Abhaneri, also spelled Abaneri, is a village in the

Dausa district Dausa District is a district of Rajasthan state in India within Jaipur division. The city of Dausa is the district headquarters. It has an area of 3432 km² and a population of 1,634,409 in 2011 census. It is surrounded by Alwar District ...

of the Indian state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Abhaneri is popular for the

Chand Baori Chand Baori is a stepwell situated in the village of Abhaneri in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It extends approximately 30m (100ft) into the ground, making it one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. History Chand Baori is said to ...

step well Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

and

Harshat Mata Temple The Harshat Mata Temple ( IAST: ''Harṣat Mātā kā Mandir'') is a Hindu temple in the Abhaneri (or "Abaneri") village of Rajasthan, in north-western India. The temple is now dedicated to a goddess called Harshat Mata, although some art histor ...

History

The village was originally named Abha Nagari, ("City of Brightness"), but over time the name evolved to its present form. Originally ruled by the

Chahamanas of Shakambhari The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (IAST: Cāhamāna), colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th ...

, the area was later conquered by Muslim invasions under

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

and later ruled by the Mughals. Later the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

conquered the area and it became a part of

Jaipur State Jaipur State was a princely state in India during East India Company rule and thereafter under the British Raj. It signed a treaty creating a subsidiary alliance with the Company in 1818, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. It acceded ...

until independence. Abhaneri is small in size, but attracts tourists from across the globe.

Geography

The village is located between the city of Bandikui and the town of Sikandra that lies on the Jaipur-Agra highway. It is 95 km from

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

and about 210 km south of Delhi. The village is close to State Highway 25.

Address

Near Harshat Mata Temple, Abhaneri, Dausa, Bandikui, Rajasthan, 303313, India

Landmarks

The

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI) has inscribed an ancient mound in the area in 1951 with excavated red and grey

slipware Slipware is pottery identified by its primary decorating process where slip is placed onto the leather-hard (semi-hardened) clay body surface before firing by dipping, painting or splashing. Slip is an aqueous suspension of a clay body, which ...

. The

is one of the oldest, deepest and largest ''baoris'' (stepwells) in Rajasthan. The oldest parts of the structure date back to the 8th century, and significant additions were made in the 18th century. The stepwell consists of three flight of stairs descending into the earth with a subterranean palace on one side. The flight of stairs and the palace are arranged in a square pattern with the well lying at the bottom. The flight of steps descends thirteen stories. The

is located near the Chand Baori. It was a ritual to wash hands and feet at Chand Baori before visiting the temple. It is dedicated to Harshat Mata, the goddess of joy and happiness. It was constructed in the 8th century. Substantially destroyed by Islamic invaders in the 10th Century, the remains of the temple still boast architectural and sculptural styles of 10th Century India. The temple is on a raised platform from where unrestricted views of nearby fertile regions can be seen. A small village nearby houses many artisans. File:Abhaneri-02-Aussenborder-2018-gje.jpg, Bugga in Abhaneri File:Abhaneri-Chand Baori-10-Stufenbrunnen-2018-gje.jpg, Chand Baori stepwell File:Harṣat Mata ka Mandir 2019 (10).jpg, Carved stone sculptures of the Harshat Mata Temple

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Abhaneri Villages in Dausa district