Champaner – Pavagadh Archaeological is a UNESCO acclaimed World Heritage Site that is located in the city Champaner that was built by Sultan Mehmud Begada in Panchmahal district. It is basically a largely unexcavated city which has been built in the late 15th / early 16th century as the capital of Gujarat. It is a beautiful combination of Muslim and Hindu architecture with temples, mosques and special water-retaining installations with its military and agricultural structures. It is situated mainly at the foot of Pavagadh hill.
It was earlier under the regime of Solanki Kings and Khichi Chauhans. Mahmud Begada captured the fort on 21 November 1484, after a fight of 20 months. He then spent 23 years rebuilding and embellishing Champaner, which he renamed Muhammadabad, after which he moved the capital there from Ahmedabad. It was later again captured by Mughal Emperor Humayun and then abandoned till the excavation by the archaeological department.
The archaeological park has many mosques, temples, granaries, tombs, wells, walls, and terraces. The most visited monumnets are Kalikamata temple, Jami Masjid, Lakulisa temple, Jain temples, Kevada Masjid, Nagina Masjid, Bawaman’s Mosque, Lila Gumbaj Ki Masjid and many other forts. At the top of the hill there is a Kalikamata temple. This temple contains the images of three Goddesses; central image is of Kalika Mata, Goddess Kali is on the right and Bahucharamata on the left.
Among the five mosques which are in very good condition, Jami Masjid or the Great Mosque depicts the perfect blend of Hindu – Muslim architecture. It is a two-storey structure with multiple halls for prayers, which are supported by 200 pillars. There are some tombs built nearby the mosque. The Jami Masjid had a huge open-air tank for its rainwater collection, called the Hauz-i-Vazu. Lakuslisa temple follows the basic Hindu temple architecture style with key Hindu temple architecture and Nagara Style with key elements like mandapa and an entrance porch. The Jain temples are classified into mainly three groups. The Bhavanaderi temples near the Naqqarkhana gate fall under the first group; the second group consists of temples dedicated to the Jain saints Tirthankara Suparsva and Tirthankara Chandraprabha and, the third group contains the Parsvanath temple. Kevada Masjid has many minarets, mihrabs, globe like domes and narrow stairs. The most unique thing about this mosque is it incorporates nature and environment in its architecture which is pretty uncommon. Nagina Masjid is also known as the Jewel Mosque. The mosque was built using white stones. It has domes, elegantly carved minarets and decorative columns and windows. The floral designs are its main attraction. Lila Gumbaj ki Masjid is located in the eastern side of the city. It has three domes with beautiful designs and colors. Bawaman Mosque is named after a saint Bawaman. It was excavated in a very bad state and huge restoration work has been done by the Archaeological Survey of India here. Large reservoirs were also built to store monsoon rains for the rest of the year which were built using earthen berms to contain the natural flow of streams coming downhill. The series of created lakes empty into each other as they successively overflow, finally ending in the largest lake, the Vada Talav, on the plain below the city.
The Pavagadh forts have many gates all around it. There are a total of 8 gates namely Atak gate, Budhiya Gate, Sadanshah Gate, Gulan Gate, Buland Darwaja, Makai Gate and Tarapore Gate. All the Hindu religious places are located here. The temples were built by the kings of Solanki dynasty and Khichi Chauhans. The mosques were built after it was captured by Mahmud Begada. There is also a watchtower named as Sat Manzil that had seven storeys. Now only four remain as the structure was ruined. The fort also had many stepwells which served the purpose of supplying portable water and also for rain water collection. One such example is the Helical Stepped well which was built using bricks and stone paved steps in helical shape. Here from the entrance only the staircase descends in the form of a snake coil. Mandvi was a square structure in the centre of the fort which served as a Royal guesthouse for the guests of kings. Makai Kothar and the Navlakha Kothar were the granaries which were used to store maize and grains. It was also a part of the Military establishment.
In all the Champaner- Pavagadh has many attractions for tourists interested in our ancient history with a wide range of different styles of architecture and constructions.
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