Patan Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Patan Town
Head-quarters of the taluka of the same name, Kadi prant) Baroda State, situated in 23 degree 51' N. and 72 degree 10' E., on the Gaikwar's State line from Mehsana on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway. Population (1901), 31,402. In former times it was known as Anhilvada or Anhilpur, and was founded about A.D. 746, or, according to some accounts, in 765, by Vanaraja, the forest-born son of the beautifsul Ram, Rup Sundri. He was the first of a line of kings, named Chavada, a dynasty which was succeeded by the Solankis, and afterwards by the Vaghelas.
The town, afterwards known as Nahrwara or Nahrwala, was celebrated for its size and magnificence, and yielded much plunder to Mahmud of Ghazni. The last of the Vaghelas, Karan Ghelo ('the insane'), was overpowered in 1298 by Ulugh Khan ; and the Muhammadans afterwards levelled the walls of the town, buried the temples in their foundations, and ploughed up the ground on which they stood. The modern Patan has sprung up on the ruins left by the ancient conquerors, but does not possess the magnificent palaces, parks, tanks, schools, libraries, markets, and offices which are said to have adorned the old town. Some remains, however, are still to be seen which indicate the former greatness of Anhilvada.
One of these is the Rani Vav, or large well built by Udayamati, the queen of Raja Bhima, in the eleventh century, of which a few battered fragments remain. The water is said to possess the power of curing infantile cough. The Sahasra Ling Talav, or ' tank with the thousand shrines,' was dedicated to Siva by the famous Jay Singh Siddha Raja of the Solanki line (1093-1143), when he set out on his expedition against Yasovarma, king of Malwa. But of this nothing now remains, save a large field with the ruins of a Muhammadan building in the centre, constructed on the site of a temple. Bairam, the minister of Humayun and Akbar, was assassinated on the bank of this lake in 1561, while on his way to Mecca. A marble statue of Vanaraja, the founder of the place, in one of the Jain temples, bears an inscription dated 1467. Another tank worthy of notice is the large reservoir to the south of the town, known as the Khan Sarovar, which, however, is of Muhammadan origin. The modern town of Patan, together with the citadel, is the result of Maratha efforts. It is situated to the south- east of old Anhilvada, nearly a mile from the Saraswati river.
A lofty wall, most of which is of great thickness, entirely surrounds it, and there are numerous gateways. The public buildings, of which the chief are the offices in the citadel, the high school, and the ciVil hospital, are of no great interest ; and the general aspect of the streets and houses, with the exception of a few which display profuse and elaborate wood- carving, is depressing. The Jain temples in the town are said to number 108 or no, but none is of much architectural or archaeological importance. In these thousands of palm-leaf manuscripts are carefully preserved, of which a list has recently been made. The manufactures carried on at the present day are not of great importance, though there is a fair out-turn of swords, betel-nut slicers, patolas (variegated saris\ embroidery, and pottery. The last is said to be superior to any of its kind in Gujarat, and is remarkable for its glaze. It is, however, of a very fragile nature.
Wood-carving and ivory-turning are also practised. The town is the most important centre for trade in the Kadi prdnt^ and its commercial facilities have been greatly increased since the opening of the line from Meh&ana to Patan. The municipality, which was reconstituted on a partly elective basis in 1905, has an income of Rs. 10,000 from excise, customs, and tolls, besides an annual grant of Rs. 5,000 from the State.
[J. Burgess and H. Cousens, Architectural Antiquities of Gujarat (1903)-]
