the emperor's wife
- Baradaries or summer pavilions to enjoy the coolness created by the Gardens' fountains
- Diwan-e-Khas-o-Aam or Hall of special & ordinary audience with the emperor
- Two gateways and minarets in the corners of the Gardens
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Trees of the Gardens
Some of the varieties of trees that were planted included:
- Almond
- Apple
- Apricot
- Cherry
- Gokcha
- Mango
- Mulberry
| - Peach
- Plum
- Poplar
- Quince Seedless
- Sapling of Cypress
- Shrubs
- Sour & sweet oranges
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- Numerous other varieties of odoriferous (fragrant) and non odoriferous and fruit giving plants
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History
The site of the Shalimar Gardens originally belonged to one of the noble Zaildar families in the region, well known as Mian Family Baghbanpura. The family was also given the Royal title of ‘Mian’ by the Mughal Emperor, for its services to the Empire. Mian Muhammad Yusuf, then the head of the Mian family, donated the site of Ishaq Pura to the Emperor Shah Jahan, after pressure was placed on the family by the royal engineers who wished to build on the site due to its good position and soil. In return, Shah Jahan granted the Mian family governance of the Shalimar Gardens. The Shalimar Gardens remained under the custodianship of this family for more than 350 years.
Today it is a public site for thousands of tourists!