Brindavan Gardens lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam (KRS Dam) which is built across the river Kaveri. A dam at the length of 8600 ft. and height of 130 ft. above the river bed was built below the confluence of the three rivers – Cauvery, Hemavathi and Lakshmanateertha in 1924. The place was formerly called as Kannambadi after the Kanveshvara temple in the village submerged in the reservoir. Earlier to this, it was known as Kanvapuri, where the sage Kanva is said to have had his ashram and worshiped shiva.

The reservoir is named after Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, during whose rule Sir M.Visveswaraya, as Chief Engineer of Mysore got the dam built. Krishnarajasagara Dam is built using 'surkhi', a mixture of limestone and brick powder instead of cement. It was among the first in the world to use automatic sluice gates. The KRS dam is a civil engineering wonder and the garden is one of the major attractions near the city of Mysore, this engineering marvel is spread over 150 acres of land and provides irrigation to more than 1,20,000 acres.

The Brindavan Gardens is a show garden that has a botanical park, with fountains, as well as boat rides beneath the dam. Diwans of Mysore planned and built the gardens in connection with the construction of the dam. The work on laying out Mysore Brindavan garden was started in the year 1927 and completed in 1932.The garden is laid out in 3 terraces which contain water fountains, Ficus trees, foliage plants such as Duranta plumaria and Euphorbia and flowering plants like Celosia, Marigold and bougainvillea.

The main attraction of the Brindavan Garden is the Musical Fountain (Dancing Fountains) in which bursts of water are synchronized to the music of songs. The musical fountains have a harmonic blend of water, colors and music. The Brindavan Gardens here is the best illuminated terrace garden in India.

There is a statue of Goddess Cauvery in the garden. There are also a horticultural farm and nursery; fisheries pond and the Hydraulic Research Station here. The place is visited by lakhs of visitors annually.