Achabal

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Achabal on Kashmir Map

Anantnag district map

Achabal (अछबल) is a town and tahsil in Anantnag district of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Variants

• Achabal Garden
• Achival (अचबल)
• Achhval (अछवल)
• Akṣavāla (In Rajatarangini)
• Akshavala is mentioned as a holy place built by Aksha in Rajatarangini.

• Akkshavala

Location

Achabal is an important tourist place about 9 km away in south from Anantnag. The main National Highway (National Highway 244) of Kashmir passes through it.

Jat clans

• Achi/Acha (अची/अच) - Achi Jat clan is found in Afghanistan.
• Agi (अगि) gotra of Jats started from a Jat named Aksha (अक्ष).

Tourism

Achabal Garden, Anantnag

Achabal is an important tourist place about 8.1 km away from Anantnag. The place is notable for an ancient spring surrounded by a garden terraced and developed by the Mughals. The upper portion of the garden is called 'Bag-e-Begum Abad' developed by Malika Noor Jehan Begum in 1616 AD and renowned as Sahib Abad in which there is a Hamam (treasure of water) getting heat from a logical lamp (Tosnag).

Cascades and fountains have been erected by Mughal Emperors. A mosque standing in the garden is believed to have been constructed by Mughal Prince Dara Shikwah. Achabal was once the pleasure retreat of Empress Noor Jehan. A trout hatchery is also located nearby. Achabal is the site of a Mughal garden called Achabal Gardens.

History

According to Kalhana's Rajatarangini Achabal(Sanskrit Akṣavāla) was founded by Akṣa son of King Nara II of Gonandiya dynasty.

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Perhaps the most beautiful of all the springs is Achabal which gushes out of the Sonsanwar Hill and was at once enlisted by the Emperor Jehangir in the service of beauty and pleasure. It is said that the Brengi Nallah which disappears at Dewalgam in the fissures of limestone is the real source of the Achabal Spring. The water of this spring which flows through this garden in three channels, is beautifying and ornamenting this terraced garden beyond imagination. The fountains that have been laid through the water channels add to the charm of this Mughal garden. The health resort of Achabal lies in the south east of the District at a distance of 09 Kms from the district headquarter.

Achabal Mughal garden

Achabal Garden "the places of the princess", is a small Mughal garden located at the southeastern end of the Kashmir Valley in the town of Achabal, Anantnag district, India. It is about 8 kilometers away from Anantnag and around 60km from Srinagar city. It was in Kashmir that the Mughal style gardens was brought to perfection and Achabal is one such masterpiece. This place is famous all over due to an ancient spring surrounded by a terrace garden, which was developed by Mughals. The historical significance of this place strikes the visitor with awe. Achabal Garden, once the pleasure retreat of the Mughal Empress Noor Jahan is a beautifully created garden in Kashmir with its own special allure and character. Its picturesque beauty makes it one of the best Mughal gardens of the Indian subcontinent. It is difficult to describe in words the mesmerizing beauty of this Mughal style garden. The upper portion of the garden is popularly known as `Bag-e-Begum Abad` and was developed by Malika Noor Jehan Begum in 1620 A.D. Later it became renowned as Sahib Abad in which there was a `Hamam` or treasure of water getting heat from a logical lamp or `tosng`. The garden was created at the site of a powerful spring, which enters the garden as a waterfall. The design of this wonderfully created garden is ascribed to the beloved wife of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The Garden of Achabal is located at the foot of a hill covered with dense forest, which is 8 kilometers from Anantnag and 56 kilometers from Srinagar. The daughter of the Mughal monarch Shah Jahan built the garden in the year 1620 with cascading outpourings and pavilions. The most beautiful of all springs is Achabal and it gushes out of the Sosanwar Hill. In the garden of Achabal the water gushes out of the spasm with great vigor throughout the entire year. In the later ages the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh built a mosque in the garden. There is also a trout farm for seed fish nearby. There are tourist bungalows and tourist huts nearby where the tourists can spend some moments in the lap of the beautiful setup. This garden is universally regarded as a visual treat for the eyes. This garden is also well adorned with sprawling Chinar trees. Stepped terraces, ornamental shrubs and conventional elegance, are the added attraction, which not only mesmerizes one but also attracts thousands of tourists from all over the globe every year. Accommodation is available at the nearby tourist bungalows or rest houses. Achabal not only serves as a breathtaking splendor but also is a reviving experience for all tourists. Located near the Himalayan Mountains, the site may have been a Hindu sacred site known as "Akkshavala" previously.

It was built about 1620 A.D. by Mughal Emperor Jahangir's wife, Nur Jahan, called the "greatest garden lovers of them all." The garden was rebuilt on smaller scale by Gulab Singh and is now a public garden. A main feature of the garden is a waterfall that enters into a pool of water.

This place is also noted for its spring, which is finest in Kashmir and is supposed to be the re-appearance of a portion of the river Bringhi, whose waters suddenly disappear through a large fissure underneath a hill at the village Wani Divalgam in the Brang Pargana. It is said that in order to test this, a quantity of chaff was thrown in the Bringhi river at a place its water disappears at Wani Divalgam and that chaff came out of the Achabal spring. The water of the spring issues from several places near the foot of a low spur which is densely covered with deodar trees and at one place it gushes out from an oblique fissure large enough to admit a man's body and forms a volume some 18 inches high and about a foot in diameter.

Source - Achabal - Official Website of Department of Tourism

In Rajatarangini

Akshavala is mentioned as a holy place built by Aksha in Rajatarangini.

Rajatarangini. mentions....Aksha (460-400 BC): Nara II succeeded by his son Aksha who also reigned for sixty years. He built a holy place called after his name Akshavala. He was succeeded by his son Gopaditya.

अछबल

अछबल (Achabal), जिसे स्थानीय लहजे में अछवल (Achhval) कहते हैं, भारत के जम्मू और कश्मीर राज्य के अनंतनाग ज़िले में स्थित एक नगर है। अछबल जैसा शानदार झरना सोनसनवर पहाड़ी से निकलता है और इसे सम्राट जहांगीर द्वारा एक आनंददायक और सुंदर इकाई के रूप में प्रतिष्ठित किया गया था। इसका वास्तविक स्रोत ब्रेंगी नाला है, जो कि लाइमस्टोन के साथ पृथ्वी की एक दरार या विभाजन के माध्यम से देवलगाम में अदृश्य हो जाता है। इस चमचमाते झरने की भव्यता देखकर पर्यटक मंत्रमुग्‍ध हो जाते हैं। यहां पर मुग़ल उद्यानों को फव्वारों से सजाया गया है।