Chashma Shahi, Srinagar

Objects Place

جشمه شاهي (سرينغار)

Srinagar

A small hillside garden above Lake Dal built round a famous spring in 1632 and attributed to Shah Jahan, its water descending over three levels 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Gunpowder Empires
Region
South Asia

In time

1620163016401650
The Gunpowder Empires

ArchitectureWater and animals

Overview

The Chashma Shahi ("Royal Spring") is a small garden on the mountainside above Lake Dal, built round a renowned spring; Brookes's plan dates it to 1632 and attributes it to Shah Jahan. 1 2

Water and terraces

The spring rose through a marble lotus basin in a pavilion at the top of the garden, the private zenana garden, flowed to a regular tank with a single jet, then into a central pavilion (now removed) to drop at once down a steep narrow chadar into a fountained pool in the lowest garden, the water descending over three levels in all. Brookes judges that without the central pavilion the garden has lost its point. 1 2 Above it on the mountain stands the Pari Mahal. 3

Connections

Explore the connections

Located in
Srinagar
Exemplifies
Chaharbagh (four-part garden)

People and things also explored

Nishat Bagh, Srinagar· Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar· Achabal garden, Kashmir· Bagh-i Vafa, Kabul· Ram Bagh (Aram Bagh), Agra· Verinag garden, Kashmir· Chadar (textured water chute)· Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens

Sources

  1. John Brookes, Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens (London, 1987) , p.146
  2. John Brookes, Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens (London, 1987) , p.147
  3. John Brookes, Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens (London, 1987) , p.157
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Chashma Shahi, Srinagar”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/building/chashma-shahi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.

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Related

Nishat Bagh, Srinagar

The largest and steepest of the Lake Dal gardens in Kashmir, attributed to Asaf Khan, Nur Jahan's brother, c. 1625, originally laid out in twelve terraces.