Verinag spring is located in Verinag town. It is issued from a high scarp of a mountain spur, and is considered the source of the Jhelum River.
Location of Verinag Spring
Verinag Spring is situated at the bottom of a hill covered by pine trees and evergreen plants. Verinag spring was originally an irregular and shapeless pond, and water, oozing out from different places in it and spread about and formed a little marsh.
History of Verinag Spring
Emperor Jahangir has an artistic taste for polishing the beauty of nature. He saw this spring and at once determined to restore it. He built the octagonal tank of sculptured stones round it, so that all water was collected therein, for which carvers were brought from Iran. A garden was also built by Jahangir next to this natural spring which is of pre-Islamic religious significance. The construction date of the octagonal tank and the garden is 1029 Hijri or 1620 A.D, during the 15th year of the Jahangir`s reign, which is duly inscribed on a stone slab built into the southern wall of the spring. Seven years later, Jahangir`s son Shah Jahan, who was no less a lover of natural beauty, constructed cascades and aqueducts in straight lines through and around the fine garden which he, in order to enhance further the beauty of the place laid out in front of the spring. He also built hot and cold baths to the east of this garden, just outside it, of which little trace is now left. The water contained in an octagonal spring has crystal blue water in which a variety of big fishes live. History and the carvings on stones in Persian on the walls surrounding the spring tell about how this great source of underwater spring is contained without revealing its architecture. The water is collected in a pool surrounded by arched recesses, and then flows down a 300-yard canal to the Bihat River. Jahangir wished to be buried at Verinag gardens, but his wife, Nur Jahan, disobeyed his wishes.
Geography of Verinag Spring
Verinag spring is at the exact centre almost 50 feet (as the locals tell about the depth) under water from where the water continuously comes up and flows into the gardens facing the spring. It is also a sacred place for Hindus as there is a Lord Shiva or Mahadeva linga in one of the arcs (the very first on the left of the entry of the spring). The historical garden also has an old temple with some ancient idols of Hindu goddesses. Some 2 km away is Vithavatur (Vitastatra), supposed to be the source of Jhelum River. The waters of the many nearby springs, called collectively, Sapta Rishi, have their confluence at Sangam, where people bathe on festival days. The birth of the river is celebrated annually with a fair on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadrapada of the Hindu calendar.
Related Articles
Jammu and Kashmir
Culture of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir, Indian State
Costumes of Jammu and Kashmir
Tourism In Jammu And Kashmir
Tourism In Srinagar, Jammu And Kashmir
Tourism in Ladakh
Saptarishi Kund
