On 22nd June 2014, Rani-ki-Vav, 11th century stepwell in the Patan area of Gujarat, was approved for inscription on the World Heritage list by UNESCO at the meeting of its World
Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar at its 38th session.
As per the UNESCO’s announcement, “the Queen’s Stepwell” was designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water.
Soon after the inscription of Rani-ki-Vav was announced in Doha, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi tweeted that it was a matter of great pride for us.
He urged his followers on Twitter to visit the stepwell during their next visit to Gujarat and describing it as an excellent symbol of our great art and culture.
Rani-ki-Vav will be Gujarat's second world heritage property to be placed on Unesco's coveted list after Champaner-Pavagadharchaeological park a decade ago in 2004.
Three other sites around the world that were listed are
- Namhansaneong in South Korea,
- Grand Canal running from Beijing to Zhejiang province in Southern China.
- Silk Roads network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor.
It is located on the banks of the Saraswati river and built as a memorial to King Bhimdev I of the Solanki dynasty, Rani-ki-Vav is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels.
These panels — more than 500 principle sculptures and over a 1,000 minor ones — “combine religious, mythological and secular imagery.”
Rani (Queen) Udayamati commissioned this vav or stepwell, in 1063 in the memory of her husband King Bhimdev I.
The vav was later flooded by the nearby Saraswati River and silted over until the late 1980s, when it was excavated by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) with the carvings found in its original condition condition.
Rani Ki Vav is amongst the finest stepwells in India, and one of the most famous legacies of the ancient capital city.
The vavs of Gujarat are not merely sites for collecting water and socialising, but also simultaneously hold great spiritual significance.
They were originally constructed quite simply, but became more intricate over the years, perhaps to make explicit this ancient concept of the sanctity of water by carving it out in stone deities. You may thus enter Rani Ki Vav as if it is a subterranean temple.
The steps begin at ground level, leading you down through the cool air through several pillared pavilions to reach the deep well below.
There are more than 800 elaborate sculptures among seven galleries.
The central theme is the Dasavataras, or ten incarnations of Vishnu, including Buddha.
The avatars are accompanied by sadhus, brahmins, and apsaras (celestial dancers), painting
their lips and adorning themselves. At water level you come to a carving of Sheshashayi-
Vishnu, in which Vishnu reclines on the thousand-hooded serpent Shesha, where it is said he rests in the infinity between ages.
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