Chashme Shahi

2021-03-03T02:58:30Z

117.216.140.18:

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox park
|name = Chashme Shahi
|photo = Chashme Shahi.jpg
|image_alt = Chasme Shahi
|photo_caption = The Royal Spring
|type = [[Mughal garden]]
|location = [[Srinagar]], [[Kashmir]]
|coords = {{coord|34|5|10.14|N|74|53|13.79|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
|area = 1 acre
|plants =
|species =
|collectios =
|opened = {{Start date|1632}}
|owner = [[Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department]]
|operator = [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] [[Tourism Department]]
|budget =
|visitation_num = 100,000
|founder = [[Shah Jahan]]
|status = Open March–November
|website = [http://www.jktourism.org]
}}

'''Chashme Shahi''' or '''Chashma i Shahi''' Or '''Cheshma Shahi''' ([[Indian English|translation]]: ''the royal spring''), also called Chashma Shahi or Cheshma Shahi, is one of the [[Mughal garden]]s built in 1632 AD around a [[spring (hydrology)|spring]] by Ali Mardan Khan, a [[governor]] of [[Mughal emperor]] [[Shah Jahan]] as per the orders of the Emperor, as a gift for his eldest son Prince [[Dara Shikoh]].<ref name="Chashma Shahi"/><ref name="Chashmi shahii"/> The garden is located in the [[Zabarwan Range]], near Raj Bhawan (Governor‘s house) overlooking [[Dal Lake]] in [[Srinagar]], [[Kashmir Valley|Kashmir]], [[India]].

== History ==
Chashme Shahi originally derives its name from the spring which was discovered by the great female saint of Kashmir, [[Rupa Bhawani]], who was from the Sahib clan of Kashmiri Pandits. The family name of Rupa Bhawani was 'Sahib' and the spring was originally called 'Chashme Sahibi'. Over the years the name got corrupted and today the place is known as Chashme Shahi (the Royal Spring).<ref name="Chashma Shahi Rupa Bhawani">{{cite book | author=A. P. Agarwala | title=Holiday resorts of Jammu & Kashmir: a travellers' guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?q=Rupa+bhawani+chashma+shahi&btnG=Search+Books | access-date=20 September 2012 | year=1977 | publisher=Nest & Wings (India), 1977 | page=-}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaslic1955.org/chashme_shahi_garden.html|title=Guide to India|publisher=iaslic1955|access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref>

== Establishment ==
[[File:Cheshme Shahi Srinagar 7.jpg|thumb|right|Chasme Shahi]]
The garden was constructed around the spring by the Mughal Governor Ali Mardan Khan in 1632.<ref name="Chashma Shahi">{{cite book | authors=Charles W. Moore, William J. Mitchell, William Turnbull | title=The Poetics of Gardens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnKiKy9_2u4C&pg=PA167&dq=shah+jahan+build+chashma+shahi&output=html_text&cd=3 | access-date=20 September 2012 | year=1993 | publisher=MIT Press, 1993 | isbn=978-0-262-63153-2 | page=-167}}</ref> It was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his eldest son, Dara Sikoh. In the east of Chashma Shahi the ''Pari Mahal'' (Fairy Palace) lies where Dara Sikoh used to learn astrology and where he was later killed by his brother [[Aurengzeb]].<ref name="Dara Sikoh Chashma Shahi">{{cite book | author=Parmanand Parashar | title=Kashmir The Paradise Of Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gylNFls7xxoC&pg=PA230&dq=chashma+shahi&lr=&output=html_text&cd=11 | access-date=20 September 2012 | year=2004 | publisher=Sarup & Sons, 2004 | isbn=978-81-7625-518-9 | page=-230}}</ref> The garden is 108 m long and 38 m wide and is spread over one acre of land. It is the smallest garden among the three Mughal gardens of Srinagar; the [[Shalimar Bagh (Srinagar)|Shalimar garden]] is the largest and the [[Nishat Bagh|Nishat garden]] is the second largest. All the three gardens were built at the right bank of the [[Dal Lake]], with Zabarwan mountains ([[Zabarwan Range]]) at the backdrop.<ref name="Chashma Shahi dimensions">{{cite web|url=http://www.journeymart.com/de/india/jammu-and-kashmir/srinagar/chashmashahi.aspx|title=Attractions in Srinagar|publisher=journeymart|access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref>

== Architecture and the spring ==
The garden presents Mughal architecture as used in different Mughal gardens. The artistically build garden has Iranian influence in its art and architecture and the design is based on the [[Persian gardens]]. It is built around a freshwater spring, discovered by Rupa Bhawani, which flows through its centre in terraces. The topography and the steepness of the land has led to the formation of the garden. The main focus of the garden is the spring which flows down in terraces and is divided into three sections: an aqueduct, waterfall, and fountains. A two-storey Kashmiri hut stands at the first terrace which is the origin of the spring. The water then flows down through a water ramp (''chadar'') into the second terrace. The second terrace serves as a water pool and a large fountain stands at its centre. The water again flows down through a water ramp into the third terrace, which is a square five-fountain pool. It is the lowest pool at the entrance of the garden. The visitors are received through a flight of stairs on both sides of the terraces which leads up to the origin of the spring.<ref name="Chashmi shahii">{{cite web|url=http://www.nativeplanet.com/srinagar/attractions/chashm-e-shahi-gardens/|title=Srinagar attractions|publisher=nativeplanet|access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref><ref name="Chashma Shahi dimensions"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=14963/|title=Architecture of Chashma Shahi|publisher=archnet.org|access-date=2012-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223012340/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=14963|archive-date=23 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kashmir-v-arts|title=KASHMIR vs PERSIAN INFLUENCE ON KASHMIRI ART|publisher=iranicaonline|access-date=2012-09-21}}</ref> The English writer and traveler Amit Kumar wrote about the garden that "''the little Chashma Shahi is architecturally the most charming of the gardens near Srinagar''".<ref name="Aldous on Chashma Shahi">{{cite book | authors=Sumita Roy, Annie Pothen, K. S. Sunita | title=Amit Kumar And Indian Thought |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EK3E6epYXmEC&pg=PA56&dq=Aldous+Huxley+on+Chashma+Shahi&output=html_text&cd=1 | access-date=20 September 2012 | year=2003 | publisher=terling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2003 | isbn=978-81-207-2465-5| page=-56}}</ref> The water of the spring is believed to have some medicinal properties. The former Premier of India, [[Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru]], used to get the water of the spring to Delhi.<ref name="Chashma Shahi Nehru">{{cite book | authors=Shakeel Ahmed, Ramaswamy Jayakumar, Abdin Salih | title=Groundwater Dynamics in Hard Rock Aquifers: Sustainable Management and Optimal Monitoring Network Design |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hi3Kqdie98YC&pg=PA246&dq=chashma+shahi&output=html_text&cd=5 | access-date=20 September 2012 | year=2008 | publisher=Springer, 2008 | isbn=978-1-4020-6539-2| page=-246}}</ref> 2

== Access ==
The Chashme Shahi is located within the jurisdiction of Srinagar city, {{convert|14|km|mi|0}} in the northeast from the [[Srinagar Airport]]. It is adjacent to Rajbhawan (Governor's house). The garden is connected by the Boulevard Road which passes along the banks of the Dal lake. There are many hotels and restaurants available for boarding and lodging near the garden. The garden remains open for tourists from March to November. The best time to visit the garden is from April to October. The garden is at full bloom during May and June.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huni.co.in/hotels-7570257-Chashma-Shahi-hotels.html|title=Hotels at Chashma Shahi|publisher=huni.co|access-date=2012-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109130031/http://www.huni.co.in/hotels-7570257-Chashma-Shahi-hotels.html|archive-date=9 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.journeymart.com/de/india/jammu-and-kashmir/srinagar/chashmashahi.aspx|title=Chashma Shahi in Srinagar|publisher=journeymart|access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Kashmir Valley}}

[[Category:Gardens in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Mughal gardens in India]]
[[Category:1632 establishments in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Srinagar]]
[[Category:Mughal gardens]]

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Chashme Shahi