Rani ki vav : step well in Patan, Gujarat

Rani ki vav is an intricately constructed stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of Saraswati River. Rani ki vav was built as a memorial to an 11th century AD king.[1] It was added to the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites on 22 June 2014. The stepwell, which had been constructed in the third millennium BC, is a subterranean water resource and storage system. Rani ki vav was built in the complex Maru-Gurjara architectural style with an inverted temple and seven levels of stairs and holds more than 500 principle sculptures.

This stepwell bears testimony of queen Udaymati’s love for her husband king Bhimdev I of the Solanki period and was built between 1063 AD and 1068 AD. Barely a two-hour drive from Ahmedabad near Patan town, this subterranean stepwell symbolizes the peak of Gujarat-style architecture. One would be awed at the intricate carvings of apsaras, the sculpted walls depicting different avatars of Vishnu and the Mother Goddess slaying demons Mahishasur Mardini. The stepwell entered the tentative list of Unesco’s world heritage list in July 1998.

Rani-ki-Vav will be Gujarat’s second world heritage property to be placed on Unesco’s coveted list after Champaner-Pavagadh archaeological park a decade ago in 2004.
It is generally assumed that it was built in the memory of Bhimdev I (AD 1022 to 1063), the son of Mularaja, the founder of the Solanki dynasty of Anahilwada Patan about 1050 AD by his widowed queen Udayamati and probably completed by Udayamati and Karandev I after his death. A reference to Udayamati building the monument is in Prabandha Chintamani, composed by the Jain monk Merunga Suri in 1304 AD.
The stepwell was later flooded by the nearby Saraswati River and silted over until the late 1980s. When it was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India, the carvings were found in pristine condition.

This magnificent east-facing step well measures approximately 64m long, 20m wide & 27m deep. A stepped corridor compartmented at regular intervals pillared multistory pavilions is a unique feature. It was one of the largest and the most sumptuous structures of its type. It became silted up and much of it is not visible now, except for some rows of sculptured panels in the circular part of the well. Among its ruins one pillar still stands which is an excellent example of this period of design. A part only of the west well is extant from which it appears that the wall had been built of brick and faced with stone. From this wall project vertical brackets in pairs, which supported the different galleries of the well shaft proper. The bracketing is arranged in tiers and is richly carved. The minute and exquisite carving of this vav is one of the finest specimens of its kind. Befitting its name, the Rani-Ki-Vav is now considered to be the queen among step wells of India.

There is also a small gate below the last step of the step well, with a 30 kilometre tunnel, currently blocked by stones and mud) which leads to the town of Sidhpur near Patan. It was used as an escape gateway for the king, who built the step well in the times of defeat.