VERINAG BAGH 185 



rises, it is easy to understand the romantic 

 charm of Verinag (the secret spring, the supposed 

 source of the Jhelum, " the snake recoiled," as 

 the literal translation runs) and the spell which 

 held Jahangir and Nur-Mahal in their palace by 

 the bright blue-green pool, where the largest of 

 the sacred carp bore the Queen's inscriptions on 

 gold rings placed through their gills. On the 

 cold mountain pass above, Jahangir died ; leaving 

 a last request that he might be brought back 

 and buried by the spring. But as we have 

 seen, his wishes were set aside; the courtiers 

 no doubt were frightened by the approach of 

 winter, and the danger of the passes being closed ; 

 and the Court continued their journey south- 

 wards, carrying the dead Emperor down to 

 Lahore. 



The octagonal tank built round the spring is 

 designed to form the centre of the palace build- 

 ings. No omrah's house at Delhi was complete 

 without its fountain court, and the same idea 

 is carried out on the grandest scale for the 

 Emperor's palace at Verinag. Round the reser- 

 voir there are twenty-four arched recesses still 

 roofed over, some containing small stairways 

 'which led to the rooms above; and the few 



24 



