Oldest Evidence for the Existence of Gardens in India

The oldest evidence for the existence of gardens in India comes from literary sources. Sacred works, including the Ramayana and the Kama Sutra, have detailed accounts of gardens but no physical examples have survived from this period. The dwellings to which they belonged were built in mud and timber which have rotted away and washed away.

The oldest Indian palace from which fragments survive is at Vijayanagara. It had courtyards surrounded by residential buildings and must have had fruit and vegetable gardens, as well.

With the start of Muslim influence on India, residential buildings began to be built in stone. Most were hilltop fortresses with little space for ornamental horticulture. Most probably employing Hindu craftsmen, the Muslims built mosques, forts, palaces and gardens in what became known as the Mughal (or Moghul or Mongol style). The strongest influence on the surviving examples was the Timurid gardens (in modern Uzbekistan), themselves strongly influenced by Persian gardens. As in other Islamic gardens, the characteristic features are: (1) a boundary wall (2) a geometrical layout (3) a crossing pattern of canals. The most famous Mughal gardens are the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort in Delhi, Agra Fort and Humayun's Tomb Garden.

[edit]The oldest evidence for the existence of gardens in India comes from literary sources. Sacred works, including the Ramayana and the Kama Sutra, have detailed accounts of gardens but no physical examples have survived from this period. The dwellings to which they belonged were built in mud and timber which have rotted away and washed away.

The oldest Indian palace from which fragments survive is at Vijayanagara. It had courtyards surrounded by residential buildings and must have had fruit and vegetable gardens, as well.

With the start of Muslim influence on India, residential buildings began to be built in stone. Most were hilltop fortresses with little space for ornamental horticulture. Most probably employing Hindu craftsmen, the Muslims built mosques, forts, palaces and gardens in what became known as the Mughal (or Moghul or Mongol style). The strongest influence on the surviving examples was the Timurid gardens (in modern Uzbekistan), themselves strongly influenced by Persian gardens. As in other Islamic gardens, the characteristic features are: (1) a boundary wall (2) a geometrical layout (3) a crossing pattern of canals. The most famous Mughal gardens are the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort in Delhi, Agra Fort and Humayun's Tomb Garden.

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