The Taj Mahal has one of the largest Persian gardens of the world. It is called the Charbagh. Charbagh is the gardening style where the garden is divided into four quarters and these four quarters are further divided into the smaller quarters by broad causeways. This whole scheme is the perfect char-bagh. These beautiful Mughal gardens were built in Persian-style garden layout. 

Importance of gardens: Gardens were a very important part of the Islamic culture. They were often the location for the royal courts. These gardens represented the Koranic descriptions of paradise. Due to this it became a fitting location for the burials. See the slideshow of pictures of beautiful charbagh garden in the Taj Mahal
 

Charbagh in the Taj Mahal: On the second terrace is a spacious square garden, with side pavilions divided into four quarters by broad shallow canals of water, with wide walkways and cypress avenues on the sides. The water channels and the fountains are fed by overhead water tanks. These four quarters are further divided into the smaller quarters. It was in Persia that the char-bagh was developed, generally understood as a walled garden with four sections divided by running water and walkways. These gardens were once stalked with colorful fish and beautiful birds.

Char-bagh layout: The char-bagh garden measures 300m on all the sides and is divided into 16 flowerbeds separated by raised pathways. It is said that Ali Mardan is the designer of the char-bagh garden in the Taj Mahal. This garden has the walls of red sandstone on three sides with no wall on the river side. The garden spreads from the main gate of the Taj Mahal to the wall of the main mausoleum. The center part of the char-bagh is the place where most of the photography is done. The garden has special star-shaped designs for planting flowers. This design is commonly found in all the Mughal architectural monuments and gardens.

Below is the Google satellite view of the charbagh and the Taj Mahal complex

Fountains: The fountains of the Taj Mahal are a part of the char-bagh garden. The fountains played a major role in beautifying the garden in the Mughal kingdom. It is interesting to know how fountains were operated during those days when there was no power supply. There are around 52 fountains in a row from the main gate to the base of the main mausoleum. 25 fountains are from the main gate to the centre of the char-bagh and there is one fountain near the char-bagh central platform. Same number of fountains is on the other side of the char-bagh towards the base of the main mausoleum. Read more

Water channels: The water channels can be seen in a straight canal starting from the main gate and ending at the base of the main mausoleum. The fountains are seen in the centre of these canals along with a pond at the central raised platform in the char-bagh. A square shaped water channel runs on all the sides of the central platform which has four fountains in the center of the cannal. Read more

Designs in charbagh garden: The star-shaped design in the char-bagh garden makes it look different from the gardens of the recent days. This design is commonly found in all the gardens and wall designs of the Mughal monuments. There is a long oblong shaped star in between the other two star-shaped designs.

The Central platform in the charbagh: The central raised platform is of great importance in the Taj Mahal complex. It is the point of photography from where you can get excellent pictures of the Taj Mahal main mausoleum. There are fountains on all the four sides of this platform in a square shaped water channel running around it. Also, this is the place where the VIPs in the recent days and the royal people in the Mughal days were given a seat to sit and watch the Taj Mahal closely. It also has a pond in the center with fountains in it.

The Charbagh styled gardens can be seen in many Mughal gardens in Agra namely the Ram Bagh, the Sikandara garden, the Itmad-ud-Daulah garden and so on. See below the picture of the main gate and the charbagh taken from the main mausoleum in the Taj Mahal.

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