The historical setting
Rani ki Vav (lit. 'The Queen's Stepwell') is a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of the Saraswati River. Its construction is attributed to Udayamati, the spouse of the 11th-century Chaulukya king Bhima I. Silted over, it was rediscovered in the 1940s and restored in the 1980s by the Archaeological Survey of India. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India since 2014. The stepwell is designed as an underground shrine or inverted temple symbolizing the sanctity of water, with sculptures depicting numerous Hindu deities. It is divided into seven stair levels, each with sculptural panels. These panels contain more than 500 principal sculptures and over a thousand minor ones, combining religious, secular, and symbolic imagery.
History
Rani ki Vav was constructed during the rule of the Chaulukya dynasty. It is located on the banks of the Saraswati River. The city was sacked by Sultan of Delhi Qutb-ud-din Aibak between 1200 and 1210, and again by Allauddin Khilji in 1298. Prabandha-Chintamani, composed by the Jain monk Merutunga in 1304, mentions: "Udayamati, the daughter of Naravaraha Khengara, built this novel stepwell at Shripattana (Patan) surpassing the glory of the Sahasralinga Tank". According to it, the stepwell was commissioned in 1063 and was completed after 20 years.
It is generally assumed that it was built in the memory of Bhima I (r. c. 1022 – 1064) by his queen Udayamati and probably completed by Udayamati and Karna after his death, but whether she was a dowager when she commissioned it is disputed. Commissariat puts the date of construction to 1032 based on the architectural similarity to Vimalavasahi temple on Mount Abu, built in the same year. The stepwell was later flooded by the Saraswati River and silted over. In the 1890s, Henry Cousens and James Burgess visited it when it was completely buried underground.. Only the well shaft and a few pillars were visible.
Architecture
Rani ki vav is considered to be one of the finest and largest examples of stepwell architecture in Gujarat. It was built at the height of artisans’ expertise in stepwell construction and in the Maru-Gurjara architecture style, reflecting mastery of this complex technique and the beauty of its detail and proportions. The architecture and sculptures are similar to the Vimalavasahi temple on Mount Abu and Sun temple at Modhera. Following medieval texts such as the Aparājitapṛcchā, Rani ki Vav is classified as a Nanda stepwell, defined as having a single entrance (eka-vaktra) and three pavilion towers. It represents a variation of the Nanda class, incorporating lateral staircases within its straight stepped corridor.
These lateral flights shorten the overall corridor length and provide direct access to the lower levels. It measures approximately 65 metres (213 ft) long, 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 28 metres (92 ft) deep. The fourth level is the deepest and leads into a rectangular tank 9.5 metres (31 ft) by 9.4 metres (31 ft), at a depth of 23 metres (75 ft). The entrance is located in the east, while the well is located at the westernmost end and consists of a shaft 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter and 30 metres (98 ft) deep.
Sculptures
There are more than 500 principal sculptures and over a thousand minor ones, often referencing literary works in combination with religious, symbolic, and secular imagery. The ornamentation of the stepwell depicts the entire universe inhabited by gods and goddesses, celestial beings, men and women, monks, priests, and laity; animals, fish, and birds, including seen and unseen ones, as well as plants and trees. The stepwell is designed as an underground shrine or inverted temple, symbolizing the sanctity of water. Sculptures in the stepwell depict numerous Hindu deities. These include gods such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Kubera, Lakulisha, Bhairava, Surya, Indra and Hayagriva and goddesses like Lakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati, Chamunda, Kshemankari, Suryani, the Saptamatrikas and Durga (as Mahishasurmardini).
The sculptures associated with Vishnu outnumber all other deities, and include Sheshashayi Vishnu (Vishnu reclining on the thousand-hooded snake Shesha in the celestial ocean), Vishwarupa Vishnu (Cosmic form of Vishnu) and the Dashavatara (ten incarnations) of Vishnu. Other sculptures include families of deities such as Brahma-Savitri, Uma-Maheshwar and Lakshmi-Narayan. Notable among other sculptures are Ardhanarishwara (Shiva and Parvati in a combined, androgynous form) and a group of Navagraha (the nine planets) as well. There are a large number of celestial beings (Apsaras).