Vadnagar
Town
Panoramic view of Vadnagar town
Panoramic view of Vadnagar town
Vadnagar is located in Gujarat
Vadnagar
Vadnagar
Location in Gujarat, India
Vadnagar is located in India
Vadnagar
Vadnagar
Location in India
Coordinates: 23°47′06″N 72°38′24″E / 23.785°N 72.64°E / 23.785; 72.64
Country India
StateGujarat
DistrictMehsana
Elevation
143 m (469 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total27,790
Languages
 • OfficialGujarati, Hindi, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationGJ-02

Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It just about 35 km from Mehsana city. Its ancient names include Anartapura (the town of Anarta) and Anandapura. It was a location visited by Xuanzang in 640 C.E. Historian and archaeologist Alexander Cunningham has identified Anandapura with the town of Vadnagar.[2] Vadnagar is also the birthplace of Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India.

History

The archeological excavations presented sequence assigned from 4th-3rd century BCE to present period.[3] Recent excavations, in six trenches, consider the beginning of the site to be around 800 BCE, (ca. 2754 calibrated years before present).[4]

Archaeologists found seven cultural periods of continuous human presence: 1) Pre-Mauryan, (ca. 800-320 BCE), (contemporary to Late-Vedic/pre-Buddhist Mahajanapadas or oligarchic republics), 2) Mauryan (ca. 320-185 BCE), 3) Indo-Greek, 4) Indo-Scythian or Shaka-Kshatrapas (ca. 35-415 CE), ('Satraps', descendants of provincial governors of ancient Achaemenid Empire), 5) Hindu-Solankis, 6) Sultanate-Mughal (Islamic) to Gaekwad-British colonial rule (ca. 318 years before present), and 7) Recent.[5]

Several ancient inscriptions and literary sources mention a town called Anartapura or Anandapura, identified as the area in and around the present-day Vadnagar. The epic tale Mahabharata mentions the Anarta Kingdom in the northern part of present-day Gujarat. The oldest Puranic legend about Gujarat is about a king named Anartha. The town is mentioned in the Tirtha Mahatmya section of Nagara Khanda of Skanda Purana by the name of Chamatkarapura.[6] The Junagadh rock inscription (dating from 150 C.E.) of Western Kshatrapa King Rudradaman I mentions a region called "Anartha" (meaningless) in northern present-day Gujarat.

The Maitraka rulers of Vallabhi (505-648 C.E.) issued land grants to the Brahmins of Anarthapura or Anandapura.[7] The Harsola copper plates (949 C.E.) of the Paramara king record the granting of two villages in Gujarat area to the Nagar Brahmins who originated from Anandapura. This Anandapura is also identified with Vadnagar, which is associated with the Nagar Brahmins.[8] In 2009, archaeologists discovered a 4 km long fortification near Vadnagar which they believe could be the historical Anartapura.[7]

Vadnagar has also yielded an image of Bodhisattva dated back to the 3rd or 4th century C.E. This image may have been brought from Mathura to install in one of the town's Buddhist monasteries.

Vadnagar's old town is found inside the walls of a fort with six gates: Arjun, Nadiol, Amarthol, Ghaskol and Pithori.

The town was added to the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2022.[9]

Geography

Vadnagar is located at 23°47′N 72°38′E / 23.78°N 72.63°E / 23.78; 72.63.[10] It has an average elevation of 143 metres (469 feet) above sea level.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census,[11] Vadnagar's population was 27,790, including 14,097 males and 13,693 females. Its female sex ratio is 971 compared to the state average of 919. Moreover, Vadnagar's child sex ratio is around 937 compared to the 890 Gujarat state average. In Vadnagar, 12.26% of the population is under 6 years of age. Vadnagar's average literacy rate is 80.53%, higher than the 78.03% national average: male literacy is 90.41%, and female literacy is 70.42%.

Languages

Gujarati is spoken by most of the people in Vadnagar. Hindi and English are also spoken.

Transport

Vadnagar bus stand

Vadnagar is served by a bus stand and a railway station. Buses are available from here to all major towns in Gujarat. Vadnagar railway station is on the Mahesana–Taranga Hill line, a branch railway line within the Ahmedabad railway division of the Western Railway zone.

Places of interest

Sharmistha Lake is a lake in Vadnagar with a small island amidst it connected by a 7 km long inlet canal. The island has been developed into an urban park. As of 2009, the island includes a stadium.

There are scores of temples dedicated to almost every god: Shiva (Daaneshwar Mahadev Temple, Somnath Mahadev Temple and Kashi Vishveshvara temple), Vishnupuri, Chhabila, Hanuman, Ashapuri Mata, Ambaji Mata, Sitla mata, Bhuvaneshpuri Temple, Amther Mata, Gauri kund, Swaminarayan Temple. There are remains of a Buddhist monastery dating from the 7th century C.E. as well as two Jain derasars.

Hatkeshwar Mahadev temple, Vadnagar

Hatkeshver Mahadev temple, a 15th-century temple, is the most significant of the numerous Shiva shrines. He is the family deity of the Nagar Brahmins. Facing east, the temple is enclosed by a high wall surmounted by three circular domes. From the roof of the sanctum a massive pinnacle rises high above into the sky. A massive congregation hall leads to the sanctum which houses a shivling said to have self-emerged, or as it is said, Swayambhu (self-emerged). The temple's exterior is exquisitely and profusely ornamented with figures of the nine planets, regent deities, the chief gods of the Hindu pantheon, scenes from the life of Krishna and Pandava princes, as well as varied animal and floral motifs.

Sitala Mata temple, is ornately carved with figures of celestial beings. Its door frames and ceilings depict the Rasmandala (Krishna dancing with milkmaids).

Two Kirtitoranas, or triumphal arches, are built of red sandstone and are both identical in size and style. Its pillars and arches are decorated with lozenges at the base and geometric and floral designs (i.e., leaves, creepers and lotus), animal motifs, human figures engaged in various activities, and divine figures in different poses. The top bears an image of a seated god Kartikeya flanked by Ganesh and Makara (a griffin) from which spring arches. A number of standing female figures also ornament the top.

One Torana was intact while other was dismantled. The dismantled one was re-eracted in 2007 by the Archaeological Survey of India.[12]

Other places of interest are Kirti Toran or Narsinh Mehta’s Chori, a toran built in 12th century and in Solanki style[13] although Narsinh Mehta was born in 15th century, Tana Riri garden and shrine, Gauri Kund, Pancham Mehta's well, Janjanio well, Baithakji of Gusaiji, an ancient library and a directional stone from the Solanki era.

Education

Schools
  • Anart Shikshan Kendra
  • Shri B. N. High School
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
  • Navin Sarva Vidyalaya
  • Pattharwali School
  • Royal English Medium School
  • Saraswati Vidya Mandir
  • Sarvajanik Vidyayalay, Vaghasi
  • Vadnagar Girls High School
Colleges
  • Arts and Commerce College, Vadnagar
  • GMERS Medical College, Vadnagar
  • Government ITI, Vadnagar
  • Government Polytechnic, Vadnagar
  • Government Science College, Vadnagar

Healthcare

Hospitals
  • Bhavna Hospital
  • Drishti Hospital
  • GMERS Medical College & Civil Hospital
  • Sadbhavna Hospital
  • Sardar Patel General Hospital
  • Vadnagar Nagrik Mandal Hospital
  • Vasant Prabha Hospital

Notable people

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Vadnagar.

References

  1. ↑ "Census of India: Search Details". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  2. ↑ The Ancient Geography of India: I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang. By Sir Alexander Cunningham, p.493-494
  3. ↑ Rawat, Yadubirsingh (2011). "11. Recently Found Ancient Monastery and Other Buddhist Remains at Vadnagar and Taranga In North Gujarat, India". Bujang Valley and Early Civilisations in South East Asia, Malaysia: 209–232 – via Academia.
  4. ↑ Sarkar, Anindya, et al., (2024). "Climate, human settlement, and migration in South Asia from early historic to medieval period: Evidence from new archaeological excavation at Vadnagar, Western India", in: Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 324, 15 January 2024, 108470: "Radiocarbon chronology of mollusc carbonates, charcoal and drill core sediments, retrieved from six trenches suggest that the settlement began at ∼2754 years B.P. contemporary to Late-Vedic/pre-Buddhist Mahajanapadas or oligarchic republics of ancient India" (Conclusions).
  5. ↑ Sarkar, Anindya, et al., (2024). "Climate, human settlement, and migration in South Asia from early historic to medieval period: Evidence from new archaeological excavation at Vadnagar, Western India", in: Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 324, 15 January 2024, 108470.
  6. ↑ "Tirtha Mahatmya Nagara Khanda Skanda Purana". Wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Lost city could be Gujarat's womb: Archaeologists". The Times of India. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Harihar Vitthal Trivedi (1991). Inscriptions of the Paramāras (Part 2). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Volume VII: Inscriptions of the Paramāras, Chandēllas, Kachchapaghātas, and two minor dynasties. Archaeological Survey of India. p. 5. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1451755.
  9. ↑ Bureau, The Hindu (20 December 2022). "Vadnagar town, Modhera Sun Temple, Unakoti sculptures added to UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Vadnagar
  11. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  12. ↑ "ASI erects ancient Vadnagar gate". The Times of India. 15 March 2007. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Kirti Toran, Vadnagar | District Mahesana, Government of Gujarat | India". mahesana.nic.in. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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