Nadira Begum was the wife of Dara Shikoh, the crown prince , the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan. This poet-prince remained the Governor of Punjab during 1640s. Nadira Begum is buried in a square shaped tomb near the shrine of Hazrat Mian Mir r.a to whom the princely couple was spiritually attached. Constructed with massive brick masonry, the two-story structure of the tomb was originally built as a Baradari, surrounded by an enormous water tank.
Unlike other Mughal tombs which have normally been constructed in the midst of gardens, Nadira Begum’s tomb is built amidst a water tank without a dome, which bears the flat parapet on all its four sides. These distinguished architectural features have made it look rather like a pavilion than a tomb. The tomb stands on a raised platform in the centre of a water tank, which was large enough to accommodate a lake. Encroachments have eaten away most of the tomb’s area during the course of history.
During the British period, the tank was dismantled by Muhammad Sultan and its bricks used in building the Lahore Cantonment. According to Latif, the corners of the tank were marked with pavilions, while the lofty gateways provided access to the tomb from the north and south through a masonry bridge. The gateways no longer exist but most of the causeways can still be seen.