Modhera is a village in Becharaji Taluka in Mehsana district,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. The town is well known for the Sun Temple of Chaulukya era. The town is located on the bank of Pushpavati river.

History

The town was known as Dharmaranya during Puranic age. It is believed that

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

had performed yagna here to cleanse the sin of killing Brahmin

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

. He had built ''Modherak'' which was later known as Modhera. The Sun Temple was built during the reign of Bhima I of Chaulukya dynasty in 1026-1027 ( Vikram Samvat 1083).Alt URL
/ref> Modheshwari Temple is located in the village. Gyaneshwari/Dharmeshwari stepwell belongs to 16th-17th century. It has a shrine at the first pavilion of the stepwell instead of usual at the end. The stepwell of Modhera probably belongs to 11th century with the mandapa belonging to 10th century. Hawa Mahal is a building located on a elevated location. It is a sandstone pavilion with six pilasters and 12 pillars supporting a flat roof. Some pillars have ''kichaka'' brackets on their top. There is a jali window on its rear side and an ornamental geometric patterns on the edge of its plinth. It seems that it has been erected from the ruined parts of the earlier structure from the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

era. File:Sun Temple, Modhera - Sabha Mandap 01.jpg, Sun Temple, Modhera File:Modheshwari Temple, Modhera (63415).jpg, Modheshwari Temple File:Modheshwari Temple, Modhera (36336).jpg, Modheshwari temple from inside File:Dharmeshwari Vav, stepwell in Modheshwari Mata temple, Modhera (92891).jpg, Dharmeshwari Vav File:Modhera Vav (36116).jpg, Modhera Vav File:Hawa Mahal, Modhera (31675).jpg, Hawa Mahal

Economy

Electricity

Modhera became the first "solar village" of India. The village meets its complete electricity requirements by a 6 MW solar plant with a 15 MWh

battery energy storage system A battery energy storage system (BESS), battery storage power station, battery energy grid storage (BEGS) or battery grid storage is a type of energy storage technology that uses a group of batteries in the grid to store electrical energy Elec ...

on land located from the village. A total of 1300 out of the 1600 houses in the village installed rooftop solar systems. The project cost with half financed by the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

and the other half by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

References

{{Authority control Villages in Mehsana district Modhera

History

Economy

Electricity

See also

References