The history of Shalimar Gardens can be traced back to the 2nd century. King Pravarsena II from Vataka dynasty who ruled Kashmir from 79 AD till 139 AD was the founder of Srinagar. He built a cottage surrounded by a park close to Dal Lake and named it Shalimar. The name Shalimar comes from Sanskrit language which means “Abode of Love”. Over the centuries, the cottage was ruined, but the name Shalimar got stuck to the village where this was located. In 1619 AD, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir renovated the garden into a Mughal Garden, to please his beautiful wife Nur Jahan and the two spent their summers here along with their courtesans. The three terraced Mughal garden is an adaptation of the Persian style of gardens. The gardens, designed around the central axial canal were used as- Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-khas and the Zanana area. The fountain pools have 410 fountains in total and are fed by the naturally flowing central channel of water, flowing down from the snow covered mountains forming the lovely backdrop to the gardens. The black pavilion in the top terrace of Shalimar Bagh has the famous inscription in Persian, written by Persian Poet Amir Khusrau- “ Agar Firdaus bar rōy-e zamin ast, hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast”. Translated in English it means- “ If there is a paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here” A chronicler has described the magic of Shalimar Bagh thus: "A subtle air of leisure and repose, a romantic indefinable spell, pervades the royal Shalimar: this leafy garden of dim vistas, shallow terraces, smooth sheets of falling water, and wide canals, with calm reflections broken only by the stepping stones across the streams".