Rani Ki Vav (lit. 'The Queen's Stepwell') is a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of the Saraswati River. Its construction is attributed to Udayamati, the spouse of the 11th-century Chaulukya king Bhima I. Silted over, it was rediscovered in the 1940s and restored in the 1980s by the Archaeological Survey of India. It has been listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India since 2014. This stepwell is designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water. It is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels. These panels have more than 500 principal sculptures and over 1000 minor ones combining religious, secular, and symbolic imagery.

History

Rani ni vav was constructed during the rule of the Chaulukya dynasty. It is located on the area of Saraswati river. The city was sacked by Sultan of Delhi Qutb-ud-din Aybak between 1200 and 1210, and again by Allauddin Khilji in 1298. Prabandha-Chintamani, composed by the Jain monk Merutunga in 1304, mentions: "Udayamati, the daughter of Naravaraha Khengara, built this novel stepwell at Shripattana (Patan) surpassing the glory of the Sahasralinga Tank". According to it, the stepwell was commissioned in 1063 and was completed after 20 years. It is generally assumed that it was built in the memory of Bhima I ((r. c. 1022 – 1064)) by his queen Udayamati and probably completed by Udayamati and Karna after his death but whether she was a widow when she commissioned it is disputed. Commissariat puts the date of construction to 1032 based on the architectural similarity to Vimalavasahi temple on Mount Abu built in the same year. The stepwell was later flooded by the Saraswati river and silted over. In the 1890s, Henry Cousens and James Burgess visited it when it was completely buried under the earth and only the well shaft and few pillars were visible. They described it as being a huge pit measuring 87 m. In Travels in Western India, James Tod mentioned that the material from the stepwell was reused in the other stepwell built in modern Patan, probably Trikam Barot ni Vav (Bahadur Singh stepwell). In the 1940s, excavations carried out under the Baroda State revealed the stepwell. In 1986, a major excavation and restoration was carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). An image of Udayamati was also recovered during the excavation. The restoration was carried out from 1981 to 1987. Rani ki vav has been declared a Monument of National Importance and protected by the ASI. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India on 22 June 2014. It was named India's "Cleanest Iconic Place" at the 2016 Indian Sanitation Conference.

Architecture

Rani ki vav is considered to be one of the finest and largest examples of stepwell architecture in Gujarat. It was built at the height of craftsmens’ ability in stepwell construction and the Maru-Gurjara architecture style, reflecting mastery of this complex technique and a beauty of detail and proportions. The architecture and sculptures are similar to the Vimalavasahi temple on Mount Abu and Sun temple at Modhera. It is classified as a Nanda-type stepwell. It measures approximately 65 m long, 20 m wide and 28 m deep. The fourth level is the deepest and leads into a rectangular tank 9.5 m by 9.4 m, at a depth of 23 m. The entrance is located in the east, while the well is located at the westernmost end and consists of a shaft 10 m in diameter and 30 m deep. The stepwell is divided into seven levels of stairs, which lead down to a deep, circular well. A stepped corridor is compartmentalized at regular intervals with pillared, multistorey pavilions. The walls, pillars, columns, brackets and beams are ornamented with carvings and scrollwork. The niches in the side walls are ornamented with delicate figures and sculptures. There are 212 pillars in the stepwell.

Sculptures

There are gradually increasing cantilevered brackets in the well shaft which are profusely ornamented. Kalpavriksha carvings on the wall represent fertility and nature worship, while kirtimukhas and makaras adorn the basements and capitals of pillars. There are latticework patterns and designs resembling local, geometric textile designs, and traditional Patola designs are featured on the wall at the stepwell's northern entrance. These may have been adapted from wood carvings and ceilings seen in temples. Figures of horses, elephants and lions decorate pillars and basement moldings.

Depiction

Since July 2018, the ₹100 banknote of Mahatma Gandhi New Series, features Rani ki Vav on the reverse.