| Aram Bagh, Agra | |
|---|---|
 Achhatri at Aram Bagh, in 2024 | |
 | |
| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | Agra, India |
| Coordinates | 27°12′20.347″N78°2′15.9″E / 27.20565194°N 78.037750°E /27.20565194; 78.037750 (Aram Bagh, Agra) |
| Established | 1526; 499 years ago (1526) |
| Founder | Babur |
| Status | Open all year |
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TheAram Bagh is the oldestMughal garden in India, originally built byEmperor Babur, thefirst Mughal emperor, in 1526,[1] located about five kilometers northeast of theTaj Mahal inAgra,India. Babur was temporarily buried there before being interred inKabul.[citation needed]
The nameAaram Bagh translates to 'Garden of Rest'.[2]
When Emperor Babur laid out this garden, he named it 'Bāgh-i-Gul Afshān' (lit. 'The Flower-Scatterer Garden'). It was later renamed as Aram Bagh or the 'Garden of Rest'.[2] When the Marathas came to power in Agra between 1774 and 1803, they changed the name from 'Aram Bagh' to 'Ram Bagh', and the name has remained ever since.[3]
It is also variously known as 'Bagh-i Nur Afshan' which translates to 'Light-Scattering Garden',Aalsi Bagh or 'Lazy Garden': according to legend, EmperorAkbar proposed to his third wife, who was a gardener there, by lying idle for six days until she agreed to marry him.[4]
The garden is aPersian garden, where pathways and canals divide the garden to represent the Islamic ideal of paradise, an abundant garden through which rivers flow. The Aram Bagh provides an example of a variant of the charbagh in which water cascades down three terraces in a sequence of cascades. Two viewing pavilions face theJumna river and incorporates a subterranean 'tahkhana' which was used during the hot summers to provide relief for visitors. The garden has numerous water courses and fountains.[4]
Jahangir waited in the garden in early March 1621 for the most astrologically auspicious hour for him to enter Agra after he took theFort of Kangra. Jahangir made several additions in the garden, which includes two marble pavilions and a number ofchhatris. The preserved, surviving architecture dates to his reign and demonstrates the skill of his wifeNur Jahan as a garden designer.[4][1]
An engraving ofThomas Shotter Boys' painting is in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835, together with a poetical illustration (The history of Shah Dara's flight and death) byLetitia Elizabeth Landon entitled
Jahara Baug, Agra.[5]
Tourist attractions in and nearAgra | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Heritage Sites |  | |
| Mughal architecture | ||
| Mosques | ||
| Other religious places | ||
| Shopping | ||
| Gardens | ||
| Wildlife sanctuaries | ||
| Fairs | ||