Monthly Archives: February 2012

Today is 1267th Foundation Day of Historic City Patan

My hometown "Patan" - also known as "Anhilvad Patan"  or  "Anhilpur Patan" celebrating its 1267th foundation day today with much funfair and cultural activities in the city.

Patan was a capital of Gujarat in medieval times. An ancient fortified town, was founded in 745 AD by Vanraj Chavda, the most prominent king of the Chavda Kingdom. He named the city Anhilpur Patan or "Anhilwad Patan" after his close friend and Prime Minister Anhil shepherd. It is variously referred to in Sanskrit literature as Anahilpatak, Anahipattan, Anahilpur, Anahilvad Pattan, Pattan etc.

Some facts about the PATAN:

  • Historian Tertius Chandler estimates that Anhilwara was the tenth-largest city in the world in the year 1000, with a population of approximately 100,000.
  • During the period of the Solanki or Chalukya, the stepwell called the Rani ki vav, or Ran-ki vav (Queen’s step well) was constructed. It is a richly sculptured monument.
  • When Muhammad Ghori had attempted to conquer Gujarat, the forces of Mularaja II, then the king of Patan, a mere boy-ruler, led by his heroic mother Naikidevi, inflicted such a crushing and conclusive defeat on him that the foreigner did not dare again during his lifetime to cast his greedy eye upon Patan. He never again entered India through Gujarat.
  • The patola saree is one of the finest hand-woven sarees produced today. This is a specialty of Patan, and is famous for extremely delicate patterns woven with great precision and clarity. A patola sari takes 4 to 6 months to make, depending on how complicated the designs is and if the length is 5 or 6 metre. This saris are totally colored with the vegetable color.
  • Step wells include Rani-ki-Vav and Trikam Barot ni Vav. Lakes include historically and archeologically important Sahstraling Sarovar, Anand Sarovar (Gungadi Talav) and KHAN Sarovar. There are many a Religious places of significance on religious, historical or architerctural grounds. These include Old Kalka Mandir, Panchmukhi Hanuman, Jasma Odan ni Deri, Old Mahalaxmi Mandir, Sindhavai Mata nu Mandir, Hingaraj Mandir, Panchasar Derasar and Sheikh Farid no Rojo.

Sources:

More good reads about Patan : Books on Gujarat's History ( Gujarati) by "Shri Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (30 December 1887 - 8 February 1971)" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaiyalal_Maneklal_Munshi

  • Patanni Prabhuta (1916)
  • Gujaratno Nath (1917)
  • Rajadhiraj (1918)
  • Jay Somanth (1940)