Padmavati, identified with modern Pawaya in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, was an ancient Indian city mentioned in several classic Sanskrit texts, Malatimadhavam of

Bhavabhuti Bhavabhūti (Devanagari: भवभूति) was an 8th-century scholar of India noted for his plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered the equal of the works of Kalidasa. Bhavabhuti was born in Padmapura, Vidarbha, in Gond ...

Harshacharita The ''Harshacharita'' ( sa, हर्षचरित, ) (''The deeds of Harsha''), is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'', ...

of Bana, and Sarasvatīkaṇṭhabharaṇa of Raja

Bhoja Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all h ...

. Bhavabhuti describes the city with tall mansions and temples with shikharas and gates, located between Para and the Sindhu rivers. It is also mentioned in inscriptions like the Kokkala

Grahapati Gahoi is a merchant Vaishya-Baniya community in central India. Gahois are divided into 12 gotras, each gotra is divided into six ''all''s. They have traditionally interdined with the Parwar Jain community of Bundelkhand. The "Grahapati" family ...

inscription of Khajuraho. The inscription mentions that the city had rows of tall mansions. The dust used to arise because of running of strong horses.

Identification

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...

identified Padmavati with present

Narwar Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Kali Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Na ...

near

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

. M B Garde carried out excavations at Pawaya in 1924-25, 1933–34 and 1941. He identifies Pawaya with ancient Padmavati rejecting Cunningham’s identification with Narwar. Coins of several Naga kings, who have been dated between 210-340 AD, have been found at Pawaya.

Antiquities

Among the antiquities found at Pawaya is an image of Yaksha

Manibhadra Manibhadra is one of the major yakshas. He was a popular deity in ancient India. Iconography Several well known images of yaksha Manibhadra have been found. The two oldest known image are: Yaksha Manibhadra from Parkham Yaksha Manibhadra comi ...

.Jaina-Rupa-Mandana, Volume 1, Umakant P. Shah, 1987, Page 205 It has an inscription that mentions that it was installed in the fourth regnal year of King Sivanandi and was worshipped by the gosthas or merchants.

References

{{Reflist

External sources

* Pawaya – Glamour of the Ancient Padmavati, http://puratattva.in/2011/07/11/pawaya-glamour-of-the-ancient-padmavati-159.html Monuments and memorials in Madhya Pradesh Shivpuri district

Identification

Antiquities

See also

References

External sources