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Indian
States Guide
>> Gujarat
Travel Guide >>
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Monuments
of Gujarat
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Adalaj
Vav
Adalaj is a village 18
kms to the north of Ahmedabad . The 'Vav' (step-well) at Adalaj derives
its name from the lady patron, Ruda, wife of the Vaghela chief, Virsinh;
who built it in the 15th or 16th century AD.
The 'Vav', laid out in the north-south direction, the step well with the
well in the north and the entrance in the south, has a total length of
75.3 metres. It is the only major monument of its kind, having three
entrance stairs leading to the stepped corridor. These three entrances
meet in the first storey, underground, in a huge square platform. The
platform has an octagonal opening on the top.
THE STRUCTURE
The platform rests on 16 pillars, eight on the corners, and two in
front of each main side. Four built-in shrines, with doors, windows and
balconies, mark the four corners of the platform. The stepped corridor
begins from this square platform.
The corridor is entirely surrounded by a one-metre high parapet wall
with a rounded topping. It descends with four pavilion towers for five
storeys. The walls of the 'Vav' are veritable showcases of sculptures
and ornamentation. The sculptures range from a king sitting on a stool
under a parasol, to erotic scenes; and from ladies churning buttermilk
to dancing girls.
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Aina
Mahal
The Aina Mahal, which now serves as a
museum, was built during the rule of the extravagant Rao Lakhpatji
((1741-1760). It now stands as a repository of the culture and history
of Kachchh. The building bears the influence of its architect, Ramsang
Malam, who was exposed to European style during his long sojourn to
Holland.
HALL OF MIRRORS
The real attraction here, though, is the Hall of Mirrors, created by
the master artisan, Ram Singh Malam, under the patronage of his
poet-ruler, Maharao Shri Lakhpatji around the middle of the 18th
century.
A blend of Indian and European artistry (Ram Singh acquired, his skills
in Europe), the walls of the great hall are of white marble covered by
mirrors separated by gilded ornaments, lighting being provided by
elaborate candelabra, with shades of Venetian glass. It has a platform
above it surrounded by a series of fountains operated by an elaborated
system of pumps below a Venetian chandelier.
Another remarkable feature is the pleasure pool, in the middle of which
rises a square platform where the Maharao composed his poems and gave
encouragement to the classical arts of dancing girls, bards and
musicians.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Maharao Madansinhji Museum: The entrance to the palace houses the
tourist office, and this is also the site of the museum, which has a
varied collection of paintings, photos and embroideries. There is a 15m
long scroll depicting the Royal Procession of Maharao Shri Pragmalji
Bahadur (1838-75).
Prag Mahal (New Palace): Across the courtyard from the Aina Mahal is the
new palace, an ornate Italianate marble and sandstone building, which
was constructed in the latter part of the l9th century. Parts of it are
now used for.
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Ashokan
Rock Eddicts
Ashoka's edicts, issued after his
conversion to Buddhism, were designed to bring about large-scale
acceptance of Buddhism. In pillar edict 6, he had mentioned that he
started issuing these edicts 12 years after his coronation.
Fourteen such edicts have been found near the edge of the Sudarshan
Lake, about half a mile to the east of Junagadh. The inscriptions on
these edicts are in the Prakrit dialect. The script used for these
edicts used to vary with the need of the region, but was largely Brahmi
or Kharoshthi.
The Junagadh rocks cover all the 14 edicts that Ashoka had issued. They
are in a western dialect, with many Magadhi words resembling Pali.
EDICTS ORDERS
The edicts record the following orders:
1. Human beings shall not be sacrificed. Futile festivities and
gatherings to be banned.
2. Setting up of medical facilities for humans and animals
3. Instructing government servants to perform their duties.
4. Elaboration of edict 3.
5. Dharma Mahamantris to enforce edicts.
6. Unlimited access to the king for all subjects.
7. All religions to live in harmony.
8. No hunting or pleasure tours; tours being only for Dharma.
9. Superstitious rituals being dismissed as trivial and meaningless.
10. Saying no to corruption.
11. Listing of the 'dharmic' (religi0ous) acts that produce great
results; what one should do for
friends, relatives, well-wishers.
12. All sects to be honoured.
13. Dharma is the most important thing in life.
14. An epilogue of the preceding 13 edicts, it surveys their
compositional features. These edicts, preserved in the Girnar hills,
bear testimony to the benevolent attitude and activities of the emperor.
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Rani Ni
Vav
The Rani-Ni-Vav forms the link between a
'kunda' and the now classical step-well. This is due to the fact that in
addition to the straight staircase, it also has lateral staircases,
along with very broad, stepped corridors.
The 'Vav' is laid out in an east-west direction, with the entrance in
the east and the well in the west. Though it is in a dilapidated
condition, the entrance, the side-walls of the stepped corridor, some of
the 'mandapas' and the back wall of the well are still intact. Five
lateral, staggered staircases attached to be side-walls connect various
storeys.
SCULPTURES OF DEITIES
The 'Vav' is very rich in sculptures. Each level is profusely
adorned with carved friezes and deities. Sculptures of deities in
recessed and projecting niches cover all sides of the well. The lower
most level has 37 niches with rudimentary images of Lord Ganesh in the
centre. The images of Sheshashayi Vishnu in the central niches, on the
upper levels, are more elaborate.
Also, on the upper levels, are impressive
images of Laxmi-Narayana, Uma-Mahesh, Brahma-Brahmi, and Kuber and
Ganesh, with their respective consorts. On the lower levels, are the
images of Vishnu's incarnations and 24 forms. Interestingly, however,
despite the fact that the 'Vav' is a water structure, the 'Kurma' and
the 'Matsya' incarnations do not find a place
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Shaking
Minarets
The Shaking Minarets are two minarets
located at the Sidi Bashir mosque, near the Sarangpur Gate and about 1.5
kilometers south of railway station of Ahmedabad city, in the state of
Gujarat. They are uniquely designed in a way that when one minaret is
shaken the other one shakes too.
UNIQUE FEATURE
If one of the minaret is shaken the other
vibrates too, as if following the principal of resonance. In an
experiment, a small ball was hung to one of the minarets and when the
other minaret was shaken, the hanging ball on the other exhibited
swinging effect.
The famous shaking minarets aroused so
much curiosity in British rulers that one of the minaret was dismantled
by them, in vain, to fathom the secret of its construction and the
mystery behind the swinging effect.
THE ARCHITECTURE
This is a unique historical architectural
marvel in the state of Gujarat. Each minaret is three storeyed with
delicately carved balanced stone balconies, which girdle the minarets of
each storey. These minarets are about 21.34 meters high.
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Sahastralinga
Talav
The Sahastralinga Talav (lake) occupies
the north-western part of the historical city of Patan. It is on the
left bank of river Saraswati. The 'talav' is reputed to have been built
by Siddharaja Jaisinh, the Chalukyan ruler of Gujarat. An inscription
found in the Shiva Temple in Vyala Kua Street of Patan indicates that
the lake was part of a much larger work.
At present, the Sahastralinga Talav is
dry. All its systems, except for the earthwork, are buried under the
sands of the Saraswati, the same river that had once filled it with
water. Folklore ascribes the dryness to the curse of one of the diggers,
Jasma Odan.
THE FINDS
An excavation in 1936
resulted in the opening of the entry channel, silting chamber, part of
the embankment, and a bridge leading into the 'talav'. The lake,
pentagonal in shape, is marked by a series of mounds showing its shape.
The earthworks circumscribe an area of several kilometres and are about
1 km broad.The total area of the 'talav' is about 17 hectares. At its
fullest, the lake would have contained about 4,206,500 cubic metres of
water.
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Sarkhej
Monuments
THE PIOUS DARGAH
The famous saint, Makhdum Shaikh Ahmed
Khattu, a disciple of Baba Ishq Maghribi of Khattu, settled and died at
Sarkhej, about 10 km south-west of Ahmedabad . Construction on a 'dargah'
and mosque were begun in 1446, under Mohammad Shah II, and completed in
the reign of Sultan Qutub-Ud-Din Ahmed Shah.
The 'dargah', the largest of its kind in
Gujarat, has a plinth area of 31.70 m, and is roofed by a large dome. It
also has surrounding rows of 13 pillars on each side. The walls are
broken up into two storeys, and perforated stonework of great variety
fills up the spaces above and below the dividing stones. The inner
central square is partitioned by screen walls, perforated in steel and
metal, with a door in similar workmanship.
THE ARCHITECTURE
A porch leads from the 'dargah' into the
mosque, which is to the west. The mosque has a roof of uniform height.
Five large domes in a row, and 40 smaller ones, symmetrically disposed,
correspond to the pillared squares within.
The roof is supported by 120 pillars of
the same pattern. The mosque has an elegant simplicity; the columnar
style adopted here appears to be on purpose, and compares favourably
with the arched façade of other mosques in and around Ahmedabad . The
ablution tank is situated in an enclosed alley, at half the height of
the roof. Access to the roof is through a porch, in the thickness of the
wall.
The tomb of Sultan Mohmud Begada is also
part of the Sarkhej Complex. Stonework covers the pillars on three sides
of the tomb, except for the east. A balcony window projects into the
tank.
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