Padmini's Garden Chittorgarh

Padmini's Palace and Garden were designed in relation to a reservoir tank. Also known as Padmavati, Rani Padmini was a famous beauty and a famous queen and the subject of a poem written in 1540 CE. There are two pavilions, one set in the water and one overlooking the water. The gardens are well maintained and popular but have a much more European character than they are likely to have had when the Mewar family established a summer palace here in the fourteenth century. In legend, Padmini sat in the lake pavilion so that her reflection could be seen in a mirror. Ala-ud-din Khilji fell in love with the vision and assulted the fortress in order to possess her. The palace, gardens and lake pavilion as they stand today were largely shaped by Maharana Sajjan Singh (1874-1884). The courtyards and the appreciation of water are very much in the Hindu garden tradition.