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Uparkot Fort
Uparkot is a fort located in east side of Junagadh, Gujarat, India. History A fort and town was established at the foothills of Girnar hill during reign of the Maurya Empire and continued to be used during Gupta period, but it lost its importance when the capital of Saurashtra region was moved from Junagadh to Vallabhi by Maitraka. Chudasamas settled around Junagadh from 875 CE according to bards when they acquired Vamansthali (Vanthli) from Chavda ruler. A 10th-century Abhira Chudasama king Graharipu Ahir (r. c.940-c.982) cleared the old citadel free from the jungle. From the evidence contained in the Hemchandra's ''Dvyashraya'', it can be concluded that Graharipu laid the foundations of the citadel as it now exists. the legend is told about its rediscovery. Legend After several Chudasamas of Vamansthali had ruled, a woodcutter one day managed to cut his way through the forest and came to a place where stone walls and a gate existed. Nearby sat a holy man in contemplation, ...
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Junagadh
Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally translated, Junagadh means "Old Fort". After a brief struggle between India and Pakistan, Junagadh voted to join India in a plebiscite held on 20 February 1948. It was a part of Saurashtra state and later Bombay state. In 1960, in consequence of the Maha Gujarat movement, it became part of the newly formed Gujarat state. History Early history As per the legend, the founder of the Ror Dynasty Raja Dhaj, Ror Kumar, alias Rai Dyach, ruled over the principality of Jhunagarh in the fifth century BC. An early structure, Uparkot Fort, is located on a plateau in the middle of town. It was originally built in 319 BCE during the Mauryan dynasty by Chandragupta. The fort remained in use until the 6th century, when it was abandoned for about 3 ...
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Vanthli
Vamansthli (Vanthli)is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Demographics India census, Vanthali had a population of 21,891. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Vanthali has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 61%. History Vanthali officially Vamansthali Now is a small town in Junagadh district in the Indian State of Gujarat. There are traces that this place was inhabited many many centuries back. It was called "Vamanasthali" or "wamansthali" in ancient days. After the destruction of Maitraka dynasty of Saurashtra, Sorath area became independent. During this time the Vamansthali area was ruled by Walaram, a Chavda Rajput king. Raja Wala Ram had no sons, and the question arose as to who should succeed him after his death. It happened that among the Hindu tribes which had migrated Southward before the encroachments of the Mahomedans ...
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Uparkot Caves
Uparkot caves, also Uperkot caves, are ancient man-made caverns. The caves are a part of the Junagadh Buddhist Cave Groups situated in the eastern part of Junagadh of the Indian state of Gujarat. Caves These caves located at Uperkot beyond the 300 ft deep moat, close to Adi Kadi Vav, were carved in 2nd–3rd century A.D. These caves have influence of Satavahana architecture with combination of '' Graeco-Scythian'' style. According to ASI "The cave group is in three tiers, with all members of each galleries shown in semi-relief, but only two storeys having regular floors. The caves at Uparkot are cut into two floors. On the first floor, there is a '' Kunda'', a deep tank about 11 feet square, with a covered verandah round three sides of it. There is a big chamber with six pillars supporting the roof adjoining it. Under the corridor, in the rest of the area, in the walls on the north-east and west sides are stone bench-recesses, divided into long compartments with a base mou ...
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Navghan Kuvo
Navghan Kuvo is a stepwell in Uparkot Fort, Junagadh, Gujarat, India. History Navghan Kuvo is named after the Chudasama king Ra Navaghana. The forecourt to reach the well was probably built during his reign in 11th century. It is believed to have been completed by his son Khengara. The well is considered older than the forecourt. It is an oldest example of the stepwell according to some scholars. It is near the Uparkot Caves. The well might have been built in Kshatrapa period (2nd-4th century) or in Maitraka period (6th-7th century). It is a state protected monument (S-GJ-116). Architecture A small staircase entered through an arched doorway leads to the forecourt. The well is located at the far end of the forecourt. The water in the well is reached by a circular staircase which is cut in the soft rock behind thin stone wall of the shaft of well. The flight of the steps, first straight and then transverse, turns right around the shaft. The array of square holes in the stone wall ...
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Adi Kadi Vav
Adi Kadi Vav or Adi Chadi Vav is a stepwell in Uparkot Fort, Junagadh, Gujarat, India. The date of its construction is uncertain. History According to Junagadh district administration website, the stepwell was constructed in 15th century. Other sources says that it was constructed in second half of the 10th century or in 11th century during the rule of Chudasama dynasty. Another source says that it was constructed in 319 BCE and rediscovered in 976 CE. According to local historian Parimal Rupani, there were two separate stepwells. It is the Adi stepwell and the Kadi stepwell is still buried, according to him. It is a state protected monument (S-GJ-114). Architecture Adi Kadi Vav is a Nanda type of stepwell. It is not built but carved out of solid natural rock. There is a flight of 166 steps in a narrow corridor to reach well shaft. A small window is carved in the thin rock layer above the well. The rock strata is visible in the eroded walls. The well is 123 feet deep. There is ...
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Mahmud Begada
Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He established Champaner as the capital. He was responsible for the destruction of the Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat, one of the Char Dhams considered sacred by Hindus. Names His full name was Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I. He was born Fat'h Khan or Fateh Khan. He titled himself, ''Sultân al-Barr, Sultân al-Bahr'', Sultan of the Land, Sultan of the Sea. Of the origin of Mahmúd's surname Begra or Begarha, two explanations are given in ''Bird’s History of Gujarát'' (p. 202) and ''Mirăt-i-Ahmedi'' (Persian Text, pp. 74): # From his mustachios being large and twisted like a bullock's horn, such a bullock being called Begado. # That the word comes from the Gujaráti ''be'', two, and ''gadh'', a fort, the people giving him ...
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Jumma Masjid, Uparkot
Jumma Masjid or Jama Masjid is a mosque in Uparkot Fort in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. The mosque was built in 15th century by converting a temple or a palace now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people. There is a controversy surrounding the identification of the structure. History The Jumma Masjid (Friday Mosque) was built by Mahmud Begada in 15th century following capture of Junagadh in 1472. It is evidently constructed from the materials of a Hindu or Jain temple or previously existing palace. The palace is now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people attributing it to Ranakdevi, the legendary queen of Chudasama ruler Khengara. The Jumma Masjid and cannons are enlisted as the State Protected Monument (S-GJ-115) by Archaeology Department of the Government of Gujarat. In 2020, the Gujarat tourism department placed a board marking the place as Jami Masjid–Ranakdevi Mahal. The local Rajput community objected to the identification as a mosque and protested. Later the ...
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Mandalika III
Mandalika III, called by the epithet Ra Gangajalio, was a Chudasama dynasty, Chudasama king of Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region of western India who reigned from to (Vikram Samvat, VS 1507 to VS 1527). His capital was at Junagadh. Mandalika was married to a daughter of Arjun Bhim Gohil of Arthila, named Kunta Devi, who had been brought up in the house of one Duda Gohil, her uncle. Mandalika's first military exploit was an expedition against Sangan Vadhel of Bet Dwarka, because that chieftain had omitted to send a present on the occasion of his installation. A successful attack was made against Bet Dwarka, and Sangan Vadhel was taken prisoner but afterwards released, and Mandalika returned in triumph to Junagadh. He was sent by the Gujarat Sultanate, Gujarat Sultan to fight his relative Duda Gohil of Arthila whom he defeated and killed. He sacked Arthila and the Gohil family had to move to Lathi State, Lathi. During his reign, Junagadh was attacked by Gujarat Sultan Mah ...
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Architecture Of India
Indian architecture is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Among a number of architectural styles and traditions, the best-known include the many varieties of Hindu temple architecture, Indo-Islamic architecture, especially Mughal architecture, Rajput architecture and Indo-Saracenic architecture. Much early Indian architecture was in wood, which has not survived. Instead the earliest survivals are from the many sites with Indian rock-cut architecture, most Buddhist but some Hindu and Jain. Hindu temple architecture is mainly divided into the Dravidian style of the south and the Nagara style of the north, with other regional styles. Housing styles also vary between regions, partly depending on the different climates. Haveli is a general term for a large townhouse. The first major Islamic kingdom in India was the Delhi Sultanate, which led to the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, combining Indian and Islamic features. The rule of the Mughal Empire, when ...
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Torana
''Torana'' ( sa, तोरण; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. Chinese Shanmen gateways, Japanese ''torii'' gateways, Korean Iljumun gateways, Vietnamese Tam quan gateways, and Thai Sao Ching Cha were derived from the Indian ''torana''. They are also referred to as ''vandanamalikas''. History Indologist art historian and archaeologist Percy Brown has traced the origin of ''torana'' from the grama-dvara (village-gateways) of the vedic era (1500 BCE – 500 BCE) village which later developed as a popular adornment for cities, places. sacred shrines.Krishna Chandra Panigrahi, Harish Chandra Das and Snigdha Tripathy, 1994, Kṛṣṇa pratibhā: studies in Indology : Prof. Krishna Chandra Panigrahi commemoration volume, Volume 1, page 12. According to the vedic text, the Arthasastr ...
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Junagadh State
Junagarh or Junagadh ( ur, ) was a princely state in Gujarat ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty in British India, until its integration into the Union of India in 1948. History Muhammad Sher Khan Babai was the founder of the Babi Pashtun dynasty of Junagarh in 1654. His descendants, the Babi Nawabs of Junagarh, conquered large territories in southern Saurashtra. However, during the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the Babis became involved in a struggle with the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Empire over control of Gujarat during the reign of the local Mohammad Mahabat Khanji I. Mohammad Khan Bahadur Khanji I declared independence from the Mughal governor of Gujarat subah, and founded the state of Junagarh in 1730. This allowed the Babi to retain sovereignty of Junagarh and other princely states. During the reign of his heir Junagarh was a tributary to the Maratha Empire, until it came under British suzerainty in 1807 under Mohammad Hamid Khanji I, following the Second Ang ...
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Navaghana (late 11th Century King)
Navaghana was a Abhira chief of Saurashtra region of western India who reigned in the late 11th century. His capital was at Junagadh. He was a contemporary of Jayasimha Siddharaja, the Chaulukya ruler of Anahilapataka. According to bardic legends, Jayasimha attacked during his reign and he was defeated and became is vassal. He moved capital to Junagadh. He was succeeded by Khengara who had vowed to take revenge. Defeat by Jayasimha Siddharaja Jayasimha's Dahod inscription (VS 1196/1140 CE) boasts that he imprisoned the king of Saurashtra; this is most probably a reference to his victory over Khengara. In ''Siddha-Haima-Shabdanushasana'', Hemachandra has given two examples of grammar mentioning Jayasimha's victory over Saurashtra. The verses attributed to Ramachandra, disciple Hemachandra, in ''Prabandha-Chintamani'' of Merutunga, Jayasimha is referred as ''Giridurgamalla'', i. e. the "Champion of the Giridurga or Junagadh". The ''Prabandhachintamani'' also mentions Jayasimha's v ...
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